Ask a Manager

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

1. Should I let a company fly me out even though I’m unlikely to accept their offer?

My in-person in interview with Company A was cancelled due to weather. However, I interviewed with several managers over the phone and they called me to tell me I should receive an offer within a few days. I mentioned that I would still like to come in-person and they are currently working on setting that up. I have not yet received the offer in writing (I’m wondering if they’re waiting until the visit).

I then had an in-person interview with Company B and I received an offer from them.

Due to the location and the managers I met during the interview (as well as a few other factors), I’m strongly leaning towards Company B, but I haven’t even had a chance to see Company A or meet anyone in person. Should I go ahead and visit Company A, even though it’s unlikely I’ll accept their offer (assuming I get the formal offer)? I feel like it might be pretty rude, especially since they’re paying and the visit is really only for my benefit (since they’ve already made their decision).

If you’re still genuinely open to accepting their offer, there’s nothing wrong with visiting so that you have more data to decide for sure (as long as you have time to do that before Company B needs an answer). That’s true even if you’re leaning toward the other company; leaning isn’t the same as having decided for sure. But if you’ve really made up your mind and deep down you know the visit isn’t likely to change that, then I’d save everyone the time (and them the expense) and skip it.

2. My coworker bombed an internal interview

We have an opening for a professional job, and I was a participant in one part of the two-day interview for a candidate who happens to be a colleague. This would be a good move for her, but she has been working for a long time in a different department with only some crossover of skills. In the part of the interview I was in, she didn’t seem to have done any homework on the areas where she’s less qualified. I mean none! She didn’t even mention any professional associations or journals in the new area of expertise, which would have shown she at least knew how to get up to speed. I work closely with that department, so I want to see the best qualified person get hired. And if not qualified, someone who will be eager to learn the ropes. I was very disappointed and told the search committee this.

I really hope she doesn’t get this job (still waiting to hear). If she doesn’t get it, I want to give her some constructive feedback. If she does get the job, I’ll be one of the people coaching her or at least working closely with her. Any advice?

It depends on your role in the hiring process, as well as your relationship with her. Ideally, the hiring manager should give internal candidates feedback if they’re not selected. If you suspect the hiring manager isn’t planning to do that, you could nudge her to, and give her some talking points that you think would helpful for your coworker. But otherwise, it’s not really your place to do it, unless you have a particularly close or mentor-like relationship with your coworker. (If that’s the case, you could certainly approach her with feedback in that context.)

3. We don’t want to be listed on our company’s website because of angry callers

I have been trying to find some information online that supports the concept of not putting employee names on company/organization websites to protect their privacy. We deal with a lot of very angry people and while it makes sense to have some of us listed on the company website, I don’t think the employees taking resident calls should be listed. People can be shockingly threatening about trash. We don’t give out our last names during customer complaint calls for that very reason. The employees really don’t want to be on the website, but we are facing push back from the person who ultimately makes the decision. Really, there is no reason for the public to know who the clerical staff is, so I don’t see the value in listing their names. Is there anything we can do about this?

You can explain your reasons as a group, calmly and logically, and if there have been unpleasant incidents with customers that support the idea that identifying employees on the website could cause problems, you can point those out too. Ultimately it’s your company’s call, but a good company will hear you out (and will explain why they disagree, if ultimately they do).

In general, though, there’s no specific business need to list employees on a website, unless they’re in customer-facing roles where people need to be able to look them up. And many businesses make the decision not to list them — some because it’s not particularly necessary, and others for exactly the reasons you describe.

4. Backing out of an offer to work over the summer

So I’ve been with a landscaping company for a year now (full-time in the summer, part-time during the year) and they’ve been very good to me. I’m transferring to another school in a different city next fall and I’ve been offered a situation where I can make close to $25,000 for the summer. This would comfortably cover all my living expenses.

The only problem is that I told my bosses that I’d stay for the summer because that’s their busiest time of year. I’d hate to go back on my word especially since they’ve treated me so well since I’ve been there. So I’m in sort of a dilemma because I’m not sure what I should do.

People’s plans change, especially when moves are involved. If you tell them now, they’ll still have plenty of time to prepare for summer coverage. Explain that your circumstances have changed and you’ll actually be leaving in June (or whenever); they’ll understand.

