our personality types are hung on a wall, anonymously paying customers’ bills, and more by Alison Green on March 7, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Our personality types are hung on a wall and being shared outside our division Every year over the last five years, the head of my division has conducted an off-site retreat for my team of 15. The primary focus of the retreat is to take […] Read the full article →
weekend free-for-all – March 5-6, 2016 by Alison Green on March 5, 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: Ex Libris: […] Read the full article →
when your public work doesn’t reflect your skills, schedule conflict with job interview, and more by Alison Green on March 5, 2016 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Can I explain in job interviews that our social media presence isn’t reflective of my work? I work in communications and am currently searching for a new job. I anticipate that as part of its due diligence, any organization considering me will review the websites, […] Read the full article →
banning trash cans unless we sign a pledge never to put food in them by Alison Green on March 4, 2016 A reader writes: I just started a new job a few weeks ago. I work in higher education (non-teaching). My position is unique, and my direct supervisor is not based at my location so I do not report directly to her on a daily basis. The director of teapot studies is in the same office […] Read the full article →
open thread – March 4-5, 2016 by Alison Green on March 4, 2016 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 →
my sister might apply for a job in my 2-person department, coworker won’t take on new work, and more by Alison Green on March 4, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My sister might apply for a job in my two-person department I’ve got a dilemma and I feel like I can’t be objective. My mid-sized company is hiring another person with my job title due to company growth. My sister is considering applying. She has […] Read the full article →
why it sometimes helps to soften your language in awkward situations by Alison Green on March 3, 2016 I make a point here of suggesting specific language for people to use in tricky situations — because I think often the language is the biggest sticking point for people. Sometimes you know that you need to deliver Difficult Message A or have Awkward Conversation B, but the hard part is figuring out exactly how […] Read the full article →
5 ways to avoid needing a team-building event by Alison Green on March 3, 2016 If you’re thinking about planning a team-building event for your team … before you go any further, ask yourself if it’s really needed, and if so, why. Too often, team-building events are scheduled without real thought into how they’ll help produce better results or – when used to address problems – are used as substitute for […] Read the full article →
how do I write a compelling cover letter when I don’t have much work experience? by Alison Green on March 3, 2016 A reader writes: I’m applying for administrative/production assistant jobs, and I don’t know how to start the cover letter. I hate starting with, “I was excited to see a position open…” or, “I’m writing in response to [position title] opening.” The third example I’ve seen, while ideal, doesn’t apply to me: “As [director/editor/higher up title] for […] Read the full article →
I’m addicted to job searching, interviewing just for practice, and more by Alison Green on March 3, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I’m addicted to job searching I have a weird problem. I can’t stop looking for new jobs. I spent nearly all of 2014 job searching, applying, interviewing, etc. I was barely making enough money to make ends meet at the time, so finding a new […] Read the full article →