your 10 most cringe-worthy career mistakes by Alison Green on February 12, 2013 Whether it’s inventing a non-existent coworker, poorly timed flatulence, or accidentally asking the boss how much he makes, we’ve all made mistakes in our careers that have haunted and shamed us for years afterward. I recently asked readers to share their most cringe-worthy career mistakes, and oh did you deliver. (Those three above are among the stories you shared.) I’ve compiled the 10 most embarrassing. 1. Asked the boss for his salary In my previous career in advertising, I asked my boss how much he made while our whole department was out at a social gathering. Everyone stopped talking and stared at me, and I didn’t realize till then that it was a major faux pas. My boss just said, “We don’t talk about that.” 2. Beanbags and puppies I was interviewing for a job at a small publishing house. I was still in college and had never had an interview beyond “Can you wait tables? Good. You’re hired.” The interviewer asked me what kind of office environment I preferred to work in. I said something like “Oh…my dream office environment would have bean bags instead of chairs, lap desks that we could use on the floor, and office dogs to play with.” I remember there was a silence, and then the rest of the interview moved surprisingly quickly. It was on the way home that I realized that my idea of “office environment” probably wasn’t what they were looking for. D’oh. 3. Name confusion I had a coworker named Joaquin. At the time, I spoke zero Spanish, and didn’t know how to pronounce it. I didn’t make the connection when other co-workers talked about “Wakeen.” For months, I honestly thought I had two different co-workers, Joaquin (pronounced JOE-a-kwin) and Wakeen. In my head, I assigned them different personalities and areas of responsibility and everything. I sent emails saying, “We should get Wakeen to look into this” and talked about what Joe-a-kwin had been working on, and no one said anything, including poor Joaquin. I wanted to die when I finally put it together. 4. Mistimed flatulence I was only in my job for about a year when I had to present a marketing plan to all my colleagues in my department. Near the end of the presentation, I was cruising along when someone made a joke and we all laughed. Then I farted. And everyone started to laugh as if I would laugh it off, but I didn’t. I just pretended it was my shoe squeaking. Then came the red face, the stammering speech, the rush to finish things and the long, awkward silence for the rest of the presentation. 5. Locked in the office One day, a coworker came into my office, told a dramatic story, slammed the door to illustrate some point in the story…and apparently slammed it so hard it broke the lock and we couldn’t get out. I was due to present an important report to my boss, but I was too embarrassed to confess to her that I was locked in my office, so we spent a good half an hour trying to figure it out from the inside, and then calling building security, who basically had to take the lock apart from the outside. When my boss finally came by to find out where the report, my coworker, and I were, the whole thing was revealed. Fortunately, she thought it was hilarious, but did say several times, “Um, you could have just called me and we probably would have gotten you out of there sooner.” 6. Outsourcing your own job My boss had asked me to do some follow-up phone calls, inviting donors to a gala for a client of ours. I felt awkward making these phone calls, and after a few, I was over it. I asked my friend (who had recently lost her job) if she wanted to make the calls, pretending to be me. I offered to pay her and take her out to dinner. I headed to the pool and took a secret day off. She called one donor who was actually a close family friend of mine. I didn’t realize he was on the list. They small talked for about five minutes, him thinking it was me. When my friend eventually ask if he and his wife could come to the gala, he got confused – his wife had recently passed away. I even went to the funeral! My friend acted as if she just found out, saying she was so sorry to hear about his loss. I was absolutely mortified when she filled me in later. 7. Slightly too comfortable I was fresh out of college and was unbelievably green. I had to moved to San Francisco and was hunting for a job. I interviewed with an incredibly cool advertising agency for an admin position. They loved me and invited me back for a second interview to meet the whole office. I showed up in the early 90′s version of skinny jeans tucked into soft-sided “slouch” cowboy boots, was chewing gum, and put my feet up on the conference table. (Gads, I’m cringing just remembering it). 8. “Any great ideas?” At my first job after college, I knew nothing but was full of enthusiasm. I attended a meeting where the sales team spoke in a slew of acronyms and things I didn’t understand, but I was too shy to ask anyone for clarification. The CEO then stops me in the break room after the meeting, and asked, “Get some great ideas at the meeting?” and I responded with an enthusiastic “Yes!” As he waited for me to elaborate on what those ideas actually were, I froze. The voice in my head kept saying “say SOMETHING” but I couldn’t think of a thing. He waited a few minutes, then sighed and shuffled out of the break room. I ran into him a few years later, after I’d long left that job, and he said “Hey, E.R., have any ideas from that meeting?!” Yes, it really was as bad as I had remembered. 9. Several extra zeros At my very first job, I had to put in an order for color/glossy/laminated/everything-you-can-think-of copies at a copy store. My manager asked for 300 — I ordered 30,000. And I didn’t realize the error until I went into the store to pick up and the person handed me several boxes filled with paper. And then the bill confirmed it. Resigned to my fate, I paid with my own debit card and severely overdrew my account. I took all the boxes to a nearby alleyway and then had a complete breakdown, where I called my mom and begged her to help me cover for some of the cost. Thankfully, she did (though I had to pay her back over time, obviously) and I dumped all but 300 of the papers in the dumpster. Wiped off my face, pulled myself together, and went back into the store – where I asked if there was anyway we could separate out 300 of the orders on a new receipt for “expense purposes.” Ultimately, my boss was never the wiser. But wow, do I still get paranoid about quantities. 10. Wrong answer I was in my early 20′s and working with a placement agency to find that perfect job that would take me out of food service. My agency contact had set up an interview for me for my dream job, the day after my birthday. Being young and not much of a responsible drinker, I partied like it was 1999. I showed up at the interview not just hung over but still drunk. The person conducting the interview asked me if I was sick, and if I was we could reschedule. I answered, “Nope, not sick, drunk.” I did mention that I had gone out for my birthday the night before and rambled about how great my party was. I was not hired. My placement agency stopped returning my calls and I do believe that the other agencies in town also had me on their do-not-deal-with list. I burned a lot of bridges that day. You may also like:mistakes at work: a round-upour boss cross-examines us over minor mistakesI was rejected because I told my interviewer I never make mistakes { 45 comments }
