Ask a Manager

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

1. Managing a low-performer who keeps improving every time she’s warned, but then slips again

I have someone on my team who I hired a few years ago. I have struggled since she was hired with getting her to pull her weight. Most of the rest of the team give her the easy part of projects so that the project gets done and that hopefully she won’t mess it up. Every six months or so, she makes a mistake that is big enough that we have to do a written warning and performance improvement plan (PIP). We set out criteria for improvement, we set a deadline and she improves (and saves her job in the process). Then a few more months go by and she starts to slip up again and the process starts over (since she successfully completed the performance improvement plan we have to start the verbal warning, written warning with a PIP, final written warning cycle again).

I don’t know that this person has the ability to be successful at this job. How do I break the cycle of PIPs and either get her performance up permanently or where I can let her go? My boss is pressuring me to just fire her already, but she keeps meeting the terms of her PIP so I can’t fire her.

You’re locking yourself into overly specific terms in the PIPs, it sounds like — or in your own head. Instead, you need to be clear that she needs to not only meet the terms of the PIP during the timeline while she’s on it, but she needs to sustain that new level of performance going forward even once the PIP ends. Make it clear — both in your meeting with her and in the written plan — that if her performance slips back once the PIP is over, you won’t be starting with a new one from square one, but rather will need to let her go at that point. Use language like, “I need to see this level of performance sustained over the long-run, and if the problems recur, we will not go through this process all over again.”

And I agree with your boss that it sounds like you need to just fire her at this point. If you’re bound to policies that require you to do yet another PIP (although you shouldn’t be, in a good organization), then do it now and make it a short one — like one month, not three months.

2. Talking to coworkers about my boyfriend, who works with me

My boyfriend and I work in the same department. This is not an issue; everyone knows (we were a couple before we started working together) and we manage it professionally well.

However, my boyfriend is having conflicts with a colleague of his. As the department staff tends to be quite friendly with each other, it is normal for people to ask about the significant other of a colleague. The issue is that his colleague sometimes asks me where he is at a certain time and although I know where he is, in my professional capacity I do not, so I dont really want to tell them and I think they should try to email him to find out where he is or what his work schedule is for the day.

Also, my boyfriend is looking to find another job elsewhere. I am sure that if he does move on his colleagues will try to ask me “what is he now doing?” or “where is he now working?”, etc. I dont want to answer their questions (as they are just being nosy jerks) but I dont know how to say it without sounding rude. I practically want to say “that’s none of your business” but I know that saying this will then ruin my relationship with his colleagues. How do I do this?

Well, first, don’t make your boyfriend’s conflicts with a colleague your own conflicts. You should have your own separate relationships with people and not take on his battles for him. That said, it’s perfectly reasonable to respond to questions about where he is today exactly the same way you’d respond if they were asking about any other coworker — “I’m not sure” or whatever. At work, you’re his coworker, not his keeper.

As for how to answer questions about him once he leaves, you’re going to really sour your own relationships there if you refuse to answer harmless questions about how he’s doing or where he’s working. You’ll be far better off giving quick answers and moving on than taking an adversarial approach with people.

3. Applying for a job at a science museum when I just graduated from a university that teaches very literal creationism

I’m a job-hunting recent grad, and I’m applying for jobs all over the place. One of the more interesting openings I’ve seen is at a science museum working as an educator. I’m a communications major, not a scientist, but I think I’d do well at the job and I’m hoping I’ll get an interview.

The problem comes from my educational background. I’m a graduate of a decently-sized Christian university that puts heavy emphasis on a literal 6-day creation week. These are the sorts of folks who believe that the earth is no more than 8,000 years old, that fossils are the result of a catastrophic world-wide flood, and that evolution only happened on a small scale — like wolves and dogs, but no further than that. The fact that all their professors agree to teach this is a big selling point for the school, and it’s advertised quite prominently. Anyone who googles my university will realize this within about three minutes. My high school and elementary school (the application asked for those as well) are much the same.

