Ask a Manager

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

1. When a senior coworker produces bad work

I’m an associate attorney working at a law firm (private practice). The nature of the firm’s practice requires a good amount of collaboration among attorneys, and as such it’s very common for multiple attorneys to perform tasks on one case even though only one person is designated as handling the file. There is one other attorney in the office (I’ll call him X) who is an associate senior to me, but not a partner. I have collaborated with X on various cases, and in seeing his work I realize it’s just…bad (things are missing, he didn’t get into the required level of detail, etc.). I have been asked to “fix” things for other attorneys on multiple occasions where X had performed shoddy work on a task in an earlier stage of the case. Others in the office have told me in confidence that X is not well liked at the firm, that at least some people know how bad his work is, and that he was nearly fired once before.

Is there anything that I can do to make the higher-ups aware of X’s consistently poor work without damaging my own good reputation within the company? (This is confirmed – I get consistently positive feedback on my work product and received a bonus and a raise as a result of my last performance evaluation.) I feel it is a detriment to our clients to have me or other attorneys bill extra hours to fix the work that X didn’t adequately produce in the first place. I don’t collaborate with X on every single case, but seemingly every time I do end up working with him, his work product is sub-par. Any suggestions on how to address this, or should I just let it go as outside of my control?

Well, it sounds like they know — if he was nearly fired, someone with authority over him is aware of the problems. And it sounds like you know that other people are seeing the same things you’re seeing. So I’d assume you don’t need to bring this to anyone’s attention — they know.

If that weren’t the case, it could be appropriate to deliver a discreet heads-up to your manager or the firm’s managing partner if you had a good rapport with her — but it sounds like that isn’t going to be new information to them.

2. My coworker’s three kids are running wild in our office and my managers won’t do anything about it

I work at a large company (more than 500 employees in my office, thousands around the world) that values working moms and dads and offers generous benefits for families (like health benefits, flexible schedules, and time off). My department shares our floor with a department led by a very nice guy who I will call Clive. Clive is friendly, smart, and as highly valued and popular as an employee can be within the company. He’s also a working dad, and on days when his kids are off from school, he brings them to the office—all four of them, and all under the age of 12—and works a full day. He does not supervise them while they’re here, and they run wild (they are kids, after all), turning our floor into their playroom.

Needless to say, everything about this situation drives everybody in my department nuts: the disappearance of silence (a quiet work environment is necessary for my department); Clive’s lack of supervision of his children; and his seeming cluelessness about how bringing them to the office for a full workday could be disrespectful of his colleagues’ work.

I’ve discussed this with my own supervisor (and her supervisor as well), but I get the impression that nobody knows what to do. My supervisors are failingly polite, and I think they feel it’s an issue for HR to handle. But is it? And if it is, am I in a position to go to HR about it, or should it be my supervisors?

Your managers are falling down on the job here; this is absolutely something they should be handling. They should be telling Clive directly that either (a) he can’t bring his kids into work (possibly making an exception for very rare emergencies; some places allow that and some don’t), or (b) he needs to closely supervise his kids when they’re there and ensure that they don’t disrupt others, or the privilege will be revoked. (Whether they should do A or B will depend on the type of work your office does and what the culture is.) It’s ridiculous that they’re acting as if they’re powerless here.

However, since they are, yes, it would absolutely be appropriate for you to talk to HR about it.

3. My manager cites God’s will in response to any issues

I have a supervisor who won’t stop talking about God at work. Any time anyone has an issue, she says they shouldn’t do anything about it, as it is God’s will. It makes me very uncomfortable and I do not want to be involved in a religious discussion on the job. Should I go to HR?

Good god, yes. The fact that she’s your manager makes this particularly inappropriate (and that she’s using it to avoid doing her job!), and HR should intervene.

4. Interviewing with a doctor who operated on my son

I have a second interview at a surgery center, this time with a physician who operated on my son 10 years ago. Is it appropriate to say something to the doctor after the interview that we loved her and that she did a great job on my son and that he has had no problems since the surgery? I know it won’t add value to the actual interview but think that adding a personal connection may add to the process. What is your opinion?

I’m sure there are some people who feel differently about this, but I would absolutely mention it. You want to be sure not to let the interview go too off-track into the personal, so stick with just a quick mention of the connection that you feel to her practice because of your experience. Many interviewers would be glad to hear something like that.

5. Can my resume mention a job where I was paid under the table?

I’m handing in my 2 weeks notice tomorrow for my job as a waitress for the past 7 months, where I’ve been working under the table. Stupid, I know, and I do regret it. I live in an area that has a lot of immigrants and international students so it’s very common to work under the table here. I’m currently a second year in college and have asked my friends who have previously worked under the table if they included that experience on their resumes, and they all said that they did with no problem.