what does it mean when a job opening is reposted with a new deadline? by Alison Green on February 11, 2013 A reader writes: About a week ago, I applied to a job right before the application deadline of January 31st. I was back on a job posting site and saw that the position was just reposted today with a new deadline of February 20th. I was wondering if you have an idea of what this means? My immediate thought is they felt their current applicant field was weak and thought it was worth trying again to get a better pool to pick from. I was wondering if this means I should definitely give up hope, or if it’s worth sending them a little note. I’m not all that sure what I’d even say but the thought of hoping in vain until the 20th is just quite…sad. I know there’s no such thing as a dream job but I’ve never read a job description that has gotten me so excited. It might mean that they weren’t satisfied with the applicant pool they got in the first go-round and decided to try again, but there are all kinds of other things it could mean too: They might have changed the deadline because a decision-maker or interviewer is going to be unavailable until then, so they figure they might as well keep accepting applications until then. They might have initially had an early deadline because they thought they needed to move very quickly but then discovered that they have more breathing room, so they changed the date to reflect that. They might have simply put in the wrong deadline the first time. Or, both of these dates might mean nothing at all, and the jobs site where you saw it posted simply requires that all jobs have deadlines attached — which prompts employers to make up arbitrary dates to comply with the system. Or it could be something else altogether. There’s never any way to know this kind of thing from the outside, and trying to interpret it is a recipe for driving yourself crazy. People in your shoes tend to like to know what all this stuff might mean because it’s a way of feeling more in control of a process that, unfortunately, at this stage you don’t really have any control over. All you can control is the application you submit and whether your resume and cover letter are both awesome and tailored to the opening. Beyond that … it’s a crap shoot. You could be the perfect candidate for the job and get overlooked because someone incompetent is in charge of hiring, or because they hire an internal candidate or someone’s nephew, or because the job gets restructured halfway through the process, or because the system somehow lost your application (rare, but it can happen). That’s one of the reasons why it’s smart not to get too invested in any particular job opening. There are just way too many factors that you don’t know about and can’t control, and it’s far better for your mental health to send in the application and then wipe it from your mind and move on. You asked about sending a follow-up note. You certainly could send an email reiterating your interest and your hope that they’ll contact you when they’re ready to begin scheduling interviews, but only if you promise me that you’ll mentally move on as soon as you do. Otherwise, you’ll be fixating on this job — a job that you don’t actually know if you’d enjoy (because the environment could be toxic or the boss a monster or the work quite different than described or the salary half of what you make now) — and fixating on such things is Not Allowed, not if you want to stay sane. Good luck! You may also like:my employee meets deadlines ... but is much slower than the rest of uscompany offered me a job, then yanked the offer, then re-listed the positioncan I breastfeed my baby on video calls, credit checks in job interviews, and more { 43 comments }
how to fire someone for mediocre work when they’re trying hard by Alison Green on February 11, 2013 A reader writes: I was recenty promoted to oversee a team of 3. One woman on the team has worked in her job for 2 years, but she has never been able to fully perform her job responsibilities. Unfortunately, my company hired this woman for a job she’s simply not qualified for. The employee readily admits that is true, and is very receptive to training and coaching. She’s improved significantly in the 3 months I’ve worked with her, but I am certain it will take years to get her the kind of training and experience she really needs. However, the rest of my team and I are overwhelmed with a lot of work. I’m working 11-12 hour days in part to cover the work she can’t do and to spend time teaching her things. Plus, she drags the rest of the team down asking for help. For what she earns, I know I could easily hire someone a lot more productive and knowledgable. I can let her go via a “no fault termination” with severance, but I feel horrible because none of this is her fault and I know she will be devastated. Plus, she’s been allowed to be in this role for over 2 years and it never bothered anyone before, so how can I justify it being a problem now? I honestly just don’t know what the right thing to do is — if I keep her, we’ll suffer; if I fire her, I’ll feel like I’ve discarded a very loyal and hardworking employee. Any advice on options or how to move forward? Well, first, kudos to you for taking the problem on, rather than not addressing it, as other managers in your organization have apparently done. When managers neglect to take on performance issues, they’re abdicating one of their most fundamental responsibilities, and that’s just as true when the employee is trying really hard as when they’re not. It’s often easier to deal with emotionally when someone isn’t even trying, of course — it’s much harder when the person is genuinely working hard — but ultimately your job is to address the problem either way. That said, there are some ways that you might adjust your approach when someone is trying hard (versus when they’re just slacking off). None of them involve keeping a mediocre performer on, but there are ways to handle it especially kindly. And when you’re dealing with performance problems, kindness always starts with honesty. Many managers mistakenly believe that it’s kinder not to give honest feedback or address the problems straightforwardly — but this is wrongheaded. It’s far, far kinder to let someone know how you see their work than to keep them in the dark, and it’s far kinder to let someone see the writing on the wall than to blindside them by firing them out of the blue when you’ve run out of options or patience. So honesty is where you want to start. Sit down and have a candid conversation with her. Acknowledge that she works hard and is receptive to feedback, but that ultimately you need someone in the role who can do X, Y, and Z without significant training and coaching. Talk about what you do see as her strengths, but explain that the job requires different ones. As for justifying why this is a problem now when it wasn’t before, you don’t need to get into why previous managers didn’t address this with her; you can keep your focus on what you need in the role. If she asks why no one has raised this with you before, it’s okay to say, “I can’t speak to what Bob or Jane needed when you were working with them, but what I need from this role is ___.” (And remember — even though this is a hard message, you