how do I tell a laid-off coworker that her old job is open but she shouldn’t apply? by Alison Green on March 22, 2016 A reader writes: A former coworker of mine, Padmé, was laid off when we were faced with severe budget cuts a few years back. I feel certain that she would still be working here, if not for the required cuts. However, it wasn’t just a seniority thing; she was chosen as the least best vs. […] Read the full article →
3 things great managers tell their teams by Alison Green on March 22, 2016 As a manager, you’re on a stage – meaning that your staff members pay a lot of attention to what you say and do. Your words will carry an enormous amount of weight with team members and what you say matters enormously, probably more than you realize. Here are three things that great managers say […] Read the full article →
my boss keeps telling me I “have a face on” by Alison Green on March 22, 2016 A reader writes: My boss frequently tells me I “have a face on” while he is conversing with me about issues that have arisen in meetings. Obviously I’m not doing this on purpose, and I keep my face as neutral as I can. But I’m young, I’m extremely busy/stressed at work, and he is often […] Read the full article →
I’m in so many meetings that I don’t have time to do my job, being called “manageress,” and more by Alison Green on March 22, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I’m in so many meetings that I don’t have time to do my job After an extended unemployment, I finally got my dream job at a place I have long wanted to work. I love my team and the project work is interesting. However, the […] Read the full article →
I interviewed for a job that apparently doesn’t exist by Alison Green on March 21, 2016 A reader writes: I recently interviewed for a bodily injury adjuster position with a major insurance company. I need some help understanding what happened. This is all very strange. The interview went really well. I knew walking out of it that I had nailed it. The interviewer seemed genuinely impressed, asked me a lot of […] Read the full article →
don’t make these wrong assumptions about your job interview by Alison Green on March 21, 2016 Job seekers often go into interviews with a set of assumptions in their heads – for example, that the company is a great place to work, that the interviewer is likely to ask particular questions, that the company is most interested in a certain aspect of their experience, and all kinds of other beliefs that […] Read the full article →
two of my employees had a shouting match about PDA and social media by Alison Green on March 21, 2016 A reader writes: I work in HR for an insurance firm and have been called in to deal with a dispute that erupted on the contact centre center floor between two agents over a social media incident where an agent looked at another person’s screen “without consent.” Both are early 20-somethings a good 15 years […] Read the full article →
my boss told me to stop emailing him, a job interviewer secretly taped me, and more by Alison Green on March 21, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss told me to stop emailing him My boss has asked me to stop sending emails (even though I have explained I want them as a record) and to talk to him face to face instead. He has pulled me up on it twice and […] Read the full article →
weekend free-for-all – March 19-20, 2016 by Alison Green on March 19, 2016 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: A Spot […] Read the full article →
I badmouthed my employer to classmates, references were contacted before I was even interviewed, and more by Alison Green on March 19, 2016 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. I badmouthed my employer to classmates and now feel awful I work at a organization at a university. My feelings about my employer have been mixed – though I like my coworkers, I go from extremes of disliking the job and being critical of the organization’s mission […] Read the full article →