Ask a Manager

It’s seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. Is there any hope for college dropouts?

I am a mid-20s college dropout who is quickly learning that to most employers, “some college” is the same thing as no college. My situation is a bit unique because I did complete the number of credit hours required to earn a degree, but because I changed my major so many times, none of it counted towards a degree in the end. About 75% of my coursework fulfills a STEM major that I settled on in the end, but I ran out of money and had to leave to pursue full-time work in order to save up enough to finish undergrad.

Since then, things have not gone as planned. The only jobs I qualify for are low-paying retail and clerical jobs at companies where there isn’t much room for growth. I do not feel above these jobs, and I take great pride in my work, but I do feel like a failure sometimes. This is because I went through the college experience but have nothing to show for it in the end. My lack of a degree has closed many doors and I am now trying to push forward and figure out what steps to take to get back on track.

Is there a way for a job seeker with some college to still be competitive in this market? I would love to find a challenging job that pays a bit more so I could save up quicker for college while still building a strong resume. Is this possible with the right approach? I’m currently working two jobs to support myself and save for college as I have given up on finding anything better without a degree. At this rate, it will be a while before I am financially able to return. I just want to make sure that I have not given up too soon. Is there any hope for a college dropout?

Ugh, I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. There are some employers who will look at what you accomplished, regardless of degree, but it’s easier to find them when you have more experience to point to. (Those are the employers who are smart enough to know that a degree is really a quick way to screen for some basic education and the wherewithal to stick with something at least minimally challenging for four years — but that once you’re dealing with candidates with years of experience, their track record in the real world says much more about what they’re capable of than a degree can say.)

But when you’re early in your working life and don’t yet have a track record to point to, you’re right that this can be a real obstacle. One way around is to try to find a job in a smaller company where you can work your way up once you’re in. But I’d also talk to your school about what financial assistance might make it possible for you to finish the degree sooner. Good luck.

2. Should I tell a prospective employer that I was laid off after I originally applied?

I applied for a job in July and was contacted two weeks ago to set up a interview in mid-September. Within days of scheduling the interview, I also completed and returned a 10-question pre-screen form, asking questions about whether I’d be willing to relocate, when I would be able to start if offered the job, etc. I indicated that I would be able to start two weeks after acceptance of a written offer.

Fast forward to this week: I was laid off Monday. Should I contact the prospective new employer and let them know that I was laid off and my availability is more flexible? Or do I wait to mention it at the interview?

I actually wouldn’t mention it at all, unless it comes up naturally. You don’t want to lie or misrepresent your situation, but you don’t need to go out of your way to proactively update them either. Employed candidates tend to be the most attractive candidates, and so there’s no need to take the risk of lowering your value in their eyes, however slightly, unless you have to. (And for most jobs, being able to start sooner than two weeks isn’t going to be a significant selling point.)

3. Should you really avoid “I” statements in a cover letter?

I have a clarifying question about advice I have heard that seems to go against the examples of good cover letters on your site. The advice was to “avoid peppering your cover letter with ‘I’ statements” and touting your own value and to instead focus on the company’s needs. This confused me because I thought the point of the cover letter was to talk about yourself and use active voice. Is this advice sound, and if so how do you focus your letter on the company?

No, it’s not sound. The cover letter is about you — and how you can meet the company’s needs, of course, but it’s very difficult to talk about how you’d meet their needs without, you know, talking about yourself. Plus, letters that really do just talk about the company’s needs tend to end up (a) sounding salesy and (b) sounding naive, since you can’t possibly know all that much about their needs from the outside.

4. Forwarding an email someone says they didn’t receive

Email is a standard form of communication in my workplace and is often used more frequently than the phone for interoffice/interdepartmental communication. If another manager or my boss claims to have no knowledge of information or a situation, and I know for a fact that they received that information in the form of an email, is it unprofessional to forward them that email at a later date if the topic resurfaces and he/she claims “I was not informed”?

