do you feel guilty when you have to fire someone? by Alison Green on March 10, 2015 A reader writes: Recently I had to fire one of my employees. There was a history of tardiness, no-call/no-show behavior, and lack of performance at work. All of this behavior was documented, and the employee was put on at least two action plans. I tried sharing tips from my own life, giving clear warnings about the problem, and giving praise when I saw a job well done. I really wanted my employee to succeed. I knew that she was the sole provider for her family and her son is very young. I feel that the firing was just, and quite frankly, the right thing to do. Her performance was starting to affect her coworkers. We did all that we could to modify the employee’s behavior before it came an issue. In the end, however, the employee choose not to change her behavior. I am grieving for her. I know that her life has been made very difficult by this termination. I’m just wondering how long this feeling of being “bummed” will last. This is the first time I’ve had to fire an employee. You can read my answer to this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and often updating/expanding my answers to them). You may also like:I'm about to fire an employee -- and we just hired her husbandmy business partners won't fire their problematic family membersis it right to fire someone for being arrested for a (horrible) crime? { 138 comments }
an employee made an anonymous complaint to OSHA — how can I stop it from happening again? by Alison Green on March 10, 2015 A reader writes: I’m a manager of a retail store with 30 employees. In January, we refinished the floors in one department where six employees work. We were closed the appropriate amount of time (as recommended by the painter) and when we had employees back in the department to reset there was an odor, but for the majority of employees it was tolerable. We had the exterior doors open sporadically and purchased extra fans. No one asked to be reassigned to another department, which would have been easy to do, as employees move from floor to floor and department to department regularly. During this time, anonymous complaints were filed with OSHA and BOLI. They were without merit, and after a lot of stress, paperwork, and time, we were not fined and were told we acted appropriately in our floor refinishing. It was a learning experience for me, but completely unnecessary and put a lot of strain on the entire staff. It was anonymous, so while I don’t know who filed it, I have a guess. One employee was obviously very unhappy about the smell, but did not appropriately communicate with me on this. She was passive aggressive, snarky, and tried to pressure other employees who did not have issues to make complaints. She seriously compromised the integrity of the department by continually leaving all the exterior doors and windows open in freezing weather, in direct violation of written direction and store protocol. I tried moving her to other departments, but it did not help. She pressured employees who were fine with the smell to “assert their rights.” It was very disruptive, and her coworkers were very uncomfortable. At the suggestion of upper management, I did not push her too hard since we assumed the complaints were made by her, and did not want to invite further citations, even if they were without merit. Eventually the smell went away and things went back to normal. We are doing the same floor treatment in a different part of the department she works in. Obviously we are legally allowed to do this as OSHA threw out the complaint, but I’d like help on how to deal with the complaining employee. I am sympathetic to the fact the smells affect people differently, but since the smell is a non-issue for me, I can’t be a mind reader for employees who cannot advocate for themselves! Do I simply move her and hope for the best? What if she wasn’t the complainer and it was another silent unhappy worker? You’re right that you don’t want to squelch her — if for no other reason than that you could end up running afoul of the National Labor Relations Act, which requires you to allow employees to talk to each other about working conditions. But also, you don’t want employees to feel like they’d be punished for reporting bona fide concerns or that you’re trying to avoid outside scrutiny. Plus, if someone is reacting poorly to the smell (and as you note, different people have different sensitivities), you want to make sure that you hear about it and can find a solution. Your best bet, I think, is to talk to everyone as a group before this next floor treatment begins. Lay out what they can likely expect and what your plans are for minimizing the impact, and then lay out options for people who are bothered by the smell. Have a clear process that people can follow to ask to work elsewhere for the duration of the project, or whatever other options you can offer. Also, explain why you’re doing the work in the first place, and apologize for the smell and inconvenience; being human and apologetic about this stuff will take you far with most employees. Handling it this way will (a) preemptively address the things your employee might otherwise complain about, and (b) make the rest of your staff less likely to be sympathetic to disruptive complaints, since they’ll see that you’re handling it well. You may also like:how to say “I’m not volunteering for this, but I’ll do it if it’s required," using bathrooms on a different floor, and…my boss removed me from a work trip because I'm a womanour fundraiser lets us "pie a manager in the face" { 306 comments }