want to be kind. Make sure you use a tone that conveys empathy, not one that contains frustration or discomfort.) From there, you can offer her two options: She can pursue a short-term improvement plan and try to meet the bar you’re describing, with the understanding that you would need to let her go if she hasn’t met that bar at the end of, say, 4-6 weeks, or you can jointly form a transition plan that will give her time to search for another job while giving you time to look for a replacement. Assuming that you think the joint agreement for a transition is the better option, be honest about that, because you don’t want to encourage her to take a path that you think is doomed for failure. You could say something like, “I’m happy to give you a chance to pursue the improvement plan option if you want to, but I would hate for it to turn your experience here negative. I would much rather work with you on a transition that meets your needs and ours.” You can point out that this route would give her more time to look for a new job than she might otherwise have, and that she’d be able to say that she’s still employed at your company while she’s looking. It’s also okay to explain that this helps you too because it prevents a vacancy in the role. Now, you don’t need to offer both these options. If you’re unwilling to give her another 4-6 weeks for the improvement plan option — and you might be, if you know that the result is a foregone conclusion — you can skip that piece of it. But there are some advantages to offering it — she’ll feel that she’s been given a real chance, and the rest of your staff (if they hear from her about what happened) is likely to feel that she was treated with the same respect and fairness that they themselves would want. And this matters — because when you’re firing someone, the rest of your staff is your most important audience. They’ll watch how you treat people in that context and draw conclusions about how well they’re likely to be treated themselves. (By the way, it’s important to note that you don’t want to offer the planned transition option to someone who you don’t trust to handle it well. You wouldn’t offer this option to an employee who you thought capable of, say, sabotaging the company’s database during her remaining time, or whose work was so bad that she’d do real damage if left in her role for another 4-6 weeks, or who’d badmouth you or the company to coworkers while sticking around. And if you saw signs of any of this sort of thing during the transition, you’d need to curtail the transition earlier than originally planned.) Overall, though, the key here is to simply be honest with your employee about what’s going on, and to make the conversation as collaborative as possible. The feel of the meeting should be that while the current situation isn’t working out, you want to jointly figure out a way forward that will be best for both the employee and your organization. Read an update to this letter here. You may also like:how much training and support should I expect in a job I wasn't totally qualified for?am I a bad manager?my new hire is too attractive for me to manage her { 122 comments }
the most confusing things about job searching by Alison Green on February 11, 2013 Searching for a job can be fraught with stress and anxiety – and also confusion. Job seekers don’t always know what rules employers expect them to play by, and employers frequently engaged in behaviors that job candidates find baffling. Here are five of the most confusing elements of looking for a new job. 1. Why do some employers set up phone interviews and then never call? It’s surprisingly common for an employer to schedule a phone interview with a candidate, but then not call at the scheduled time and not bother to get back in touch to reschedule. Even worse, the candidate’s attempts to get back in touch are often met with silence. Usually this happens because the phone interviewer is disorganized – forgot the call or scheduled something else for that time without bothering to notify the candidate. And sometimes they don’t get back in touch because they’ve moved forward with other candidates instead. It’s incredibly rude behavior, and is the sign of an employer you might not want to work with anyway. 2. Should you apply for jobs when you meet most but not all of the qualifications? Job seekers often wonder if it’s okay to apply for jobs when they have slightly less experience than required, or have some exposure to a required software program but lack proficiency. And they definitely don’t know how to handle ads that require five years of experience with technology that has only existed for three. While ads might not make this clear, it’s okay to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements, even if you’re not an exact match. Job ads are often wish lists for employers, and employers often end up interviewing – and hiring – candidates who are reasonably, though not perfectly, matched. If you match at least 80% of the job’s requirements, it’s worth a shot. 3. Why do some interviews seem to go well, but then you never hear anything back from the employer? Many companies never bother to notify candidates that they’re no longer under consideration, even after candidates have taken time off work to interview or traveled at their own expense. Candidates are often anxiously waiting to hear an answer and end up waiting and waiting, long after a decision has been made. Employers that operate this way claim that they don’t have time to notify everyone, but the reality is that it doesn’t take that long to email a form letter, and most electronic application systems allow it to be done with the click of a button. Employers who respect candidates and their time will make sure that everyone who applies gets an answer. 4. Why do companies ask you to name your salary requirements without telling you the range they plan to pay for the position? This practice causes lots of anxiety for job seekers, many of whom aren’t sure what salary range the company will consider reasonable. While it’s reasonable to talk about salary expectations before investing time in interviewing candidates, employers who insist on hearing a number or range from candidates should be willing to share their own range as well. Employers who refuse to share their range are setting up an adversarial relationship contrary to what making a good hire should be all about. 5. Why is there so much conflicting advice about job searching? Show 10 different people your resume, and you’ll get 10 different opinions on what to change. Ask whether you should follow up with a phone call after submitting an application, and you’ll hear passionate yesses and equally passionate no’s. Job seekers are bombarding with all sorts of conflicting advice, much of it presented as gospel, and it’s tough to separate the good advice from the bad. Much of the confusion stems from the experience level of the people doing the advising. Try to screen out advice from people who haven’t done significant amounts of hiring themselves, and whose hiring experience isn’t recent. Pay more attention to people who hire regularly themselves, and who you know to be sane and realistic. And if someone’s advice makes you uncomfortable or seems counter to common sense, it’s sensible to ignore it. I originally published this at U.S. News & World Report. You may also like:job seekers are ghosting us on interviews and job offerswhat's up with surprise phone interviews?does it look bad to be unavailable on one of the dates an employer suggests for an interview? { 58 comments }
