Ask a Manager

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

1. I was promoted, but my replacement isn’t doing well and I’m getting drawn back in to my old work

I have recently been promoted, and my company has hired a new junior member of staff to take over my previous role. However, despite a lot of dedicated training and walk-throughs, the new employee is just not getting it and work is either completed late with a bunch of mistakes, or not completed at all. My prior role is one that requires a lot of proactivity, and the senior guys just expect that things will be done without them having to constantly monitor it. I have ended up taking a lot of my previous duties back to make sure that they are done properly, but feel my new role is suffering. What shall I do??

First, you need to stop taking back your previous work. That’s not your job anymore.

Second, are you the new person’s manager? If so, then you need to explain to how specifically what she needs to do to improve, and give her a timeline for when you must see the improvements by. If she’s not able to do the job, you need to replace her with someone who can. Simply doing the work for her isn’t an option.

If you’re not her manager, then you need to talk to whoever is. Explain what’s going on and that you can’t continue to help as much as you have been, because you need to focus on your own work.

In other words, you need to address the performance issues if you’re her manager or alert the person who can — don’t just do both jobs.

2. If I have more experience than required for a job, will I still be considered?

What does it mean when an ad says, for example, “Requires 3-5 years’ experience”? I have more than 5 years’ experience; will I be considered?

It depends on how much more experience you have. Six years? Sure, probably. Ten years? No, you’re overqualified for what they’re looking for. “3-5 years experience” conveys a specific candidate profile that they’re looking for; as long as you’re roughly in it — not exactly, but roughly — it’s reasonable to apply.

3. My boss’s kid got her written up

While on an one-hour lunch that we have been mandated to take off the clock, one of my coworkers made a comment about the boss’s child (around 22 years old) coming in and screwing around and bringing her dog and her child in. During this visit, the workers who the boss’s child works with walked the dog and watched the child’s little one while on the clock. My coworker, who was upset, made a comment how we have to lose 2-1/2 hrs a week due to having to take a one-hour lunch, but these people get to do this on the clock. The boss’s child overheard this and went to her parent, and the coworker got written up via email from the boss. It was a very nasty letter. Is this right!?!?

Nope, it isn’t. Be very wary of situations where manager’s children are hired, let alone given special treatment.

4. Is it okay that my manager loaned me a car for the summer?

I’m 17 and working at Burger King. I got in an argument with my dad and he said, “You know what, find your way to work from now on,” so I did. I walked to work 3 times (a 30-minute walk). The third time, one of my managers gave me one of his cars and told me to hang on to it until the summer is over. I just want to clarify if this is wrong in any way, or if he can lose his job for lending me his car?

It’s not generally a great idea, from your manager’s perspective. After all, what’s he going to do if you crash it or stop coming to work and never return the car? (Not to say you’d do either of those things, but managers should think about those worst-case scenarios.) Will he get fired over it? Probably not — not impossible, though. But probably not, unless he lets it affect things at work (although his managers might think he used poor judgment).

As for whether it’s a bad idea on your side … is he expecting anything from you in exchange for the car? Different behavior at work? Acceptance of behavior from him that makes you uncomfortable? Those would be BIG red flags. But if not, and he’s just genuinely being kind, then it’s really his call. You can repay the favor by being as reliable as possible.

5. Can my boss close the office for weeks at a time?

Is it legal for my boss to close the office up to 5 weeks throughout the year, without paying the staff and not letting us work?

Yes, it is.

6. My coworker talks incessantly about his drinking

I work in a traditional/ fairly rigid office setting where most people are reserved, heads down/ don’t share everything kind of people. My manager has two direct reports, me and colleague X.

Colleague X frequently comes to the area where my manager and I sit to catch up on projects, and the conversation frequently turns casual. That’s when X feels it necessary to talk about his EXTENSIVE out of the office drinking habits. I have never seen him hungover, but he does often stroll in after 9 AM and makes comments about how the game went to overtime last night and how beer was really flowing, etc. Our manager sort of laughs awkwardly.

We have performance reviews coming up and I was asked to give feedback on how my colleague is doing. I gave positive feedback and some constructive criticism and really thought hard about making a comment about keeping his private stories about drinking out of the workplace. In the end, I omitted my comments thinking that it wasn’t directly applicable to his on the job performance. Thoughts?