For the record, I went to this school because my parents agreed to pay for a significant portion of my tuition — which was a big sacrifice for them and a great help to me. The school is fully accredited, and I felt like I got a good education, but it had the opposite result that my parents intended — I came out pretty turned-off to an exclusively literal belief in creationism. I now believe that evolution can be compatible with faith, and at the very least students should be exposed to an accurate, respectful explanation of both sides of the issue (something I didn’t receive growing up).

Do you think this is something anyone will even notice or care about? If so, how should I go about addressing this? I understand that my religious beliefs are protected by law, but I also suppose that the museum is interested in hiring people who agree with the science they teach. Ultimately, I hold different religious beliefs than my educational background would lead someone to assume, and I don’t want to be discriminated against because of them.

Yes, many people will notice and care, so you’ll likely need to address it head-on in your cover letter and possibly be prepared to talk about it in an interview too. But even then, having graduated from a school that requires its professors to teach things that are fundamentally at odds with the mainstream scientific community is going to be a fairly significant obstacle for you in applying for work at a science museum, especially as a recent grad without lots of secular work experience to balance it out.

4. Will having an out-of-state phone number hurt you when applying for jobs?

I currently have an out-of-state phone number from Pennsylvania, and I was laid off from my job a year ago and I had no choice to move back to Georgia with my family until I can get back on my feet.

I have been searching for a job since day one when I got here and it has been a year of extensive searching, even to other counties around me. The only thing I was able to find is a temp agency job that I was only able to work on and off, along with the frustration of not finding something steady.

Which now brings me to my question. With the hundreds, possibly thousands of applications I filled out, could having an out-of-state phone number possibly be affecting someone seeking employment?

Eh, these days people are pretty used to seeing cell phone numbers with area codes from all over the place. I wouldn’t worry too much about it as long as you have a local address on your resume. I would, however, take a fresh look at your resume and cover letters to see if those are the issue — because when someone isn’t getting interviews after hundreds or thousands of applications, it’s usually those two things that are to blame. Read this and see if you spot yourself here.

5. Explaining that I’m leaving a new job due to salary cuts

I’ve been at a new job for about four months. It deals with X and Y, but is heavily focused on X. I’ve discovered that I really prefer working with Y and honestly hate X (and think I’m bad at it). I know it will look bad to have been here only a few months if I apply for a new job. However, my company also just announced salary cuts due to budget issues. I feel like this gives me an out — does it? And if so, how do I mention this in a cover letter as to why I’m looking so soon?

Salary cuts? Hell yes, that’s an out. You agreed to take the job for a certain salary, and now that’s been changed on you.

It’s tricky talking about this in a cover letter — since a cover letter should really be about you and why you’d excel at the job you’re applying for and not problems at your current employer. In fact, you might even consider leaving this job off your resume altogether, particularly since four months isn’t long enough to have any real accomplishments there anyway, and that way you won’t have to deal with the instant red-flag of why you’re looking again so quickly. But if you decide not to do that, your best bet is probably to say something like “My new company is undergoing significant budget cuts, so I’m looking for something more stable.”

6. Should I really give my manager feedback when he asks for it?

Typically during my annual performance evaluation, my supervisor asks me how I think he is doing as a supervisor. In past years, I have always been positive. This year, however, there have been some issues that have cropped up, mostly involving micromanaging and his apparent desire for his employees to be “yes” (wo)men. Anyway, my performance evaluation is coming up, and how am I supposed to answer his question this year? Do I just tell him I think everything is going fine? Is it ever worth it to come up with constructive criticism? Or, perhaps I could ask him why he is asking me about his performance?

Don’t ask him why he’s asking you — he’s asking for feedback because that’s what thoughtful managers do. If you have a good relationship with him and he’s generally proved himself to be open to dissent, then yes, talk to him about your concerns. Just frame it a little more diplomatically — instead of talking about micromanaging, talk about the specific ways that you’d like more autonomy and propose strategies for making that work while still keeping him in the loop. And instead of saying he seems to want yes-men, explain what’s given you that impression.

