Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. My government manager is thwarting public record laws by emailing things to my personal email account

I work for a government agency that is subject to public records requests. Routinely at work, my manager’s manager will send a work-related email to my personal gmail account and request that I 1) do not forward the email to my work email and 2) insist that I respond only from my gmail account. I have expressed to both my manager and the manager who asks this that I am not comfortable with subjecting my private email account to public information requests, and have requested that all work related emails only come to my official state email account and this was fine and worked well for a few weeks, but now he is requesting that I create a separate gmail account for work purposes, which I don’t want to do. Can I push back against this and tell them no? I am very concerned that by allowing this to happen I am opening myself up to a lot more liability then I would if I only used my work email. Am I being crazy?

Whoa. I’m not familiar enough with the laws around this, but I bet some readers are, so I’m hoping someone with more expertise will weigh in on the legality of this. (I’m guessing it’s illegal, but I don’t know anything about this area.) If nothing else, it’s super ethically shady and obviously totally contrary to the spirit and intent of public records laws.

Read an update to this letter here.

2. Should Princess Peach in the Mario video games be fired?

Expanding on the subject of book characters who should have been fired, I have the video game equivalent for you. In all of the Mario video games, there is a character called Princess Peach, whose job it is to rule and look after the Mushroom Kingdom. But under her reign, residents have had magical curses placed on them and she has been kidnapped so frequently that she hardly ever looks after the Kingdom. In the first game, a magical curse was placed upon the residents, turning them into bricks and question mark blocks. In the third, this ruler had a love affair with an evil dictator called Bowser, resulting in many children, and left the Kingdom in rack and ruin when she got kidnapped again. Other disasters have happened such as a disease called the Blorbs that makes the residents swell up.

Basically, she never defends herself from being kidnapped which leaves the Kingdom in chaos, and when she is present, she does a poor job of ruling because she is weak-minded and not very serious. What would you, as a hiring manager, say about this?

I am no fan of inherited power (ask me about family businesses), nor of people who do not do their jobs. We all have failures now and then, so I wouldn’t hold her accountable for some of these failures on their own, but taken all together — and especially combined with her affair with an evil dictator — we can’t really avoid the fact that her reign simply isn’t working. If her job is to protect her kingdom, it sounds like she needs to stand aside and let a replacement take over — ideally one with a track record of successfully fending off curses and kidnappings, or at least one who shows great promise in that area.

3. I’m 16 — should I reach out now to the jobs I’d like to eventually have?

I’m a high school student right now. I’m 16 and I was looking at jobs that fit the career I really want to pursue. I saw a job that was in need of someone who can speak Japanese fluently and can manage business! I know this is weird but I have a huge passion for Japan and I’m already learning Japanese and plan to learn more in college while also learning business management. I don’t know if the company would like to hear from me yet or not though because of my age. I want to “apply,” but obviously I can’t right now. Do you think they would like to hear from me none the less? I would love to work for them in the near future, but I don’t know what they would say to me if I sent them a message. I just don’t know if I should send the message or not.

I’d hold off on reaching out about specific jobs, because they’re going to be focused on the candidates who are ready for the job now … but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways to start making connections in the field you want to work in. You can reach out to people who are doing the type of work you’d like to do and talk to them about their career paths, what you should know to best prepare yourself to be qualified for the jobs you want once you’re out of school, and what the field is like generally. There are a bunch of questions you could ask here. Most people will be really happy to talk to you about this kind of thing, and you’ll probably get information that will help you shape your thinking about what you want to do and help you spend the next few years positioning yourself really strongly for what you want to do post-college.

4. Employer contacted my references before contacting me

I’ve applied for somewhat of a dream job. I am sure there were several applicants. My current boss told me the company called him to inquire about my skill set and abilities. They let him know that while the applicant pool was very competitive, my application education and experience stood out. Additionally, two of my other references indicated that they were contacted by the company as well and they both said they spoke very highly of me.

I haven’t received any communication (phone call or even an email acknowledging receipt of my application). I assume the company is interested, but the job has been closed for a month now and I haven’t heard anything. Should I move on? Is it normal for a company to spend 30 minutes (10 minutes each) talking to 3 different references about a candidate’s ability and experience before ever contacting the candidate?

No, it’s not normal. It’s super weird, and super inefficient. It makes no sense to invest all that time in talking to references before you’re even sure that you’re interested in a candidate. Candidates who look great on paper fall apart in early-stage phone screens all the time, so it really makes no sense to leap frog to the reference stage like this.