Not unprofessional at all! But you want to do it politely so it doesn’t come across as adversarial. For instance: “Hmmm, you should have received that email, but maybe it got lost somehow. I’m forwarding it to you here so that you have the information.” (Note that this assumes technical error, rather than incompetence on their part … even when you secretly think/know it was incompetence.)

5. Should I drive 12 hours to a job interview?

I am a recent graduate and have been applying for jobs since May. I just got an email from a hiring manager from a firm that I applied to in a different city. He asked if I was planning to visit the area anytime soon, and said that if so we can set up an interview. What should I do? I have a friend who lives there, and I’ll just have to pay for gas and food. However, it is a 12-hour drive and no guarantees. I already went through a similar experience, but it was very expensive since it was in a different state, and I did not land the job. I would have to ask friends/family for help because I am unemployed right now.

I really want to go and take the risk, but don’t know if I should. Any advice?

If you’re applying for work outside of your geographic area, this is often part of the deal — especially for entry-level jobs, where they just have no incentive to cover your travel expenses, because they have plenty of qualified local candidates — which means that if you want to be considered, you have to get yourself there. However, you always want to keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that it will lead to something … so you have to balance your interest in the job, your interest in moving, your other job prospects, and what your finances will allow. That’s not a calculation I can make for you, but those are the factors to weigh.

6. How to know what’s motivating an overqualified candidate

I will be assisting in interviewing people for a position which will work closely with (and eventually directly for) me. It is an entry-level position in an engineering company, but the job is an analyst position, not an engineering position. As such, it will pay significantly less than an engineering position. One candidate is a contract engineer at our company who is just starting his career. He does not have experience in the type of work the analyst will do. The other candidate is an engineer with over 20 years of experience, only a little of which is on point for the position we are offering.

Other than asking straight out: “Why are you interested in this job?”, can you think of how I can get to what would prompt two candidates to apply for a job that will pay so much less than I am sure they could get in other places. I can’t help but feel that they see this job as a stepping stone to get into the company, then start looking for a job that is a better fit. How can I find out if that is the case? And should I worry if this is the case?

Second, my boss appears to want to hire the more experienced person, even though we haven’t spoken with him yet. If (and this is a big if) neither applicant appears to be a good fit for the job, what is the best way for me to approach my boss with this assessment. I am concerned that he will want to fill the position even if we don’t find the right person, just to fill the position. I am worried about that.

Be straightforward with the candidate about what you’re wondering: “This position is designed to be entry-level, so it’s a much lower level of responsibility — and really, skill — than what you’ve been doing. Why are you interested in making that kind of move?” … “Are you comfortable with the fact that they pay range will be an entry-level pay range — something around $X to $Y?” And then really listen to the person’s response. Does he have reasons that make sense to you, or does it sound like he’s deluding himself into thinking that the job is higher level than it is or that he can quickly mold it into something higher level? (And make sure that you’re very, very clear about exactly what the job does and doesn’t entail, so that he can self-select out if he didn’t realize that stuff.)

As for your boss, be straightforward there too: “Joe’s answer convinced me that he doesn’t truly want to do this type of work and is hoping to use it as a fast springboard into something else here. And Jane just doesn’t have the qualifications of X and Y that I need for the person in this role. Since I’ll ultimately be managing this position, I’d like to look at more candidates so that we don’t invest in someone who won’t excel in the role.”

7. Company can’t stop seeing me as the receptionist

I have worked for the same company for many years, gaining very strong admin, numerical, and analytical skills along the way. Currently, I manage the reception desk, and over the last 3 years I have improved procedures and service levels, etc.

Recently, the company I work for has had an opening for an executive assistant, which I think would be a perfect step up for me. I have all the required technical and personal skills and experience – but I interviewed for the job along with some external candidates and they didn’t award the job to anyone! The hiring manager told me that she couldn’t get them to see me as more than just “the girl on the front desk,” despite me having the required skills and experience.

Another similar role has just been posted up on the notice board and I called the hiring manager for advice on whether I should apply – she said that she would check out the role a bit ( her colleague is dealing with it) and get back to me. Is really that unusual for a receptionist/administrator to move into an EA or PA role? Is it wrong for me to have ambition? What is their problem? Is there anything I can do to change their perception of me?