Of course, if he truly only wants yes-men, that might be a flag that he won’t be open to hearing any of this — so, as is always the case, you should use your judgment based on what you know about him from working with him — to figure out if he’s reasonable enough to discuss this without penalizing you for it later. Good managers will be, bad ones often won’t be.

7. Am I allergic to my office?

I work in an office (no place industrial) and have been having severe reactions the past few months. It started out as tiny hives that would come and go, but the past few weeks the hives turned into huge itchy, stinging, red welts over 90% of my body. It was so bad I had to go home from work several times.

I had no idea what it might be, so I went to my doctor and had allergy testing done. I am moderately allergic to a couple types of dust, but not enough to cause a reaction like this. The doctor has said that in many cases, people never find out what they’re allergic to, because they can only test for certain known, common allergens and there’s a million things (limitless, really) that one could be allergic to. I was given some strong allergy medication which has really helped, but what I’m noticing is I only get flare ups when I’m at work. On days off, I rarely flare up at all. I’ve tried dusting my office area but I’m starting to wonder if it may be a cleaner or chemical housekeeping is using. I haven’t started using or eating anything new. I’m trying eliminating certain foods and soaps/lotions one by one to see if any of them are the cause. I can’t think of anything else.

What can I do about this? I can’t keep taking days off just because I’m flaring up. I’m going crazy with itchy, unsightly hives, which make it uncomfortable/embarrassing to work with my colleagues or customers. I work in a large building and I can’t really ask the cleaners to switch to a different cleaner (if that’s even what it is). Our office area carpets are rarely washed or vacuumed, so I’m going to ask about that, but otherwise I’m stumped.

Ugh, that’s awful. I’m throwing this one out to readers, who may have ideas for you.

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

1. Should I pay for lunch with my famous boss?

My new boss is a famous sports figure (Olympics, NBA, etc.). I feel as if people are always expecting him to do things for them — sign an autograph, pay for things, etc. I feel bad. He invited me out for our first lunch together next month (we have to schedule weeks in advance) and I would like to pay. I think it’s a humanitarian thing to do, but I don’t know if this is bad etiquette or if he’d be offended.

That’s a kind thought, but managers pay when they take employees to lunch, not the other way around. He almost certainly won’t let you pay because he’s your boss, and it has the potential to create an awkward moment. Be gracious and let him act like every other boss by picking up the bill — and show your appreciation for him by not treating him as a celebrity but rather as a normal person, which is going to be worth a lot more to him than a $50 lunch tab.

2. How should I make amends after behaving badly at work?

My father helped me get a job at a company that’s owned by people that he’s known for ages. In fact, my direct supervisor is one of his good friends. The culture at the company is pretty dysfunctional. Employees are afraid to openly disagree with leadership, don’t bring up difficult subjects, and behave passive-aggressively when they’re unhappy with something. As a result, the company is struggling financially.

I have had a really hard time there. I was bullied and suffered from serious depression after turning that negative energy inward. That said, I’m not blameless. I didn’t talk to my supervisor or HR about the bullying or the depression and during the worst of it I basically shut down and stopped doing my job. I called in sick a lot and let projects slip through the cracks while I surfed the Internet. I was only able to skate by because of the dysfunction and because the owners of the company like my father. I’m doing better and am doing my job now, but I’ve trashed my credibility and reputation.

I feel guilty for taking advantage of the situation for as long as I did. I like a lot of the people there and want to make amends, but I really don’t know how. The company’s planning to lay people off soon and I’m pretty sure my name is on the list. I get it and am as good with it as anyone facing unemployment can be. There isn’t much time left. My job isn’t salvageable. I just want to let my boss and other folks know I’m sorry. What would you recommend?

I’d actually talk to your father about this, since he knows the people who run the company and will be able to give you advice that’s specific to them. But in general, there’s no reason you can’t talk to your boss and say, essentially, “I know I haven’t performed well here and I’ve let you down. I feel terrible about it. I appreciate you bearing with me, it means a lot to me that you did, and I want you to know that it didn’t go unnoticed.”