I think that was a perfectly reasonable decision, but I also think that if his comments are making you uncomfortable, it would have been reasonable to mention that. And really, your manager would be doing your coworker a favor by letting him know that those types of comments aren’t professional, rather than just laughing uncomfortably.

7. Can my manager be my reference if he’s on the search committee?

I’m about to apply to an internal position in my company and both my current and former supervisors are on the search committee. Since my manager is on the search committee, I assume that he couldn’t be both a reference and a decider on the position for which I’m applying. I’ve worked here for a little over 2 years and have some colleagues I could ask but if I’m unable to list my current supervisor, who should I list?

I wouldn’t assume that you can’t list your manager just because he’s on the search committee. He’s the person in the best position to evaluate your work, and he’s not supposed to pretend that he doesn’t have the knowledge of you that he does in fact have. (Unless this is an incredibly dysfunctional hiring process where people are supposed to pretend not to know things they do know because of some ludicrous ideas about what neutrality means.) So I’d use both your managers and not worry about it at all, unless you hear otherwise.

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

1. Company wants me to submit a photo with my job application

I know you’ve discouraged readers from submitting their photos in a job application. But what happens if a prospective employer asks you to submit a photo in addition to a resume and cover letter?

I’m applying for a social media manager position for a company that creates content and manages social media channels for clients who are seeking self-promotion and better search results, and they’ve asked for a photo with applications. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Should I run for the hills? Such an action seems to be a form of discrimination and a risk not worth taking.

There’s no possible reason that they should need a photo of you for that position — unlike the fairly small number of positions where your appearance is relevant (like acting and other professions where sending head shots is common). So yes, I’d be pretty wary of this company’s priorities and hiring practices. (And this is a good time for a reminder that this is a U.S.-based blog. While it’s common in some other countries to send a photo with your resume, it’s very much Not Done here.)

2. Is my gummy smile holding me back from getting hired?

During a recent interview with a search committee for an academic library position, something amusing was said and everyone laughed. I noticed that when I smiled, the director seemed to look at my teeth and grimace. (I have a gummy smile that is more obvious when I smile big. Aside from that, my teeth are straight and white. I was also dressed appropriately and had my hair done.)

I didn’t get the job and I know it is probably because I wasn’t qualified in certain areas — they seemed to want someone with more teaching experience. But I can’t help dwelling on my teeth now. I know it’s probably a self-confidence issue, but I don’t want to gross people out or anything. Should I be more careful next time when I smile?

No. First, is a gummy smile even considered a problem? I’m not sure it is — but let’s say for the sake of argument that it is. Even if that were so, your smile is your smile, and you should smile the way you normally do. People get hired with all kinds of physical imperfections (again, if this even qualifies as one). Take a look around you at all the people you see employed and the many, many ways that they differ from a mainstream physical ideal.

You have an obvious explanation of why you didn’t get hired — they wanted someone with different experience. It doesn’t sound like it’s about your smile at all.

3. Employer asked me to bring a copy of my background check to a first interview

I was wondering what your thoughts are about having a prospective employer request that I bring in (and pay for, etc.) a copy of my background certification. I realize why one would be needed for this particular role; however I don’t have one and always assumed something like that would be the employer’s responsibility. They did suggest an online company who conducts them fairly “quickly and reasonably”. This seems odd to me – especially to the first interview. I also don’t like the idea of having to pay for it myself. Is this common? I’d love to know what you think.

No, it’s not normal, and it’s generally the sign of a scam. In fact, there’s no such thing as a standard “background certification” that you bring in, as far as I know, so this is very sketchy.

4. My coworker flipped out on us

Today at work, I was minding my own business as I was helping a coworker, Andrew, with something when another coworker, Ryan, came into the room and totally freaked out on Andrew. He started throwing all kinds of insults and verbally attacked Andrew’s personal life. I almost thought Ryan was on some kind of drug because I have never seen him do something to quite this extent. Andrew did not fire back with insults, but just tried to brush him off. I, on the other hand, was trying to defend Andrew. Perhaps I should have just minded my own business, but then Ryan started verbally attacking me, saying that I should have stayed out of the conversation even though he was yelling at the person right next to me. Both Andrew and I were totally taken aback over the whole incident and Ryan did not talk to either of us the rest of the night.

