Ask a Manager

It’s fast answer Friday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. Could this GPA requirement be negotiable?

I have read several of your postings about job requirements and how often a person does not need to be a 100% perfect fit. My fiancé is being transferred to another city and I found an internal job with my company that I would really like to apply to, but the job description said in bold letters “candidates must have a minimum GPA of 3.2.” I have a 3.0 and could easily explain this. I double majored in college and I was just bad at one major no matter how hard I tried. By the time I was ready to give up on that second major, I was too close to finishing it and my GPA wouldn’t have changed.

This is one of those situations where since it was emphasized in bold I was wondering if that was an indicator of “if you don’t have this, don’t bother applying.” I would hate to apply and then be known as the guy who can’t read and follow directions. My fiancé says that may be flexible, but my dad says not to waste my and their time. Another note, I have taken college courses since then and have made the dean’s list so i was wondering if that might help. What do you think?

Go ahead and apply. Because you’re an internal candidate and therefore a known quantity, you might have more leeway than someone they don’t know at all. Sure, they might not waive the requirement, but they’re not going to think less of you for trying. Believe me, people apply for jobs all the time that they’re nowhere near qualified for — recruiters and hiring managers are used to it and generally save their incredulousness for much more egregious cases.

2. Should I wait for my boss to retire?

I have worked for my current company for 3.5 years. I was hired in at a lower salary than I desired, but in the interview it was made to seem that there was a lot of room for growth, as my boss is in her 60’s and said she was on the 5-year plan to leave and put me in her role.

The company has had furloughs and no raises for 5 years. Last year, I approached my boss with multiple sources of proof that I was underpaid compared to market rates/national average and tried to negotiate a raise. I received a promotion and very small pay increase that was nowhere close to what I should be making for an even higher job position. My boss told me it was a very generous increase and that my job was not as difficult as the same job at other companies.

Everyone keeps telling me to run from this job as fast as I can and that my boss doesn’t appreciate me. My boss recently told me that she probably still has another 5 years to go, so my hopes of taking over her role in the next year or two are gone. Is it worth it to stay underpaid for a future position that is pretty much guaranteed to you?

Is it really guaranteed to you though? This company has already misled you about that timeline once.

This isn’t the only opportunity for growth out there for you — there are tons of others. Don’t lock yourself into this one. Take a look at what else is out there and see if you find something you like better. You’re not obligated to take another offer if you get one, but it seems silly not to even look at your options. You might find something you like a lot better, or you might find that you’re actually be paid about the going rate for your skills in your geographic area (since national averages don’t really tell you much, as we covered here). Either way, you’ll have a better sense of your options than you do right now.

3. How long will Ask a Manager be around?

I love your blog, but how long are these answers accessible for? I.e., 3 years down the road, when making a HR decision regarding someone or something, I may want to re-read, as a guideline, some suggestions you posted here – will I find it? Or could be that you moved onto a new career and closed the blog and access to all the postings? And does it work differently whether one is in the U.S. or Canada?

It’ll be on the Internet as long as I pay the hosting fees to keep it here, which I can’t imagine I’d stop doing any time soon. I’ve actually never thought about what will happen to the site if I stop writing it at some point, but I assume I’d keep the archives around for a fairly long period of time, unless I’m sadly destitute and need to spend the hosting fees on burritos. But assume it’ll be here in, say, 2016. But 2026? Who knows — maybe by then the Internet will be passe and everything will be done on mimeographed newsletters again.

But unless Canada starts censoring your access to the Internet like North Korea, it will not work any differently there than it does here.

4. Should I put work in my portfolio if I’m on bad terms with the client?

Should I put work in my portfolio if I’m not on good terms with the client? I am a graphic designer and I want to use some work I did for my portfolio. When I billed my client for this work, he responded first with silence, and later with threats. He ultimately paid 60% of the bill and I refused to work for him again.

I’m worried that if I use the work I did for him in my portfolio, hiring managers might try to talk to him and he will say bad things about me and my work ethic. We live in a small province and it’s not inconcievable that someone might know him already and make a call. I’d like to use this work because it demonstrates a specific skill that I need more examples of in my portfolio.

I’d probably use it, because it’s your work and it demonstrates something you want to demonstrate. There’s a risk that someone might call him without asking you about it first, yes, but it’s a relatively small risk compared to the value of being able to demonstrate skills that you can’t otherwise show in your portfolio. (If that weren’t the case — if you had other samples that would do just as well — I’d say to leave it out, but it doesn’t sound like that’s the case.)

