my manager threatened to kick my ass, using vacation time when my company closes early, and more by Alison Green on April 14, 2014 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager said she’d kick my ass after I dropped some equipment I was helping help pack things in on a video shoot, when, I had unnoticed that I dropped a small lens cap on the street. It got pretty dirty and I apologized to […] Read the full article →
how to tell someone their email font is unprofessional, letting a company know about their bad reputation, and more by Alison Green on April 12, 2014 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I let a company know why I don’t want to interview with them? I’m a freelance feature film VFX artist. Staff jobs in VFX are rare, even for well-experienced artists, so when I was approached directly by a hiring manager about a staff job […] Read the full article →
I’m still emotional after a bad performance review by Alison Green on April 11, 2014 This was originally published on August 15, 2009. A reader writes: Some background: I am in my mid-twenties and I work as an assistant for a small, nationally renowned non-profit. I love a lot about my job: I get to research topics I love, and I get to apply skills that satisfy me. I have […] Read the full article →
me, talking about how to manage by Alison Green on April 11, 2014 Holly Worton recently interviewed me for her Socially Holistic podcast. We talked about what good management is, how to move into a management role, why it’s important to have difficult conversations, and much more — including how I started Ask a Manager, how I started working for myself, and how Ask a Manager has helped […] Read the full article →
open thread – April 11, 2014 by Alison Green on April 11, 2014 It’s the Friday 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. Read the full article →
a company I want to work for blocked me on social media, my mentor declined to be a reference for me, and more by Alison Green on April 11, 2014 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. A company I want to work for blocked me on social media I became interested in a different industry a few years ago and have been trying to get in ever since. However, sometimes I have issues balancing my patience with my eagerness to make […] Read the full article →
update: how can I back out of a mentoring relationship? by Alison Green on April 10, 2014 Remember the reader wondering about how to back out of a mentoring relationship that was more like intensive remedial coaching? Here’s the update. I’m truly grateful for your help and that of the readers. The blog and your advice provide a tremendous opportunity to both try on others’ shoes and step out of my own, if […] Read the full article →
am I overstepping when I try to be emotionally intelligent? by Alison Green on April 10, 2014 A reader writes: Is it inappropriate to leverage emotional intelligence in the workplace? I am a part of a team that is tasked with changing the way my company approaches analytics. As such, we are often in the position of reworking old ways of measuring effectiveness and proposing new perspectives and KPIs. Sometimes people are […] Read the full article →
5 abuses of email that will destroy your productivity by Alison Green on April 10, 2014 I adore email. I can barely remember life before it. It lets me manage information more efficiently, field requests at the times most convenient for me, and store records of important details and decisions. But email is also ripe for the kind of abuses that can harm your productivity instead of helping it. Here are […] Read the full article →
my new employee started a client meeting without me, my managers wants a formal resignation before I’m ready, and more by Alison Green on April 10, 2014 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I’m annoyed that my new employee started a client meeting without me Due to unforeseen traffic, I was 15 minutes late for a meeting that was scheduled with one of my new employees and a long-term client at the client’s premises. When I arrived, I […] Read the full article →