Ask a Manager

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

1. Should I have resisted more when asked to move offices?

After a tumultuous six months of departmental reorganization, my boss retired, leaving a vacant office space behind in a crowded, multi-story hospital clinic building. The director of our department gave the space to me, and I have been slowly reorganizing it over the course of several weeks.

Today, as I was leaving the building, the office manager of one of the other practices stopped me and told me that they needed that space, but would try to find another space for me somewhere. I asked her if she had asked my department director, and she said she had emailed him about it. I said OK, and went on my way. As it turns out, the director of my department wants to hold onto that space, and doesn’t want me leaving it.

Should I have put up more of a fuss when I was approached by the office manager? If so, what is the professional way of protesting something like that? I’m afraid I may have harmed my cause by not being confrontational enough.

Did she say she that your director had replied and okayed the change, or just that she’d emailed to ask him about it? If the latter, it probably would have made sense to say, “Let me touch base with him” rather than just agreeing to the change … but it’s not really a big deal that you didn’t. And it doesn’t really sound like you hurt your cause at all, since your director is pushing back against the other department anyway.

2. I was rejected for lacking experience than I actually have

I have a question for about about an interview and subsequent follow up feedback that I got recently. I interviewed for a position which would require me to be the out-of-office support for a public figure. I thought the interview went well, although the HR person and the hiring manager asked a lot of “What would you do” rather than “What DID you do” questions.

A few days later, I received feedback that although I’d interviewed well, they felt that I lacked experience for a role that would be a sole-charge position with community engagement aspects. They also said that this position would be re-advertised, as it hadn’t been filled yet.

The thing is, I feel like I have lots of experience in this area, but never got a chance to really talk about how it’d be applicable in this context! I know the onus is on me to prove my experience, but how would I go about (or should I at all) in contesting this?

Well, you can’t contest it, so you definitely shouldn’t look at it that. This is 100% their call, no matter how wrong you think they might be. That said, you can certainly let them know that you do in fact have significant experience in that area and that you’d love the chance to tell them about it if they think it might be worth further conversation. But that’s really all you can do; from there, it’s up to them.

3. When should I bring up a request to telecommute 2 days a week?

At my current job, I have it set up where I work from home twice a week, and my husband has the same in a different company. Between the both of us, one of us is home 4 days a week so that our kids can do after-school activities.

I’m back to the job market seeking my next opportunity, and don’t know when and how to bring that up. The jobs I interviewed for seem to be big on flexible schedules just as long as you get your work done. I thought about few options: asking after getting an offer, asking after one month working there, or asking to work 10 hours a day and come in 4 times a week (if getting to work from home two days doesn’t work). What’s the best way to bring this up?

Normally the advice is to wait until you have an offer, and then try to negotiate the arrangement you want as part of the offer. That said, even companies that are open to flexible (or something flexible) schedules aren’t always open to telecommuting nearly 40% of the time, so unless you have extremely in-demand skills, be prepared for the possibility that they’re just not going to agree. So it this is an absolute requirement for you and you won’t consider the job otherwise, I might bring it up a bit earlier, to save time and aggravation on both ends if it’s a deal-breaker for them.

4. Following up with a hiring manager who canceled an interview

I submitted my resume to a company for a position that I thought would be a great stepping stone for me. A few hours after the submission, the hiring manager called me to set up an interview. He wanted to do the next day, but I had to work all day that day and there would have been no way to ask off on such short notice, but the day after I was off. So we scheduled for that day instead.

The morning of the interview, I received a call from him saying that he was going to have to cancel the interview and possibly reschedule in the future. He was talking so fast I couldn’t really understand the reasoning but he was giving a reason nonetheless. He said he may call earlier next week. If I don’t hear from him by the next Monday or Tuesday, should I email him or should I wait and see what happens?

Sure, it’s fine to follow up at that point. Send an email saying that you wanted to check in and see if he’s still interested in meeting. But after that, move on. Sometimes positions fall through, or they hire a different candidate, or the position changes, or all sorts of other things.

5. My manager is upset that I went around her to get a locker

I just started working for a hotel as security fire guard. I asked my supervisor about getting a locker in the men’s room in the basement. She said that there are associates who have worked longer than me who do not have lockers themselves. But I found a locker on my own and went to HR about the available locker. My supervisor was there and asked me about why I was in the office. When I told her I was there to see a list of who occupied the locker I found, apparently she was upset that I went over her head.

I was called in and found out that it was bad on my part to want to know the status of available lockers and I was wondering if they can simply fire me on a matter like this.

