May 2020

how do I respond to colleagues who are jealous of my furlough?

A reader writes: I’m furloughed, along with about 98% of my organization (~35,000 people), the vast majority of them public-facing retail. When the corporate furloughs came, one of the “reassuring” points leadership widely circulated was that, at some compensation levels, with unemployment plus the federal stimulus and our company paying our insurance premiums, an employee […]

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asking coworkers to go to vegetarian-friendly restaurants, contacting my team with support while they’re laid off, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Asking coworkers to go to vegetarian-friendly restaurants on business trips I am vegetarian (by choice). Normally, this is not a huge issue, and many of my friends and coworkers don’t even know I am vegetarian. If we’re going to a restaurant that doesn’t have good […]

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update: do men need to cut their long hair for job interviews?

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. Remember the letter-writer in 2017 whose husband was agonizing over whether he needed to cut his long hair for job interviews? Here’s the update. I’ve been enjoying all […]

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what to say when your manager calls with bad news

A reader writes: I’m a journalist working at a media company, and my industry has been really hard-hit by the coronavirus. A few weeks ago, management announced company-wide pay cuts, and some of our staff was furloughed. At the time, we were told that layoffs weren’t being considered. Fast forward to today, when I learned […]

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how quickly should you send job rejections?

A reader writes: I’m a firm believer in following up with every single applicant, interviewed or not. When would you say is ideal time to send out a rejection letter? I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes […]

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how to vent responsibly (and win a free book!)

If you’ve ever worried you’re venting about your job too much, or secretly wished your friends or coworkers would vent a little less about theirs, you have a lot of company. People vent about their jobs! Sometimes a lot. And it often makes them feel better … until at some point it starts making them […]

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