I’m planning on applying for an internship, and aside from this job, my last job was over a year ago and only lasted 3 months (tutoring for a quarter), so I’m nervous about the time gap if I were to leave it off. The only other job I worked before that was retail, but it was a long time ago. My boss really likes me and told me he’d be more than happy to be a reference if I choose to list him as one. What would you recommend doing in this situation – citing this job as under work experience or just ignoring it altogether?

It’s fine to include it on your resume. It still counts as work, despite the fact that you were paid under the table. Your payment arrangements aren’t really relevant when it comes to your work history or references. The place where this could potentially become an issue is with a future background check, if there’s no record of tax forms for those earnings — but an internship and other types of jobs you’re likely to apply to while in college are very unlikely to conduct the sort of background check that would turn that up. They’re likely to stick to reference calls, where it won’t matter.

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

1. My manager is venting about work and staff members on Facebook

I’ve recently been struggling with the relationship I have with my boss. She originally started out as a coworker and we had a great working relationship. She friend-requested me on Facebook and I accepted. Months later, she and another coworker were promoted, and I began to notice that they would vent about work together on Facebook. I didn’t want to un-friend her, because I felt like an awkward conversation would follow. Now, she has been promoted again and is communicating via Facebook with the other managers and team leads, making incredibly negative comments about staff members and work situations in a format that is visible to all. Several of my team mates have noticed as well and feel uncomfortable knowing that our supervisors are acting this way. Any advice as to handling that situation?

She’s an idiot, and it’s not your problem to solve. I’d block her posts so you don’t have them in your face, and wait patiently for this to blow up on her at some point.

But if you want it to stop now, and you still have a pretty good relationship with her, you could say to her, “I don’t know if you realized that Jane, Apollo, and I can see your conversations on Facebook about ___, so I wanted to alert you!” Hopefully that will make the point on its own, but if instead her response is some version of “so?” then I suppose you could say, “It feels a little awkward since you’re our manager,” but really, at that point she’s made it clear that she’s an idiot and I’m not sure there’s much point in pursuing it. (I’d also assume that if you do, you’ll be talked about on Facebook next.)

Besides, in this day and age, it shouldn’t be news to her that people can see this stuff. So I’d lean toward just blocking the posts, ignoring it as much as you can, and waiting for the inevitable crap hitting the fan for her.

2. Can I ask for outside feedback on my work?

I work at a small nonprofit where my boss is also the head of the organization. He’s been working in our field for only about 5 years. This is my first job out of grad school. In previous settings, I have received mostly positive comments on my written work. Here, I’ve been receiving a lot of feedback on my written work that basically it is extremely sub-par. He tends to send that work back to me under the assumption that I’m not trying, couching it in terms of saying “please review this again to make sure it is your best work,” without further suggestions. I will then make what edits I can find to make, and send it back. Changes that he then makes are often then done in an exasperated tone, and he often fully rewrites my work, and then sends me an email saying that he shouldn’t have to do this much editing on my work and that he “knows I’m a better writer than this.” He’s never given me feedback about a consistent mistake I’m making, and I’ve been unable to find a pattern; I’ve asked, and he simply says, “You know that could have been better written, I need you to try harder.”

I’ll admit I’m very frustrated; It feels like he’s looking for a clone who can produce something that’s exactly like what he writes and I feel like I have to read his mind.  I’m at a total loss how to produce work he’ll be happy with on the first try. My colleagues here who have reviewed my work say that “our boss is nuts, this writing is good, don’t let him get to you,” but obviously it’s not their call. But it does lead me to further distrust my manager’s negative opinion of my work.

Since I also manage my own accounts and regularly do writing that he does not review, I am concerned that if he is right, there’s a systemic problem with my writing that my manager is unwilling or unable to articulate, and that it might be hurting my clients as well as my performance. Would it be appropriate to, without my manager’s knowledge, seek an outside mentor, like a former professor, to review a couple redacted pieces of my written work and help me determine if it’s really as subpar as my manager believes and get some more constructive edits?

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with seeking outside feedback on your work. Make sure you choose the right person though — a fairly picky writer/editor. Someone who doesn’t fall in that category isn’t as likely to be able to give you useful feedback. (I actually fit that profile and would be willing to take a look myself, if you want to send some stuff over here.)

Of course, then the question is what you do from there. If you hear “yeah, there’s some stuff here to work on,” that’ll be really helpful to know. But if you hear “it looks fine to me,” then what? In that case — actually, in both cases — it would probably help to look at samples of writing that your boss does like, and really study them to try to spot the differences between what you’re doing and what he’s doing. The fact that there’s not an easy pattern to spot might be because the issues are about things like nuance and the rhythm of the words (things that are also hard for many people to give clear feedback on) … or, of course, your boss might just be ridiculous. But that’s where I’d start.

