weekend open thread – April 30-May 1, 2022 by Alison Green on April 29, 2022 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: Secrets of Happiness, by Joan Silber. In a story told by six different narrators, a family finds out their father/husband has a second wife and two […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on April 29, 2022 It’s your Friday good news! 1. “I started a fantastic new position in August 2019 after a few years of trying to find the best place for me. I ended up with an amazing salary, good benefits, short commute, interesting and challenging work, great colleagues, and the best boss I’ve ever had. Seven months later, […] Read the full article →
open thread – April 29-30, 2022 by Alison Green on April 29, 2022 It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to […] Read the full article →
manager asks if she can call us on our days off, exhausted by comments on my hair and clothes, and more by Alison Green on April 29, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager always asks if we’ll be reachable on our time off I’m looking for a good way to address a pattern I’ve seen with an otherwise very compassionate manager about PTO requests. My direct manager leads a small and hard-working team, where we all […] Read the full article →
was my interviewer in the wrong … or was I? by Alison Green on April 28, 2022 A reader writes: I was wondering if you could help enlighten me on an extremely odd situation I had and whether I was wrong in any way. A few months ago, I applied to an entry-level assistant/reception position for a large company. A third-party recruiter posted the listing, so he contacted me for an initial […] Read the full article →
update: employee doesn’t want to use a name for themselves by Alison Green on April 28, 2022 Remember the letter-writer whose employee didn’t want to use a name for themselves? Here’s the update. Thank you to Alison and to all of the commenters. I read every comment and learned a lot. (One thing I learned was that you all have excellent literary and pop culture taste!) I took a lot of what […] Read the full article →
is rudeness and hostility on the rise in your profession? by Alison Green on April 28, 2022 On last week’s post about the person whose clients have have started becoming abusive after she gives them feedback, several people wrote that they’ve been seeing the same change in their own professions: “I’ve been in retail over ten years and there has been behavior from people in the last few months I’ve never seen, […] Read the full article →
I saw my manager’s rude texts about my resignation, a dramatic haircut at lunch, and more by Alison Green on April 28, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I saw my manager’s rude texts about my resignation I just put in my two weeks this past Friday at a company and during my Zoom meeting with my supervisor, I noticed her texting, which is not uncommon (I assume she’s very busy). However, I […] Read the full article →
my family member says it’s bad to withdraw from a hiring process even if I know I don’t want the job by Alison Green on April 27, 2022 A reader writes: I had a really frustrating interview situation recently. I applied for a job based on the posted job description, which was for a generalist, with a list of maybe 10 areas of responsibility. Exactly what I’m looking for. In the past, I’ve had jobs under this umbrella where I only did one […] Read the full article →
what’s the best time to send rejection letters? by Alison Green on April 27, 2022 A reader writes: Is there a standard for when to send out rejection letters? I deal with a lot of hiring in my job and I usually know as soon as I review a resume or hold an interview whether or I’m going to reject someone, but I have always figured that people don’t want […] Read the full article →