They could, but it’s unlikely. It sounds like your manager had told you that others were in line to get lockers ahead of you, and that she was irritated later when it seemed like you were ignoring that and trying to get a locker anyway. That’s annoying, yes, but it’s not such a big deal that you’d generally lose your job over it. Go talk to her and tell you misunderstood and that you didn’t mean to go around her, and you should be able to smooth this over.

6. Can I include volunteer experience as work experience on my resume?

I have taken a two-year break for employment to purposely provide volunteer support to a group of nonprofits in my community. Recently I was approached by our senator to apply for a job based on the work I have been doing unpaid. Since the experience comes from this volunteer project, should I include it with my work experience? Otherwise it looks like I have not worked for two years and the reviewer may never make it to the volunteer section to see the pertinent skill set, let alone the reference section.

Yes, you absolutely should include it with your work experience. It’s sounds like real work, despite being unpaid, and it’s relevant to the position you’re applying for.

By the way, your resume shouldn’t have a references section at all. You don’t supply those until they’re requested. However, you can certainly open your cover letter by explaining that your senator encouraged you to apply, and why.

7. What went wrong with this performance evaluation meeting?

I work for a large nonprofit institution. My job is unique in that I work in a laboratory which is located some distance from my department head’s office (I cross paths with him only about twice a month), and the head of the lab (whom I report to as a “day-to-day” supervisor) works for a different department.

June and July are job evaluation months at my workplace and I’ve had the strangest evaluation in my 20-year employment history. I arrived at my department head’s office on time, but he hadn’t completed the job evaluation and he told me to “get the hell out” of his office. He immediately apologized, and he asked me if I was offended, and then he was very complimentary about my work. My day-to-day supervisor was 30 minutes late. When she arrived, she wanted to talk about how I should be promoted! A promotion would be great, but she was clear about the fact that she is advocating that I seek a promotion without a pay raise. Then the meeting was cut short because my department head had a meeting with a couple of VIPs.

Isn’t the point of a job evaluation to document one’s goals and areas for improvement? I’m not clear about what those are supposed to be for the next year. On the job evaluation form, employees are allowed space to comment about the evaluation process. I realize that its not wise to rat out my department head and supervisor to the HR department, but I would like to document what happened in the meeting. Is the job evaluation form an appropriate place to do so? If not how can I politely voice my dissatisfaction with the meeting?

The point of an evaluation is to discuss how well you’ve been meeting the goals for your position, what you do well, and where you do better. It’s not necessarily to set goals for the coming year; in fact, although many organizations use them that way, it’s generally better practice to have a separate conversation about goal-setting for the coming year. (In part because they are both big conversations that require separate preparation and separate outcomes.)

Since you’re not clear about your goals for the coming year, tell your manager(s) that you’d like to meet to discuss them, and send over a proposal for those goals ahead of time, so that they’re prepared to discuss it. I wouldn’t bother with a complaint or documentation of what happened in the meeting. While not ideal, obviously, it’s not so egregious that you could formally complain without looking like a different kind of problem yourself.

It’s seven short answers to seven short questions, most of them about weird behavior of one form or another. Here we go…

1. Manager offered the job to someone else while we were still negotiating salary

I was offered a position after conducting two interviews and was told by the hiring manager I was the best fit for the job. I was told my salary and I informed the manager I would need a day to decide on her offer. The following day, I called back to confirm I would accept the position but also wanted to negotiate the pay. The manager agreed to look into my salary request over the next couple of days and have an answer for me by the following Monday.

By Monday, the manager had not responded, so I sent an email reminding her of our discussion. The following day, the manager called and said, “Unfortunately we cannot provide you with your desired salary.” I thanked her for considering it and said I would accept the position regardless. She then said she had since offered the position to someone else because she thought I had declined her initial offer and thought I said I would not want the job if I couldn’t get my desired salary. I am so enraged because I clearly communicated that I had accepted. Is this normal?

No. The manager mishandled this.

That said, it’s also not normal to accept a position but say you still want to negotiate the salary (largely because at that point, you’ve forfeited your negotiating power; they already know that you’ll accept it at the first number they offered — and if that’s not true, then you haven’t really accepted it; you’re still negotiating). So that was weird — but not as bad as what the manager did.

2. Interviewer asked me to guess at the weaknesses of the other employees I’d met

I recently went on an all-day interview, and the last woman I interviewed with, the woman to whom this position would report, asked me (1) for my opinion on the employees I had met with before her and (2) what each of their weaknesses were. I replied that I didn’t have enough information to know, but she encouraged me to take a guess. She said she wanted to see how I well I could read people. Would this strike you as a red flag?

