open thread – March 22-23, 2024 by Alison Green on March 22, 2024 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 →
coworker is taking credit for my work when she applies for jobs, scam job offer, and more by Alison Green on March 22, 2024 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker is taking credit for my work when she applies for jobs I work in a creative and highly competitive industry. I have a longstanding problem where a coworker, Bella, has been taking credit for my work, without actually producing any work of her […] Read the full article →
how do I stop myself from getting overly attached in the application process? by Alison Green on March 21, 2024 A reader writes: I was in law school, but between middling grades and some very personal issues, have since decided to pivot to paralegal work. I’ve noticed that with the job applications I’ve sent out that have actually gone somewhere (no offers yet), the cycle has been as follows: – I get a request for […] Read the full article →
updates: the complaint about a new hire, the colleague who doesn’t do any work, and more by Alison Green on March 21, 2024 Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. We got a complaint call about a new hire before she started Thanks so much for the reassurance that we’ve done our due diligence on the ED hire. Our board president and I had a Zoom call with the new ED and let them know of the […] Read the full article →
let’s talk about kindness at work by Alison Green on March 21, 2024 Inspired by last month’s update from the person who covered her coworker’s vet bill: We talk a lot about bad behavior at work, so let’s talk about kindness this time. What’s a time you saw a colleague go out of their way to be especially nice to you or to someone else? Please share in […] Read the full article →
my boss is upset I went over her head, I overheard damaging gossip, and more by Alison Green on March 21, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I went over my (bad) manager’s head and she’s upset I work in a very specialized field of medical research, on a very small team. Shortly after I was hired, upper management filled the vacant role of my team’s manager with someone who has no […] Read the full article →
stories of Machiavellian triumphs at work, part 2 by Alison Green on March 20, 2024 Last week, I asked about Machiavellian things you’ve seen or done at work. Here’s part two of my favorites. (Part one was Monday.) 1. The voicemail Had a sales guy at my first job in the late 90s who used to take ALL his calls and listen to ALL his voicemail on speaker. LOUDLY. We […] Read the full article →
how can we get people to stop applying for every open position we have? by Alison Green on March 20, 2024 A reader writes: My organization receives hundreds of applications from candidates looking to fill our vacant positions. Hiring can be a very time-consuming process. How can I get applicants to stop applying if we have already declined them multiple times? There are various reasons for this. Some of the applicants have had negative references and […] Read the full article →
why ask my salary expectations if you’re not going to meet them? by Alison Green on March 20, 2024 A reader writes: I had a recent situation that left me pretty frustrated, but now I’m wondering if I was just completely unrealistic in my expectations of how salary conversations go. Backstory: I applied for a role, which stated the salary range in the job listing (required by law in my state). The range had […] Read the full article →
candidate’s mom keeps emailing to follow up for her, pimple patches at work, and more by Alison Green on March 20, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Candidate’s mom keeps emailing to follow up on her behalf I’m in a position to hire older teens (usually just graduated high school) for a summer job. I have a question about how to handle an applicant’s mom. The child applied, but their mom keeps […] Read the full article →