Ask a Manager

It’s short answer Saturday — six short answers to six short questions. Here we go…

1. Do I have to attend this work training?

My boss recently announced that they “strongly recommend” that everyone in our group get a certain certification. She has told us multiple times that she really wants everyone in our group to get this certification this year. The certification consists of seven two-day courses — always on Fridays and Saturdays.

Using seven of my Saturdays for this course wouldn’t be my ideal use of time, but I was fine with it. However, my boss has now come back and said that since we are getting a certification out of this course we have to a) pay for everything oursleves upfront, and only get reimbursed when we pass the course b) use vacation days for the course. So now this course is taking 14 days of my personal time (over a week of vacation time alone!), AND I have to do the several-thousand dollar cost on my own for most of the year. The thing is, I wouldn’t take this course if it weren’t for my job. And I’m pretty sure I don’t want to stay in this area long-term. I am looking for other oppurtunities within the same company, but it may be a while until I can move. Until them, my boss is expecting me to complete all 7 of these courses this year. How do I discuss with her the fact that I am not willing to use 1/2 of my vacation (I get 15 days) plus 7 Saturdays to complete this course? I don’t want to come across as a trouble-maker- I am just coming back from 2 months of modified work duties due to an illness, and I don’t want to become the employee who is always creating trouble.

If the training is truly mandatory, your employer is required by federal law to pay for the time that you attend the training. They can, however, require you to deduct the time from your accrued vacation, believe it or not. (That’s because no law requires them to give you vacation time at all, so they can put whatever rules they want on it.) If you’re exempt, this doesn’t really help you at all. If you’re non-exempt, however, they’d need to pay you for that Friday in class — as well as extra pay for the Saturday (if that’s an extra work day for you), plus overtime pay if that puts you over 40 hours that week.

I’d ask your boss to clarify whether it’s mandatory or not and what would happen if you don’t attend. You should also explain your concerns about the money and the significant amount of vacation time you’d lose. Sometimes just pointing these things out can chance the decision. But if it doesn’t, I’d figure out the likely consequences of simply saying that you can’t afford the time or price and skipping it.

2. Hiring large groups of people

I wanted to write you with a question about a hiring process. I’ve been in my current role as a manager with a large research group at a university for about a year now. We run several large-scale research projects for which we hire large numbers of graduate research assistants every summer. We typically interview over 100 people for about 60 spots in the span of 2-3 months. Because of sheer quantity of people, we do 20 minute interviews and check references. Since these people are students seeking to fund their graduate studies, the university requires us to interview all applicants in person (I know…). These are all young people in graduate school, so many of them don’t have much formal work experience.

I’ve read your posts about hiring entry-level people, and thought that was very helpful, but I wondered if you had any specific advice about hiring large quantities of people at the same time? I don’t think that our system is working very well—my peers joke that we’d be better off pulling names out of a hat! To illustrate, on my project this academic year, we’ve had two people quit (one without notice) and fired two people for poor performance. We have a group of people performing at a high level, some who are fine, and a frustratingly large group on whom I have to keep really close tabs because of their poor performance. What can we be doing better in our hiring process to avoid some of these issues?

20-minute interviews aren’t nearly enough to tell you to hire, but if you’re required to interview all 100, I can see why you can’t give them more time. However, it sounds like you’re not giving the any exercises or simulations to see how they actually perform, and adding in that component could give you much better information. Have your candidates do some kind of exercise related to the work they’d be doing on the job — I guarantee you that you’ll get much better insight into who to hire.

That said, whenever you’re hiring 60 people, some of them aren’t going to work out. So I’d go into it expecting that too.

3. Is there a contracting blacklist?

I was fired from my last job at a government contractor in the area. I was wondering if there is black list that government contractors have to prevent you from working with another company. Do you know?

Very unlikely. People talk informally, of course, but you’re probably safe from a black list.

4. Mentioning current employer’s financial instability in an interview

When answering a question about why I want to leave my current job, is it wrong to cite concerns about the company’s financial stability? My employer has been throwing up a lot of red flags (massive layoffs, a way scaled back Christmas party, late payroll) and I’m worried they’ll lay me off or go out of business altogether. Will mentioning concerns about their viability make me appear disloyal or overly negative?

Nope, that’s a completely understandable reason to be looking for another job. Don’t go into detail or reveal things you shouldn’t, of course, but it’s fine to say that you’re company is having layoffs or having trouble meeting payroll and so you’re looking for something more stable.