It would strike me as pretty damn weird, yes. It doesn’t mean that you should run in the opposite direction, necessarily, but it does mean that this woman might have some boundary issues and that she definitely has a misunderstanding of what’s appropriate to ask job candidates, and that you’d want to probe a lot more into what she’s like and how else this weirdness might manifest before accepting a job working for her.

3. Should you update an interviewer on achievements you learn about after your interview?

For the last year, I have been volunteering as a grant writer for my friend’s nonprofit arts organization because I wanted to begin a career in the nonprofit world and I figured that this would be a good way to develop fundraising skills and obtain quantifiable achievements for my resume. The plan seems to be working: last week I landed an interview for a development associate position based largely on the strength of my volunteer work. The interview went well — they seemed impressed that I took the initiative to teach myself a new skill and get results with it — and I haven’t heard from them since the interview (which I recognize is normal and no reason to draw conclusions either way).

Today I just found out that two proposals I had written for my friend’s organization have been approved. This greatly improves my fundraising total — doubles it, in fact, and establishes a proposal writing success rate of 100%. I am of course thrilled but I really wish I had this information when I was interviewing. Would it be appropriate to drop my interviewer an email and mention this new achievement, or is this something I just need to sit on for the next position that I apply for?

Yes, I think you can do that! To be clear, I wouldn’t do this every time you have an achievement — I don’t want anyone to extrapolate from this to think that they should email a prospective employer to announce they just won a new account or fixed a major network server issue. But in this case, you’re entering a new field and you’re still untested — so it’s useful and reasonable to say, “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I’m starting to get results in from this work — both of my first two proposals have been funded, and I’d love to talk more about what I might do for XYZ organization along those lines.”

4. My coworker showed me the warning our boss sent him

I’m trying to figure out what to do with an odd situation at work. I am thinking of ignoring it, but I’m wondering if I should make my boss aware. We have a new team member who is not coming up to speed as fast as would be desired (this is an understatement, and it is obvious to me and I presume all experienced members of the team). Our boss put him on notice for specific items he needs to improve on. I know this because the coworker who was put on notice showed me the email he was sent documenting the notice and details. I read the subject line and first paragraph and then said I didn’t think I should be reading it (as I realized what it was!). He said he didn’t mind.

It was being shown as a reason (excuse?) for something else important that got dropped because he had received the warning and was upset just then, but … should he really have shown me this? Is this just weird, or is it something our boss needs to know? For the moment I’m filing it under “just weird” but it’s so weird, I’m not sure my instincts of how to handle it are right.

I’d file it under “just weird” too. I don’t think your boss needs to hear about it because it’s not a major violation of anything … just something unusual for him to share, particularly since he did it in the context of “You should excuse me for messing up X because I’d just been told that I’m messing up lots of things.”

Read an update to this letter here.

5. My coworker won’t stop badmouthing my soon-to-be new boss

Recently, after several years at the same job (where I was somewhat successful), I’ve decided to take an offer from a new company. It was heartbreaking as I cared very deeply for my old job and the people, but it’s a great career step.

However, I’m a little confused about the behavior of one of my current coworkers (in fact, she reports to me), or whether in fact her behavior is the issue at all. Here’s what’s happened: after I announced my resignation and discussed my new opportunity, my soon-to-be-ex team member has been loudly telling me about how her partner previously worked for this new company, in fact the same boss, and hated it. My team member has, several times a day, been sharing horror stories about my soon-to-be boss which are really unsettling me. I have asked her to stop, and she’s continued to quietly share these stories with colleagues, sometimes in my earshot.

Now, I’m not naive. Oftentimes, stories of horror coworkers and bosses are worth listening to, and I suppose I’m scared that my team member’s stories are correct. In fact, I’m sure that her partner isn’t lying about his experiences. So I suppose I have two questions: should I run from this new job (my current employer would gladly accept me back, and I have several weeks before the start date), and is my team member’s behavior well-meaning (as she claims) or some sort of acting out against me leaving?

I don’t know what’s motivating your employee, but I do know that this isn’t normal. If she had legitimate concerns about your impending new manager, this is not the appropriate way to handle them; talking to you discreetly would be. She’s displaying such bad judgment here that, to me at least, it calls into question how reliable her assessment of your new boss is.

Did you do due diligence on your new manager and new workplace before accepting the job? If so, I would not change your mind just because of questionable behavior from someone with questionable judgment. I would, however, talk to her privately and ask her what on earth is up.