when job applicants don’t respond to interview invitations, the best time to start calls, and more by Alison Green on March 10, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. When job applicants don’t respond to interview invitations As a small business owner, I am going through the process of hiring. I sent four emails out to potential applicants requesting an interview and a confirmation on date/time. I have heard back from one of the four. Should I still go to the time slots of the other three, or just consider them not accepted since I got no response? Do I really want to hire an applicant who cannot even respond to my email in the first place? Any chance that your emails are going to people’s spam folders? Or that something about the emails is coming across as less than professional for some reason? Three people not responding to an interview invitation is unusual, so the first thing I’d check is whether something’s off on your side. For example, send the same email to your own gmail account (set one up for this purpose if you don’t have one). If it’s going to spam, there’s your answer. But in general if you don’t hear back from a candidate about an interview invitation, I think it’s smart to try one additional time — because you just never know if the email didn’t arrive for some reason or they were dealing with a family emergency or something like that. If someone was strong enough for you want to spend time interviewing them, it’s worth spending the additional few seconds to make sure your email reached them. And if you feel like a sucker following up (like you shouldn’t have to remind people about something this important), you can even just say, “Since I haven’t heard back from you, I’m assuming you’re no longer interested in the position, but let me know I’m mistaken. Otherwise, best of luck!” That way, someone who legitimately didn’t receive the email knows to get back in touch, and someone who did but slacked on answering it knows some kind of explanation is required. 2. My manager hasn’t clearly told another team that I can’t help them as much as they want My manager and I were asked to give a small presentation to a collaborating team (but external to our company) on our use of a certain application and how it benefits us. The general consensus was that the collaborators would have their own technical team to do setup and management, and my manager and I would be available for general one-off help. A few weeks later, an unrelated manager (let’s call her Patty) at our company went to my manager because this same group of collaborators had a small technical question – the type my manager and I made ourselves available to help with. Patty did not know we had worked with them already. After a few back and forth group emails helping them, the collaborators then asked if I would be available to give 20% of my time to help. They are willing and eager to set up a contract for work with us. My manager came to me in person and said to very strongly push back on that request, but she never responded (from what I see) to the original email. Now Patty keeps coming to me, as I’m the technical expert, to try to get an answer. I tell her that I am not in a position to say whether or not we set up a contract with their group and that has to go through my manager and other leaders of the department. (I cc my manager on these replies to CMA, but she always stays quiet.) Am I handling this correctly? Should I have assumed my own manager would reply “no” to the first email if she didn’t want me to work on the project? I feel like it’s wishy-washy to say to Patty that ‘I’m just following orders’, but I’m also not going to de-prioritize 20% of my current workload without explicit approval. Your manager needs to tell Patty and the outside team what the limits are on your availability. It’s weird that she’s staying quiet. I’d go back to your manager and say, “I’m getting the sense that Patty and (outside team) might think that I’m able to grant their request about devoting 20% of my time to helping them. Is it okay with you if I explain to them that I’m not able to do that?” Get a straight yes or no from her. Assuming it’s a yes, then go back and explain that to Patty and the outside team. What you don’t want to do here is to continue to let this drag out with no one imparting clear information about what you can and can’t do. 3. Should I call slightly early, slightly late, or exactly on time? When I have a call scheduled with someone that just involves calling their direct number, should I call at the exact time, a few minutes before the exact time, or a minute or two after? I usually call at the scheduled time right on the dot, and end up in voicemail or feel like I’m interrupting something. Is it better to give the recipient of the