Later, I was in the room by myself and Ryan came in and said, “Hey, can you help me with a math problem?” I could tell right away that he was going to get mad again, but I just said, “Sure.” Ryan goes on to say, “If you took the number of friends you had and multiplied them by two, how many would you have? That’s right, ZERO.” All I said in return was, “Ok, Ryan, you got me.” I just tried to forget it, but I don’t know how to handle the next few days at work with him. Like most places, if there is poor team work, it will be hard to accomplish anything. What can I do (or should not do) in order to let this incident pass? There are some nights where only Ryan and I will get scheduled together.

This dude is an ass, and the burden is really on him to make this incident pass, not you. He’s the one who freaked out and then followed up with a laughably childish insult. I’d just write him off as immature, deal with him professionally to whatever extent you need to get your work done, and let him stew in his own immaturity. It’s not your problem to fix. (I might, however, give him an ever-changing variety of hard-hitting math problems and see how that goes.)

5. Company will try to manipulate my husband when he resigns

My husband recently received a job offer for his dream job. His current employer is … not great. He was one of three IT guys for a company of several thousand in Silicon Valley. The other two guys he worked with are really close friends (we’ll call them Jon and Dave) and have been close friends for years.

The most senior admin, Jon, received a job offer and gave his two weeks about a few weeks ago. Today my husband confided in Dave that he was leaving the company, and Dave told him what happened to Jon to warn him. Turns out after Jon turned in his two weeks, he got a counteroffer from the company…but it wasn’t a appropriate counteroffer. They told him if he stayed, they would give both Jon and Dave a raise to bring their pay up to fair market value, but if he left they would not give Dave the raise to fair market value nor any raise this year at all (not even the typical one with his yearly eval). So they used his close friendship to try and blackmail him into staying.

Knowing that they might pull a stunt like this on my tender hearted husband, is there any recourse we have? We’re in CA and I know they have very good labor laws for the employee, but I feel like something like this goes beyond labor laws.

Well, yes. Your husband can refuse to take a counter-offer. There’s no “blackmail” unless he’s swayed by their offer. But no, there aren’t labor laws that prevent companies from offering enticements to an employee to stay; your husband is expected to make his own decisions there. And so is Dave, who really should start looking to leave a company that plays games with his salary like this.

6. Resumes when you don’t have a college degree

What is your position on resumes when you do not have a college degree? I feel silly at 47 years old mentioning high school. But should I leave the education section off the resume completely if my resume shows that I’ve been with my last two companies for a long period of time (current job 16 years; previous 9; and so forth)? In my senior year of high school, I opted to participate in a program where you went to school until noon and then worked (as part of your educational experience). That particular company offered me a job immediately upon my graduation and I’ve been in the working world ever since. I did take some classes at a local community college, but felt overwhelmed at that time because I was working full-time at one job, and evenings and weekends at another, while trying to find time to study in between.

Definitely don’t mention high school; that has no place on a resume, ever. If you don’t have anything else to put in an education section (like classes or certifications), then simply leave the education section off and let your work experience speak for itself. The only sections you’re absolutely required to have on a resume are work experience and contact information; everything else is optional, and you add them only if they help you.

7. Am I even being considered for this internal position?

I work for a small aerospace manufacturing company. In May, a coworker left. Her main duties were delegated to others. An ad was placed online and interviews were held for outside candidates. After I found this out, I requested several times for an interview for this position and even had to ask if the manager wanted me to send my resume. I had my interview and it seemed very awkward. At the beginning of July, nobody had been hired yet. I inquired twice during that time period about the status of the position. Each time I was told that management couldn’t decide the “role” of the position and what specific duties the position would take on. On July 30, another ad was placed online for the same position as advertised previously.

I’m conflicted on what I should do. I am confident that I will excel if given this position. I would like to request where I stand and/or if I am even being considered for the position anymore. How do I go about this the right way? My feeling is that they should tell me that I’m not being considered for the position, but this company has a very bad habit of not communicating internally.

As much as I hate to admit it, I feel stuck in a rut. I was told when I took my current position that there were many opportunities for advancement within the company. I was passed up once for being “too good at what I do” and I feel like it’s happening again. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Based just on the limited information I have here, it doesn’t sound like the manager really wants to hire you. And yes, she should tell you that directly, but since she’s not, I’d assume that you aren’t getting the job and plan accordingly.

You can certainly ask for an update on your candidacy and the likely timeline for making a decision, and you can also ask your manager what you’d need to do to earn a promotion, but it sounds like you might be better served by putting your energy into job-searching outside the company.