5. Dealing with sleep disorders at work

I was recently diagnosed with both obstructive sleep apnea and periodic limb movement disorder (basically, I kick my legs in my sleep). The meds that I was prescribed for the PLMD carry a side effect of possibly falling asleep without warning while carrying out everyday tasks, which is also a very real possibility with OSA. How much detail do I need to go into about my diagnosis and med regimen with my employer?

I am a union employee covered by a contract, so there’s a very real possibility that I am covered by additional protections, but I thought that this might be an interesting question to answer given the prevalence of OSA.

You don’t need to go into detail at all; you just need to let them know what they might notice at work and what accommodations you might need. (You don’t even need to do that if you don’t want any accommodations, but it sounds like it would be a good idea to do it so they don’t think you’re just sleeping on the job.) Your employer might ask you further questions, but they can’t do so unless they’re related to your job requirements and necessary for the operation of the business.

(By the way, it’s worth noting that this may or may not be covered under the ADA; I wasn’t able to find a ruling specific to these disorders, and so it would likely depend on whether your specific manifestations met the law’s standard of an impairment that “substantially limits major life activities such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself, and working.” Either way, though, it seems like it would be wise to talk with your employer so they aren’t alarmed if you do fall asleep without warning.)

6. Can my boss cut my hours just because she doesn’t like me?

I am currently working a part-time job that is usually between 20-30 hours a week. It is a franchise located in many states. I recently found out my boss does not like me. Is it legal for her to start giving me 1 to 2 days a week?

Yes. Your employer can cut your hours or even fire you for any reason at all, as long as it’s not based on your race, religion, sex, national origin, or other protected class.

7. Coworker keeps asking me to dinner

How can I delicately decline a co-worker keeps asking me to dinner? I have said no many times. I think the other person wants a romantic relationship, but I don’t fish off the company pier.

You can’t do it delicately at this point; your repeated no’s were an attempt to do it delicately, and your coworker hasn’t picked up on the hint. So it’s time to be more direct: “I’m not interested in a relationship outside of work. Please don’t keep asking me.”

If you can’t bring yourself to use wording that blunt, you can try, “I don’t socialize with coworkers” (if the person hasn’t already seen evidence to the contrary) or “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in getting together outside of work.” But if that doesn’t work, then you’re going to have to go with the blunter option.

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

1. My new job just reposted an ad for my position

I recently got a new job and have been working there for a week. It’s a copywriting position, and I was hired to replace another recent hire whose work was not up to par. This company puts new employees on a 90-day probationary/trial period to start and then evaluates their work and determines whether to offer them full employment.

After a week on the job, I feel reasonably confident that things are going well. I’ve always had strong writing skills, and my superiors have told me directly that I’m doing a good job and am picking up on things quickly. Yesterday, however, I happened to notice that the listing for this job had been reposted online that same day. It’s the exact same ad that I answered to get an interview and this job. What does/could this mean? Should I be worried?

Speculating won’t do you any good, because it could be something as innocuous as someone in HR automatically refreshing the ad by mistake. Rather than worrying without really knowing, ask your manager. Say, “I couldn’t help but notice that the ad for my position was reposted today, and it made me a little anxious.”

2. Explaining flushing at work (no, not that kind)

I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle a situation that I know will come up at my new job. I’m on a medicine right now – a necessary one, can’t be substituted – that has a side effect of causing fairly severe intermittent (so it comes and goes) flushing on my face and neck. And I have really pale skin, so it’s quite obvious. I’m concerned that it will be perceived as me being nervous or shy, and that will have a negative effect on my reputation and relationships at work. The flushing occurs in a whole variety of situations that are both high and low pressure.

I’m working on my ability to control this through mental tricks and maybe I’ll try out biofeedback, but I think there’s a limit to how much I can really control this, given that it’s happening due to the medicine. If someone were to ask me about it, I think I’d be fine with saying something casually like, “oh, thanks for checking, I’m on a great preventative medicine for headaches that has that unfortunate side effect – but I’ll take fewer headaches any day!” What I don’t know is how to handle people who just watch me and make assumptions. Maybe I can’t do anything about that, and they’ll just think what they think. I’d like there to be something I can do, though! I’d really appreciate any suggestions.