mini answer Monday — 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on February 11, 2013 It’s mini answer Monday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. Emailing prospective coworkers about a job opening I’m going to apply to a job at a research position and noticed that the website for the employer lists the current research analysts. Would it be inappropriate to contact these analysts and asking about the nature of their work? They’re doing the same job that I would be doing. While I have the educational background for the position, I have never worked in that field. I’m also curious about a quantitative exam that is part of the interview process. I feel uncomfortable thinking about the possibility of taking a test that I can’t prepare for. Don’t do it — for the same reasons that it wouldn’t be appropriate to contact the hiring manager to ask about this stuff at this stage. First, you’d be asking the employer to spend time with you before they’ve even determined that you’re a candidate they’re interested in interviewing (and yes, it’s not the hiring manager, but asking the potential peers is still asking the employer to spend time/resources talking with you about the job prematurely). Second, in asking about the exam, you’re asking for an unfair advantage over other candidates, and that’s unlikely to reflect well on you. Apply for the job, and if you get far along in the process — to a second interview or beyond — at that point it could be appropriate to ask to talk to potential coworkers. 2. Asking job candidates about their experience with Microsoft Office For the first time, I have to interview a number of people for a job opening in my office, so you have to pardon my skills as an interviewer! We are a boutique investment firm. We are hiring for an entry-level administrative person to support an advisor and his associates. I am one of the associates who has to conduct the first round of interviews. Among other things, we want to hire someone who has strong computer skills and can work on complicated project on Microsofl Office. Obviously, we recognize that not everyone has the superior skills for working on a complicated Excel document or creating a nice PowerPoint with interesting graphics. However, for a few candidates I have interviewed so far, when I asked if they were good with Microsoft Office, most of them said something to the effect of, “Trust me, I can do everything you want!” However, when I pressed further and asked if they had experience doing mail merge or creating a pie chart, they would give me a blank face. So far, I only have one candidate who I believed was honest with her computer skills. I am wondering if I should ask this question a different way. Or I should read their answer differently? At this moment, I can only understand this answer as that they are desperate for a job. Yes, the question is the problem. “Are you good with Microsoft Office?” is unclear and totally open to the candidate’s interpretation. Lots of people think they’re good at Office but can’t do mail merges. You don’t really care about their own subjective self-assessment anyway; what you care about is what they can actually do in the program. So instead, ask specifically what you want to know: What experience do you have doing mail merges? How often have you used Excel to create charts? Etc. (And absolutely make sure that you see these skills in action before you hire anyone.) 3. Company wants employees not to mention her upcoming departure to coworkers or customers I am at a loss to give my daughter advice, although I know what I would do. Briefly: Friday she submitted her 2-week resignation (after working for 5 years there) due to a conflict with a manager (not her team leader, but the manager above her). She has been asked to perform “business as usual” to her customers and her coworkers during an upcoming conference (Monday) and subsequent meetings (even though they have her letter of resignation). Her job entails extensive travel, and she has to schedule meetings weeks in advance and she will be meeting some of her customers Monday (knowing full well she will not be the person servicing their accounts a month from now). The company has put a gag order on her and she is not to indicate to either customers or coworkers she has resigned during this 2-week period. She is conflicted on how to handle this situation, on both a professional level as well as ethical (lying to her customers). The company is certainly entitled to tell her that they’re not ready to announce her resignation yet … and she’s also entitled to explain that she’s not comfortable misleading coworkers or customers into believing that she’ll be there longer than she will. If she decides to say that to them, she should be prepared for the possibility that they’ll tell her to leave immediately rather than working out the notice period, but she’s certainly entitled to take that stance if she wants to. 4. Store wants me to hire more women than men I am a store manager at a medium-sized retail store in Massachusetts. We are currently hiring for spring, and I do the interviews and make the hiring decisions. At a recent meeting with my regional manager, I was told that because our company’s product leans towards women, our employees must be at least 80% female. What are the legalities of this? I have plenty of well-qualified male applicants, but I can’t even call them in for an interview. They would rather see young, good looking females on the sales floor, whether they are qualified are not. I am not comfortable with this, and am actually afraid of a lawsuit. Any advice? It’s illegal to make hiring decisions based on gender, unless the company can show that gender is a bona fide occupational requirement. For instance, part of the job is helping female customers in dressing rooms and your customers are mainly female, you might be able to legitimately favor women in the hiring process. But if a man could do the job just as effectively, then favoring women would be illegal. You mentioned they also want you to hire “young” women. That’s almost certainly illegal, because it’s illegal to discriminate against people over 40 in hiring. I’d point this all out to them and tell them that you’re not comfortable violating these laws. 5. Following up on an interview that is supposed to be rescheduled I’m so frustrated and need your advice. I had a first-round interview over the phone that went well and led to an in-person interview scheduled for the following week. The day of the interview arrives and I meet with the HR rep in person first. He was then about to bring me upstairs to meet the department director when his assistant told him that there was an important phone call. Turns out the director had an emergency meeting and that I had to re-schedule my interview with her. The HR rep told me someone would be calling me that afternoon or the following day to reschedule. It’s now the following day and I have heard nothing. I don’t want this opportunity to pass me by but I don’t want to appear like a stalker either. I’ve already left one voicemail and plan to follow up Monday. Do you recommend me just bypassing HR and contacting the director to schedule the interview? I’m so upset, as this is my dream company. No, don’t go around the HR person; that will come across as circumventing the company’s own practices for your own convenience and you’ll risk annoying both people. Whenever you’re in a hiring process, assume that “within a couple of days” means “within a week or so, maybe a a bit longer.” It’s fine to follow up today and say that you’re eager to reschedule, but ultimately this is in their court and you can’t force them to move at your preferred speed. Meanwhile, it might help to remember that this probably isn’t your dream company, as much as you might feel sure that it is. That’s the kind of thing that’s pretty impossible to know from the outside. 