my team keeps complaining about a coworker in a different department by Alison Green on March 9, 2015 A reader writes: I’m a department director; my department is on a different floor than the main part of our office. I have a friendly relationship with my staff and the people who work for me are generally great. I really enjoy my job. When I do have complaints, my personal philosophy is that my […] Read the full article →
want me to review your resume? by Alison Green on March 9, 2015 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’ve run a couple of times before. When I’ve offered this in […] Read the full article →
weddings that conflict with major work events, should travel time be included in a lunch hour, and more by Alison Green on March 9, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Scheduling a wedding that conflicts with a major work event I am getting married next spring. My fiance and I work in different industries with different busy cycles that never sync up, so it’s impossible to find the perfect “slow time” at work to get […] Read the full article →
weekend free-for-all – March 7-8, 2015 by Alison Green on March 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: Jonathan Strange & Mr. […] Read the full article →
printing your resume at work, updates, and more by Alison Green on March 7, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Fired for printing my resume at work Can my boss fire me for having my resume in the documents at work and copying it on the company’s copy machine with the intention of faxing it? Yes. In general, using your company’s resources for your job search is […] Read the full article →
update: should I have to take vacation time for this day when I regularly work extra hours? by Alison Green on March 6, 2015 Back in 2013, we heard from a letter-writer who was frustrated that after putting in a lot of extra hours at her new job, she was being told to use vacation time for a few hours at home waiting for the cable guy. Here’s her update. The commenters were a huge help. There were some […] Read the full article →
are anonymous surveys really anonymous? by Alison Green on March 6, 2015 A reader writes: My employer has sent out links to “anonymous surveys” in the past. I don’t respond to them for fear that they are lying about the responses being anonymous. The surveys always ask “are you looking or will you look for a new job in the next year?” and about how satisfied you […] Read the full article →
open thread – March 6, 2015 by Alison Green on March 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 →
I don’t want to recommend my dad for a job, refusing to train coworkers, and more by Alison Green on March 6, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My new job won’t notify a school about an apparent pedophile Part of my new job involves finding volunteers to work in schools. Last year, one of those volunteers (mid-40s, married with children) became infatuated with an underage girl in his daughter’s class. He sent […] Read the full article →
should I be worried that my manager doesn’t return calls for references? by Alison Green on March 5, 2015 A reader writes: I’m job searching and once I have an offer in hand, I plan on letting the company contact my current supervisor as a reference. Problem is, he doesn’t seem to care about giving references at all. Another employee, who was not his direct report, has been job searching and my supervisor has […] Read the full article →