call a few minutes to prepare? Call at the exact time. It’s not usually a big deal if you call a minute or two late, but you definitely shouldn’t call a minute or two early! Early can be rude — the person may be finishing up another call, not at their desk, or otherwise not ready for you. If you call at the scheduled time and get voicemail, hang up and try again in a few minutes. If you get voicemail at that point, leave a message. I usually say, “I’m calling for our 2:00 call. If you get this within the next few minutes, give me a call back — otherwise we can reschedule.” That way, if the person has forgotten about the call, is out sick, or whatever, I free myself up from waiting after a few minutes and am not tethered to my phone for the next 30 minutes waiting for a call that might never come. 4. Multiple suits for multiple job interviews? My husband has one nice suit and a few different shirts and ties he wears for interviews. If he makes it to a third interview with a company, would it be best for him to have a second suit rather than just a different shirt and tie? He was recently laid off so I’d prefer not to spend the money for a new suit right now when his other is in good condition, well tailored and dry cleaned between interviews. The job attire is casual but I understand that he should dress for success for interviewing. Would the expense be worth it? If he’s switching up the shirt and tie (and assuming it’s not a highly distinctive suit, like … ruffled or something), there’s no need for him to buy an additional suit. Men’s clothes are easy that way. 5. Should I mention that I recently turned down a similar role at another company? When applying for a position, is it appropriate or helpful to mention at any stage that I was recently offered a similar position at a different company, which I turned down because the fit wasn’t quite right? Since one company thought I was the right candidate for a similar role, would another company see this as evidence that I’m qualified? And if so, would I need to name the company that made me the offer? I wouldn’t, not unless it comes up organically in conversation (which is fairly unlikely to happen). Most employers want to make their own determinations not only about whether you’re qualified, but about whether you’re the best qualified for the role they’re hiring for. You may also like:how quickly should I respond to interview invitations?I don’t want to interview a candidate who took 5 days to respondI was invited to a 300-person cattle-call interview, and now the company wants to know why I'm not interested { 302 comments }
what to think about before you quit your job by Alison Green on March 9, 2015 Quitting your job can be the brilliant move that frees you up to do something better, or it can be a rash decision that you end up regretting later on. If you’re starting to think about resigning your job, here are five questions to ask yourself to make sure that the decision is the right one for you. 1. Is your decision being driven by emotion? Most people have moments where they want to quit their jobs – where work frustrations have built to the point that their thoughts turn to escape. Most of the time, that feeling will pass, so if the impulse is new, give yourself a few weeks and see if it passes. If you still think you should quit after a few weeks have passed, then it’s something that you can take seriously. But don’t make such a major decision in the heat of the moment or after a single tough week. 2. How long have you been at your current job, and how long have you stayed at previous jobs? If you have a pattern of leaving jobs after less than two years, future employers will worry that you’re a job hopper – and that you’ll leave them quickly too. Sometimes it can be better for you in the long-run to stay a bit longer in a job, so that you don’t harm your ability to get jobs you want in the future. There certainly are times when it’s reasonable to leave a job after a short period of time, since as if you’ve ended up doing something quite different than the work you signed on for, or if the terms of the job like pay or location change significantly, or when your health of safety is at risk. The catch is that you can only do it once with impunity. If you start racking up multiple short stays, that’s when employers will start wondering how reliable you are. You do get one freebie, though – just make sure that you don’t use it lightly. (After all, if you leave a job quickly, you’ll need to be especially careful about the next job you take, since you’re going to need to stick around there for a while.) 3. How long will it take you to find another job?People sometimes quit their jobs with nothing lined up, thinking that they’ll have a new one in a few months. But in this job market, job searches can take a year or even longer. Lots of people only realize that once they’ve already quit and it’s too late. In most circumstances, you shouldn’t quit without another job lined up. You want to be sure that you’re being realistic about your next steps and the likely timeline for moving on, so that you can manage your own expectations and make good decisions meanwhile. 