6. Employer decided to restructure, freezing the opening I was applying for I was interviewed for a position I was really excited for back on the 15th of January. Everything went really well, and a week and a half later they contacted my references. After another week, I became anxious and decided to send a follow-up email to the HR rep. She sent me a really cryptic email saying, “Please give me a call.” I wasn’t sure what to expect, and sure enough, when I phoned, she explained to me that she had a job offer ready and then she was told to cancel everything and put the position on hold, as they were going to restructure the department. What I’m wondering is if this was just bad timing or does this kind of thing happen often? Should I wait and send another follow-up in a few weeks or should I just give up on the position? I mean, I was sooooo close, wasn’t I? Yes, it was bad timing, and yes, this kind of thing isn’t uncommon. Departments sometimes get restructured, and if that happens while there’s an ongoing hiring process, it makes sense to halt the hiring until the restructure is done. While it’s frustrating if you’re a candidate in the middle of that, this is actually a lot better than getting hired, having the restructure happen a few weeks later, and finding yourself restructured out of your new position after only a month into it. You can absolutely send a follow-up in a few weeks to ask about the likely timeline for making any decisions, but in the meantime, try to put this job out of your head and proceed with your job search as if this was a rejection — because there may be no opening remaining when they’re done. 7. Following up with a contact who mentioned a possible job opening I’m currently a student in library school and in December I had an informational interview with a librarian at a law library. During the course of the interview with the librarian, she casually mentioned a project relating to the history of the law firm that she was considering hiring a student to complete in the summer, after she mentioned it she said that she might think of me for it because I have a background in history. Would be appropriate to contact her in the upcoming weeks about the possibility of that position happening (because she did mention she’d need to get the required permission from her employer, the proper grants, etc.)? Personally, I feel a bit uncomfortable contacting her about that position for fear of being seen as annoying and desperate. However, lots of people I know are telling me that I should contact her again and ask her about it. If it is appropriate to contact her, what is the best way to do so with, again, not appearing as annoying or desperate. I’m a bit new to networking and I really want to be careful with what I do, but I feel conflicted about what I should be doing here. Yes, you should contact her. Email her and say that you’ve been thinking about the project she mentioned and that you’d love to throw your hat in the ring for it if she’s going to move forward with it. Ask her to keep you in mind if she does, and tell her you’d be glad to formally apply once she’s ready for that. This is normal and not annoying. You may also like:do I have to teach my coworkers my hard-earned skills?my coworkers scoff and roll their eyes when I question decisions in meetingshow legit are those "best places to work" lists? { 143 comments }
short answer Sunday — 6 short answers to 6 short questions by Alison Green on February 10, 2013 It’s short answer Sunday — six short answers to six short questions. Here we go… 1. Moving from retail into office jobs My husband has been in retail since he graduated from college seven years ago with a BBA in Management. His positions have included manager, team leads, customer service leader, inventory, sales, and currently a bike repair technician for a large sporting goods retailer. He’s had long tenure at each company, moving around in different positions, as he would always become the store’s “go to” person. As most people will tell you, retail is hard and he’s ready to get out. At this point, he would take anything that’s more of an office job with regular hours and he’s willing to start at the bottom and work his way up. But he’s struggling getting attention for anything that’s not a commissioned sales job (the kind that they try to get any business major right out of college for) or another retail position. I know he could nail the interview and intelligently explain wanting to change to a long-term career with stable hours and he has proven his work ethic in his positions. But it’s getting them to not dismiss him as another retail employee. Do you have any specific tips on getting someone to pay attention to a retail employee trying to get out? Well, it’s not easy to change fields in this job market. No matter how great he might be, and no matter how transferrable his skills, the reality is that employers usually have plenty of candidates who meet all the job’s qualifications and have already worked in their field. So even though he might excel at the job if just given the chance, employers don’t have much of an incentive to take a chance on him. That means that he’s probably going to need to put a lot more emphasis on networking and working his way into a position that way, because if he’s just answering ads where they don’t already know him, he’s likely to be at a disadvantage. 2. Interviewers say I’m too soft-spoken, but I’m not I’m really at a loss, and I’m wondering if you can give me some advice. I have been on several interviews for executive admin assistant positions lately. In a few of the interviews, I got feedback from my recruiter that the interviewers were concerned that I was too shy, timid or meek. I’m not any of those things. I am rather soft-spoken, but am not timid or shy in least. In all of these interviews, I had no problem answering questions, talking about myself and my goals, etc. I have never been nervous in interviews, I actually kind of enjoy it (a fallback from my days in speech and debate club). In the most recent one, a CEO stopped in and ended up chatting with me for several minutes about foreign travel (he was impressed that I spent a summer backpacking in a foreign country by myself, NOT something a shy person would do). I have never had an interviewer ask me any questions related to my being “timid” or question whether or not I would be able to “push back” on occasions where it was needed. My current position as an EA is a very public role. The person I support currently is a public figure, and I act as his gateway. I interact with people from all walks of life, from CEO’s and high-level government officials (I met a foreign