should I try to steal my old coworker’s job, are cotton clothes less professional, and more by Alison Green on August 11, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I try to take my old coworker’s job? I quit my job last February. A coworker was promoted to my position. She was totally unprepared and unqualified, and I have been secretly helping her ever since. She contacts me almost daily with questions and […] Read the full article →
you should be giving your interns mock interviews by Alison Green on August 10, 2020 A reader writes; My husband and I were having a water cooler chat in our kitchen today (we’re working remotely on different floors) and he mentioned something he’d been doing this week that I thought was brilliant. He’s a software engineering manager at a medium-sized division of a huge international corporation that does many things […] Read the full article →
managers still aren’t sure “working from home” means really working by Alison Green on August 10, 2020 There have always been managers who don’t believe that “working from home” means doing real work. These are the managers who, before the pandemic, would flat-out deny requests to work from home or only begrudgingly approve them for the occasional “good reason,” like waiting at home for the cable guy. When vast quantities of people […] Read the full article →
someone sent our company revenge porn of our employee by Alison Green on August 10, 2020 A reader writes: I’m in a senior position for a large public organization, and deal with correspondence and sensitive HR issues. Today our office received an email from a throwaway/burner address about a young, relatively junior female member of staff. It contained screenshots of her on an app that allows you to make money by […] Read the full article →
interns want to break social distancing guidelines, cockroach etiquette, and more by Alison Green on August 10, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My fellow interns want to break social distancing guidelines I am working remotely on a summer internship with a group of about 25 other students. They want to meet up in person, as a group, by the end of the summer. Meeting in such a […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – August 8-9, 2020 by Alison Green on August 8, 2020 This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: The Comeback, by Ella Berman. A former teen star grapples with her relationship with the man who made her famous and controlled her for years. * I […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on August 7, 2020 It’s your Friday good news, with more accounts of success even in this weird time. 1. I have been job searching since January after a move. COVID made things much more difficult. I was in a new city without connections. I had also been a stay at home parent for several years, though I completed […] Read the full article →
open thread – August 7-8, 2020 by Alison Green on August 7, 2020 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 →
spending hours on thank-you notes, employer froze our vacation time, and more by Alison Green on August 7, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is it worth spending hours on post-interview thank-you notes? Both you and your commenters often say about thank-you notes, “Why not spend five minutes on something that could impact your chances?” or “There’s just no reason not to do this very small, very quick thing […] Read the full article →
I don’t know how to get past my toxic job by Alison Green on August 6, 2020 A reader writes: Like many people, I’ve recently lost my job. My question is how to deal with the aftermath and get myself in better mental place for a job search. Let me give some background. My manager was a huge bully and a toxic person who belittled and emotionally manipulated the members of his […] Read the full article →