4. Think about the advantages of your current job that might be hard to find somewhere else. For example, if you have an incredibly short commute or unusually generous vacation leave or the ability to work from home whenever you want or a higher-than-market salary, be realistic about how likely you’ll be to find those things in your next job – and how much you care. Sometimes when people do this calculation, they realize that they’re willing to put up with a difficult boss in exchange for a short commute and great pay. Other times they realize that they’d gladly take a small pay cut and spend a bit more time on the road to work in a different environment. The call is yours; just be thoughtful and realistic about what you value most and what trade-offs you’re willing to make. 5. Have you talked with your boss about what’s making you unhappy, and is it likely to change? This doesn’t work in every case; in some situations, the work or culture just isn’t the right fit, or the boss is a nightmare, or you want to move into a completely different field. But in some cases, talking to your boss can actually help. For example, if your commute is wearing on you, could you get permission to work from home one or two days a week? Or flex your hours to avoid rush hour? Or if a particular client is destroying your quality of life, is it possible to spend less time on that account and move to work that won’t make you want to tear your hair out? The answer might be no, but sometimes it might be yes – and you usually won’t know until you ask. Too often, people assume that the answer will be no and so they never ask – when if they did, sometimes they would end up discovering that their manager cared enough about retaining them to be willing to make changes. Again, not every time. But it’s often worth asking the question. I originally published this at U.S. News & World Report. You may also like:everything you need to know about how to quit your jobmy company called my coworker's resignation "a horrific decision"was I wrong to quit my job? { 65 comments }
my team keeps complaining about a coworker in a different department by Alison Green on March 9, 2015 A reader writes: I’m a department director; my department is on a different floor than the main part of our office. I have a friendly relationship with my staff and the people who work for me are generally great. I really enjoy my job. When I do have complaints, my personal philosophy is that my staff shouldn’t be my sounding board. For example, I don’t complain about my boss to my staff. I figure I don’t need to transfer my stress to them, and I don’t want to spread negativity around the office. A portion of my department’s workflow has to go through an administrative person in another department. This person reports to another department director. We have a new person in this role – she started 6 months ago – and she seems overwhelmed. From my perspective, she’s disorganized, bad at prioritizing work, and slow to learn tasks. Unfortunately for her, she’s following someone who really excelled in this role, and the new person suffers in comparison. I’ve found her really difficult to work with, and I’m actively doing my best to minimize the amount of our work that has to go through her – but there are some things that just have to cross her desk, no matter what. Because my department is physically separated from this administrative person, I hear a lot of complaining about her when my staff has a negative interaction. Some of it is just venting, but sometimes someone will approach me for help in dealing with her. Last fall, when she was brand new, I did my best to speak positively (or at least neutrally) about her. I knew she was facing a big learning curve. At this point, she’s still failing at things she should have mastered, and I’m having a hard time not letting my frustration show. I have no role in deciding whether or not to keep her (she’s still on her probationary period), and so I’m working under the assumption that we’re stuck with her. What should I do when my staff complains about this person? And how should I handle my own frustration? I find myself sliding into joining the venting about her, and I don’t feel good about it – but it’s really hard not to! You need to talk to her boss. If it’s at the point where your team is that frustrated by her, and you see that their complaints are legitimate, it’s something that her boss needs to know about. In fact, I’d argue that you’re obligated to raise the issue with her boss, since it’s getting in the way of your team’s work. It would be the same as if your team was chronically not getting the IT support they needed, or if their phones were regularly going out in the middle of work calls — you’d need to talk to whoever was responsible (or their boss) and advocate for your staff’s work needs. Plus, you mentioned that this person is still in her probationary period, which means there’s some time-sensitivity for alerting her manager. Put yourself in her manager’s shoes — wouldn’t you be really frustrated if you weren’t told about these issues until months from now, when people who could have alerted you to them earlier didn’t? (And you might be assuming that her manager must know about the