prime minister on one occasion) to local community members and I even handle national press on occasion. I have talked about all these things during my interviews. I am really and truly at loss as to how anyone could perceive me as shy. The only thing I can think of is that I am soft-spoken. It is something that people have commented on: “Oh, you sound so sweet, you have such a nice, soft voice”. But, that’s not really something I can change. My voice doesn’t make me less capable, and it is not a harbinger of my personality. But, it just seems to be the sticking point. Even with a list of my accomplishments before them that portray me as an outgoing person that likes challenging situations, all they seem to hear is my voice. What can I do to change this perception? Hmmm. If just one interviewer gave you this feedback, I’d ignore it — but if multiple people are saying it, then there’s something about the way you’re coming across that you’re unaware of. It might be useful to roleplay an interview with someone you trust to give you honest and objective feedback, so that you can pinpoint exactly what you’re doing that’s causing the impression. On the other hand, has all this feedback come through the same recruiter? There’s a chance that this is being filtered incorrectly by him, if so. It would be interesting to see what feedback you get from other recruiters, or from interviewers directly. 3. Employer told me to leave after I gave notice and won’t pay me for my notice period I gave two weeks notice at my old job, and they told me to leave immediately. Now they are not paying me for the last two weeks. Is this legal? Am I missing something? I gave two weeks as is required. They aren’t required to pay you for weeks you didn’t work, even if the reason you didn’t work those weeks is because they told you to leave immediately. You can probably get unemployment for those two weeks, however. 4. Explaining that you were fired for stealing I was terminated for stealing. If asked during an interview why I was terminated, how do I approach this? Do I tell them just that? I know what I did was wrong and I am paying back what I stole. I just need to know how to answer this. I don’t think there’s any way to say “I stole from my last job” and still get hired. So I think the only thing you can do is to leave that job off your resume entirely, no matter how long you were there. Having to explain that you were fired from your last job is going to be far more of an obstacle than just appearing to have been out of work for however long that period of time is. 5. Submitting an updated cover letter I’m a recent college graduate and I’m very new to the search for a job. Unfortunately, I’ve been learning as I go, and it wasn’t until several weeks into my job search that I discovered Ask a Manager. One of the best improvements I’ve made has been in my cover letters. But it sucks to think that I’ve ruined the possibility of landing really awesome positions that I know I’m super qualified for, with subpar cover letters. Can I resubmit a new cover letter for a job I’ve already applied to? I just know now that the cover letters I’ve been submitting have been really bad. Now that I’m writing much better ones, I want to know if I can submit those even with my old letters possibly still on file. Will mangers consider me anew with a better cover letter? Well … it might not help, but you have nothing to lose so you might as well try it. On a related note… 6. Applying with a new resume Last year, I applied for a position, but I didn’t get it. It’s not just the job I didn’t get, but how also to write an effective resume, prepare for interviews, etc. Naively, I sent resumes to several organizations I would like to work for, but received only rejection letters. Since then, I’ve improved my resume and learned how to answer interview questions (for example, “tell me abut yourself” shouldn’t include kids or surviving cancer). I feel like I understand job-hunting etiquette better. Now that these places I want to work have already seen my less-than-stellar resume, how long should I wait before applying for their future openings? Is there any hope that they’ll forget my old resume? Sure, there’s definitely hope. I’d wait at least a few months, and then try again. You may also like:what's the deal with business cards?did this recruiter lie to me? and why can't I get hired by this company?how do you turn off a crisis management mindset after finishing work each day? { 104 comments }
short answer Saturday — 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on February 9, 2013 It’s short answer Saturday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. Can I tell my former employer that I want to come back? I worked for an employer a little over 4 years. It was my first job out of college and I was feeling really tied down and restless and wanted to try a new environment, so I switched from a consulting firm to working in an internal corporate role. I’m basically miserable at my new job. I don’t really like any of coworkers and just don’t feel like its a good fit. I liked my old job better and feel like I had a little quarter-life crisis and case of the grass is greener. It’s only been 6 months since I left. My old employer was really sad to see me leave and valued my work, so I feel like they would consider me if they had an opening. Should I and how do I broach the subject with my old boss? I feel like it would take a lot of courage since I am basically saying I made a huge mistake. And of course I would just ask them to let me know when they hire again (which they do at least once a year, or as people leave). Sure, you can do that — people do that all the time, and many employers are glad to welcome them back. Just be straightforward with your old boss — say that you’re realizing that you made a mistake, that you’d love to return, and to please let you know if he has a opening that you might be good for. 2. My replacement is still asking me for help, six months after I quit I left a temp job about 6 months ago. I had been there for 18 months and it became clear that I would never be taken on as a permanent employee (that’s just how the company functions; they were very happy with my work). They became rather dependent on me in the time that I was there and I expanded the duties of the job quite a bit. When I told them I was leaving, they offered me a giant raise, which I declined. I gave two weeks notice. I trained a replacement who left after a week, so I came back and trained another replacement who is still there. My replacement emails me about 2 or 3 times a month to answer questions that, in my opinion, she should be able to figure out fairly easily. Some of the answers are explicitly stated in my notes. How long do I continue to answer these questions? How do I tactfully get out of this? They are easy questions and I suppose I don’t mind, though I am a bit bitter because she is getting paid a lot more than I was (she started at my giant raise rate). I do really like my boss and he really helped me out by giving me the job as I had been a stay at home mom for many years and was having a hard finding a job in this market. So I want to help him out, but this is getting old. It’s been six months; that’s about five months too long. The next time she emails you, respond with something like, “I’d check the notes that I left behind; the answer may