May 2020

what’s your company doing to support parents right now … or what do you wish they were doing?

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m really curious to learn what other companies and organizations are doing to support parents right now. It seems so difficult (as someone who does not have kids, especially young kids) and challenging, and my organization would like to do more. If readers could share […]

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I’m being flooded with business offers from friends and family, hair and job interviews during quarantine, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I’m being inundated with business offers by family and social contacts I work in an industry and on a product that is not only generally unaffected by COVID-19, but business is actually booming. We’re making headlines internationally and people are flocking to the product. With […]

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updates: the volunteer pressure, the good dog, and more

It’s a special “where are you now?” season at Ask a Manager, when I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. My contact won’t stop pressuring me to volunteer while I’m on medical leave (first update here) I wrote you a […]

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how can I tell an employee to mind his own business?

A reader writes: I have an employee who has great rapport with coworkers. Unfortunately, he makes everyone else’s business his business. He takes it upon himself to be the advocate or “cheerleader” for staff and their individual work-related issues that do not involve him. He takes time away during the day to rehash or discuss […]

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how to answer “why should I hire you?”

A reader writes: I haven’t interviewed in a long time, and I’ve never been good at it. I have good references, have worked on interesting projects, and have good skills. But I’m very introverted. If someone asks me, “Why should I hire YOU?” I have no idea. “I’ll do a great job” seems like a […]

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