Ask a Manager

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

1. I was promoted without warning in an all-staff meeting

I’ve been promoted twice in the past 8 months. The first time it was pretty standard fare — I was promoted in a meeting with my manager and his manager, I negotiated for a raise (probably not as hard as I should have, but some) and moved on. Then I, along with another colleague, was promoted a few days ago with no warning at all, in an all-staff meeting.

Putting aside the ethics of them promoting us in public without advanced notice, I’m wondering about if and how I can ask for another raise. I know that I’m making less than some colleagues with my former title (my manager’s manager told me so directly, and gave me advice on negotiating for the future) so I do think I should get a raise, but given that I got a 10% raise less than a year ago and a big end of year bonus, it feels inappropriate to ask again. Any advice?

If they’re promoting you to a new role with more responsibility*, it’s absolutely reasonable to renegotiate salary at the same time. The fact that you got a raise less than a year ago and a big year-end bonus doesn’t come into play here now; that was compensation for your old position. I’d approach your boss and say something like this, “Since I’m taking on a new role and increased responsibilities, I wanted to talk with you about the salary. What did you have in mind for the position?”

* The exception here is if it’s not a promotion in the “new role/new responsibilities” sense. If the change is more about the title and not the work (like getting a title bump from Teapot Maker to Senior Teapot Maker with no change in actual work), then it’s harder to justify an increase.

2. How to explain a firing when interviewing

I was fired from my last job for breach of confidentiality. When I asked my employment counselor how I should approach the “Why did you leave X company?” question in an interview, she suggested that I stick with a generic answer such as, “We were going in different directions.” In all honesty, we were and I suspect that had a lot to do with my termination, but I feel like that is lying. The fact that I feel nervous to say that and then have a potential employer find out the exact reason is a pretty clear indication to me that it would be wrong to use that explanation in the first place.

I am not thrilled about having to tell a prospective employer why I was let go, but I’m also not that person who lies or dances around the truth. I’m human, I made a mistake, and I genuinely feel like honesty really is the best policy. Anything but that would make me feel like I can’t be trusted because I wasn’t open about it in the first place. What would be your advice on how to handle this in an interview?

My first advice is to get a different employment counselor because your current one doesn’t understand anything about how interviewers think. If your answer is “we were going in different directions,” your interviewer is going to question you about what that means and what the nature of the parting actually was (voluntary or a firing); she’s not going to just accept that initial vague answer and move on to the next question. Moreover, when the employer checks your references, she’s likely to discover the truth, and the lying is going to be more of a deal-breaker than the fact you were fired. So get rid of that counselor.

Anyway, as for what to say, your instinct to be honest is the right one. Keep it brief and don’t sound defensive, but a clear, non-defensive, non-obfuscatory statement of what happened and what you’ve learned from it is going to serve you best. I have more detailed advice here.

3. Interviewing when I’m happy at my current job

For the first time in my career, I’m being recruited by an exciting new company with a lot of potential, and I wasn’t looking at all. I enjoy the work I do, the people I work with, and heck, I’m even getting strong recognition from my manager. My current company is also exciting, with a lot of potential.

After a few email exchanges, I spoke to the recruiter, and she was essentially selling her company to me. We now have an interview set up during the time she’s in my area, and I’m not sure how this all works from this point. The only other time I’ve interviewed for positions, I’ve been actively looking and wanting a change. Now, I’m happy where I am, but open to at least knowing more about the opportunity. I was very honest with the recruiter, letting her know exactly that, and she still wants to move forward. What’s your best advice for approaching an interview, being in the position I’m in? The job would be a lateral move, although I think the work would be structured differently.

It’s fine be straightforward about what you said here: You’re happy in your current role and not actively looking, but open to hearing about other jobs. You don’t need to hide that or pretend you’re eagerly looking. In fact, candidates are often the most attractive when they’re in your position.