But I’d apologize to your dad too. His reputation was probably impacted a bit by this as well.

3. Can an employer require you to get a hearing aid?

Can an employer make (or even suggest) someone get a hearing aid? Recently, a director has requested that a certain employee be asked to get a hearing aid because she has a bad ear. Mind you, she isn’t deaf; she can still communicate fine and talk on the phone. The only reason the director is insisting on this is because it’s an inconvenience to him. He doesn’t like that sometimes you need to repeat something or get her attention first before you say something. Clearly something that can be accommodated easily for. The kicker is, our insurance won’t even cover the hearing aid process, so this would be all out of pocket for this low paid employee. I’m quite floored by this request and feel we have some ADA issues going on here.

Wow. Someone needs to educate that director and tell him to lay off.

The ADA seriously restricts the circumstances when an employer can ask about an employee’s medical condition or require a medical examination (or medical equipment, like a hearing aid). If an employer has a reasonable belief that an employee’s medical condition is the cause of performance problems or may pose a direct threat to the employee or others, you can ask questions about the impairment or require a medical examination — neither of which seems to be the case here. Tell that director that the company expects him to deal with hearing-impaired employees sensitively and that if he has to get her attention before speaking, so be it.

4. Is it odd for candidates to send hiring-related emails in the middle of the night?

I just came across your post asking how applicants perceive job-related emails at night or over the weekend, and I was wondering what your thoughts are if the roles are reversed.

When I was working straight night-shift, I once sent a follow-up email to a hiring manager at 1:30 am. In the interview, it was mentioned that the supervisor had commented on the odd time for the email, but the manager knew I worked nights and clarified that. It didn’t hurt me (I got the awesome job just days after my oddly-timed correspondence), but you’ve now got me wondering how hiring managers perceive emails at off hours. Also, for those still working weird shifts, would there be an appropriate way to mention that an email sent during usual business hours is actually being sent during an applicant’s off-the-clock hours?

I wouldn’t worry about it all. When it comes to submitting applications, almost no one is paying attention to the time they were submitted. It’s more obvious with actual emails that you’re sending to an actual person, but even then, most people aren’t going to read much into it. Any reasonable person will figure that you might be a night owl, or up for some other reason. And yes, there are unreasonable hiring managers out there, but it’s hard for me to imagine that you’d want to work for someone so oddly judgmental that they’d be aghast that you emailed at a late hour. (Plus, if you get late enough, it circles around into early, and then you just look like some incredibly industrious person who wakes up early.)

That said, if you’re concerned about it, there’s nothing wrong with saying, “Excuse the odd time on this email; I currently work the night shift / am a night owl / get a lot of work done at night” or whatever.

5. My recruiter asked me for all the upper level management contacts at my new job

Back in 2000, I landed a permanent job at a tech firm through an external recruiter. About two or three weeks into my new gig, she emailed me at my company address, asking for the names and contact information of the CEO and all upper management! I sent a reply asking why she needed the info since she presumably was already in contact with the HR manager, and she sent a really snippy answer. I forwarded the whole convo to my manager and never heard anything else about it. I was wondering if you or your readers had heard of recruiters thinking it was OK to get new hires to divulge personal information like that.

Yep, some recruiters will do that to try to mine for new contacts who they can then reach out to. It’s definitely not uncommon, although you have lots of company in not being comfortable helping them with that.

6. Managing an employee who’s devastated after the loss of a pet

I have a new employee who has been working for me for 3 months and is a total superstar. She’s doing great work and is lovely to work with. Last week, her dog had to be put down and now she’s really upset and keeps crying at work.

I have told her how sorry I am (genuinely, I would be be devastated if anything happened to either of my doggies) and helped her reorganise her workload so she’s working on something she can manage while she’s feeling so upset. I feel bad about making her work, even though she wants to be here and needs the job.

Is there anything else I should be doing? I feel like I’ve been more of a friend than a manager, but she’s been really conscientious about her work even though she’s clearly not ok.