I don’t know what their problem is, but that manager gave you some valuable information — they only see you as the receptionist. That might mean that you’re never going to advance in this company, at least not in the way you want to. If that’s the case, why not look at jobs somewhere else? You say you’ve been at your current employer for many years, so it might make a lot of sense to begin looking at what other opportunities are out there.

It’s seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. My boss is rude to another department head

Another department in my organization has a bad rep over the last few years for not having clear budgets, changing program names randomly, etc. They’ve gotten a lot sorted out in the last 18 months, and have a good vision of where their program is going now. My department is fundraising, so we need to understand our organization’s programs to be effective at raising money for them.

My supervisor and others managers in the department approach any interaction with the other department with skepticism and veiled hostility, as a result of the previous years of bad communication. My supervisor also has a loud personality, including often an aggressive tone in meetings. In a recent meeting with the other department, my supervisor was pushy and confrontational in asking questions about their structure and programs, but did it under the guise of “this is a great program and I want to raise money for it, but (insert aggressive question).” You could see the other people visibly tensing up and getting defensive. I know this other department has presented on their new structure before and none of this should have been new to my supervisor. It’s like he ignored the last 9 months of meetings and updates from this department. He tries to pass off his confrontational attitude as being from New York (compared to our passive-aggressive midwestern norm). I think that at times, he’s confusing being direct with being a jerk. Since this other department needs us to fundraise for them, it’s an imbalance in power where they have to play nice and take all of his aggression, and he and the other managers can be as big of a-holes as they like.

I get along pretty well with my supervisor and our work styles complement nicely. But this attitude towards the other department (and increasing unwillingness to learn the details of our organization’s programs) is getting on my nerves and come across as unprofessional, to me and others lower in our department. How, in the future, can I help make these interdepartment meetings more productive and not get overrun with patronizing hostility?

I think your best opportunity here might be behind-the-scenes: Talk to your boss about the changes that you’ve seen in that department and how differently they’re operating now than they used to (assuming you think that’s true). Try nudging him toward a different viewpoint on that department than he currently has.

But beyond that, this probably isn’t your battle to fight. The head of the other department should be tackling it head-on if it’s crossing a line — and the head of the organization should be picking up on your manager’s attitude toward this department and addressing it forthrightly as well. There’s only so much you can do as someone working for this manager.

Read an update to this letter here.

2. I’m picking up my coworker’s slack and my manager won’t do anything about it

I work at a small printing company. There are only seven of us, including my manager. I am in charge of the newspaper; my coworker is in charge of the print jobs. My responsibilities are 90% newspaper, 10% printing. I currently do 90% newspaper, 75% printing. My coworker not only procrastinates, but screws around and gets behind in her work. I need to pick up the slack or we will have unhappy clients. If I don’t do her work, my manager does it.

I’ve approached my manager about this situation five times. He says he sees what my coworker is doing and things will change. Nothing has changed. My assistant manager has the same concerns as I do. I finally told the assistant manager I was frustrated and at the end of my rope. He said my manager knows what’s going on, but is not going to say anything about it because my coworker “knows too much.” She’s been there five years. I think my manager is just too nice and doesn’t want to cause conflict. The assistant manager agreed.

The owners know about my coworker. I was told they want her gone. They’ve been watching her and know I’m carrying her. Do I speak with my manager again? And say what? Do I go directly to the owners? Or to the HR consultant? Help! I am exhausted, overworked, and am getting burned out. I’ve only been working there for 15 months.

Your manager doesn’t want to manage, so unless someone or something intervenes and forces him to (i.e., his manager forces him to or your coworker is, say, caught stealing), he’s not going to fix the problem. You have a terrible manager. You can (a) accept that and live with it, (b) find a job with a manager who manages, or (c) take a chance on talking to the owners, which could work or could backfire horribly, depending on the politics in your workplace. (Even if you do the latter successfully though, and it results in the abolishment of your coworker, you will still be stuck with a horrible manager who won’t manage — do you want that?)