That said, I’d be really cautious about leaving a job you really love for a lateral move. It can be hard to find a job, boss, and coworkers you like, and I’m not sure I’d leave that without the move being a significant step up.

Read an update to this letter here.

4. My boss wants me to work a double shift while I should be sleeping

Is there a tactful way to tell your boss that you can not fill in for another shift? Specifically the one that happens when you’re usually asleep? I work the late afternoon to middle of the night shift on weekends. Someone on the morning shift that starts three hours after I leave has had an emergency and I may be scheduled to fill in, in addition to my regular shift. I’ve looked and learned that there are no laws that say there’s a minimum time required between shifts, but common sense suggests time to sleep. Would it be reasonable to point out that this would have me on the road driving when my body is usually asleep and will be begging for it if I have to do this?

Absolutely reasonable. More than reasonable. Your boss just might not have thought this through, and it might be as simple as speaking up: “I’d be glad to cover for Jane while she’s out but I can’t work two shifts in a row when they cover the time I’d normally be sleeping; I wouldn’t trust myself to drive safely afterwards. Would you rather me take her shift and have someone else cover mine, or just stick with mine and have someone else cover for her?”

5. Putting roller derby coaching on my resume

I’m trying to update my resume. I also am a coach for my roller derby league two days a week — I come up with lesson plans, work one-on-one and in groups to help students learn new skills, coordinate with coaches who teach different levels to make sure that our practices flow together, etc. It’s a lot of work, and a lot of organization, and I’d like to put it on my resume.

Is that inappropriate? I’m not paid for it, so it’s not a job, but it does showcase my organizational and people skills pretty well. The jobs I’m applying to — mostly administrative assistant and personal assistant jobs — require both, so I feel like it’s relevant.

It’s not inappropriate at all. I’d put it in a separate section (volunteer work or community involvement or something like that), and call out the specific activities that you mention here so that someone unfamiliar with roller derby can picture what you’re doing and see how it might translate.

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

1. Will combining my and my fiance’s last names into a single, blended name hurt my career?

I’m going to marry this year. I know you have written in the past about professional women changing their names, and I’m very new in my career so I don’t think I will be impacted by a name change, but my fiance and I are thinking about combining our names into a new, single word name (like if Sansa Stark and Tyrion Lannister became Tyrion and Sansa Starrister). Does this have any more potential to backfire than a normal name change– especially in more conservative circles where it might seem silly or feminist? (It is feminist, but I don’t want that to hurt my career.)

It might feel like an exotic choice to some people, but as long as you’re matter of fact about it, people aren’t likely to dwell on it terribly long. If anyone hassles you about it, you can respond with a bland “It felt like the best choice to us” and then move the conversation along. And even if you encounter a few pearl-clutchers, it’s unlikely to impact your career.

2. How can I tell someone who’s helped me that I’m taking a job with a competitor?

I recently moved back to my hometown, which is relatively small (50,000 people) with my partner to save money towards our own business. There’s a big company here with many different shareholders who all have different stakes in restaurants and bars. I was offered casual work by one shareholder until something else came up; at the time, I didn’t realize that despite being under the same umbrella company, all of these people are fiercely competitive.

I’ve since been offered a full-time position with this shareholder but I turned it down as I didn’t enjoy my trial there. Despite this, the shareholder is still very keen to keep me on board at her three businesses and wants to find somewhere for me to slot in. Nothing in her portofolio is that suitable for me, however.

I’ve since been offered a position that I really want at one of her competitors who still works for the same umbrella company, who I’m meeting with next week. How on earth do I break it to this woman who’s given me casual work to tide me over and offered me full time work since that I don’t want, that I’ve chosen to go and work for a competing business?

To quote the Godfather, It’s business, not personal. (This is where I admit that my knowledge that that came from the Godfather actually comes from You’ve Got Mail.) You’re not abandoning a boyfriend for his best friend; you’re taking a job that you judge is best aligned with your interests.