5. My company has a ridiculously arduous decision-making process

I work for a company that in the past has made a lot of mistakes when it came to decision making. They’ve purchased the wrong software and wasted enormous amounts of money, they’ve hired too many people, they’d fired the wrong people, etc. Due to the past mistakes, they’ve acquired a more micromanaged “chain of command.” Meaning, we have process analysts, team leads, supervisors, managers, directors, vice presidents. Now the problem I’m having is that because there is so many people in charge, they are all in charge at the same time, if that makes sense. If the supervisor has to be in a meeting, so does the manager (just in case), and the director (just in case). It seems that all decisions must be taken as a “team” of leaders, rather than escalating.

In my past jobs in college, I’ve had to report to a single person, I presented my work to them, and they were allowed to make decisions according to their level. But here, I have to present to ALL leadership. It makes the process more arduous. Because there is so many people in charge, decisions are a painful process. The leadership does not seem to trust one another in the making decisions. I feel overwhelmed with the amount of work a decision takes.

It stresses me out to work in this environment. I like the work I do, but I don’t like the pain of working with a team of leaders, one higher than the other, but essentially doing the same job. Is this normal? This is my first job out of college and I feel like I should quit, but I want to consider some advice and know if this is a norm at other companies as well.

No, it’s not normal and it’s terribly inefficient. Your company sounds badly managed.

6. Background check when you have an arrest for an unpaid traffic ticket

I have a question regarding background checks and how important is it to have a clean record. I just got a job offer, and they mentioned conducting a background check. I’m concerned about getting too excited or saying anything to my current employer because I know that I have an arrest on my record. In 2008, I got a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. I paid the ticket with a money order through the mail as per instructions. Two years later, in 2010, I was pulled over and arrested for driving on a suspended license. The license was suspended because, according the court, the ticket had not been paid and that is “failure to appear” and an automatic suspension of license. At the time of my arrest, I had received no notice that my payment had not been received nor that my license had been suspended. Furthermore, in that same two year time-frame, I had renewed my license.

The end result is, on my record it says that I was arrested for driving on a suspended license. I want to email the HR manager so he knows to expect it. However, I’m really worried about whether this is cause to rescind the offer. I’m also concerned with what to say to HR. I want to keep it as factual and concise as possible, but at the same time explain that the arrest for driving on a suspended license is not due to anything more nefarious than not wearing my seat belt.

It was a horrifying, humiliating experience, and a dash to my squeaky clean record. (I had previously held jobs requiring federal security clearance). And, I’m terrified this is going to ruin my chances for a job I’m really excited about.

This will almost certainly be fine. Email or call the HR manager and just explain what you said here. Lots and lots of people have weird little blips like this on their records. The important thing is just to proactively explain it to him. You should be fine!

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

1. Brushing your teeth at the office

I recently got Invisalign treatment for my teeth that require me to take very strict care of my oral hygiene, such as brushing my teeth after every time I eat. However, my office only has public bathrooms, and I don’t want to unintentionally gross out other people in the office (though I realize many people may not mind). Do you have suggestions on taking care of these requirements in the office?

I don’t think you really have much choice, other than to simply go for it and brush your teeth there. I mean, you can’t really erect a cone of invisibility around you while you do it. I say, do it and own your awesome oral hygiene. If anyone acts grossed out by, act like you’re disgusted that they’re not doing it.

2. Punished for not attending a meeting?

I am told by my employer that I must attend a meeting at work. I also just had a dental problem arise, requiring me to need an extraction. The soonest appointment would be during said meeting. I am told that unless I’m on FMLA, I will get written up for not being there. Can they punish me (write me up) for missing the meeting even though I have a valid reason for missing the meeting?

Sure. They can punish you / write you up for pretty much anything they want — missing a meeting, brushing your teeth in the bathroom, not shouting “show me the money” every hour on the hour, or anything else, as long as it’s not based on your race, religion, disability, or other protected class, and as long as it’s not retaliation for engaging in legally protected activity, as well as a small number of other legally protected things.

What you’re asking is if it’s fair. Maybe, maybe not. On its face, it seems unfair. But it could be fair if it’s a crucial meeting that can only be held at that time, or if you have a history of missing meetings they want you at.

3. Leaving just before I’m scheduled to get a bonus

My current company is soon going to give out last year’s bonus. If I get a new position with the company I’m interviewing with now, it means I might have to leave before receiving the bonus, which is a very generous bonus. Since the bonus is for last year, I’m thinking I’m still entitled to it, no? Or does my current company have the right not to give it to me if I leave? If this is the case, is it appropriate for me ask the new company to delay my start date and discuss the bonus situation with them?

