overly rigid vacation policies by Alison Green on January 31, 2012 A reader writes: My wife works at a large hospital. She gets two weeks of vacation per year (after 16 years of working there, but that is a different story…..). The manager of her unit recently sent a note around saying: 1- You can only ask for vacation in 7 day blocks, Sunday to Saturday. […] Read the full article →
asking a company about its bad reputation in an interview by Alison Green on January 31, 2012 A reader writes: I’m set to interview for a lead role in a service-based company. There’s not a lot of information about the company online, but the majority of what is there is highly negative. The job was posted anonymously, so I didn’t know the company name until I was asked to come in to […] Read the full article →
how to set boundaries when contacts get pushy by Alison Green on January 30, 2012 A reader writes: I have a job overseas, and sometimes it feels like every week I have another person contacting me to help them get a job, an internship, etc. over here. I’d made myself available to the alumni community from the university I attended, and while I don’t typically mind when students, friends, or […] Read the full article →
can my boss require me to interrupt my lunch break? by Alison Green on January 30, 2012 A reader writes: I usually spend my breaks walking around the store for exercise. I remove my name tag and stuff it into my pocket, and I don’t wear anything else that would identify me as an employee of the store. If I’m off the clock on a break and a customer stops me and […] Read the full article →
short answer Sunday: 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on January 29, 2012 It’s short answer Sunday — seven short answers to seven short questions. We’ve got someone who wants to transfer two months into a job, a union forbidding its members to eat lunch with managers, and more. Here we go… 1. Transferring soon after starting a new job What is the best way to go about […] Read the full article →
what does it mean when an employer says they’re “always looking for talented candidates”? by Alison Green on January 28, 2012 A reader writes: As I am looking for work, there are some firms I come across that advertise under their career section that say they are “always” looking for talented candidates, but they do not say one way or another if they have any open positions. Sometimes they just have an email and phone number […] Read the full article →
update on employers who want to monitor your bathroom usage by Alison Green on January 27, 2012 Since answering this question from a reader whose employer was limiting her to three bathroom breaks a day unless she got written permission in advance, a commenter pointed out that OSHA rules are likely at play here. OSHA — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — says that prohibiting employees from using the bathroom outside of […] Read the full article →
after rejecting me, employer is compiling a whole document of feedback by Alison Green on January 27, 2012 A reader writes: I’ve been looking for a position in the creative industry. My application generally consists of a resume, cover letter, “teaser” images, and a link to my portfolio website. An agency I would love to work for informed me that they’ve decided not to move on to the interview phase with me. Their […] Read the full article →
can I get my wife’s ex-boyfriend’s company to send me the emails they sent each other? by Alison Green on January 26, 2012 A reader writes: I just found that my wife has been talking to an ex-boyfriend through her work email and his work email as well. I saw that there were 23 messages among them, but I only got to page 3 before she deleted them. She says he contacted her after 10 years and admits […] Read the full article →
secrets of a reference-checker by Alison Green on January 25, 2012 Job applicants often hand over their references without much thought about what happens behind the scenes. But references can be a make-or-break element of job-searching, and it’s crucial to understand how they work. Here are eight things about reference checks that you might not be aware of. 1. Policies about not providing references are frequently […] Read the full article →