So just be straightforward: “Jane, I really appreciate the help you’ve given me and your interest in finding me another role that might be a good fit. After giving it a lot of thought, I’ve accepted a job with X doing Y. I think that’s better aligned with what I want to do long-term, but I’m really grateful for how generous you’ve been to me.”

3. Can I ask my company’s external recruiter about other jobs?

I have developed a good relationship with a recruiter. I am this person’s client – she has filled many positions for me when I have openings on my team. She also has developed relationships with a couple other people in my company – and those people are senior to me.

I’m interested in potentially seeking out new career opportunities. I assume it would be a conflict of interest, potentially stupid, and wildly inappropriate to ask her about potential opportunities elsewhere. Am I correct in that assumption? Is there ever a time when something like this would be ok?

Would it be ok after I left the company I currently work for (be it the company’s choice, assuming it was on good terms, or my choice, again assuming it was on good terms)? Would it be ok if the recruiter did not have relationships with anyone else in my company?

Some companies have arrangements with their external recruiters that the recruiters won’t work to place any of their current employees somewhere else. Other companies don’t. But one thing that’s nearly universally true is that recruiters understand the importance of discretion, and that you could ask your recruiter about this directly. I’d say something like, “If I’m ever beginning to think about my next steps, would it be inappropriate for me to talk to you about that? I don’t want to create a conflict for you with Warbucks Corp., but you’re such a good recruiter that I’d love to work with you when that time comes.”

4. When to contact a helpful employer after a rejection

If you’ve had a couple interviews but did not go further in the selection process or were one of the final candidates but were not chosen, sometimes you get an especially nice email back from the employer and sometimes you don’t. But recently there were two instances where I was told I was a very good candidate or the employer stated they were “really impressed” with my skills. One employer gave me a personal cell number if I ever needed to call him to inquire about jobs.

I said I indeed would be interested in any new openings and thanked them both for the opportunity. One person said they’d contact me and another said I should contact them, but I’m unsure what the correct amount of time is in regards to getting in touch with the second person. Would it seem desperate to contact them just a week afterwards? There are tons of openings there, but I’m thinking maybe I should wait until the “right” one pops up so I don’t appear to be willing to do any job, that way I seem especially enthusiastic for the next one I interview for. What are your thoughts?

A week is waaaayyyy too soon, unless coincidentally there’s already another position that’s truly the perfect match for you. But it sounds like that’s not the case, so wait until something really is a strong match for you and contact them then.

5. A story of post-rejection feedback success

I’m a regular Ask a Manager reader and find it a very helpful resource in general, but I want to especially say thanks for the posts you’ve written on how to react to a job rejection.

I was turned down recently after a final interview for a position that I’d been very excited about. After moping around for a couple hours, I took your advice to reply and nicely ask for feedback. I used your past examples as a general guide (but just a guide! I wrote my own email, I promise!) and my interviewer replied with some very helpful, constructive feedback that clarified for me how I was coming across and how I could improve. She even shared books that had helped her when she was starting out in her career, which was just really, really nice of her. Not to mention useful–the books seem spot-on in terms of what I want to improve on.

Even though I knew I’d made a good impression/gotten along well with the team in the interviews, I don’t think I’d have felt confident enough to ask for feedback without seeing your posts and examples of how it can work out. Which I can now see would have been a wasted opportunity. So, like I said, thanks!

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

1. My company just hired back the person I replaced

At a recent staff meeting, my boss announced that our organization is rehiring the woman who I was hired to replace. From my boss’s remarks, it seems that this was not her decision, but that the former employee went directly to the CEO, with whom she is on good terms. Although my boss assured us this was not going to have any effect on our positions (they are giving her the promotion that she turned down last summer), I’m still nervous about how this is going to affect my job.

My first instinct is to begin looking for another job, but I’ve only been here for five months and most of my previous professional experience has been temp work with gaps in my employment history. When I was hired for this position, I was given the impression that the organization was interested in nurturing my professional development. Is there a way for me to bring my concerns up with my boss? And if it does seem like I should start looking for a new job, how do I explain why I was here for such a short time?