If it’s written into your contract as something you’ve earned, then yes, generally they’d still need to give it to you. But if it’s not, then it’s at your company’s discretion, and they could indeed opt not to give it you since you’re leaving. (And that’s not uncommon. While you see it as a reward for work well done, they often see it as an incentive to stay. If you’re leaving, there’s nothing to incentivize.)

You can certainly explain the situation to the new company and ask to delay your start date by a small amount of time. (Some companies will solve this by giving you the bonus money themselves, if you’re valuable enough. Don’t count on that though.)

4. Interviewer opened by asking what questions I had

I had an in-person interview on Monday and a phone interview today (with two separate, unrelated companies). Both interviews started with me being asked if I had any questions. I always thought that came at the end of an interview (and indeed, in both cases I did get the chance to ask questions again at the end). This seemed unusual to me, though, and I feel like I fumbled a little trying to think of appropriate questions to ask before the position was even discussed — is this a new standard interview practice? What kind of questions do you think I should have asked?

Some interviewers do that. I’d start with broad questions — “Why is the position open?” “What are the most important things you’re looking for in the role?” “I’ve read the job description, of course, but I’d love to hear you describe the key pieces of the position as you see.” Etc.

5. Reapplying for a job when you previously withdrew from a hiring process

I interviewed for a very large nonprofit about a year and a half ago. They liked me enough to ask me to come back and meet with the CIO. I declined, however, because the position as it was described in the job listing was different than what was described to me in the interview. I had a series of really nice emails back and forth with the hiring manager at the time letting her know why I was declining — both the difference in how the job duties were described and that it seemed to be a really high-stress environment with high turnover.

As it turns out, I have been laid off from the job I accepted with another organization and I see that a very similar position to the one I interviewed for last year is now available. The hiring manager I spoke with last year is no longer with the organization and all the people responsible for this current job listing are not people I interviewed with, most were not at the organization at the time. As the current description reads, it does seem like it would be a good fit for me. I’m a little concerned that this might be mis-advertising, like it was last year. How do I address this in the cover letter? Do I mention my previous interview?

I’d simply say that you spoke with Jane Smith about a role last year, but ultimately decided you were interested in something more focused on X, but that this new position really interests you. No need to go into further detail than that.

6. Science grad applying outside my field

I graduated as a neuroscience major with the full intention of going to dental school but am seeing things differently now since graduating. I never thought about going into business, sales, marketing or any related field during my undergrad simply because I never had any exposure to that arena as a science major until I started job searching and now I’m realizing how interested I am in this field and wish I had known sooner!

I’m going to a job fair at my university, read your job fair post and did my research and there was this health insurance and benefits consulting firm that specializes in tech startups (which I love) and prides themselves in being the most up to date on what is going on in the benefits sphere through extensive research (which I also love). I was really looking forward to talking to them and to have a contact to refer to in my cover letter, but they canceled. So now I’m wondering, how can I standout now to them? Especially as a science major who has just recently found out more about this field but can really see themselves enjoying this area of work.

Well, you stand out the way you always stand out: by being a well-qualified candidate and having an awesome resume and cover letter. However, you have something going for you that you should make sure to emphasize: You have a science background that a lot of their applicants probably don’t have. Use that. Talk about what that would bring to the role that would help you do a great job in it. That’s something that legitimately could make you stand out from other candidates, because lots of people won’t have it. Good luck.

7. Telling a company about their poorly written emails

After going through a few interviews with a company, then informed me that they decided to go with another candidate, and told me to apply again in the future. They have now sent me this form email asking for feedback about the hiring process, in the form of a survey.

When they scheduled my second interview, an email I got was just awful — lack of punctuation, bad grammar, the works. The email was so poorly written that I almost contacted the recruiter to ask her if my interpretation of the email was correct. If I tell them about this, I don’t want the criticism to burn any bridges. Other than this email, the hiring process was fine. I was thinking I would just not complete the survey, or complete it and tell them what they want to hear (I know, the opposite of the point, right?). If I don’t complete the survey, will I seem disengaged and be a less attractive candidate next time around? Does it matter? What do you think?

Well, while they really should know about this, it’s not your responsibility to inform them — especially not at the possible cost of harming your relationship with them. So I wouldn’t raise it.

And I doubt they’re paying attention to who did and didn’t complete the survey when it comes to future hiring, so I wouldn’t worry about that.