Hmmm. I’m as obsessed with animals as they come and agree you should be compassionate, but you also can’t have her continually crying at work, because that’s going to have an impact on the rest of your workplace.

Your best bet is to probably express sympathy, tell her that you know she’s grieving, and ask if she’d like to take a few days off. Whether she does or doesn’t, if this is still going on at the end of the week, you’re going to have to talk with her about what she needs in order to focus at work. (If you have an EAP, you might refer her to that.) What do others think?

7. Subject lines when staying in touch with hiring managers and references

I have a quick question about keeping in touch with potential employers when you don’t get the job. I’ve already read about staying in touch periodically about future opportunities and sending the add-value, but what type of email subject line do you recommend so that they’ll know I’m not trying to cold-email them?

Additionally, what email subject line is appropriate when keeping in touch with your references? I’ve only been writing to my former supervisor when I have submitted her contact info because I don’t want to clutter her inbox. This doesn’t happen often (once every few months) but I don’t want to leave too many gaps in communication.

Really, the same rules apply here as apply to subject lines in other contexts: Make them descriptive of the content of the email. So if you’re emailing an article you think the hiring manager might be interested in, that’s what your subject line should be about — for instance, “great HBR article on X.” Or when you’re alerting a reference that they might be getting a call about you — “possible reference call from XYZ company.” Just a direct summary of the point of the email.

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

1. Should I warn this employer about my bad credit?

Today I got a conditional job offer. The offer was made in person, and that point I was told that the background check I need to pass includes a credit report. This wasn’t a huge surprise, given that the position is with an insurance agency, but it was the first time that had been explicitly stated. I didn’t want to bring my credit problems up early in the process and torpedo myself before I had the chance to impress them. The other wrinkle is that it’s not the agent running the credit check but the insurer for which he sells exclusively. This agency does their own hiring, but the mama company gets to sign off on all the new producers.

Should I let the agent know ahead of time? The criminal part of the background check will be fine. And I don’t have a bankuptcy, but I do have a considerable amount of accurate, negative and current information on my report. I can honestly point to an external cause (loss of income), as well as some poor youthful decisions on my part. I can also share a number of steps we’ve made in the right financial direction if given the opportunity to do so. Some mistakes do take a long time to fix. I’m just wondering whether I should be preemptive or wait for the phone call.

Yes, I’d tell them preemptively, because otherwise you might not get a chance to explain at all. I’d say something like, “Since I know you’re checking credit as part of your background check, I want to let you know that mine isn’t perfect right now, due to some bad decisions when I was much younger and, more recently, loss of income. I’ve been actively working on cleaning it up and am committed to keeping it strong once I do, but I didn’t want you to be surprised by it.”

2. Why is my supervisor hesitating to let me manage staff until I can attend a training?

I am a young professional in the library field who started my first full-time position in April. My probationary period will be ending in early October, and I had a mini-meeting with my supervisor this morning to see where I am with accomplishing the goals I had set for myself. All appears to be in order, and I have been working hard my first few months to feel out the office culture, policies and procdures of the system, etc.

However, when I mentioned that I feel confident to begin my supervisory duties for two career staff members in October, my manager told me that we will “revisit that after the probationary period is completed.” I know she would like me complete a supervisory training course that is required for all supervisory staff (but not scheduled for the near future), and she is known for being conscientious about not piling everything on at once. I do not believe it is a prequisite to me taking on the supervisory duties outlined in my job description. As there are no performance issues I have been made aware of, she seems pleased with my progress, and I work hard to be seen as professional as possible (which is hard, since I am the youngest person here by far), is she just being cautious? I gave her ample opportunity to tell me if there are any concerns she might have, and she did not have any. She is generally good at communicating, so I am wondering if she is just waiting to get word about the additional training and for me to be out of the probationary period.

I have not managed in a formal capacity, so that may be part of her hesitation. I am currently supervising non-career staff (part-time hourly workers); judging by how the organization is (tons of in-house training), I feel that a large part of her reaction is the fact I’ve not had my scheduled training yet. Just wanted to know if I’m reading the situation right.