5. Can I re-use the same cover letter when applying for a job I applied for previously?

About 9 months ago, I applied for a job that I was really passionate about, and actually my CV and cover letter were picked up and I was contacted for a first round of selection, which consisted in a quick questionnaire about the subject of the job (usability research). Unfortunately I didn’t pass that test then, but long story short, now that company has again open positions for the exact same job, and I wish to reapply. Do you think it’s ok to use the same CV and cover letter I used the first time, since they were already successful in getting me a test, or I run the risk to look lazy this way?

Same resume is fine (assuming that nothing has changed since then and you don’t have recent accomplishments to add), but you shouldn’t use the same cover letter. It would be like meeting someone on an online dating service, going out with them a time or two, and then a year later reaching back out to them with the exact message you sent them the first time. Do a new cover letter.

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

1. Will my work be tarred by a co-author’s bad reputation?

I’m an attorney looking to change jobs in the next year or so and am updating my resume. When I was an undergrad (more than 10 years ago), I worked closely with a professor in a field tangentially related to law and wrote a few articles and a book chapter with him. I’m pleased with that work and have listed it in a publications section on my resume up until this point.

After I finished college, I didn’t have much contact with this professor except for an email exchange my first semester of law school where he said two of our co-authors on one of the articles were upset about the manuscript being submitted to a less prestigious publication. Ultimately, the two other co-authors alleged that my former professor had forged their signatures prior to submitting the manuscript and demanded to have their names removed from the article. (This resulted in some press and the ultimate removal of their names.)

This began a downward spiral for my former professor, who had been a high profile figure in his field. He was denied tenure, moved to a much less prestigious school, left there unceremoniously after a dispute about the accuracy of his CV, had a well-publicized affair with a grad student, and got some really bad press within his professional circles, among other misdeeds.

The last time I was job hunting, my former professor wasn’t in disgrace. Now, I’m thinking long and hard about whether I want to list these publications. A quick Google search of my name and my former professor’s will turn up his issues, especially the article where he and I are now the only two authors owing to the aforementioned dispute.)

I’m proud of the work I did and the publications are a point of distinction in my area of practice. (I also published an article wholly independently of my former professor several years after I worked with him.) I’m just not sure about including them on my resume going forward. Thoughts?

I’ll be interested to hear from people in law to see if they have a different take, but as long as your professor’s bad reputation isn’t based on the quality of his work, I wouldn’t worry too much about this. If he’s known to do terrible work, then you wouldn’t want to be associated with him — but if his bad rep is more about his behavior, then I don’t think your work is going to get too tarred by association.

2. Having a reference proactively call an employer

I’m currently one of two people being considered for a job. The prospective employer has already called my references. A friend told me that it could be helpful to have an additional reference call the employer to offer a reference on my behalf. He said that this could help sway their decision, but I’m worried that it would seem pushy. What do you think?

It entirely depends  on how effusively enthusiastic that reference is going to be about you. If that person is going to rave about you — like the “move heaven and earth to hire this person” kind of rave — then it can be helpful. Or, if the reference actually knows the hiring manager, that can be super helpful too. But if it’s a stranger who seems reasonably but not incredibly positive about you, then it risks coming across as unhelpful.

3. Am I being a doormat?

I’ve been in my job for about 2 years now and I really do love it. I finally have found a fulfilling job with great managers and an excellent work environment. There’s only one problem: my compensation. I am paid a salary way below market value for my work. Worse, I’ve taken on a few extra projects over the years (all with a good attitude and effort– whether I am excited to do them or not) and expanded my workload well beyond what I’ve started with. And I haven’t seen a raise yet, just vague promises of “some day.”

My boss is aware of that I’d like one and I’ve had a conversation with him at every quarterly meeting. He says he’d like to give me one, but it’s not in the budget. Meanwhile, other members of the company have indeed received plenty of raises and rewards. The company also has grown by leaps and bounds over the years I’ve been here.

At this point, I can’t tell if I’m being a doormat or patient. I know my work is valued and I’m praised pretty often. I’m also treated pretty well (and I deeply appreciate that– bad bosses are too common!). However, my compensation is just very low and I’m concerned that “some day” may never come. Should I start searching for new jobs? Or try having a candid conversation with my boss? I think they want me to be happy and I would really rather stay here than leave.