problems — but that’s not always true. Usually a good manager would know, but not every manager manages as closely as they should, especially with new people. And sometimes there are things that truly are hard for the manager herself to spot, but which others are in a better position to notice.) So talk to her boss. The conversation isn’t “Jane sucks and you need to fire her.” It’s “Jane’s work is getting in the way of my team getting what we need. How can we solve this so we’re still able to keep our work moving?” As for your staff, I’d say this to them: “I hear you. I’ve talked to Lavinia about the problems we’re having and I’ll keep following up with her if the issues you continue. I appreciate how frustrating this is, but I want to give Jane and Lavinia a chance to address our concerns. Let’s give them a bit of time to work on the issues I’ve raised, and see if we can get them solved.” You may also like:I manage an easily distracted manager, and it's frustrating her employeesmy new boss says everything is “fun” -- even data entry and illnessmy employee is snippy with people and dramatic about stress { 92 comments }
want me to review your resume? by Alison Green on March 9, 2015 I get a lot of requests to give people feedback on their resumes, but because it’s time-consuming to do it well, I usually turn them down unless they’re friends or family. But for a short time, I’m re-opening the resume review offer that I’ve run a couple of times before. When I’ve offered this in the past, the response has been so overwhelming that I’ve had to close the offer after just a few days, so reserve this now if you’re interested. The cost: $125 What you’ll get: As you can probably tell by the price, I’m not going to entirely rewrite your resume for you. People who do that charge a lot more. What you’ll get: I’ll read your resume, I’ll give you suggestions for improving it, I’ll tell you where I think it’s weak and where I think it’s strong. I’ll tell you if your design sucks. I’ll tell you if you’re coming across as generic and/or unimpressive and how to fix it if you are. I’ll tell you what you need to change to have a resume that will make a hiring manager excited to interview you. To be clear, this isn’t multiple rounds of revisions, or a rewrite service, or anything like that. It’s really just a bunch of notes on what I’d like to see you doing differently — what a hiring manager might think when looking at your resume. Limited time: This offer is only good for this week — and maybe just the next few days, depending on how quickly slots get taken; it’s not something I’ll be offering regularly. So if you want it, lock it in now. (But once you sign up, you can send your resume in whenever you’d like; there’s no time limit on that.) Here’s what one person who purchased a resume review wrote to me afterwards: “Earlier this year, when you offered your annual résumé review service, I sent mine in. You sent back reams of useful suggestions, which I promptly acted upon. Well, it’s been four months, and I have good news. I immediately started getting interviews. There were no offers right away, but I didn’t give up and all of sudden, within the past few days, I have received 4 offers. I am so pleased and relieved–now I just need to sit down and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each. But what a happy task—and I’m convinced I owe a lot of my good fortune to your advice.” There are more reviews in the comments on this post. (And because I know not everyone can afford this, I’m also offering a discount on my ebook, How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager, where you’ll find lots of resume advice — just not customized to your particular resume. You can get a 20% discount this week by using this code: march2015) Update: The response has been so high that I’m likely to close the offer very soon, at least at the current price. So lock it in ASAP if you want it! Update 2: This offer is now closed! The fine print: After purchasing, you can submit your resume whenever you’d like; there’s no limit. I’ll get you feedback within three weeks of receiving it (or less if you ask me to expedite it). { 97 comments }
weddings that conflict with major work events, should travel time be included in a lunch hour, and more by Alison Green on March 9, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Scheduling a wedding that conflicts with a major work event I am getting married next spring. My fiance and I work in different industries with different busy cycles that never sync up, so it’s impossible to find the perfect “slow time” at work to get married. We both love the spring and would like to get married in May. Our number one venue has one date available in the month, a date we think is absolutely perfect, except I have a conference the day before, and would prefer to take the day before my wedding off — the conference day. I play a large role in planning for the conference, but the day of the conference pretty much runs itself, and I do not really need to be there. I am leaning towards booking the date for the venue, and asking my boss for the day before the conference off, with apologies, of course. (I would still work the rest of the week). I