3. Can I apply for a position “for new grads” even though I’m more experienced?

I had been working in the west coast and moved to the east coast because of my husband’s job a year ago. I started my job search three months back. I have a degree in engineering and looking for technical jobs. Recently, I saw a job position that mentioned the job type as “new grad non-co-op.” I understand that this is a full-time opportunity. Can I, an experienced professional, apply for this job? I really like the job description and it will be a very good start. Are the new grad type jobs meant only for the new graduates or can the experienced professionals also apply? Why does the job description specify the job type as new grad?

Well, they’ve pretty clearly stated the profile of who they’re looking for, and you’re probably not it. Their wording tells you that the level of work and responsibility is lower than what you’re used to and qualified for, and that they’re planning to pay far lower than what you, with more experience, would normally expect. It’s not impossible that they’d be willing to hire someone with significantly more experience, but it’s going to be an uphill battle.

4. Manager is making housekeeper work off the clock illegally

I work at a hotel and have for the past three months. Everyone here, from the front desk to housekeeping to van drivers, dislikes the manager. She has worked here for about six months and several people have quit because of her. She seems to have some sort of control freak problem and often talks condescendingly to us front desk agents. No one in the room can know more than her or offer to fix a problem in a different way than she suggests. She also seems to try to find things to write people up on around their three-month mark to discourage anyone asking for a raise (and they pay pretty poorly as well; other hotels in town offer up to $3/hour more).

Anyway, I recently found out she makes the executive housekeeper clock out while she works to avoid going into overtime. This housekeeper works really hard (on top of being in college) and probably averages 45-50 hours a week. But the manager requires her to clock and and continue to work. I’ve told the housekeeper this is illegal and she should stay clocked in anyway, but the housekeeper said she doesn’t want to get yelled at anymore. This, quite frankly, makes me angry. Is there anything I can do that won’t endanger my coworker’s job?

Yes, it’s illegal. I doubt that talking to the manager is going to change anything, so your next step would be to report it to your state labor agency. (You could also let the housekeeper know to track her hours carefully, because after she leaves she could file for back pay for the hours she wasn’t paid for, including the overtime she should have received.)

5. Does school count as training?

I found a job that I would like to apply for, and it says a minimum of five years of experience and/or training is required. I only have about two and a half years of actual experience, but if you count my schooling as “training,” that would bump me up to about six and a half years. So is school considered “training”?

I don’t know — it depends on the job and the employer. In some fields, it would; in others, not. In some companies, it would; in others, not. Go ahead and apply and see. (That said, if you’re counting all four years of college as “training” in this particular field, that’s unlikely to fly, unless you went to a very unusual college that focused all of your coursework on this one subject.)

Keep in mind, too, that these figures are rarely exact requirements; they’re giving an approximate idea of the experience level of the candidate they’re looking for, not performing exact tallies.

6. References when you can’t get in touch with people you used to work with

How do you handle job applications or interviews that ask for contact info of previous managers/supervisors, if a previous company or companies you worked for have gone bankrupt or out of business and you no longer have a clue as to how to get in touch with anyone you worked with?

You do your best to stay in touch with managers so that you’ve maintained contact even if they leave the company (likely to happen eventually, after all) or if the company itself closes. If you haven’t done that and can’t track them down now (through LinkedIn, the Internet more generally etc.), you’re not in a great position. But you really want to put in this effort, because plenty of employers are going to be wary of hiring you if they can’t speak to anyone who’s managed your work. (And yes, that can feel unfair when you can’t locate them through no fault of your own, but it’s reasonable for employers to pass if they can’t get some outside verification before making the fairly large decision to hire, train, and employ you.)

7. Has this site ever been used to subtly bring a problem to light?

Do you know if anyone has ever deliberately used your blog to bring an issue in their workplace to light? (Example: having a question published in AAM in hopes that the guilty/offending party will see it and realize changes need to be made.)

