Ask a Manager

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “Six months ago, job-searching was NOWHERE on my radar. Yes, I was feeling bored at my stable-but-comfortable job of the last 5 years, where I had repeatedly mentioned to management my interest in moving up into something more senior. And, yes, I had heard in the news about the […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I’m currently writing this with a massively stupid grin on my face. I wrote in to you last December asking about how to avoid discussing politics with family when I work in politics. Well a few weeks after that, I was hired by a political PR firm as a […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I’ve been following your blog on and off for years for the wacky workplace stories, but my most recent job search has really shown where your site shines: not just resume, cover letter, and interview advice but a commitment to high standards. My job search was made necessary by poor […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I left my old job several months ago and can’t thank you enough for your job searching advice which was a HUGE help to me in securing my new position. I left an industry that is notorious for overworking and underpaying, and since it was the only professional experience […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I applied for and accepted a new position (a promotion/higher salary band) in my organization nearly 3 years ago, and almost immediately, like literally the first day, I realized I’d made a terrible mistake. My manager is a chronic oversharer, a micromanager, mostly incompetent and clueless, yet thinks she’s […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I emailed you a few weeks ago asking for advice after I was told that I would never be promoted again even though I had just received a great 1-year review and a promotion. (Note from Alison: this exchange was unpublished.) Well, I took your advice and went back […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1. “I just wanted to share with you some really wonderful news. It has been a somewhat bumpy path, but I am so excited to finally be here. My industry was hit pretty hard by Covid and my company did some layoffs, salary cuts, and hours cuts. Thankfully, I was not […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1. I’ve been with the same company (albeit doing a couple of different jobs) for 20 years. I’ve been unhappy with my job for a while: it doesn’t interest me after doing the same thing for 10 years, it doesn’t require a brain and the company culture is such that I’ve been complained at […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1. I have a good news story. It’s not about me, but actually about my 15-year-old daughter. She has been talking for about a year about getting a job when she’s 15. She was volunteering last winter for a few months, and then the plague hit, so that ended. Other […]

It’s your Friday good news! 1. I have read you over the years, and I’ve been fortunate over the last 2 years to have been consistently employed during a whirlwind of a time. About 6 months ago, even though I was only 2 years into my current position, I got the itch to start moving […]