3. Asking an interviewer about a recent scandal

I applied to a job at a college in another state, and through my research found the school is on probation. Last year there was apparently a sex scandal involving high level administrators, ethics, and legal violations. The college has been given time to fix the problems and it appears they have fired most of the staff associated with the problems. Should I bring this up in my interview and ask about it? Now that I know, it feels like the elephant in the room. I should note that I’m fairly certain the job I applied to and am interviewing for is vacant because the previous person was fired as a result of this scandal. Thoughts on tactfully asking about it?

Sure, if there’s information you genuinely want to know (it sounds like you know the basics). You could say, “I’ve read a bit about the events that led to the school being put on probation with (governing body). Can you tell me anything about how that’s being handled?”

4. Bolding words in a cover letter

I know this is kind of a grey area, and really involves hiring managers’ individual preferences, but I’d love your input on this. Lately I’ve seen cover letters with skills being described in boldface within the sentence.  For example, “As a leader in a non-profit organization, I frequently work to tight deadlines and regularly reassess changing priorities, strengthening my problem-solving skills.”

What do you think? A handy way of making the important bits stand out?  Or a crutch relied on by bad writers unable to create impact with words?

Eh. I’m not going to hold it against a candidate, but I usually think that if you find yourself doing that to make your letter compelling, the problem is the content of your letter — not something that can be fixed by using boldface. If your letter is great, it doesn’t need bolding in it.

And yeah, I know the idea is that hiring managers are skimming and you want to catch their eye — but you can catch their eye with content.

5. I can’t get in touch with a past manager for a reference

I’m a recent grad, and I’m waiting to hear back from my past supervisor for a great summer job I had in 2013. It really is too early for me to say if she’s ignoring my email or not, but I am still paranoid about how well I did in that position and I was wondering what I should do if I don’t hear back from her. I sent her an email asking if it would be okay to use her. Would it be out of line for me to call her a week or so after I haven’t heard from her through email? Truthfully, all I want is a yes or a no.

Also, there are so many job openings at the organization I worked at last summer. If she ultimately doesn’t reply or says no, should I give up on that organization completely? They are such a big, big organization for the field that I am in my city that I don’t really know what I would do if I can’t apply for jobs there. Should I try to contact another employee from the branch I worked at to be a character reference? I’m being a bit paranoid about the situation, but I’d like to know what I should do if my worst fears are true.

It’s fine to call her if you haven’t heard back after a week. That said, the fact that you don’t know how well you did in the position and whether she’d give you a glowing reference is worrisome — you’d ideally know those things before offering her up as a reference. So you might also ask her if she feels like she could speak highly of your work or not, so you’re not planting land mines for yourself without realizing it.

If you can’t get in touch with her or she says no, you can try reaching out to others there who know your work (not as a character reference; as a work reference). However, be aware that many hiring managers will want to talk to the person who was actually your manager there — or will at least want to know why they shouldn’t. So you really want to get a better sense of how your performance was seen overall.

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

1. I was asked to work more slowly so other people don’t look bad

I work in an editorial position for a major healthcare organization. I’ve been here about six months, I’ve gotten great feedback from my boss and coworkers, and I’m really enjoying being here. I’ve been particularly praised for my very quick turnaround and accurate work.

My boss’s boss spoke with me this morning, and he had a different take. While he said he’s heard my work is accurate, he’s concerned with how quickly I’m performing it. Essentially, he is concerned that if another member of the editorial team is asked to complete a task, they might not complete it as quickly as I can, and the requester might wonder why another member of the team can’t get it done as fast as I can. He asked that I do my editing work, save it, then look at it 30 minutes later, and THEN send it back.

Um, what? I’m being reprimanded for being TOO good at my job? Am I nuts for thinking he’s nuts?

Well, to be fair, it doesn’t sound you’re being reprimanded. You’re being asked to adjust a work habit to help manage other departments’ expectations. That’s not crazy on its face, but it’s crazy in this particular application, because he’s basically telling you not to let people know how fast you are (and that others aren’t as good as you).

I’d talk to your direct manager, explain what her boss asked you, explain your concerns, and see what she says. But if she’s on board with this, then you pretty much have to proceed that way. On the bright side, you now have a great piece of evidence that you’re faster than everyone else, which can be used in future interviews, if you’re delicate in how you present it.

One more thing: The instructions to save your work, then look at it 30 minutes later, and then send it back raise the possibility that your boss’s boss has concerns about accuracy or thinks that you’ll be able to improve the work on that second look. It’s worth getting clarification about whether he was burying that type of concern in what he said to you.

