should we hire a candidate who talked non-stop? by Alison Green on September 21, 2022 A reader writes: We’re hiring for a candidate to fill in for me while I’m on maternity leave. The strongest candidate we’ve had so far has a great resume and industry experience, which is rare for us. But she was so talkative in the interview it was staggering. An interview that typically takes 30 minutes […] Read the full article →
my assistant thinks she’s my peer by Alison Green on September 19, 2022 A reader asks: My assistant does her work well. However, we’re similar in age, and I think that makes her speak much more candidly with me than she otherwise might. She borders on rude in conversations, especially if I correct her on anything or ask her to do something differently, and she asserts herself in […] Read the full article →
should I let a struggling employee work from home? by Alison Green on September 13, 2022 A reader writes: One of my employee is wonderful, but struggles in her role. She also has substantial personal life responsibilities, with an ailing parent who needs substantial care. She’s recently asked me if she can start working from home one day a week to allow her to take care of her father. The problem […] Read the full article →
how should I handle friends who apply for jobs with me? by Alison Green on September 12, 2022 A reader writes: What’s the best way to handle a friend who applies for a job not just at your company, but working with you? This has come up a couple of times now. In both cases, the friend in question would work with me, so I was involved in the application process, but they […] Read the full article →
the employee who quit via cod and other dramatic resignations by Alison Green on September 7, 2022 When you quit your job, the process is usually pretty mundane — a meeting to deliver the news and a discussion of how to wrap up items you’re working on — but occasionally a resignation is more memorable. A while back, I asked readers to share the most dramatic resignations they’ve witnessed. Over at Inc. today, […] Read the full article →
are we asking for too much work from job candidates? by Alison Green on August 31, 2022 A reader writes: I’ve recently read some pushback on employers that ask candidates, as part of the hiring process, to complete assignments that may take many hours to do. At my law firm, we have recently moved to giving legal research and writing assignments to our attorney candidates. I would not be surprised if these […] Read the full article →
how can I tell a job applicant we rejected them for being rude? by Alison Green on August 29, 2022 A reader writes: I work in retail and accept applications in person. It’s a great vetting tool to see how applicants introduce themselves to the sales staff. When an applicant looks down on sales staff or is otherwise pushy or rude to them, we treat that as a signal to not proceed to the interview […] Read the full article →
new design by Alison Green on August 22, 2022 Thanks to everyone who’s given feedback on the new design. I have read all the feedback and changes are in the works to make it more usable for the people who are having problems. Give me a little time but I’m working on it! Also, there’s been a change to the line spacing in the […] Read the full article →
should I really conduct exit interviews? by Alison Green on August 22, 2022 A reader writes: My assistant is leaving at the end of the month. I’ve always heard you should lead an exit interview with anyone who quits. Is an exit interview still the norm if the employee was part-time? He was at our organization 20 hours a week for one year. If I should lead an […] Read the full article →
my employee keeps trash-talking herself by Alison Green on August 17, 2022 A reader writes: I manage an employee who engages in constant defeatist self-talk, even though her work is stellar. It’s clear that she is a very anxious person and that’s distorting her view of reality. But it’s frustrating and upsetting as a manager. Every interaction, even routine ones, is about her feelings: Instead of “Should […] Read the full article →