can you negotiate salary even if the job ad listed a set number? by Alison Green on February 9, 2015 This came up in the comments last week, and I thought it was worth addressing it as its own post: Can you negotiate salary for roles where there’s a set number listed as the wage/salary – e.g., “$20/hr, 15 hours/week” (or whatever). I’ve seen that and felt weird about the idea of saying, “Actually, can you […] Read the full article →
what’s different about job searching in 2015 by Alison Green on February 9, 2015 If you’re starting a job search this year and haven’t been on the market for a while, you might be surprised by how the job market and typical hiring processes have changed in recent years. Part of this is a function of how the economy has led to more job seekers than there are jobs, part […] Read the full article →
I was promoted without warning in an all-staff meeting, how to explain a firing when interviewing, and more by Alison Green on February 9, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I was promoted without warning in an all-staff meeting I’ve been promoted twice in the past 8 months. The first time it was pretty standard fare — I was promoted in a meeting with my manager and his manager, I negotiated for a raise (probably […] Read the full article →
weekend free-for-all – February 7-8, 2015 by Alison Green on February 7, 2015 This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. (This one is truly non-work only; if you have a work question, you can email it to me or post it in the work-related open thread on Fridays.) Book Recommendation of the Week: You must read […] Read the full article →
will blending my name with my fiance’s hurt my career, breaking bad news to someone who’s helped me, and more by Alison Green on February 7, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Will combining my and my fiance’s last names into a single, blended name hurt my career? I’m going to marry this year. I know you have written in the past about professional women changing their names, and I’m very new in my career so I […] Read the full article →
my boss has banned hot take-out food at lunch by Alison Green on February 6, 2015 A reader writes: I work as an administrator in a sales office with a lot of unspoken rules, varying from black shirts being banned from the dress code (“it looks like you work in a phone shop”) to all staff must attend mandatory month-end events and splash a large amount of money on alcohol, despite […] Read the full article →
open thread – February 6, 2015 by Alison Green on February 6, 2015 It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything work-related that 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. * If you submitted […] Read the full article →
my company just hired back the person I replaced, how to choose who to take to a conference, and more by Alison Green on February 6, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My company just hired back the person I replaced At a recent staff meeting, my boss announced that our organization is rehiring the woman who I was hired to replace. From my boss’s remarks, it seems that this was not her decision, but that the former […] Read the full article →
you need a “waiting for” folder by Alison Green on February 5, 2015 If you don’t already have a “waiting for” folder in your email, you need one. This is the folder I keep in my email where I drag sent messages that I’m waiting for a response on. I go through it basically daily, and it’s fascinating to see how often I haven’t heard back about something […] Read the full article →
what to do when you can’t focus at work by Alison Green on February 5, 2015 Ever have a day where you just can’t seem to focus on your work? Maybe it’s your coworker’s distracting phone calls, or the lure of social media, or thoughts about an upcoming vacation, but for whatever reason, we all have days where our concentration is shot. Ever have a day where you just can’t seem […] Read the full article →