what to do when an interview doesn’t go as planned by Alison Green on June 8, 2015 You’ve spent hours prepping for your job interview and you arrive ready to impress. But in an instant, your careful plans can fall to pieces if you’re thrown off by a change in the interview that you didn’t know to plan for. Here are five fairly common ways that an employer might inadvertently surprise you, […] Read the full article →
my team sent me a bag of garbage while I was recovering from surgery by Alison Green on June 8, 2015 A reader writes: I’m currently covering a maternity leave and had to go in for a not insignificant surgery. It was complicated by the fact I seem to be working in the real-life version of Mean Girls, most frequently with a Regina George stand-in. I ended up having my surgery, and negotiating remote work for […] Read the full article →
should I tell my boss I’m leaving because of his remarks about race, wearing shorts to work after breaking a foot, and more by Alison Green on June 8, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I tell my boss I’m leaving because of his remarks about my race? I’ve been at a startup (no HR department) for under a year in a senior admin role and while I love the company’s mission, the CEO/founder seems to have a thing […] Read the full article →
weekend free-for-all – June 6-7, 2015 by Alison Green on June 6, 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 no work and no school. 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: […] Read the full article →
I promised to stay for a year but want to leave now, using my own personal computer at work, and more by Alison Green on June 6, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I accepted a raise and promised to stay for a year, but now I want to leave Back in January, my boss somehow found out I was looking for another job and sat me down. He wanted to know the salary they’d have to pay […] Read the full article →
should I submit an unsolicited writing sample when applying for a job? by Alison Green on June 5, 2015 A reader writes: I’m back on the job search, and I’m finding that many of the jobs I’m interested in are reachable only through one of those robot applications. As though that’s not enough of a challenge–trying to choose the right keywords to get past the front door before you even start the process–there’s that […] Read the full article →
open thread – June 5, 2015 by Alison Green on June 5, 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 →
do-not-hire lists, nail-clipping interviewer, and more by Alison Green on June 5, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager clipped his fingernails during a job interview Yesterday, my manager and I were conducting interviews in his office. During the first interview, he was clearly restless, and about midway through he ruffled through his desk drawer for something. I didn’t see what he grabbed, […] Read the full article →
why should employers care about my long commute? by Alison Green on June 4, 2015 A reader writes: I was wondering if you could give me some insight into a situation I’m having with a company I’ve been interviewing with. I’ve spoken to a recruiter and interviewed with one hiring manager, and both of them have brought up concerns about my commute length. On paper, it’s about 70 minutes. In […] Read the full article →
how to get a staff member ready for promotion by Alison Green on June 4, 2015 One of the signs of a great manager is that her people move on to bigger and better things – because great managers hire strong people and develop them well. Too often, though, when employees get promoted, they don’t get much training for the next step – which can make for rocky transitions. Here’s what […] Read the full article →