There’s certainly no harm in having one more raise conversation with your boss (framing it as, “We’ve discussed this many times before and at this point I’d like a firm timeline for getting my salary up to market rates”), but I wouldn’t count on any promises of “some day.” At this point, your boss is only credible about giving you a raise when you actually see a raise in your paycheck.

Until/unless you actually see that money, assume that you’re never getting a raise no matter what promises you hear — because that’s what all the evidence says — and proceed accordingly.

4. What should I say when introducing a job seeker to another contact by email?

I make email introductions for job seekers from time to time. As an example, let’s say that someone I worked with in the past is job searching, and they ask me to introduce them to someone I know who works at a company where they are applying. What is the etiquette in these situations? Who goes in the to: line, or cc: line, and who should you write the email to? How should the email be structured?

I don’t think it really matters that much; there are a number of different ways to do these. Personally, I tend to address it to both people, with both of them in to the “to” line, and then I write something like, “Persephone and Apollo, I’ve told you each a little about the other and I’m now I’m connecting you. I think you’ll enjoy talking to each other, and I’ll let you take it from here.”

Of course, note that that indicates that I’m not connecting them cold — I’ve already explained to the contact what the context is (and sometimes asked permission to connect them). If I hadn’t done that, I might address it to the contact and say something like, “I hoped you might be willing to talk to Apollo Montblanc, cc’d here, about his search for work in the teapot industry.”

5. Should I get extra pay for working on a day others had off?

I am a non-exempt employee and we recently had a snow day. The entire company was paid for that day. However, I handle payroll and so I was given a laptop and told to ensure that payroll was submitted on time. I had no problem doing this, but when I came back to work and asked my employer if I would be compensated for the time I worked, she laughed at me. I think its unfair that everyone got paid for the snow day but I was still expected to work. No one else (to my knowledge) was expected to work. Am I entitled to compensation for working on a day that everyone had off and worked?

You were paid for the time that you spent working, so you were compensated. I think what you’re asking is whether you’re entitled to anything extra, since everyone else got paid that day for doing nothing. Legally, no, there’s no requirement for that; the law only cares that you’re paid for the time you worked, which you were.

Beyond that, I get why this is frustrating, but sometimes it’s the nature of a job — that you’ll end up being needed on a day that other people aren’t. Some employers will recognize that by giving you additional pay or holiday time to use on a different day, and others don’t; there’s no “best practice” here that would dictate that you get paid extra for that time.

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

1. My company says I didn’t return their property on my last day

What can happen if you say you returned all company property after being terminated, but the company says you didn’t? My employer fired me on Monday, asked for my badge, cell, iPad, briefcase, and chargers. I gave them the badge and cell and went to my car to get the chargers, briefcase, and iPad and then left them in the office right inside the door and left. I then received a letter with my final paycheck saying that I told them I was going to my car and never returned.

It’s too late for this now, but ideally you’d want to give the property to an actual person; if you just leave it inside the door, there’s too much chance that it will get misplaced by someone who doesn’t know the context for why it’s there. If you told them you were going to your car to get these items and then just stuck them inside the door and left, and someone moved (or took) the items, I can see why they thought you just took off. And I totally get wanting to get the hell out of there after being fired, but you did kind of play fast and loose with that property, even if you didn’t intend to.

In any case, all you can do is explain what happened. I’d say something like this to them: “The day that I left, January 26, I left two chargers, a briefcase, and an iPad directly inside the front door of the building, right around 2:45 p.m. My understanding was that you wished me to leave after returning this property, which I did. I hope I didn’t misunderstand. In any case, if there are any loose ends still to be tied up, please let me know.”

Also, it’s not clear to me whether they paid you the full amount due in your final check or whether they’re withholding the cost of these items. In most states, they owe you the full amount of your final paycheck either way, unless you signed a written agreement to the contrary.

2. A client invited me to a sports event, but I barely work with them

I got an email a few days ago inviting me to a sports game with one of our company’s clients (another company). It was addressed to four people in my office. On the list, I am one of two junior people and was the least involved on the project for the client. On top of that, I have been having some performance issues unrelated to their project. I’ve never met these people at meetings or otherwise because until my performance issues are resolved, I will not be in a client facing role, although I have had minimal email correspondence with them. We do work with this client fairly often, so I may have contact with them in the future, but it feels strange for me to go to a social outing with them when I haven’t had much professional contact with them in the past and probably won’t in the near future. Should I go? And if so, what does one wear to this kind of event?