think my colleagues would understand, we have other staff who can run the conference just fine. What would be the polite way to say I am choosing my personal life and preferences over my job? Or rather, what should I say when I ask for that day off? Or am I making a big mistake, and should I prioritize work and alter my wedding plans? (I am trying to make this event impact my job very minimally, postponing the honeymoon to a quieter time of the year, so I would only miss 2 or 3 days of work total for the wedding – one being the day before the wedding.) If you were the main person running the conference on the day of the event, I’d say that you shouldn’t even ask; when you take on a major commitment like that, you pretty much have to be there on the day of the event. But it sounds like that might not be the case here, as long as it’s really true that it runs itself and that your boss would more or less agree that it wouldn’t be a massive issue not to have you there. If that’s really the case (and it’s not just wishful thinking, which sometimes people fall into in these situations), I’d say to go ahead and ask about it. When you ask, make sure that you frame it as “Do you think there’s a way for us to make this work?” and not “I’m going to do this.” I’d also come prepared with an initial plan for how you’d ensure things go smoothly at the conference (training back-ups beforehand, etc.). But ask first; don’t just book it and then ask. If your boss says no and you decide you’re going to do it anyway, it’ll still look better if you talk first and then come back and say “I’m sorry, but we ended up with no other options.” (And obviously, there may be a professional price to pay if you do that, but I think there will be less of one than if you didn’t even ask about it first.) 2. I can’t get straight answers about this job offer I’m in a bit of an awkward spot at the moment with a job offer for a temporary part-time position at a treasurer’s office. The thing is, during the interview I couldn’t seem to get a lock on what the schedule would be — and it seemed the more I tried to get an answer it just didn’t work (they said they’d be flexible, etc., kind of skirting the question). Also, for a few weeks (probably 3) I’d be working full-time, which I don’t want to do because I have many recurring medical appointments during the week that make full time work unfeasible. I’ve made this clear to them during the interviews, but the manager just keeps reiterating that they’re flexible with hours – which isn’t really what I’m after. They’ve taken my agreement that the job fits my skills during the second interview as accepting the position, but I clearly stated that I was NOT accepting the position. I said I would call and confirm if the job fit my needs next week. However, the manager called me and said they want to train me next week (even thought the position starts months from now). I don’t know what to do because I feel like I’m not getting clear answers to my questions, and they are acting as though I’ve completely accepted the offer (which I really haven’t, I just wanted a few days to think it over!). Are you sure that you aren’t already getting the real answer, which is that the schedule is truly flexible? If it is, that’s why they’re not telling you specific hours. Why don’t you propose the schedule that would work for you, and see what they say to that? I’d also be clear about whether you can or can’t work full-time during the period they’d like you to. For instance: “Before I can accept the offer, I have a few questions about the schedule. First, would it work on your end if I worked (insert your preferred days/hours here)? Second, you’d mentioned you’d like me to work full-time for three weeks, which isn’t possible on my end. I could work (insert your preferred schedule for those weeks) during that period. Would that work for you?” 3. Should travel time be included in a lunch hour? My office’s workspace used to be located near the employee cafeteria. I am non-exempt and would typically leave lunch with a minute or two to spare to get back to the office within my lunch hour. However, our office has just moved to a building that’s about a 10-minute walk from the employee cafeteria. We are strongly encouraged to eat in the cafeteria and are given a small weekly meal plan to support this. Would you think it’s expected that I build the 20 minutes of travel time into my lunch hour? Yes — a lunch hour typically refers to the amount of time you’re away from work, not the amount of time that you spend actually eating. 4. Responding to someone who referred a candidate An acquaintance recently sent me an email recommending a former intern for a position. This candidate also interned for me (at a different company so it wouldn’t necessarily be evident that I knew him, but I would think that the candidate would have told her that he knew me when he said he applied). Based on my previous observations of the intern’s work, I know this candidate would be a bad fit for the position I have open. I don’t have any problem telling the candidate that I am not moving his application forward, but I don’t know how to respond to the person who sent the resume to me or if she even expects a response. Should I just respond with “thanks” and leave it at that or is there a better way to handle this type of email? I’d just say, “Thanks so much. Xavier actually interned for me when I was at X. I’ll connect with him about his application.” You don’t need to get into the fact that he’s not the right one for the role or the reasons why — although you can do that if you think it will be useful (like if you think she’ll be shocked that you don’t hire him, or that she’s likely to refer other candidates to you in the future and so it would be helpful for her to get a better understanding of what you’re looking for). 