6. Can I name-drop my friend in my cover letter to her organization?

Just had your site recommended to me by a friend, and I have now spent two hours agonizing over all my cover letter failings! The good news is that I can now happily retire phrases like “motivated self-starter” from my vocabulary (not sure why I needed someone to point out how cliche and overused that is).

Question, though. I am applying to a communications director job at a nonprofit. My friend, who currently works there, alerted me that the position would be opening and encouraged me to apply. Is it inappropriate to mention her name in my cover letter, as in “Jane Doe told me about this position” or does that come off as name dropping? My qualifications don’t exactly line up with what they’ve advertised (though I still think I’m a good match), so my cover letter really needs to grab their attention. I figure it can’t hurt that, on a small staff, one person can vouch that I am not a crazy person, though I suppose she will probably put in a good word whether I drop her name or not.

You should absolutely mention that she encouraged you to apply, and it’s not name-dropping — well, I mean, it technically is, but not in the inappropriate sense. It’s very normal, no one will bat an eye, and it might get you a second look.

7. Informational interviews after you’ve already applied for a job

I am currently working as an AmeriCorps member, which means I have a fixed, one-year term. Because of that, I have been applying to jobs or sending letters of interest to employers in my field. (My term of service ends August 2).

Today, a well-connected board member at the nonprofit where I’m placed approached me to get a copy of my resume. I have sent it to him previously, but he needed another copy because he had recently run into a friend who happens to work in my field. She was open to providing informational interviews. After I sent him my resume, he passed it along to the woman and CC’d me on the email so I could get in touch with her. As it turns out, she works for one of the organizations to which I’ve applied for a position.

What exactly should I do? It has been a few weeks since I applied (I sent it out at the very beginning of the month), and I haven’t been contacted by the organization other than an automated “application received” email. I don’t want to come across as trying to get around the job application process, but I also don’t want to turn down making a connection, especially since this person is at a well-respected organization in my field and I’d love to work for them. I know you have expressed a disinterest for informational interviews in the past, but do you have any advice before I reach out to this woman?

Just be straightforward: “Hi Jane, I would love the opportunity to talk with you. I want to disclose, though, that I recently applied for the X position with ABC organization, and I don’t want you to think I’m trying to circumvent your application process. But if you’re wiling to talk with me about (fill in what you want to talk about — your field, career advice, whatever), I’d really love to pick your brain.”

It’s terse answer Thursday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. What to do when an employee starts using the wrong title

I am interested to know how would you deal with the following situation: The employee, X, reports to the manager Y. Recently, X has altered the title in the email signature from Administrative Specialist to Administrative Coordinator, without informing Y.

The HR file lists X as Administrative Specialist, not Coordinator. X sends emails both internally and externally, on behalf of the company.

Should this be addressed by Y in any way, and what would be the best way to approach it?

Yes, you have to address it! (I’m assuming you’re Y, for the sake of this response.) What if X started using CEO as her title? Titles aren’t up for grabs; they’re negotiated and/or awarded.

Go to X and say this, “I noticed that your emails recently have said administrative coordinator, rather than specialist. How come?” If the answer is anything other than that it’s an odd mistake, then you say, “While your job is specialist, that’s the title you need to use in your emails and other places.” You say this in a nice, even sympathetic tone, but you do need to say it.

2. Interviewer was dismissive and contemptuous

Today I went in for a second round interview at a fashion company with a VP. I met with HR last week, and the interview went very smoothly. I was very interested in the position, and it seemed as though my experience was a good fit for what they were looking for. However, when I greeted the VP this morning, she responded by icily sizing me up with a smug look on her face and not even saying “good morning.” When we sat down in her office, the first words out of her mouth were, “I’m not sure why HR sent you to me.”

Naturally, I was quite taken aback by her dismissal. Things didn’t get better as she proceeded to ask me questions about my experience and subsequently interrupt me to explain why I wasn’t qualified. It felt more like an attack than an interview, ending with her nearly avoiding shaking my hand as I walked out the door.

While I’m disappointed that I (clearly) didn’t get the position, I am relieved that I dodged the bullet of that woman being my boss. My question to you though: is it worth mentioning this woman’s behavior to the HR director, with whom I have a good rapport? I felt like I not only wasted my time, but also that I didn’t stand a chance to exhibit what I could bring to the position since I was put on the defensive from the start. Would this be helpful for the HR person to know so that they don’t waste other people’s time, or should I just say “good riddance” and forget the whole thing?

