am I too quiet in interviews? by Alison Green on March 31, 2016 A reader writes: I’m an experienced senior personal assistant. I’ve worked in the public sector and for large financial institutions supporting directors. I’ve had a dozen interviews in the past two weeks, including second interviews, but no job yet. What I’m confused about is that when I get feedback, it’s so mixed! A couple of […] Read the full article →
my boss rewrote my resume and 2 more updates from letter-writers by Alison Green on March 31, 2016 Here are three updates from readers who had their letters answered here recently. (By the way, I’m trying to make this a regular Thursday feature, if I’m able to round up enough updates.) 1. My boss rewrote my resume — and it’s terrible Neither of the jobs I applied to with my boss’s version of […] Read the full article →
my coworker keeps sending junior staff to relay messages for her by Alison Green on March 31, 2016 A reader writes: I have a coworker, Jane, who outranks me but who I do not report to. She has been in our organization for 30 years, and I am an admin who has only been here for one year but has been in the workforce for five years. The prior director, who was also […] Read the full article →
my manager is terrible at PowerPoint, having employees’ backs against racist clients, and more by Alison Green on March 31, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager is terrible at PowerPoint My manager creates PowerPoints that are very bad. Is this likely to hurt us in clients’ eyes, or am I nitpicking? The presentations are visually cluttered, filled with mismatched font pairings and cheesy stock photos, and spattered with inconsistent capitalization. […] Read the full article →
how can I stop obsessing over a harsh email? by Alison Green on March 30, 2016 A reader writes: I am a staff member at a university. There is a large student event taking place in a few weeks, and I am tasked with sending reminder emails to students who haven’t properly submitted paperwork for the event. That list of students is generated by the office hosting the event, and I […] Read the full article →
my coworker won’t stop asking me for help by Alison Green on March 30, 2016 A reader writes: I currently work with a coworker who is the same grade as me. I like my job and have been only in this department for 6 months. She has been doing this same position for at least 18 months. I am still trying to learn the work, as there is a lot to know. […] Read the full article →
we can be fired if our friends and family don’t follow the company’s religious values by Alison Green on March 30, 2016 A reader writes: The company that I work for is fairly conservative and has warned us that they are implementing a new policy where everyone will have to sign a legal document stating we uphold our company’s values. We all had to sign something similar when we were hired, but there is a catch now […] Read the full article →
group interviews, coworker refuses to use a computer or a printer, and more by Alison Green on March 30, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I was invited to a group interview Several days after submitting a job application, I received this response: “We will be conducting a group interview for the [title] position on [date and time]. Kindly confirm your attendance via email.” This is a professional job requiring […] Read the full article →
my former employer is requiring me to return to finalize my resignation — after I already left by Alison Green on March 29, 2016 A reader writes: I’ve been working in customer service for a small company in California for the past three years and have just accepted a position elsewhere. I submitted my two weeks notice and letter of resignation and worked out a last day with the manager. Everything seemed to be in order, but my manager […] Read the full article →
how to tell if an employee’s workload is too high by Alison Green on March 29, 2016 If you have an employee who tells you that her workload is too high or who can’t get through everything on her plate, in some cases you’ll know pretty quickly that she’s right; you’ll be able to see for yourself that the workload is indeed overwhelming. But in other cases, you might not feel quite […] Read the full article →