Managing people is a completely different skill than doing the work yourself, and even with extensive training, most managers take at least several years to get competent at it. (And some never do.) So your manager is absolutely doing the right thing by waiting until you can take a training course. After all, would you yourself want a brand-new manager who hadn’t even had any training? You would not. (Frankly, most people wouldn’t want a brand-new one with training, either, but there’s no way around that and training can at least help a bit.)

I do know that you’re currently managing part-time hourly non-career stuff, but my hunch is that they see that as much more low-risk than setting you loose on managing other staff.

3. How should I stay in touch with my new team during the 2-1/2 months before I start?

I have been offered a position which requires a somewhat lengthy clearance/on boarding process: around 2.5 months before I am cleared and actually start. (Many thanks to you and your blog — the advice on here has been priceless!).

I am kind of confused as to how to maintain contact with my team in the meanwhile. We had a great rapport during the interview process, and it feels kind of strange to cut off communication for 2.5 months and then jump on the scene. It also feels strange to just send emails saying “hi.” Should I ask what types of activities I can engage in while I wait to officially start? Or could I end up in trapping myself and working for no pay?

Yeah, you’d be inviting a situation where you could end up working without pay. You can certainly ask if there’s anything you can read in the meantime to prepare yourself, but I wouldn’t ask for more than that. As for how to stay in touch, two and a half months actually isn’t that long, so I don’t think you need to go way out of your way to stay in touch. You might send the email inquiring about reading material a month before you start, and another a week before your start date to tell them how much you’re looking forward to working with them all, and leave it at that.

4. Can I alert my boss that one of my coworkers is married to a con man?

I would like to know if I should or can legally inform a boss that one of her employees is married to a convicted felon. This employee is fully aware of the fact that her husband is a con man/crook who has been stealing from good people for his entire life. It is my feeling that he will at some point target the boss’s business as a potential source of revenue.

There’s no law stopping you from doing that, but you do risk coming across as simply spreading gossip rather than as looking out for your boss, unless there’s some real reason to suspect the husband truly has plans to scam her.

5. Should I quit my job so that I have more flexibility for jobs in my field through staffing agencies?

Currently, I have a full-time job, which I have had for a little over six months. This job is a low-paying position and has nothing to do with what I went to school for. I am trying to get an entry-level position in my field. It seems, however, that the only way to get an entry-level position or anything that I am remotely qualified for in my career field is to go through staffing agencies. Unfortunately, I have had two staffing agencies so far tell me that my being employed is a problem because they need someone right away for their clients and cannot wait two weeks for me to leave my current company.

I am strongly considering resigning from my current position just so that I would have the flexibility in my schedule to start whenever the staffing agency needs me to. Is that a really foolish idea? I don’t know how else to get an entry-level position in my field. Thank you in advance for your advice.

Well, first, are you sure that this is really the only way to get a position in your field? I’d be pretty skeptical of that, unless you’re hearing it repeatedly from people actually in your field who either do what you want to do or hire for those positions. So if you haven’t already, I’d start by reaching out to people in both those groups (try LinkedIn to locate them) and asking them for their opinion on this. If they confirm it, then I’d follow up by asking for recommendations of particularly good staffing agencies they like to work with. And then, talk to those staffing agencies to get a sense of how strong a candidate you are (and what you can do to become a stronger one if needed). I’d do all that before quitting your job for an agency that can’t even wait two weeks for you to give notice.

6. What should I expect from a day-long interview?

I had a phone screen a few weeks ago for what is basically my dream job at this early stage in my career. Earlier this week, I finally heard back from HR asking me to come in for an in-person interview (they have yet to respond to my email about my availability, but let’s hope they do). I talked to my friend who works there in a different office and she warned me that this company does one huge day of interviews with 12-15 people, but then no additional interviews after that. She also said it was really, really tiring when she did hers, but it’s a good sign because not very many people make it to that stage.

What should I expect and how should I prepare for something like this? Do you have any special advice for interviews that take this long and cover meetings with so many different people? If they don’t specify in advance, am I expected to bring my own lunch or go out somewhere on my own?