Should you move on? Yes. Not because their silence is a bad sign (companies often take a long time to reach out to candidates, even though this one is so speedy on the references), but because you should always mentally move on after applying for a job because there’s no advantage to not doing that (and plenty of stress and aggravation if you don’t).

5. Employer asked why I’m looking for an internship this late in the year

I’m finishing up my first year of my MBA, and I’m still finalizing my summer internship plans. Yesterday I had a great in-person interview where the two people I met pretty much indicated I would receive an offer for the summer. Today, I received a follow up from one of them that asked: “Question that was posed, why are you looking for an internship this late in the year? Thanks for elaborating.”

I was pretty taken aback by this. I’ve been applying and interviewing for internships throughout the year but nothing has worked out yet, and our school constantly emphasizes not to get discouraged because it’s very common for students to get their internships this late. Additionally, I found this company at our campus career fair in late March and gave them my resume then; I’ve been in constant contact but the delay is all on their end. I immediately sent an email to our career services office to ask their advice before I respond, but I was also curious to get your take.

It really varies by field — there are some fields where it’s not unusual to still be looking for an internship this late (although after mid-May is pretty late), and there are others where everything was locked down months ago. MBA stuff tends to fall in the latter category, although there’s still some variation.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. Is a start date two months out unreasonable?

I recently decided to start interviewing for a new position. I’m looking for something at the Director or above level, and, yay, already have a bunch of good prospects on the horizon.

Given the role I’m in right now, I’d need to give at least a month’s notice to successfully transition my projects, and since it’s summer, I’d really like to take a substantial vacation. Is it unreasonable, once we start discussing start dates, to suggest a start date in August? I’m assuming any job offers I get will happen in June (so, finish current role mid-July, relax four weeks, start new job mid-August).

I’m also just considering giving notice in June without a job (yes, there is backstory), spending a month winding things down, and then taking the rest of the summer off, except for some job hunting.

Director level? Totally fine. As positions get more senior, it’s increasingly common for people to have start dates a bit further out and for employers to be totally okay with waiting a bit. It would be really short-sighted to lose your top candidate for a director role by quibbling over a month or two, unless there were really unusual circumstances requiring an earlier start date (which they’d explain, and then you could decide if you wanted to accommodate that or not).

Frankly, asking for a start date two months out often isn’t a big deal in more junior positions either. It can be, but it depends on the role and the organization.

2. Were my graduate degrees hurting me?

When does the number of degrees I have on my resume start looking like a bug instead of a feature?

Back in my accounting/finance days, I used to apply for jobs all the time. I got some bites, but not as many as I expected for the amount of experience I had and the things I’d accomplished. I have a bachelor degree in Psychology, a master’s in Accounting, and an MBA. I put all those on my resume because I was proud of them and because they were relevant to the positions I was applying for. I’ve since left that field to do something completely unrelated, but did having three degrees on my resume hurt me such that I wouldn’t even get a call?

At the height of my desperation to get out of my last job, several people suggested that I take one of the master’s degrees off my resume. Would that have helped me?

Maybe. If you’re applying for jobs that don’t relate to those degrees, graduate degrees can hurt you because many employers will think you don’t really want the job you’re applying for, since it’s not what you went to school for. They’ll assume that you’ll be dissatisfied and leave as soon as something in the field you studied comes along. That concern can end up being a reason they don’t hire you for the same job you might have been a strong candidate for before you got your graduate degree. This becomes much less of an issue as you put more time between you and school, but it’s a very real issue when the degrees are still pretty fresh.

But it sounds in accounting and finance, those degrees were relevant, so I’d guess that the issue wasn’t the degrees but rather your resume or cover letter or that you weren’t applying for jobs that matched your level of experience. Or that you were simply applying during a bad job market, which would be the case if you were applying for jobs from 2008 onward.

As for the question you opened with — when does the number of degrees feel like a problem — a masters in accounting and an MBA isn’t a problem. You often see those two degrees together. If then went on to get another master’s, or if the first two were in unrelated fields, some hiring managers will wonder if you really know what you want to do, why you’re pouring all this time into schooling if you don’t, and if you’re kind of love with academia in a way that means you won’t thrive in the work world.

3. Would it be wrong of me to leave right after we landed a big contract?

My company was just won a rebid for our contract. The transition period is major: We have to rewrite all of our standard operating procedures, have weekly meetings with partners, and hire new staff. Everyone’s excited about the new opportunity. There’s going to be a *ton* of work, and I’m an integral part of it.

