do you really need to send rejections to candidates who you’re not even interviewing? by Alison Green on March 18, 2015 A reader writes: I work in a small office and I recently hired someone for a general admin position. I’m in an industry that’s really hard to break into, so I got a lot of resumes quickly. After I reached a few hundred applicants and had found at least 15-20 who I thought would be […] Read the full article →
let’s have a remote staff retreat to publicly review everyone’s strengths and weaknesses by Alison Green on March 18, 2015 A reader writes: Asking for a friend (no, really!): My friend’s boss has decided to host a remote retreat and have all employees “review” each other publicly. Like, round-table-style, everyone weighs in on each individual’s strengths and weaknesses in front of the whole group, allegedly for the purpose of team building. My instincts tell me […] Read the full article →
my boss is forcing me to fly, my company didn’t send a funeral arrangement when my husband died, and more by Alison Green on March 18, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss is forcing me to fly I have recently been promoted to a leadership position in my company and am on track for management. We are a small company and recently expanded with a new office on the other side of the country. My […] Read the full article →
do I really need a side gig? by Alison Green on March 17, 2015 A reader writes: I’m not sure if this is because I’m a millennial or if this is just how the work world is trending, but I feel inundated with messages that I should have a side hustle or diverse income streams. I only have one income stream, my full-time job at a human rights NGO […] Read the full article →
why one start-up won’t let people work from home, March Madness is killing your productivity, and more by Alison Green on March 17, 2015 Over at Intuit QuickBase’s Fast Track blog today, I take a look at several interesting work-related stories in the news right now: March Madness’s impact on your productivity, one start-up’s reasoning for not letting people work from home, and more. You can read it here. Read the full article →
how to handle a hostile new hire — and candidates with identical interview answers by Alison Green on March 17, 2015 A reader writes: I am a low-level supervisor, and I’m on the hiring committee for our entry-level contract positions. Our process is a skills test, followed by an interview for those who pass. People who get past the interview are either hired immediately or put into a list of people to call when a new […] Read the full article →
the person who referred me for a job was arrested, overly long bathroom breaks, and more by Alison Green on March 17, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Bathroom breaks right after regular breaks Is there a diplomatic way to ask an employee to use the washroom on appointed break times as opposed to going during working time (which seems to be a regular schedule of immediately after the break, daily)? I feel […] Read the full article →
should we have “employee of the year” awards? by Alison Green on March 16, 2015 A reader writes: I am a part-time employee in community recreation. One of the places I work only operates in the winter. I am an assistant supervisor in my department. Every year, at the end of the season, a tradition is the Employee of the Year awards. The person who is selected has their name added […] Read the full article →
5 workplace stereotypes about millennials that aren’t true by Alison Green on March 16, 2015 If you’re over the age of 30, you’ve probably heard your share of complaining and eye-rolling about millennial-aged workers: They’re entitled and expect to get great jobs without paying their dues, they don’t understand how office hierarchy works, they’re high maintenance, they’re job hoppers – the list goes on and on. And if you’re under […] Read the full article →
when a candidate asks for more money a week after accepting an offer by Alison Green on March 16, 2015 A reader writes: We have an opening on my team and we recently interviewed an individual with three years’ experience. He immediately accepted what I consider a very competitive offer, which was 22% more than his current, advertised, civil-service salary. One week later, he wrote back and stated, “I am extremely excited to join the […] Read the full article →