Ask a Manager

We talk a lot here about ways to avoid burning bridges when you leave a job. But sometimes burning the bridge is warranted — the provocation is sufficiently bad, and you’re willing to take the consequences. One example: the person who got an email at 3 pm on a Friday saying they were being replaced […]

It’s the Thursday “ask the reader” question. A reader writes: I will preface the question with a warning: I’m currently enormously over-privileged in that we are very financially comfortable and I don’t have to work. I am a well-regarded mid-career specialist; I have always worked in the non-profit/multinational sector and make a decent amount of […]

Let’s discuss the weirdest things you’ve seen on resumes and in cover letters. To kick us off, some highlights from past commenters: One of my coworkers once received a super long cover letter that included the fact that the candidate had been proudly celibate for several years. A college student applied for a summer internship […]

Last week we talked about coworker arguments and grudges. Here are 15 of the most ridiculous stories you shared. 1. The cheesecake I worked for a government agency a few years back and for whatever reason right off the bat, an older coworker took a dislike to me. I have legitimately no idea why. She […]

Inspired by last week’s story about the two employees who hated each other to the point that one declared she could not be in the same room with the other “without blacking out with overwhelming fury” (although they later ended up dating), let’s discuss weirdest coworker arguments and grudges. We’ve had the two managers who […]

Last week we talked about the best, worst, and weirdest office decor you’ve seen. Here are 15 great stories you shared. 1. The dolls One of the managers in my former job had a massive full-wall bookshelf of baby dolls in her office. They were all dressed sharply in frilly dresses and so forth. I […]

Let’s discuss the best, worst, and weirdest office decor you’ve ever seen. Have you had a coworker who moved so much stuff from home into their office that it felt like an overcrowded living room? Had so many plants that entering their cubicle was like entering a rainforest? Worked under a huge phallic oil painting […]

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: Outside of my regular job I hold a volunteer board position for the local chapter of a national philanthropic organization. A large part of our mission is to provide leadership opportunities and mentoring for college-aged women to help prepare them for life after graduation. I […]