But the thing is, I’m ready to leave. I’ve been applying for jobs and have gone on three interviews in the past 6 months–I declined to continue in the interview process for the first two (neither felt like the right fit), and the last company just told me they’ve decided to change the scope of the role and need time to re-evaluate candidates. The HR manager encouraged me to keep following up.

To make things worse, I don’t have the best relationship with my boss. We recently fell out over some office gossip. I love my teammates, though, and certainly don’t want to leave them high and dry during such a critical time. But I’m having a hard time imagining a long, grueling summer working on an enormous project I have no interest in anymore with a boss I don’t want to work with anymore. Would it be wrong of me to continue to search for–and hopefully land–a new job right now?

Nope. You can’t be expected to time your job search so that your leaving lands at the ideal time for your employer. There are some exceptions to this, but you usually know when you fall in the exception category; for example, if you’re an event planner with one big event a year, you don’t leave right before that event, and if you’re working on a political campaign, you don’t leave a few weeks before Election Day. But generally, you leave when you leave. If you had to wait for a good time, many people would never be able to resign.

Speaking of which…

4. Attending an all-expense-paid training right before resigning

I have verbally accepted a job offer at a company in NYC. HR has told me they are awaiting the approvals in their system before a background check is conducted and a formal offer is generated. They have told me to not resign until I have the formal offer in hand, which I would agree with under normal circumstances.

The problem I am facing is I am scheduled to go on an all-expense paid training in about a week and a half for my current job (my current employer is located in Florida). I am worried that I will not receive the formal offer in time to cancel the trip and training. My current employer will be charged an $800 late cancellation fee if I do not cancel on the next business day. Furthermore, I could potentially not receive the formal offer until the week of the training or just after. I am worried about burning bridges by going on the all-expense paid training and then resigning immediately after. I have communicated this issue to the new company in NYC but they have not been able to offer a solution or speed up the process. Any thoughts on what I should do and when I should resign?

Proceed as if you don’t have a job offer — because you don’t. You absolutely shouldn’t resign until you have a formal offer with the contingencies (like the background check) removed; otherwise you could find yourself having resigned from your current job and with no new job to go to. The new employer’s HR person gets that, and that’s why she clearly told you not to resign until you have the form offer. Listen to her.

Yes, the timing may end up not being great for your old employer because of the dates of the training. This stuff happens, and there’s no way around it. Training cancellation fees, paying to train people who leave shortly afterwards, and the like are part of the cost of doing business. Your old employer will be fine (in fact, this is so common that they probably won’t even blink over it).

5. My reference asked me to help him fill out his reference questionnaire

Thanks to your help on resumes and cover letters, I’ve progressed to the final stages for a new job! I’ve been with the same company for 11 years (my entire career) and under the same manager for the last 5 years and had a difficult time coming up with references. I pulled three together, contacted all of them, and got their go-ahead to list them. They were all contacted last week by email with a list of questions (15 or so) and two got back within a few days. I had one email me today saying he had a hard time getting around to responding and that it feels like he’s the one interviewing with all the questions. He then asks me to put comments after the questions and I’m afraid that I’ll be filling in my own reference. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

Ugh. It’s such a bad idea to send references questionnaires to fill out. Half the value of reference-checking comes from actually talking to people, hearing their tone of voice and where they pause and where they seem uncomfortable or especially enthusiastic, and being able to ask follow-up questions. Employers are forfeiting all of that with this approach — and it’s all less considerate to your references, because it’s more work for them.

But that doesn’t help you. As for how to proceed, I’d do what your reference is asking — it’s not that different from drafting your own letter of recommendation (which the referrer then hopefully modifies), which is a pretty common practice. And really, employers are setting themselves up for this by going this route.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. Talking to a new hire who’s been frequently out of the office

I have a question about how to handle a relatively new hire who is having some attendance issues.

We are a five-year-old, fast growing company and we hired him on ful-time as director of marketing in January after having worked with him on a contract basis for 6 months. He has 4 direct reports and is responsible for managing a team of 10 people. Over the last 4 months, he frequently emails same day asking if he can “leave early” to do something with family and has come in “late” several times for a variety of issues – car problems, sprinklers broke so there is flooding in his yard, kids were late getting up, etc. Today he emailed again asking if he could take this Thursday off because his stay-at-home wife is just came down with a cold and she was supposed to take the kids on a class trip to the zoo on Thursday…he is asking to take them now.