It would be helpful for the HR person to know, yes, but it risks being unhelpful to you, because too many employers aren’t open to this type of feedback about their interviewers — and will often give their interviewer (who they know better than you, after all) the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re the one who’s being high-maintenance. So if you think you might ever apply for a job again there (under a different manager, obviously), I’d just drop it and move on — especially since it’s not your responsibility to point out or fix whatever problems they have over there, and definitely not if it comes with a potential cost to you.

3. Why don’t I want to take this new job that I was previously excited about?

I have a pretty good job at present, but am considering accepting a different job I have been offered. A few months ago when I applied for the new job, I had a number of reasons why it would be fun, adventurous, challenging, and a great opportunity for new experiences. Yet, now that I am on the brink of having to say yes or no to the job, I seem to have forgotten all the reasons why I wanted it in the first place, and I see only the great parts of my present job. And to be honest, if I found out at this minute that the new job was no longer available, I would be relieved…..what is wrong with me?

Maybe you don’t want the job. Maybe you got a bad feeling about the manager or the work or the culture. Or maybe you do want it, but you’re afraid of change. Or maybe you’re just happy at your current job and don’t want to leave.

4. Should I really submit my parking expenses for reimbursement?

I’m an attorney for a small law firm within a couple miles of downtown. Part of my job is going downtown for various court appearances. This happens often, and each trip costs anywhere between $3 to $20 for parking. This probably totals about $100 – $200 a month.

We don’t have a written policy on expense reimbursements. Before I started working here, my boss said that the firm doesn’t reimburse for mileage when it’s just driving a couple of miles to the courthouse downtown, but they will reimburse for mileage when I have to travel to courthouses farther away–say, in the next county–and always will reimburse for parking. I’m fine with the mileage thing, but am now getting ready to submit my first reimbursement request for parking expenses.

This is where my question arises: My boss buys the office lunch and snacks often, probably once or twice a week. In the short time I’ve worked here, she has also paid for membership dues, continuing education courses, and a trip to a seminar. The point is, what she spends on these things that I benefit from is probably more than what I spend on parking. So my question is, do you think I would now appear to be greedy, nickel-and-dime-y, or overreaching by asking for reimbursement for the parking expenses? Might an employer think, “Well, the cost of the free meals, etc., she gets already more than makes up for the parking costs”?

Nope. At least no reasonable employer would. You’ve been told they’ll reimburse those expenses, so submit them. The fact that your employer also covers training, food, and other items isn’t relevant; it’s not either/or.

Remember, the general principle for thinking about this stuff is that you shouldn’t pay for the business’s own expenses. That includes travel costs like parking, employee training, and lunches that are apparently meant as morale/camaraderie boosts.

5. Would I be eligible for rehiring after quitting without notice two years ago?

I quit my job over two years ago with a great company because my boss and I couldn’t get along professionally. I was always professional and did my work properly. Always arrived on time and left late to complete my work. It got to a point where I felt that nothing I did was good enough for her and my job was on the line. There was one instance where I came into work and someone from my job approached me and told me to be careful because there were talks about letting me go. I was very upset after hearing this. I ended my shift for the day and went home. From there, I sent an email resignation letter to my boss and copied HR. In my letter, I was very professional and told them that this resignation letter was effective immediately while explaining the cause as to why. I did not give two weeks notice. I was an “at-will” employee. Do you think I would be rehireable for the company?

No.

You left without giving notice and didn’t even bother to return to the office to wrap up your work — in nearly every context, that’s seen as unprofessional and would prevent the employer from re-hiring you in the future.

6. Should I do something special for a departing long-time employee?

I have an employee who has worked with our organization for the last 12 years. He has only worked under me for less than a year and I was not the person who hired him into the position. He was inherited. Regardless, should I do something special for him upon his departure? Is it my place to do something and to what magnitude?

What does your organization usually do for departing employees? Card? Lunch? Any sort of recognition? I’d take your cues from that, but if nothing else, I’d circulate a card for people to sign and tell him how much you’ve enjoyed working with him (if that’s in any way true), wish him well, and (if you want) encourage him to stay in touch.

7. Adding a single class to my resume

I have my bachelor’s degree and I also recently took one graduate-level class that is very relevant to my job search. After completing the class, I decided to put graduate school on hold indefinitely while I work on studying for a certification. How do I put this one class on my resume? Do I specify that it was graduate-level? Or should I just mention it in my cover letter?

You could add it to your education section like this:

Great Figures in Chocolate Teapot History (graduate level course), Teapot University, 2013

I’d only do this if it’s truly likely to strengthen your candidacy, though, since otherwise individual classes aren’t generally that significant on a resume.