See this post and especially the comments on it for information about day-long interviews in general, but regarding lunch, assume that they’re going to take care of it. Generally with a day of interviews like this, they’ll take you out to lunch — and make sure you don’t forget that you’re still being assessed then, even if the conversation seems more casual. Keep it professional and don’t say anything that you wouldn’t say in a formal interview just because it’s over food. (And if for some reason they don’t provide you with lunch, take that as a flag that they’re fairly thoughtless — although you could always stick a granola bar in your bag in case that happens.)

7. How can I leverage support from my coworkers when applying for an internal position?

The position of manager over my current team is open. Unsolicited, a member of my own team and two people from the team under that position’s boss have encouraged me to go for it and said other supportive things. Is there a way to leverage that support appropriately in a cover letter and interview?

I don’t think I’d mention it in a cover letter because there’s no way in a letter to distinguish genuine support among your coworkers from the kind things people sometimes say in that situation, but you can certainly encourage those coworkers to recommend you. Go back to people, tell them that you decided to apply, and ask if they’d be willing to proactively reach out to the hiring manager and explain why they think you’d be a strong candidate.

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

1. How can I avoid fake job interviews with staffing agencies?

I just read your post about the “fake” job posting. I had a national agency call me directly and ask me to show up for a preliminary interview no less than four times over the past two years. Each time, I drive 30+ minutes to hear that there was no job for me. Is there a tactful way to decline these?

I don’t think there’s a foolproof way of spotting these beforehand, but one thing you can do is to ask explicitly, “Is this interview for a specific job that you currently have open, or is it a more general interview in case I’m a good fit for something in the future?” (You’d only ask this for interviews with staffing agencies, not if you’re interviewing with an employer directly — as employers don’t typically do this.)

Some agencies will be willing to lie to you, ridiculously, but some will either answer you directly or hem and haw (hemming and hawing should be taken as “there’s no real job”).

2. I shared with my staff that I have cancer and am not sure that I should have

In a moment of panic, I’ve overshared at work and I’m not sure of the most professional action to take now; I’d appreciate your advice for moving forward.

Yesterday, I found out I have ovarian cancer. I see an oncologist next week to schedule surgery and have a rough several months ahead. In addition to telling HR and my manager, I also told the 6 people I supervise directly. My thinking at the time was that this was happening very quickly, I’m going to be out for several weeks after surgery, and I needed to get a plan in place immediately. Yeah, okay, I panicked.

In hindsight, I think I should’ve waited until I have a date scheduled and just told them I was having a medical procedure done and would be out a few weeks. But I didn’t, and I can’t take it back. So what should I do now and for the next few weeks? I want to handle this professionally, at least from now on. I like my team, we’re a close group, but this is my issue not theirs to deal with; I just didn’t want them to hear rumors. What should I do now?

Don’t panic; I don’t think this is a disaster at all. I’d just be very explicit with them about how you’d like to proceed. For instance, if you don’t want a lot of concerned checks on your well-being, tell them that — explain that they can help you most by helping you stay focused on work when you’re at work, and that at least for now, that’s what you’re finding most helpful. They will be worried about you, of course, so if people express concern, let them know that you’ll let them know if you have anything important to share, but for now you’d love their help in staying focused on work. (That said, be aware that you might not be able to pull that off 100% — people will be concerned and want to check in, and you may have days where you aren’t working at full speed — and that’s completely fine.

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, and I hope it all goes as smoothly as we can hope for.

3. Will I have to return my bonus if I get a new job soon?

I’m in the middle of a job search and already have interviews lined up for next week. Earlier today, my boss came into my office, shut the door, and told me I was getting a bonus of a generous amount (a few thousand dollars). He said it was to thank me for all my hard work, and he asked me to keep this to myself, etc.

Assuming that I get an offer from one of the companies I’m interviewing at, what is the likelihood my company will ask for the bonus money back?

