how can we make our staff meetings less boring? by Alison Green on August 22, 2012 A reader writes: My manager, who is the CIO and head of the IT department, recently asked me to help him redesign our departmental meetings to make them more meaningful and engaging to the staff. After the last meeting, he said to me “We’ve got to do something about these staff meetings. They’re so … […] Read the full article →
mandatory company book club by Alison Green on August 22, 2012 A reader writes: Today, the owner of my company called everyone into the conference room and handed out copies of a book about the power of influence and persuasion. He announced that during our weekly team meetings, we will be discussing one chapter per week until we get through the book…like a forced company book […] Read the full article →
tiny answer Tuesday: 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on August 21, 2012 It’s tiny answer Tuesday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. My boss is pressuring me for information about a coworker who’s also a relative One of my coworkers happens to be my cousin’s spouse, whom I live with. We never work together and in the past when we did, […] Read the full article →
things you don’t need to apologize for … or, don’t kowtow to your interviewer by Alison Green on August 21, 2012 A reader writes: Some time ago, I interviewed for a job. I sent a nice thank-you email and didn’t hear anything for a few weeks, so I followed up with an email reiterating my interest and asking for information on next steps. Soon after, I received a rejection letter from the company’s HR manager. I […] Read the full article →
should you accept an alcoholic drink during a job interview? by Alison Green on August 21, 2012 A reader writes: I’m employed at a university in the deep South. I recently attended an orientation session for students nearing the end of their schooling. One of the speakers at the orientation was from the career center, and she was promoting their services, which includes interview prep. As an example of what they can teach […] Read the full article →
want me to review your resume? by Alison Green on August 21, 2012 As I’ve mentioned before, I get a lot of requests to give people feedback on their resumes, but because it’s time-consuming to do it well, I usually turn them down unless they’re friends or family. But for a short time, I’m re-opening the resume review offer that I ran a year ago. The cost: $75 What […] Read the full article →
I’m doing 3 jobs, but only getting paid for 1 by Alison Green on August 20, 2012 A reader writes: About 6 months ago, two employees in my department left – one quit and the other was laid off. I was asked and agreed to do the work of the person who quit and was told that the additional responsibilities would lead to a pay increase and new title. When the other […] Read the full article →
some miscellaneous things by Alison Green on August 20, 2012 Some random notes — * Some of you have asked for the ability to subscribe to the comments feed for one particular post, rather than having to sign up for comments on all of them. Thanks to the wonderful and talented Laura Moore of Smallest Decisions, you can now do this! At the bottom of […] Read the full article →
more reader updates by Alison Green on August 20, 2012 Five more updates — 1. Remember the reader who wanted to volunteer for a local charity, but was concerned that volunteering would mean they’d never have incentive to hire her for a paying job (#4 at the link)? Here’s her update: I thought I’d let you know that the charity in question moved some things […] Read the full article →
mini answer Monday: 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on August 20, 2012 It’s mini answer Monday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. Bringing a laptop to an interview Is it ever appropriate to bring along a slim laptop to an interview in case there is an opportunity to show examples of your work that would normally be difficult to print out […] Read the full article →