August 2012

should I tell my recruiter and a potential employer that I’m still interviewing?

Here’s a different spin on yesterday’s debate in the comments section about whether a company had led a job candidate on. (My answer then: No. While an interview process is ongoing, interest on either side is far from a commitment.) Here’s today’s question: I have been aggressively pursuing jobs, all of which include relocation. Additionally, […]

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they loved me — why didn’t I get the job?

A reader writes: I interviewed with a company last week for a HR generalist position. Their HR manager and I interviewed for 2-1/2 hours! I got a call back for a second round interview and was told that I had the first choice of interview times. Before my interview, the HR manager brought me into […]

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short answer Saturday: 7 short questions, 7 short answers

It’s short answer Saturday! Here we go… 1. Why do they ask for masters degrees if they really want PhDs? I am a happily employed professional who went to graduate school for an degree in a field unrelated to my industry that I am personally passionate about. I graduated with my master’s degree several years […]

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fast answer Friday: 7 short answers to 7 short questions

First, thanks to everyone who gave feedback on my question about how many posts a day is too many. I’ll probably up the number just slightly over the next week and see how that goes. (Thank you also for the ridiculously nice things you said about the site — who knew that there would be such […]

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my employee’s husband wants to talk to me about her

A reader writes: An employee’s husband reached out to me asking to speak with me urgently. I wrote back that unless he could give me more to go on, or had permission from his wife, that we couldn’t talk. He wrote back that she has PTSD and that he received professional advice recommending that we […]

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open thread — and a question

It’s our monthly open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything you want to talk about. If you have a question you want me to answer, emailing me is still your best bet, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. Have at it! […]

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I don’t want to have a boss

A reader writes: How can I stand being employed by someone when I don’t want to have a boss? I’ve always had trouble working for authority; my experience with authority, and this isn’t just a perception as I’ve tried changing that too, is they walk all over me, getting what they want, leaving pennies in […]

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how to reject a job candidate

Most job applicants put a lot of effort into applying for jobs: reading up on the company, crafting a tailored cover letter, practicing answers to likely questions, and thinking about how they could best offer something of value. They may even take a day off work and spend time and money traveling to the interview. […]

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7 short answers to 7 short questions

It’s short answer time — seven short answers to seven short questions (but secretly eight, as you shall see). Here we go… 1. My boss has terrible breath I just recently started a new job. My boss is really chill and relaxed. So that’s the good news. The bad news is that he has bad […]

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