I hope that they use it to bring issues to light all the time, by using the advice to address issues directly with people themselves! But if you mean someone just hoping that a coworker or boss will see their letter and recognize themselves, I’m not aware of that ever happening. I’d say it’s possible but unlikely — in part because few letters are specific or unique enough for people to identify themselves (with a few obvious exceptions), and in part because it would be like those offices that send all-staff reminders about the dress code when there’s really one offender, and that offender never thinks that they’re the one being talked about. (That said, I’d be very interested in any accounts of this, and I often wonder if anyone just prints out a column and leaves it quietly on someone’s desk.)

It’s seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. Can I call out my boss on her lack of professionalism in taking a last-minute vacation?

I recently went on a one-week vacation scheduled two months in advance. I had to adjust it by two days about three weeks before and sent a note to my manager. She said ok as long as I got a certain project (which had just been assigned) done before I left. I got all of my work done by staying late and coming in early. I even went to work the first day of my vacation to explain my analysis to her boss, who had been busy the day before. Then I was contacted on two separate days on my vacation to ask about some stuff that wasn’t my direct responsibility.

Last Friday, my manager mentioned that she would be out next week on a last-minute family vacation (not an emergency, she’s just a bad planner and her kids are going back to school in two weeks) and that I had to finish up some projections for finance and submit them by Tuesday. I am going to show them to my manager later today and I want to say something about her lack of professionalism, but can’t decide if it will seem like tattling. Please advise.

Don’t do that. Your boss may be a hypocrite or she may not be — it’s entirely possible that her workload allowed her to take this last-minute vacation, which is something that you wouldn’t necessarily know. It’s really between her and her own manager, not you. Telling her she’s showing a lack of professionalism for something that simply isn’t appropriate for you to be judging would be a really good way to harm the relationship, probably irreparably, as well as you own reputation. Don’t do it.

2. Can I invite my former coworkers to coffee after I was laid off?

I was recently let go due to financial issues with my company. The whole process took approximately ten minutes. I came to work and then was told to pack my things and leave and that no, I couldn’t say goodbye to anyone and had to leave out the back door. No one knew about it, even the HR department and my direct manager until three minutes before I was let go.

I’m not upset about being laid off, but my department and I have worked closely together for a number of years and I wanted to invite them to coffee one day so I could see them in person again and let them know that my door is always open should they need me for anything (and perhaps seek some closure myself—the abrupt departure was very whiplash-inducing to me and shocking to everyone else, from what I’m told, particularly since I’d formed friendly relationships with these people). Would it be awkward at this point in time to do this, and if not, how does one go about doing this without making the focus of the meeting having them worry about their own job security?

No, you can absolutely do that. But I might not invite your entire department at once — that seems more likely to be more awkward than getting together with people one (or two or three) at a time.

And I don’t think you need to worry that it will make them worry about their own job security. They know you were laid off, so if they’re worrying about that, they’re going to be worrying about it whether or not you’re physically in front of them.

Read an update to this letter here.

3. Leaving a small business without acrimony

I work for a small family-owned business that’s been tanking for a few years now. The family has spent all of their savings trying to make up for it, but the business brings in less money each year. It doesn’t cover the bills anymore, or even salaries. Everyone else has been working for free, except for me.

They consider me part of the family, but I have mixed feelings about that because I’ve heard some very unflattering things about their treatment of everyone/expectations. One of the family members is long past retirement age and has wanted to stop working there, but the rest of the family won’t allow that person to leave. There are plenty of other events, but I don’t want to get into them. My boss even just told me to do some work tasks on my days off, “since you don’t have anything to do on the weekends.” I’m an hourly worker at a retail job, and I normally work just under 40 hours already. They’re not going to be paying me for this extra work.

I want to leave this job. I’ve started my own business on the side, and I’d like to jump into that, but I am aware of the success rate of small businesses. I’d like to be able to keep the family as a positive reference, just in case. How can I exit this place gracefully?

All you can really do is give them as much notice as possible and leave your work in as good shape as possible, with lots of documentation. You can’t make people who are determined to be unprofessional toward you be professional — all you can do is behave as well as possible on your own end. If they try to “not allow” you to leave, simply say, “No, I’m sorry, my last day will be __.” If they try to get you to do work on your days off meanwhile, just say, “No, I can’t work on my days off; I have other plans.” Be professional, calmly assert reasonable boundaries, and move forward with your own plans.