He is doing a good job so far – we are close to hitting demand targets – but my concern is that his frequently being out of the office will have a negative effect on the rest of the team. He is in a leadership position in the company and constantly coming in late or leaving early does not set a good example in my opinion. I don’t want to come off as inflexible (he is the only employee in our office with kids). How would you recommend I handle this situation?

Well, the first thing I’d think about is whether it really does matter. If he’s performing at a high level (I’m not sure if “good” means that or if means something closer to “okay”), why does it really matter? But if he’s more okay than great, or if it’s making him less accessible to people than you want him to be, those are legitimate reasons to be concerned. In that case, you should just be straightforward about explaining that to him: “Bob, I’ve noticed that you’ve been out of the office a lot — leaving early, coming in late, or taking days off at the last minute. This is a role where you really need to be here during business hours most of the time, because there’s so much interaction with people throughout the day, and it can be tough when you’re not around when someone needs you.”

But make sure it really matters. If it doesn’t actually impact his work or other people’s, giving this kind of flexibility can be a good way to retain good people (and you should offer it to all high performers whose jobs wouldn’t be impacted by it, not just him).

2. Would it be weird to suggest a flexible start date?

I am about to have a third round interview with a startup in late May/early June. We had previously talked about a potential start date in mid June being mutually beneficial, but the hiring manager mentioned they don’t currently have the work available and their time frame may change (and has already shifted out about a month or so from their initial projections). Would it be weird to discuss some sort of flexible start date if the hiring manager brings up start dates again?

In my mind, I’m picturing some sort of written agreement included with a potential job offer that says something along the lines of “Start date no sooner than 3 weeks from now, but no later than 3 months from now, to be finalized with at least one week notice from the start date”? It seems like a win-win to me, as (1) they’re a startup and don’t necessarily know when they need this particular position filled (2) I want to leave my current job, but not before getting a new job offer. At the same time, I would prefer at least a week off between jobs, but would not mind even multiple months off.

Does this ever happen? Or would talking about something like this just make me seem undesirable/weird?

I don’t think it would be weird, and there are cases where it would be really helpful. My only caution is that if you set up an arrangement like that, you might be opening the door to the start date getting pushed back further and further and possibly never materializing (despite the “no later than 3 months” clause). Because of that, I’d be inclined to get a firm start date if you can.

3. Should I start job-searching if my boss is leaving?

What do you do when your boss is leaving? I work on a small team, and the idea of reporting to someone new makes a big impact on me. Is this a good enough reason to start looking for another position? I’m just wondering how people navigate this kind of thing.

Why not wait and see who the new manager is? You could end up loving the person, so it feels premature to start planning to leave before you even know that. There’s no harm in putting out feelers now so that you’re not starting from scratch if it does turn out that you want to leave, but I’d keep an open mind about the new manager for now.

4. Does this second interview mean the first group of people thought I was a “yes”?

So many jobs lately have me come in for a second or third interview. My last interview, I was scheduled to first meet with HR, the assistant manager and then the manager. I guess I did well because I was scheduled for a second interview with the group director the next day. This is a corporate job. Now my question is, does this mean, I got a “yes” from those 3 people and the group director is the deciding person?

You’re looking at it as more yes/no than it probably is. It means you’re still in the running, but it doesn’t necessarily mean an unqualified yes from the earlier people. I’ll sometimes move people forward in a hiring process even if I have reservations, if they’re otherwise strong enough; I’ll flag those reservations for the other people involved, or simply give myself more time to mull over my assessment and/or compare them with other candidates.

5. Can I ask my references how strong of a reference they’ll give me?

You have written about making sure your references are strong, but I was wondering if there’s a way to find out how good a reference someone will be. I usually ask my references if they would feel comfortable being a good reference for me, but is there something else I should be doing? I don’t want to be blindsided and get a bad reference.

The big thing is to be honest with yourself about how strong the work you did for them was and how they likely regard you. Ideally, you know them well enough that you should have an idea of what they thought of your work. But yes, it’s always reasonable to say, “I’d like to offer up references who will feel comfortable really speaking glowingly of my work. I’m hoping that’s you, but it’s of course okay if it’s not. Are you able to give me a sense of how strong a reference you’d be comfortable giving me?” The key here is to make it really safe for them to say “not that strong” — which means that you have to sound genuine and sincere in asking this, and you can’t react badly if someone gives you a disappointing answer.