5. Why does this client want such extensive background paperwork from me? I have been self-employed for 19 years with a great track record of big-name clients. I have stellar references and a nice online portfolio of work (from past gigs as well as current projects). I am doing the paperwork to contract with another large client. However, I am wondering why the background verification company needs seven years of employment history or I need to provide tax returns to prove I’ve been self employed (in some years I’ve had 40+ 1099s). It seems rather intrusive, although there may be a good reason behind it and I’m happy to comply. Just wondering what that reasoning may be. It might be part of their process of proving that you are indeed an independent contractor; I have one client who requires similar paperwork as part of their ongoing verification that they’re not really treating contractors like employees. It’s a way to protect themselves if anyone ever alleges differently. (I don’t provide individual 1099s, just a 1040 and Schedule C — and I black out all the numbers because the details of my finances are not their business. I don’t really know how tax forms with all the numbers blacked out help them, but they accept them.) The seven years of employment history is a bit weird for a contractor unless they’re doing something related to a security clearance. I’d just ask them directly before providing anything: “Can you explain to me what this documentation will be used for?” You may also like:am I being pushed out of my job because I'm moving, fundraising when everyone's remote, and moremy boss is angry that I lied about the reason for my vacationmy employees are getting married and having a baby -- can I insist they tell the rest of the team? { 358 comments }
weekend free-for-all – March 7-8, 2015 by Alison Green on March 7, 2015 This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. (This one is truly non-work only; if you have a work question, you can email it to me or post it in the work-related open thread on Fridays.) Book Recommendation of the Week: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. Basically, picture Jane Austen but in a magical universe. I love this book more than I can convey. * I make a commission if you use that Amazon link. You may also like:the Ask a Manager book is on sale at Amazonhow to be successful without hurting men's feelingsthe Ask a Manager book is now on sale { 1,214 comments }
printing your resume at work, updates, and more by Alison Green on March 7, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Fired for printing my resume at work Can my boss fire me for having my resume in the documents at work and copying it on the company’s copy machine with the intention of faxing it? Yes. In general, using your company’s resources for your job search is seen as a very bad thing. It’s not that you can never job search; it’s the doing it on the company’s time (and with their equipment) that offends. 2. How should I interpret these post-interview emails? I interviewed for a position 3 weeks ago. This week the interviewer emailed me to ask if I was still interested in the position (citing a slow hiring process) and then again to ask me a question that he said wasn’t asked during my interview. I replied to both emails and am not sure where I stand or what this all means as no offer has been made. It feels like I’m being interviewed again via email and I’m not clear on the timeline. If I’m understanding correctly, he reaffirmed your interest and asked you one additional question by email. That’s not interviewing you all over again; it’s just a normal continuing of a conversation that’s in progress. If you feel like you really need to know more about their timeline, I’d wait a week or so and then send a short email asking about it. 3. Listing a certification that I’m working toward but don’t yet have I have a question regarding adding certification on resumes. Currently, I am logging my work hours for my PMP certification (Project Management Professional) from PMI and do not have the certification. Some of the jobs I am looking at specifically state that the employer is looking for someone who holds a PMP. Is it a good idea to state the hours I’ve logged in required areas on my resume or cover letter despite not having the actual certification? If so where is the best place to mention this? I’d instead note when you expect to receive it and roughly how far into you are. For example: PMP expected September 2014 (two-third completed) 4. Update: Should I let a company fly me