be in there. I can’t continue to answer questions anymore since it’s been six months since I left, but the notes are pretty detailed. Good luck with everything.” You might also want to email your former boss to nicely let him know that after helping for six months, you’ve decided you can’t reasonably keep doing it — so that he hears it from you, rather than hearing a potentially twisted version from her. 3. The hiring manager I was talking to has left the company Well, this is odd: nearly a month ago, I did a phone interview for a job with a company I was really excited about. They seemed excited about me, too, and said I would definitely get a call-back. The Director (who gave the interview and would be my boss) said that I would hear from them NO LATER than two weeks later. Never heard from them, even after sending a couple of follow-ups. I wrote it off as one of those inconsiderate Job Search things that companies do and figured that they were moving forward with other candidates. I moved on with my life. Out of curiosity, I just checked their website, and the job I interviewed for is still up…but so a new listing for the Director (the same guy who gave my interview). They’ve also just spread the news that they just got a brand new CEO. Is this a sign of volatile change? Should I send another followup in case the new boss still wants to hire for my role? Well, that might be your answer to what happened: If the person you were dealing with left the company, some of the hiring work he was doing probably got lost in the shuffle. I’d email whoever the contact is for the job listing, and explain what happened. As for your worries that things are volatile, that’s something that you can scope out during the course of interviewing and even ask direct questions about — but I wouldn’t assume that a new CEO and a director leaving indicate anything really worrisome. 4. Employer told me that my desired salary was “near the top of our range” I know you always say not to read too much into what hiring managers say, but I wanted to get your thoughts on this. I recently applied for an admin job at a college. The online application had a mandatory field for salary requirement (I know you hate that, I do too). After doing some research into comparable jobs, I listed $35,000. I was called and asked to come in for an interview (yay!), but while on the phone I was told that that number was “near the top of our range.” Obviously this hasn’t bumped me out of consideration — I did get invited to interview, after all — but how should I respond if they ask me about my salary expectations in the interview? (As a side note, I know that the college has “salary bands,” but I can’t find any details on them to know what the range might be.) Stick with your original answer. The top of their range doesn’t mean outside their range, and there’s no reason to change your answer unless they directly tell you that’s it’s not a possibility for them. 5. Dealing with an impossible manager I need advice on how to manage up. My senior manager has these lofty ideas that the team loves him, but in reality he is a terrible manager. He has been our senior mananger for almost a year. He points blame on issues on people and loves to hold people accountable for items, no matter how small. He refuses to look back and see how someone has progressed over many years, and instead thinks the team started from when he took over. Most of the team has been together since before he joined the company and know how to work with each other. He does not like the idea of observing then changing for the better either, but believes one should jump in and handle everything his way. I tend to look forward and be more proactive, while he is very reactive. He does not understand what the team does or why we do it. In the long run, I feel that these differences will prevent me and many of my coworkers from being promoted. (It has already happened twice.) I do not know whether it is time to leave my team or try to work with him to see what is going on. He’s not going to change, so you need to either resign yourself to dealing with him or look for work somewhere else. 6. Maternity leave when you have unlimited PTO My company just announced it is moving from a “banked time” (certain number of sick/vacation days per year) to an “unlimited PTO” policy, which allows employees to take “as much PTO as they need” as long as it’s cleared with the manager, though more than 2 consecutive weeks must be cleared with the department head. Well, I just found out I’m pregnant. Which means I’ll need a whole lot of time off, PTO or otherwise! Under the old policy, employees used sick time to fill the 1-week gap between before FMLA short-term disability kicks in (FMLA provides 6 weeks for maternity). After the 6 weeks of FMLA and 1 week of sick time were up, employees could tack on any remaining sick or vacation time to the 6 weeks. Under the old policy, I would have had about 3 weeks of sick time and 3.5 weeks of vacation time banked…and would probably have a bit more by my due date. So under the old policy I could have theoretically taken 12+ weeks if I wanted to clean out my time bank. The new policy states only that the company will pay the “gap week” as PTO for those going on short-term disability. And then FMLA kicks in. So my question is…once I break the news about my pregnancy, how much extra PTO should I talk with my manager about taking? I don’t want to be unreasonable and exploit the system, but I also am taking to heart that the new policy is meant to be a perk, not a punishment. I’d probably tell him that you plan to take the same PTO that would have been available to you under the old system, since that seems reasonable, and much more clear-cut than trying to figure it out otherwise. But if he encourages you to take more, then you can do so without worry. 7. Handbook hell I work for a small, but ever growing IT consulting firm. I have recently taken on the director of marketing position, but really I am at a stage of fixing issues. Right now, I am knee-deep in our horribly put-together employee handbook. It is extremely vague because we have so many types of employees: internal full-time, internal part-time, consultants, H1B’s, etc… Am I allowed to have more than one handbook? Perhaps one for internal employees and one for our contractors? Benefits are different so that is why I want two separate handbooks. Sure, you can have different handbooks for different classes of employees. But keep in mind that it’s going to be a pain in the ass to update them all every time you make a change to one that also affects others, so you might want to have one main handbook that covers everything that’s the same for all classes of employees, and then separate addendums for the other stuff. By the way, when you’re redoing the handbook(s), get rid of whatever unnecessary bureaucracy you can, and write in a casual voice, not the ridiculous corporate-speak they’re usually written in. And here’s a good article on fixing it further. You may also like:are short interviews always a bad sign?my manager won't hire people with messy carshow soon is too soon to leave a panic job? { 83 comments }