It’s pretty normal to go to this kind of thing even if you don’t work closely with a client — and for clients to issue this type of invitation broadly. If you’d enjoy going, don’t let any of these concerns hold you back. You could check with your manager just to make sure, but it’s not unusual for clients to issue this kind of invitation, even to staff members they might not know well.

As for what to wear, I’d assume that a nicer version of casual wear is fine, but if you’re unsure, check with the more senior people in your office who are going.

3. Can I find out if my company plans to change out some bad managers?

I have a tough decision to make; I recently received a job offer from a company that I’ve worked closely with in the past. The job is almost exactly what I’m doing now, the pay is comparable, and the company really focuses on work-life balance for its employees. The downside is that there isn’t much in terms of career growth at that company.

My current place of work is very fast-paced and high stress, and there are a lot of middle managers who cause issues (hiring/promoting based on favoritism, refusing to hold people accountable for their actions, etc.). The department head has expressed interest in my career at this company, but has been somewhat vague about what that path actually is. The work that I’m doing is interesting and if it wasn’t for these managers and lack of work-life balance, I would want to make a career here.

Several people have suggested that I go to the department head and explain my situation, and ask for a) a more concrete career path and b) find out if there will be any changes to the department in terms of these managers. Should I have this conversation at all? If so, do you have any advice about how to approach the conversation without it becoming an ultimatum?

It’s reasonable to talk about what your future career path there might look like — although unless you get a clear promise of a specific path with a specific timeline attached to it, I wouldn’t rely on it enough to reject a different offer. (Ideally this is the kind of conversation you would have had long before that job offer came up, so that you’d have had some time to see whether those promises looked likely to play out.) But asking whether managers will be removed from their jobs is really unlikely to go over well — it’s pretty unlikely that there are plans to do that, and even if there were those plans would be unlikely to be shared with you, and it’s going to look really weird to ask about it.

Your safest bet is to assume that everything is going to stay the same at your current job, and make your decision accordingly.

And for what it’s worth, I’d be a little wary of making a lateral move if you’re interested in moving up in your career — usually people use moves to progress up the ladder. And I’d be especially concerned that you’re jumping to a company where you say there’s not much career growth, if you happen to be interested in growth. If you are, why confine yourself to these two options, rather than finding other options to throw in the mix?

4. My paycheck deductions were wrong and now I owe more taxes

I was recently doing my taxes and I noticed that last year I paid very little throughout the year, so I looked at my paycheck and it said I claimed 5 deductions the whole year. I had been working at my current job from 2007 to mid 2011, left for about a year, and came back in mid-2012 and filled out a new W4 form. My old one from 2011 said 5 deductions but this new one said 2, so I took it to payroll and they said it was my fault for not looking at my paycheck for two years, so now I owe a lot of taxes. Whose fault is it? And what can I do?

It’s their fault for not changing your deductions, but they’re right that it’s your responsibility to look at your pay stub to be sure it’s correct. Ultimately you’re the one responsible for fixing it; you’ve been receiving more money than you were supposed to in your check and having less withheld for taxes, and that’s on you to both notice and fix, unfortunately. They should certainly be apologetic about the error, and it’s their responsibility to fix it now that you’ve pointed it out, but it would be very rare for an employer to pay the un-withheld taxes to the government; that’s still your personal tax liability.

5. Boss doesn’t want women working late at the office

My boss recently told me I am not allowed to stay late at the office. He says it is not safe for a woman to be out alone at night, but he allows men to stay late. Is that allowed? I want to work.

Is he literally saying that you aren’t allowed to stay late because you’re a woman? Or is he more expressing concern for your safety without actually stopping you from working late if you want to? If it’s the former, that’s not at all legal. An employer can’t give you different schedule restrictions simply because you’re a woman. In that case, I’d say this to him: “Federal law is really clear that we can’t schedule women differently than men. I appreciate your concern for my safety, but I don’t want to be treated any differently than my male coworkers, and I think we really need to pay attention to the law on this one.”

If it’s more just him expressing concern but not actually restricting what you do, I’d tone that down a bit, to something more like, “Thanks, I appreciate your concern, but I don’t want to be treated any differently than the men here.”