out even though I’m unlikely to accept their offer? Here’s an update from the letter-writer wondering whether it’s wrong to let a company fly you out on their dime if you know you’re unlikely to accept the job: I decided not to visit Company A even though I had time to visit them. I really liked Company B and their offer was considerably better than Company A’s. I don’t regret my decision. I thanked Company A’s HR manager over the phone and left it on friendly terms. I think I would have felt more uncomfortable had I made the trip. 5. Update: I’m meeting my interviewer at a coffee shop — how does this work? Here’s an update from the letter-writer wondering about how to handle an interview at a coffee shop: I greatly appreciated the answer and the responses I received. The interview went very well. I arrived a few minutes before and the two people I was meeting with were already seated with drinks. I believe they were having their own meeting before I got there. People were right. It was obvious who I was supposed to be meeting with. They were the nicely dressed people who kind of jumped when I opened the door and eagerly turned to look. I was the person pausing at the door looking at all the tables. The interview was fantastic. One of them ended up getting a second round of drinks about half way through (the interview went on for close to three hours – it turned into a brainstorming and ideas session around that half way point). They had a few more interviews to do, but called me about a week later to offer me the job. I am thrilled. I really enjoyed the slightly more relaxed atmosphere of the coffee shop interview. Even though it was pretty quiet, the slight level of distractions made it easier for me to remember to pause and think before responding to their questions. The interviewers were also very happy for it to be a two-way interview. They encouraged me to ask the questions I had (quite a list since it’s a start up) and gave thoughtful honest answers. I am looking forward to working with them. You may also like:I'm fully remote but my boss wants me to come in once a week, how much personal printing is OK at work, and morecan I ask my employee not to put papers on my desk?here’s the right way to submit your resume online { 123 comments }
update: should I have to take vacation time for this day when I regularly work extra hours? by Alison Green on March 6, 2015 Back in 2013, we heard from a letter-writer who was frustrated that after putting in a lot of extra hours at her new job, she was being told to use vacation time for a few hours at home waiting for the cable guy. Here’s her update. The commenters were a huge help. There were some questions about whether my perception of myself as an all-star performer may have been misguided. While I take their point that it’s hard to self-evaluate, I take a lot of pride in my job and going above and beyond the job description. I was hired into a role that was one promotion up from what I interviewed for. Since then, I have been promoted with raises and bonuses, expense/purchasing discretion, a private office, and generally kept happy. The commenters were also right that although we idealized a 40-hour workweek, the company wasn’t there yet. That was harder to recognize. It was my first exempt job. The extra hours were needed just to complete the bare minimum, but only exempt hires actually worked them. Non-exempt people did (and still do) keep to the 40-hour limit. Although I worked more than 40 hours weekly at previous jobs, those hours were tracked and compensated with overtime pay. We did not have redundancies built into staffing so when you were out, there was no one to cover your slack. I could do 95% of my job from a laptop with Internet access and my cell phone. I didn’t really need to physically be in the office to perform as long as I was allowed to work from home but that wasn’t generally available as an option. Ultimately, the solution within my control was to become a more known quantity and earn trust. At the time I wrote the initial message, I’d only been employed here for a few months. Now that I’ve been here two years, I have more leeway. I learned the business and industry better. I learned better ways to manage my workload. I learned that my boss places a high value on face time, and that I need to proactively communicate and re-communicate about scheduling and priorities. Also, I have helped hire steadily since then, bringing efficiency and redundancy into the system. We can adjust our schedules for a personal appointment or take more than a couple days off in a row. Occasionally staff have even had flex-time or alternate schedules approved, which was unheard of two years ago. All of this has helped us deal with personal issues better with boosted morale and far less impact on productivity. The short version is that we are evolving – both the company and myself. This is the best job I’ve ever had, so I’m glad we are both moving in the right direction. You may also like:everything you need to know about how to take vacation timemy employer took my overtime pay away (with an update already included!)my company wants me working fewer hours -- but I have so much to do { 6 comments }