2. What’s the purpose of a mentor?

For so much of my working life, I’ve always just had my “job,” but with five years with my current company I can finally see a career path and a desire to move up (I have no formal qualifications and assumed near entry-level would be my lot in life).

You discuss mentoring fairly regularly, and I don’t know if it’s a country thing (I’m Aussie) but I’ve had very little exposure to the concept. I was wondering what makes a mentor, and what differentiates a mentor and someone you just regularly complain to? In my role, I’m a project-based employee, and usually that means I rarely work side-by-side with another person in my role. Usually there is just one of us on each project site (physical site), and so with colleagues all conversation usually degenerates into us each blowing off steam and venting about our frustrations on our individual projects. This is often the case with discussions with people a level above us too, as our frustrations are similar. So should I look higher in the ranks for a mentor? Our business is so varied that I would be a bit worried they would lose relevance to my job, but I understand my boss’ boss shouldn’t be a mentor either.

Mentoring definitely isn’t about venting. Mentors can give you advice on workplace and career issues and can provide a sounding board as you try to figure things out. For instance, you might blow off steam with a coworker about your annoying boss (although that’s not a great idea to do regularly, because it can become toxic and make you even more unhappy), but you might talk to a mentor about strategies for working well with that boss and seek her advice on what would and wouldn’t be effective.

Ideally your mentors are people a bit ahead of you in their careers — so that they have more experience and a different vantage point than you have. Your boss’s boss isn’t usually the right pick (since you want to be able to speak freely, even when it doesn’t reflect well on you or your boss), but I’d think about other contacts in your field.

Here are some articles that might shed a little more light.

3. Mentioning a journal article that I haven’t had published yet

I work for Organization X, and with a more senior colleague, am writing an invited publication to be put out in the journal produced by Organization Y. The publication contains confidential data and cannot be sent to Organization Y until our policy office at Organization X gives it their approval.

My dilemma is, Organization Y is hiring a full-time writer for this journal. I would love to work for them but I’m torn about whether or not to mention the upcoming publication in my application materials. It feels awkward to say, “You should hire me because I’m already writing an article for you–but I can’t share it yet!” They have no assurance that this article will be any good (it will be but I can’t expect them to take that on faith). I have other writing samples to share, but as this is a piece specifically for their journal it seems like a missed opportunity not to mention it. I have considered stripping out the confidential data but that’s not an option as the data analysis is the entire focus of the article. Do I mention I am writing this article or keep it to myself for now?

I don’t see any problem with mentioning it, but I don’t see how it helps you in any significant way since they can’t see it yet and presumably haven’t accepted it yet. So it’s fine to mention, but I would do so only in passing — not as an argument that you particularly lean on for your candidacy.

4. Explaining why I’m moving, when I’m following my boyfriend

My boyfriend is going to be starting graduate school out of state, and I will be leaving my current job to move with him. I’m reluctant to provide this as my reason for quitting when the time comes, however, as it just sounds childish to me to refer to “my boyfriend” in a professional context. Though we live together and have been together for 4 years, I don’t feel like attributing a career move to him will be taken seriously since we are not engaged or married. I happen to have a lot of issues with management, my work, and coworkers in this position and am happy to have the opportunity to move on anyway, but I’d prefer to leave my employer thinking, “She was great, too bad she had to move.”

Is there a professional way to convey my reason for leaving that will hopefully prevent inappropriate questions (one of my issues with management) and leave a better impression than talking about my personal life?

“I’ve decided to move to ___ to be closer to family.” If you’re moving with him, it’s not a stretch to put your boyfriend in the “family” category.

5. What’s up with this unprofessional interviewer?

I had a fairly unprofessional interview experience recently. The manager texted me for communication before the interview (we’ve never spoken) and was pretty inconsistent in following through with dates and times we agreed to speak. The experience left me questioning his level of professionalism, so I googled him, only to find more unprofessionalism in his profile on social media sites.

I would really like this job and I am shocked that a growing company recently acquired by a large public corporation would have someone respond to applicants in the way I was approached. I’ve concluded that I will continue with the process as long as they allow it to continue and make my judgments if I get an actual offer. That being said, do you think a company might relax their interview approach to see how you respond? I take my work very seriously and although I love to have a good time, I believe there is a time and a place.

This guy isn’t doing this intentionally to see how you respond; this is how he operates. What you’re learning about him is that he’s unprofessional, disorganized, and has bad judgment — something that exists in large public corporations as well as small places. You might end up deciding you’re willing to take the job anyway (everyone makes their calculations on stuff like this differently), but make sure you go into it with your eyes open about who this guy is.