They’re hired her back, but not to replace you — she’s not being hired back into her old role/your current role but into a totally different one. Unless you have reason to believe that she’s going to meddle in your work, I don’t see any cause for alarm here and job-searching absolutely isn’t warranted. Hiring former employees into higher level roles isn’t unusual or bad practice; in fact, it’s actually often a good sign that former employees want to return.

That said, if you’re concerned, you can certainly ask your boss about it. I’d say something like this: “Will Jane’s return impact my role in any way? Do you expect her to become involved again in the projects that used to be hers but have since moved to me?”

2. How to choose who to take to a conference

I’m the senior-ranking member of a group of analysts in my company. As such, I’m responsible for training, some general oversight, and being a first escalation point for questions or issues. There are four other analysts on my team. Two just started with the company within the last quarter, and two have been on my team for about two years.

I recently discovered that the company who created my business’s primary tool is hosting a conference this spring. When I asked my manager about budget to go, she enthusiastically said yes and then asked me who I thought should go with me.

I’m stymied. It would be good for all of us to go, but it would likely be cost- and coverage-prohibitive. All four are technically savvy (the newer ones slightly less so but we’re training them from scratch). Should I pick the two who’ve been here longer, and assume the other two can go next year (it’s the first year of the conference)? What criteria do you recommend?

Well, since you don’t sound entirely certain that you can’t take everyone, figure that out first — because if you can, that would be good to do. But if you can’t, it’s reasonable to offer to take the two most senior people, and explain to the other two that the budget only allowed for two people so you’re taking the two most senior — but that you’ll be looking for other opportunities for the in the future (and then do that).

3. “Tell us what makes you unique in 150 characters or less”

I am in the process of filling out a general application to a company I am interested in. It’s a tech start-up and I feel like I have crafted a great cover letter. However, this is the last question on the application:

“In 150 characters or fewer, tell us what makes you unique. Try to be creative and say something that will catch our eye!”

*Cringe* I feel like this may be a case of style winning over substance. What are your thoughts on this? Some quick research showed that this is not unique to this company and is just a hallmark of the Resumator service. It’s your typical young, edgy start up, so I am wondering what the deal is. I guess I better get started writing a haiku about why I’m awesome.

I could have sworn I answered something like this recently but I can’t find it, so: Yes, it’s gimmicky and a bad way to hire, unless the job involves writing very short, catchy snippets of text. And even then, they should come up with something other than “what makes you unique” — ugh. What matters in hiring isn’t what makes you unique; it’s what indicates you’d excel at the job, which may or may not be unique to you. And asking you to answer in 150 characters or less is an attempt to reference microblogging platforms like Twitter and look hip, so yes, style over substance is a good way to put it.

4. Should I be paid for my whole resignation period if my employer has me leave earlier?

If you submit a written resignation letter with a last date included and your manager lets you go before that date, are you supposed to be paid through the date on resignation letter?

It’s up to the employer. The law only requires that you be paid through the date you actually worked. However, in many states, you can apply for unemployment benefits for the time between when they had you leave and the date you intended to leave (since in the unemployment agency’s eyes, you were involuntarily separated from employment for that period, even if it’s just a couple of weeks).

5. How to handle less relevant jobs on my resume

Say I’m applying for a job and I have relevant work experience, but it was several jobs ago. Including all of the in-between job information would significantly increase the length of my resume and, I fear, “water down” that relevant experience because there’s more text and details to absorb. Leaving them off, however, makes it appear as though I have a gap in my resume.

I’d do a Relevant Work Experience section with the relevant stuff, followed by an Other Experience section with the rest of it. Also, you don’t need to go into a ton of detail about those less relevant jobs; depending on your resume as a whole, it might even make sense to just list job title, employer, and time periods for those.