Just for a bit of insight, bonuses in my company are never guaranteed and are at the discretion of management. There’s no mention of bonuses in our company handbook or in my offer letter. I would think that the worst that’ll happen if I get and accept an offer elsewhere is that my company would be pissed, but are there any legal ramifications?

Assuming that you don’t have a contract with wording to the contrary, any bonus you get is legally your money to keep. It’s very unlikely that your company would ask for it back (or expect you to give it back), and if for some bizarre reason they did, you wouldn’t be legally required to comply.

It’s important to remember that while bonuses are certainly retention strategies, they’re also recognition of work you’ve done previously.

4. Should I include a brand-new consulting job on my resume?

I am currently working as a consultant for a nonprofit, which I haven’t even been doing for a month. I started out as an intern for a few weeks, then they eventually offered me a full-time job but I declined the offer because the pay was horrible and it wasn’t really the field I was interested in. Anyhow, when I declined the full-time position, they hired me on as a consultant, where I am working only 10 hours a week (from home).

Since this is not a full-time job and since it is a job that I can do on the side, I am looking for other full-time work. However, when I apply for new jobs, I am not sure if it is worth putting this consultant position on my applications. I think it might look peculiar since I have been barely working there for a month and now I am looking for work again. I state on all of the applications that is a 10-hour job done from home. I am just not sure if stating it in my applications is helping or hurting my applications.

Include it, and make it very clear that it’s part-time consulting work. No one will think it’s odd that you’re still looking for work if you include that context.

5. Will my reason for moving sound flaky?

I am planning to move in about 6 months from southern California to Chicago, and I plan to begin my job search briefly before I move. I am not moving for any particular reason other than I am looking for a change of pace in a different city. If someone were to ask me in an interview, “Why Chicago?” does “change of pace” seem too flaky? I don’t want to sound flighty.

It sounds a little flaky, yes. If you wanted a change of pace, you could have picked any city. What they want to know is, why Chicago specifically? And they care about your answer because they want to ensure your decision to move is well thought-out and that you’re not going to change your mind and move back three months into your new job. (Because of that, good answers are ones that speak to roots — family and friends there, etc.)

6. I resigned before accepting a job offer, and then the offer was revoked

I was recently offered a position for my dream job. After seeing the offer, I pled my case for more money. I said how excited I was about the job, but with my experience I thought I warranted more. I assumed the compensation would be higher. I asked the recruiter if she could let me know what she could do. We spoke the next day and she said she would go to bat for me to the director and accounting. I went ahead and resigned from my job. Big mistake.

The offer was withdrew and when I said I would talk the initial offer they still rescinded it. I’ve tried repeatedly to get the director and recruiter on the phone, but without a doubt they’re ignoring my phone calls.

I went back to my company and they said they’d have to honor my resignation, because I was looking for a new job that offered more money and variety (the reasoning behind my new job search). Those are two things they can’t offer. I pled my case with the results I’ve brought to the team and they said it would be putting a Band-Aid on the situation.

Now I don’t have a job. Since this is usually one of the first questions asked in an interview, I wanted to see what the best way to approach this is. I have tangible results from all my jobs. I was thinking I would tell about the situation, then go on to what I did great for the company. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Ooooh, that’s not good. I know you’ve just learned this, but it bears repeating: Never, ever resign your job until you have a formal job offer that you’ve accepted (and ideally a start date).

As for what to tell prospective employers now, this is tricky because if I heard that your old company wouldn’t take you back, I’d think, “That’s an employee who they weren’t too devastated to lose” (particularly since they hadn’t replaced you yet, it sounds like). I think you’re better off simply explaining that you had a job offer that fell through after you’d already left your old job, and not getting into details. Good luck.

7. How should I handle an internal job offer when I have an upcoming vacation?

How should I handle an internal job offer when I have an upcoming approved vacation?

The same way you would with a job offer outside your company — by explaining that you have a planned vacation for those dates before you accept the offer and making it part of the overall negotiation process. You don’t want to wait until afterwards, or it will come across as if you’re presenting it as a done deal, which she almost certainly won’t see it that way.