how much does your job in college matter? by Alison Green on October 10, 2019 A reader writes: I am a senior undergrad at a state college in a science major. I have been working for a year as a research assistant for a professor I very much admire. This professor has exposed me to many opportunities for travel and study that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about, and she […] Read the full article →
to get an interview, I have to spend a week at a writing retreat at my own expense by Alison Green on September 9, 2019 A reader writes: I recently saw an ad for a job that sounded great: reviewing creative writing manuscripts and giving the authors feedback. This is my field, I have the required degree and publications the posting asked for, and I’ve done work like this before. The money being offered was good, but not unbelievably, out-of-line-with-the-market […] Read the full article →
cold contacting employees at the place where you’ve applied for a job by Alison Green on September 5, 2019 A reader writes: My question is about contacting staff at the organization where one has applied for a job. In this case, I’m actually the ask-ee not the ask-er and it’s happened a few times: someone will cold contact me on LinkedIn or email, indicating that they’re interested in / have applied for an open […] Read the full article →
how should I navigate social media connections during a job search? by Alison Green on August 15, 2019 A reader writes: I recently interviewed for a job at a local media organization. I’m still waiting to hear back from them, but in the past week or so, three people who were in on the interview have followed me on Twitter. I’m not concerned about that — I tweet both personal and professional stuff, […] Read the full article →
should recruiters tell you up-front what a job pays? by Alison Green on July 24, 2019 A reader writes: How common is it for recruiters to disclose salary range for positions when they reach out to you? I’ve heard colleagues who have professions that are highly technical and in demand talk about how recruiters have disclosed salary ranges to them for the openings they are recruiting for. This has helped my […] Read the full article →
I feel guilty about getting a job in my competitive field when others are still struggling by Alison Green on July 22, 2019 A reader writes: I recently landed an excellent job in a wildly competitive field, and I am so excited to start. However, I got the job pretty much by being in the right place at the right time and having a good deal of luck / privilege behind me. I was lucky to have the […] Read the full article →
how do I explain being fired for sharing confidential info with a friend? by Alison Green on July 17, 2019 A reader writes: This is a two-parter: 1. How do I tell potential future employers why I got fired and have them still want to hire me? 2. How do I explain to those potential future employers that the only reason I got fired was because I was ratted out by a coworker for a […] Read the full article →
how do incompetent people get work? by Alison Green on July 15, 2019 A reader writes: I’m long-term unemployed and have been looking for work for years, on and off, as I had support and I found job seeking just so depressing. One of the worst things I have found when I have been applying for jobs, and when just doing general shopping as a consumer, is I […] Read the full article →
how can you determine how old a job posting is? by Alison Green on June 11, 2019 A reader writes: How can you determine how old an online job posting is? I feel like this is so muddled if the job is posted on the company’s site but doesn’t have a date. Then you see that the same job is posted on several additional job boards with different ages. A job that […] Read the full article →
how can you get around automated screening questions when you’re actually qualified for the job? by Alison Green on May 22, 2019 A reader writes: I just applied (at 9 pm) online for a nonprofit job I would be great at. I didn’t meet all of the requirements, but I wrote a passionate cover letter covering my skills in related areas that are the same as what they specified in the description — just for a different […] Read the full article →