should resigning employees be asked to leave immediately, my raise was short, and more by Alison Green on July 9, 2013 It’s tiny answer Tuesday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. Should resigning employees be asked to leave immediately? If an employee puts in their notice, should you always let them work through the end date they have given? I think it’s fairly common for an employee to be walked […] Read the full article →
don’t start your cover letters with “if you’re looking for…” by Alison Green on July 8, 2013 I see a lot of cover letters that open with some variation of “If you are looking for a dynamic professional who can XYZ, you’ve found the right person.” You must stop this. It is salesy, it’s incredibly over-used, and it signals to the reader that whatever follows is likely to be boring and stilted […] Read the full article →
my manager wanted to assign our hotel rooms based on race by Alison Green on July 8, 2013 A reader writes: I’m asking this question on behalf of one of my former coworkers. My former company was a foreign language educational publisher whose staff was pretty diverse. All employees had a professional relationship with each other and well, race never factored into really anything. The CEO is a different story. Before a major […] Read the full article →
how to have a better relationship with your manager by Alison Green on July 8, 2013 Your relationship with your manager is a key driver of how well you do at work and how happy you are in your job. Love your boss, and a not-so-great job can become more satisfying. Hate your boss, and a great job can become one you’re desperate to quit. Having a strong relationship with your […] Read the full article →
forced to come to work sick, distracted manager, and more by Alison Green on July 8, 2013 It’s mini answer Monday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. Forced to come to work with strep throat I’ve been sick with strep throat for 4 days. My doctor has sent a note and talked to my boss, but they still are making me work even though I don’t […] Read the full article →
recovering from a mistake at work, when your company forces you to lie, and more by Alison Green on July 7, 2013 It’s short answer Sunday — six short answers to six short questions. Here we go… 1. Interviewer wants to know why I’m thinking of leaving my current job so soon I recently interviewed for a company that I’ve aspired to work with for many years. The interview went well and after asking for feedback the […] Read the full article →
when a colleague talks about your appearance, when you have more education than experience, and more by Alison Green on July 6, 2013 It’s short answer Saturday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. Was I right to call out this colleague for commenting on my appearance? Our IT support is based in India (I’m in the UK) so most support is done via instant message and everyone has a photo loaded into […] Read the full article →
more things you shouldn’t do when applying for a job by Alison Green on July 5, 2013 Things I’ve seen candidates do recently that you should not do: * Starting a sentence in your cover letter with “As a loving wife and mother…” * Including your Social Security number on your resume. And your salary history. And hours worked per week in each job. * Using a spam filter on your email […] Read the full article →
should you apply to a job if the ad is horribly written? by Alison Green on July 5, 2013 A reader writes: I had a friendly argument with a writer friend and we’d love your take. Is it worth applying to job ads that are train wrecks or have grammar mistakes? Specifically, we’re talking about ads for writers or in communications. If I see some obvious mistakes or the writing is really poor, I […] Read the full article →
open thread by Alison Green on July 5, 2013 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 want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet, but this is a chance to talk to other readers.) I think we’ll get lighter traffic […] Read the full article →