Can you feel when it’s happening? If so, I’d just say something in the moment: “I think I feel myself flushing — don’t be alarmed; I’m on a headache medicine that causes that sometimes.” If you can’t tell when it’s happening, then why not just mention something to your new manager after you start? You could say something like, “By the way, I’m taking a headache medicine that’s been causing me to flush at random times. I don’t want you to think it’s a stress reaction, so I wanted to warn you ahead of time.” Your manager can then correct anyone who might comment on it.

To be clear, you don’t have to do this — but because it’s bothering you, it might give you peace of mind to say something.

3. Why can’t I get promoted?

I have been passed over for a promotion twice in the six years of working in the same department, and three times for positions outside of my department. I have gotten my MBA, taken additional training, and am in the process of planning an event for a staff of 50. No one has any complaints about my work to my knowledge, and I was one of the top two for a promotion out of 250 applicants. I did ask the hiring manager what it was that I could do to improve myself for the future and he said “nothing, it was just one of those things.” Any suggestions?

You might need to go somewhere else to get a higher-level job. Your company isn’t necessarily sending you a signal that they don’t plan to promote you (it’s possible that there were simply better candidates each time), but (a) they should sure as hell be giving you some feedback on how to better position yourself at this point, and (b) after six years there, there’s no reason not to be looking at all your options if you’d like to move up.

4. Can HR share candidates’ information with a competing candidate?

Is it ethical for a person in HR to divulge a candidate’s information to a competing candidate, specifically give that person your LinkdIn information? This recently happened to me.

I interviewed for a position and found out it was awarded to someone else on the inside when that person, who I didn’t know from Adam, went on my LinkdIn profile announcing she had the job. There was no way she could’ve known who I was or that I had also interviewed for the job unless someone on the inside gave her my information (unless she somehow was able to sneak a peek at the competition). Why would someone do this? I am very disheartened and feel my privacy was invaded. Am I overreacting? I mean, this doesn’t seem ethical to me at all.

Are you sure that’s what happened? An internal candidate posting gloating messages on external job candidates’ LinkedIn pages seems pretty out there, and I wonder if there’s some more innocent interpretation. In any case, though, I’d just let it go and not be terribly disheartened — there’s no real privacy violation if she works for the company where you applied (since you have to assume when you apply to a company that anyone who works there could become privy to it); it’s just bizarre and not worth stewing over.

5. I’m being made to sit in a painful chair

I am a full-time employee for a very large national company. That company holds a government contract that I work on. Recently the government agency we are contracted with had new chairs brought in for our entire office, though no ergonomic study was done beforehand that I am aware of. At over 6’6”, I am a very large parson and my shoulder blades literally rest on the top of this hard plastic and mesh chair back. The lumbar support is also not adjustable so it does not feel right. This causes both lower back and shoulder pain that I have never experienced before. The day after I was forced to sit in these chairs I woke up with continued back and shoulder pain even though it had been 12 hours after I had last sat in the chairs.

After talking to my manager, they told me I had no other option but to get a doctor’s note. I made the next available appointment and went. They accepted my note and I got a new chair that, while not perfect, was 100% better than my current chair. But after only a week, I was told that I and anyone else who had a different chair due to a doctor’s note would have to give up their chair because the government contractor didn’t like that the chairs weren’t all the same. I was told that I would need another doctor’s note with more exact specifications or I would not be able to get a different chair. I feel that even if I bring in a note with the exact make and model of chair I need, I will still be sitting in these painful chairs for the rest of my time at this contract. My manager, I, and even my doctor don’t know what to do. What would you suggest as a next course of action for something like this?

Go back and get the more specific note that they’re asking for. Yes, it’s a pain in the ass, and yes, it’s ridiculous that they’re micromanaging what chairs you sit in, and yes, it’s even more ridiculous that they’re requiring this extra documentation, but they are. So get it, and hopefully put an end to it.

6. Termination if company ceases to exist

After two years of active job searching (unemployed), I have finally landed a job offer. Love the company’s culture (small company in terms of staff, but moderate size in terms of capitalization).

However, I am a little unsure of how to interpret the following paragraph in the offer letter: “Your employment with the company will be as a regular employee, subject to your successful completion of a six-month probation period, at which point your salary will be reviewed. However, should the company cease to exist, for whatever reason at any time, your employment may then terminate on simple notice as per the company’s policy.”

So, as I understand this, any possible future termination would be swift, with no notice or severance package, regardless of the amount of time employed with them? I can’t imagine a 15 or 20-year employee being treated in this way. I know that in Canada, an employer must at least pay vacation pay if not taken at the time of termination. Is there any way that I can protect myself from being booted out should the company “cease to exist”? Can I try to negotiate this clause in some way (doubt it)?

