how do I change careers? by Alison Green on November 19, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” — and this week we have two questions on a similar theme: changing careers. Here’s the first letter: I daydream about doing “something else” — but I’m not sure if it’s just “grass is greener” or if I should plan to do something about it! My job (software engineering […] Read the full article →
a helicopter parent, is a 50% raise possible, and more by Alison Green on November 19, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. A helicopter parent is interfering with my tutoring sessions I’m a tutor at a private center, and a while back we moved to online sessions due to covid. This is fine as I still love my job and most of my students are a joy […] Read the full article →
can I refuse to meet with my boss until he sends an agenda? by Alison Green on November 18, 2020 A reader writes: I am a teacher in a K-12 school. Like most teachers, I entered my profession believing that it was appropriate (and even necessary) to bury the lede when asking one of my students to have a conversation—you know, the old “Fergus, could I see you after class?” line that has set students’ […] Read the full article →
can I leverage a job offer for a raise at my current job? by Alison Green on November 18, 2020 A reader writes: I know that under normal circumstances, it’s possible and even savvy to use a new job offer to leverage a raise out of a current employer. But is it smart to do that during a pandemic? I work for a large-ish company that has had layoffs and furloughs due to COVID-19. The […] Read the full article →
my job search after grad school has been soul-crushing by Alison Green on November 18, 2020 A reader writes: I’m a recent-ish (May) master’s grad who’s been pretty furiously job searching since I finished my degree. I’ve had a few really promising opportunities that ended up not working out, and a lot more non-responses. It has been, to put it lightly, a fairly soul-crushing process (and I know I am not […] Read the full article →
boss spends the morning ranting, using “tl;dr” in work emails, and more by Alison Green on November 18, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss wants to spend the morning ranting instead of working I started a new job recently on a small team (me, my boss, and a coworker). On my first day, my boss said that they always spend the beginning of each morning talking. So, […] Read the full article →
can you be spontaneous when you have a full-time job? by Alison Green on November 17, 2020 A reader writes: Can you still have a spontaneous personal life when you work full-time? My husband and I have conflicting schedules: he works nights and weekends part-time, and I work a traditional full-time job 9-5 weekdays, so we often don’t get to do much together socially. My husband is off work for the next […] Read the full article →
my office asks people to work while they’re on vacation by Alison Green on November 17, 2020 A reader writes: What’s the best way to manage work-related requests when you have time off, especially when holding onto your job seems more critical than ever? I have worked for the same organization for several years. In the last couple of years, my boss has developed a habit of asking her direct reports to […] Read the full article →
I lied to get a job and can’t let go of the guilt by Alison Green on November 17, 2020 A reader writes: I’m currently struggling with deep guilt about my work situation. Five years ago, I falsified experience on my resume to qualify for my first professional job, a junior associate position. The job required two years of experience but I had about a year’s co-op experience. So on my resume, I falsified work […] Read the full article →
my coworker thinks I insulted adoptive parents, am I embarrassing my boss, and more by Alison Green on November 17, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker thinks I insulted adoptive parents I am a remote worker who recently started at a new company. Less than two weeks after I started, my team did a “bring your family to work” event where we all had a chance to introduce our […] Read the full article →