Ask a Manager

Here are my favorite posts of 2016. 10. Do you have to control your emotions to be professional? Because this comes up so often for so many people, and it’s not always intuitive. 9. Here are things I’ve changed my advice on over time Because it was fun to look back and see where I’ve […]

Just for fun, in no particular order, here are some of the weirdest posts of 2016. (These do not include letters that were already nominated for Worst Boss of 2016, as they have had their moment in the sun.) 2016 was a weird, weird year. I had to share a bed with a coworker on […]

All year long, I’ve made a weekly book recommendation when kicking off the weekend open thread. These aren’t work-related books; they’re just books I love and think everyone else should read. Sometimes they’re books that I’m in the middle of reading, and other times they’ve just long-standing favorites. Here’s the complete list of what I’ve […]

A housekeeping note: The comment section on this site has worked really well for a long time, but as the readership has grown, the light-touch moderation approach I’ve used in the past isn’t working as well now. The rules are still what they’ve always been — assume good will even when people’s opinions differ from yours, don’t nitpick other people’s […]

Looking for a job? For the next few days, I’m offering a discount on my e-book, How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager. Use this discount code today for a massive 40% discount off the regular $24.95 price: newjob If you’ve ever wished that you could look into the brain of a hiring manager to […]

I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about names recently. Here are five short name-related questions and answers. 1. People keep shortening my name I have a name that’s easy to shorten, and many people with this name often DO shorten it intentionally (think “Jonathan” to “Jon” or “Elizabeth” to “Liz”) However, I do not like […]

A reader writes: I’m 24 years old. I graduated college with a communications arts degree, but realized I didn’t really enjoy the work I was doing (writing, working at advertising agencies) while I was in school. After college, I did a yearlong volunteer program and fell in love with the social services field. I worked […]