I can’t advise on what protections might be available to you in Canada or about anything related to Canada for that matter, but it’s pretty normal that if a company ceases to exist, it might not be paying severance. I’d point out, though, that this language isn’t saying that you’d have no notice; it’s saying that you’d have notice per the company’s policy — so to find out how much notice that is, you’d want to look at the relevant policy.

Overall, though, this doesn’t alarm me too much. It’s what would happen in lots of cases; they’re just telling you in advance. (Maybe because Canada requires it? Who knows what goes on up there.)

7. I put the wrong phone number on my resume

I recently realised I made an ridiculous mistake on my resume — my phone number had the wrong area code. In Toronto, where I live, there are two area codes and I inadvertently switched them — the last 7 digits were correct though. I know how important it is to have my resume perfect and am furious at myself for the mistake. However, in all of my cover letters (in the body of the email application) my phone number is correct. Would employers who were potentially trying to contact me have given up/passed upon reaching the wrong number, or would they have contacted me by email instead?

Do you think I should re-send emails for potential applications to inform of the mistake? Or will this look worse for pointing out a glaring mistake?

Some employers contact people by phone and some by email, so there’s really no way to know if someone has tried to reach you and given up. I’d err on the side of a follow-up email with a correction. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than letting the mistake go unfixed and possibly missing phone calls. (I should note, though, that even a follow-up may not fix the problem, because it won’t be attached to your resume itself — but it’s your best bet.)

It’s wee answer Wednesday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. I’m quitting, but my employer wants me to stay on to finish a project

I’ve been reading your blog for about two years. Your advice helped me land my current position, and guided me through finding a new position which I officially accepted last week. I turned in my two weeks notice on Wednesday, and on Thursday my boss asked me to stay on to finish my current project (through June 30). I spoke with my boss and HR in a meeting on Friday where they said they’d like to break down my current salaried pay into an hourly figure and pay me as an hourly, part-time employee. I told them I’d feel more comfortable terminating my employment and becoming a contractor, creating objectives and being paid a lump sum for finishing the project.

I should note that I’m leaving because my boss is a complete jerk. He became my boss midway through this project and I’ve been miserable ever since. He’s very much a “my way or the highway” and take credit for everyone else’s work-type of leader. I don’t want to continue to be under his constant control. I would love to see this project through — but how do I get my old employer to see that letting me become a contractor is the way to go? I can do everything I was doing from home, in the evenings or weekends. My new job is 4 10-hour days, so, yes, I could come in on Fridays but I don’t want to. My boss has already said how appreciative he is of me staying on board to wrap this up — I want to but not on their terms. Any advice?

Frankly, I’d urge you to seriously consider not doing it at all. You need to have all your focus on your new job, and not deal with the distractions (and apparently serious hassles) of the old. You’re finally getting away from your horrible boss — why drag out the relationship instead of having a clean break?

But if you still want to do it, then just lay out the terms that you’re willing to do it on: You’ll do it as a contractor, working from home. If they refuse, then walk away. They can’t make you do it, and whatever desire you have to see out your project is going to fade dramatically after a week or two at your new job, believe me.

2. Interviewer asked me to call her, but I can’t reach her

Two days ago, I had a phone interview that apparently went very well. The woman I interviewed with stated she would get back to me in about a week about the next steps in the hiring process. Later that day, I sent her a thank you email and expressed my continued interest in the position. She emailed back right away and stated she had a great time talking to me and wanting to schedule an in-person interview. Her instructions stated to call her when I had a moment to schedule an in-person interview. Instantly, I called her and had to leave a voicemail. I thought I would hear back from her in a business day, but I have not. I do not want to bug her with numerous phone calls and emails (especially, since her instructions ask that I call her). How long would you suggest I wait to contact her again and in what form?

Wait two business days from your last call and call again. It’s also fine to send a response to her email letting her know that you weren’t able to reach her and asking her to call whenever it’s most convenient for her (just as you’d probably do with any other business contact — no need to treat this one more gingerly just because it’s for an interview).

3. When you don’t know a candidate’s sex ahead of time

I have a issue that’s arisen a few times in the past few weeks. I’m working in HR/hiring right now, and the company I’m working for is going through a rapid expansion — tons of interviews and new hires happening. There have been a handful of candidates invited for interviews where we can’t tell the gender of the person beforehand through email/resume screens. It’s not a major problem — it’s just disconcerting to the interviewers when they were expecting a male voice and instead hear a female. This mostly has happened with gender-neutral or “unique” names. What are your thoughts on this? I don’t want to presume to assign a sex to a person, but I also want to prep my coworkers adequately!