Don’t be held hostage by guilt or fear of what they might say about you for acting reasonably.

4. Can my employer make me pay the bill for personal long distance calls?

I work at a hotel. Sometimes its completely slow — no calls or bookings for hours at a time. I’m allowed to bring a laptop or play games on my phone. I recently was using my work line for personal calls. I didn’t think much of it seeing as we call all over the United States. I did not know the phone didn’t have long distance. I got written up and charged $60 for the calls, and my manager cut two hours from my next pay period. Is that even legal? I wrote a formal apology, and she gave me no response. I also hit my commission limit both years, so its not like my work wasn’t being done. Please help.

It’s certainly legal for them to make you pay the cost of the calls. You used a hotel phone to make personal calls, at a cost to the hotel of $60. It’s reasonable for them to ask you to pay for your own phone calls — why should they have to shoulder the bill for your personal calls, after all? (Frankly, I’d be glad that they didn’t reprimand you for being on personal calls that long — I’m assuming it was a bit of time if the bill hit $60 — most managers wouldn’t be thrilled that you were talking on the phone that long, even if you’re allowed to play games or use a computer.)

However, it’s not legal for them to dock your pay. You need to be paid your agreed-upon wage for all hours you worked. (Or do you mean that they just cut two hours from your upcoming schedule? If so, that’s perfectly legal.)

5. Applying for a job when you don’t meet all the qualifications

I’ve been looking at job listings for a while, and some of them will list 10 or so things (requirements, characteristics to be successful for the job, duties, etc.), and I’ll fit all of them except one. It’ll be something I don’t have experience in and don’t know if I’d be good at. Am I better off dismissing these jobs? Or should I apply and mention the one thing in the cover letter so they’ll just throw out my application if it’s a deal breaker, but maybe interview me if I otherwise fit and it’s not a deal breaker?

Like, I saw a library job recently, and it was perfect for me in the first 10 things listed, but the last thing mentioned children’s programs, which I have no experience with and I don’t know if I’d be good at it. The job listing didn’t give any details on what it would entail. I’m not sure if I should apply to something like this and just see what happens, or if applying would waste everyone’s time.

Generally it makes sense to apply for a job if you meet 80-90% of the qualifications; they’ll often consider people who aren’t perfect matches. Some requirements are absolutely non-negotiable, of course, but if you can’t tell that from the ad, there’s no reason not to go ahead and apply.

Write an awesome cover letter, though.

6. How can I avoid giving rides to my coworker?

I work at an academy and a colleague came to the school we work at without a car. He has no way of getting about without people driving him because our town doesn’t have a transportation system. We just started work and I’ve given him a ride once to a train station. He thanked me and said it wouldn’t be “every weekend,” which was basically him telling me that I would need to drive him more times just not every weekend. I don’t want to drive him anywhere. It’s my gas money and I feel awkward asking him to pay me for gas. Also, it’s my time and I consider it valuable. How do I say no to future car rides without creating an enemy in the office?

Well, first, don’t assume it’s going to happen until/unless it does. But if he asks again, it’s fine to simply say, “Sorry, I can’t — I need to be somewhere on a schedule.” Or, “I need to go straight home.” Or, “It’s usually hard for me to give rides because of my schedule.”

7. How can I prepare science students to be ready for jobs after graduation?

How as a faculty person at university can I best teach my students to be ready for the jobs of today? More specifically, how can I find out what science employers in industry want? I only have a few contacts in industry and was hoping there is a faster way to find out what they all want in their new hires than contacting a bunch of managers individually–I keep seeing articles about how new grads are not prepared well enough for the jobs of today. If I knew what was really important to employers I could try to prepare the students.

Thanks for any insight or advice. I will gladly attend a workshop, webinar, buy a book, etc., but I don’t know where to start.

I’m throwing this out to readers to answer the science-specific portion of it. You might also consider the more general stuff here.