I’d say to let your coworkers deal with it and not worry about prepping them. First, there’s really no way that you can (I mean, I suppose you could try Googling the person to see if there’s something out there that would tell you, but … is it really worth the trouble?), and second, it really shouldn’t matter. I suppose that if it’s a gender-neutral name, you could note for the interviewer that you’re not sure if the candidate is a man or a woman, but it raises the question of why people need to know. I do know that you’re not saying that it’s important info, but just that it can be a little weird to hear a very different voice than what you were expecting. But your colleagues should be able to take the mild surprise of realizing they got it wrong and should be able to recover immediately. (If they can’t, though, that’s a different issue.)

4. Taking time off to study for a professional exam

It’s been a month now since I was “let go” from a temp assignment. I went through my ups and downs and tried looking for work again. I started looking at the bigger picture of the career goals I want to achieve and have formulated a plan. The first step is taking a professional exam. I also finally feel like I’m in a position to relax and take the time off from the stress of looking for work.

I’ve learned the hard way that multitasking isn’t my strong suit. So I want ot take time off from working to study for the exam. I’m just wondering, how would this look to future employers? That while I wasn’t working I was studying for an exam? Is it something that’s not looked down upon?

It depends on how intensive studying for that particular exam is known to be. If it’s something like the CPA exam or the bar, then you can probably get away with saying that. If it’s less intensive, employers are more likely to wonder why you needed so much time off for something that most people do while they’re working.

5. Quoting from a job ad in your cover letter

In a cover letter, is it okay to quote from the posting of the position I’m applying to? I don’t want to come across as unoriginal or, worse, as plagiarizing, but if they use a particular wording that really does describe me or the work I do, can I go ahead and use it? Or is it going to be a big strike against me?

I’d do it only very sparingly, if at all. You’re generally better off describing yourself in your own words … at very clearly acknowledging that you’re quoting them (for instance, “you wrote that you’re looking for someone maniacally obsessed with clowns, and I’m exactly that”).

6. Asking for a raise when the company is being sold

I work at a very small company (about 20 people, including freelancers). The owner has been working in this industry for many many years and is well over retirement age. Myself and many of the coworkers have picked up on subtle clues from her (guiding people on “tours” of the office–we never have people from outside come here–and her introducing us to them but not them to us) and have found other information on the internet to confirm that the business is up for sale. People have found out that “due process” ends today, and the closing could be any time within the next month. The owner has not directly told anyone about this information.

My question is about when I should be asking for a raise. I am coming up on the 2-year anniversary of my start date (June). I believe the work I have done and the accomplishments I have achieved merit a raise. However, I don’t know when I should ask for it. Should I be asking for it now? I am hesitant to do it now because it may seem odd that I didn’t wait the 2.5 months until June. But I’m worried that if I don’t do it now, the new owners will see it as me trying to take advantage of the situation. or they could think “well if the old owner hasn’t given her a raise, why should we?” I also think that if I wait, they won’t know anything about my work and accomplishments and will say no because I have not proven myself to them yet. Is it customary for new owners to discuss previous work with the old owner to decide on issues like this?

Go ahead and ask now. The worst that can happen is that you’ll be told no.

Be prepared for the fact that she may be less inclined to give you a raise now because retaining good employees isn’t going to be her problem for much longer, but again, you lose nothing by asking.

Whether she’ll advise new owners on this kind of thing as part of the handover very much depends on the situation, but in general new owners like to make their own decisions on this type of thing.

7. Getting online marketing jobs without online marketing experience

In recent years, social and digital marketing has become a key component of many job requirements in public relations. My problem is that I have worked for organizations that actively refused to enhance their digital footprint. I kept up on trends by reading the books and attending the professional development sessions. I’m preparing to apply for a job that I’d be perfect for, but I don’t have any direct social or digital marketing experience they want. How do I address this in my resume and cover letter?

You might think you’d be perfect for these jobs, but — well, they’re less likely to think you’re perfect since you don’t have actual experience doing the work. And when you’re up against well-qualified candidates who do have the experience, employers won’t have much incentive to hire you. I’d try to get that experience first — volunteer for a few organizations who want help in this area and start building up a portfolio of work and accomplishments that you can point to.