when you forget the interview question mid-answer by Alison Green on February 8, 2013 A reader writes: I’ve been very selectively job hunting for the last year and have had a few interviews. I have found it difficult to get into the interviewing groove because I only have one about every four months due to the low number of applications I’ve submitted. I have a “big” interview coming up that I’m preparing for, and after an awkward impromptu interview for a club tonight, I was reminded about a problem I’ve been having during interviews. When asked a multi-part question during an interview, I often find myself forgetting the question while I start giving the answer. This results in mild panic as I scramble to coherently try to finish my thoughts, and either ends up in an awkward situation where I have to ask the interviewers to repeat the question or they have to prompt me to continue or I worry that if I don’t ask and they don’t prompt me, I gave an incomplete answer which I will be penalized for. I already try to give myself a brief pause to collect my thoughts before I start answering a question, but between being nervous and then having my mind flood with ideas, I keep ending up lost mid-answer. Do you have any suggestions? One trick to better lodge all the pieces of the question in your brain is to repeat it before you start answering. For instance: “I’ll answer the last part of that about X first, and then I’ll come back to Y.” Or, “Sure. I’ll tell you about X first, and then explain how Y has fit into that.” Sometimes just saying it out loud can help you remember it. But if that doesn’t work, it’s also completely fine to say, “And you had a second part to that question too — you wanted to also know….?” in a tone that says “Please prompt me; I’ve forgotten the next part of your question.” It’s even fine to just come out and say, “And I’ve forgotten the second part of your question — can you remind me?” This is normal, and unless you’re applying for a job that requires remembering multi-part questions without writing them down, it’s unlikely to be held against you. Speaking of writing things down, some people find it helpful to jot notes in situations like this. You don’t want to take lengthy notes that require you to pause the conversation or break eye contact for more than a few seconds, of course, but just really quick notes to keep you focused. For instance, let’s say that your interviewer said, “Tell me about the work you did at ABC Corporation and what your biggest accomplishment was there. And what led you to leave?” You might jot down these notes: “ABC, accomplishment, why left.” And if you feel weird about doing that, you can just say, “It’s ingrained in me to write everything down so I make sure I address everything.” In other words, you’ll convey, “I’m super organized!” not “I can’t remember anything you say.” But really, I suspect a big part of what’s happening here is that you’re freaking yourself out by worrying that you won’t remember everything and that it will be a Horrible Disaster if you don’t, and so you panic, and panic is really effective at wiping our brains clean. So I’d also try just relaxing about it a little, and realizing that it’s completely fine to just say, “What was the second part of your question again?” What other advice do people have? You may also like:is applying for jobs a numbers game?my boyfriend thinks only bad candidates prepare for interviewsis "I get every job I interview for" really a bragging point? { 39 comments }
should you follow your parents’ job search advice? by Alison Green on February 8, 2013 We have two questions from readers about advice they’re getting from their parents. Here’s the first one: Have the rules about hardcopy resumes changed? I came across a posting for a position that would like to have resumes and cover letters mailed to the company’s HR department. My parents insist that I should print my resume and cover letter on heavy stock paper and mail it in a large envelope so as to not have to fold the documents. They also said I should mail it priority to ensure that it is received. Would a reasonable hiring manager reject a candidate for sending in their documentation on regular white printer paper or for having the gall to tri-fold it to fit into a regular envelope? Does it really matter all that much? Your parents are following job search rules from the 1980s. But this employer is following rules from the 80s too — it’s very rare to be asked to mail in a hard copy resume these days. It’s so rare that I’m wondering if you came across this ad in an old newspaper from 1989 that your parents have lying around? In any case … even when an employer is asking for resumes to be mailed in, very few are going care one bit about what kind of paper your materials are printed on. They care about whether you’re the strongest candidate for the job. (And really, would you even want to work for someone who gave you an advantage for using heavy stock paper or cared that you folded them to fit them into a standard envelope? That person will be a manager who gives your coworker a raise because she turns in all her reports in those awful old plastic binders, while you email them like a normal person.) Send it by normal mail, on normal paper, in a normal envelope. Trust that if you’re a strong candidate for the job, your normal paper will not get in the way of the employer seeing that. At least not any employer who you want to work for. Your parents are well-intentioned here, but their advice is from a different time. Here’s the second letter: I don’t know if the latest advice from my parents is right on or another example of outdated job-searching advice. I should also mention that I live with my parents and they financially support me, so I’m much more inclined to at least consider their advice. They have been encouraging me to back off on looking for jobs I might be qualified for in the already-posted job ads and instead identify organizations I might like to work for and send them a cover letter and resume, even if they have no jobs posted. They think that if I get myself in front of a hiring manager before a job is even posted, then I will be on their mind when a job becomes open. I am willing to consider this because I know what I am doing presently (applying to online postings) isn’t the most effective way to search. However, I also don’t want to burn bridges with organizations I am interested in because I came across as too pushy or desperate (even though I am desperate. I’m so ready to be employed like, yesterday). I could also contact these organizations, express my interest and ask for “advice for my search.” I have been doing that for the past year however, and it’s led absolutely nowhere. Maybe I’m doing something wrong here? Ugh. After all this time, I still have no idea how to network. Your parents aren’t totally off-base about it being useful to make direct contacts with hiring managers so that they think of you when they have an opening. It’s true that pitching yourself directly to a hiring manager can be effective. But it can’t be a typical cover letter — in order for this to work, it has to be really customized to the person you’re writing to. Either customized to why you really want to work for them (and it has to sound genuine and not in the least bit generic), or customized to how you think you could help them (which can be hard if you’re a recent or semi-recent grad, because you probably aren’t super marketable yet — although who knows, maybe you are). If you don’t do it that way and instead just send in a fairly typical cover letter, they’re not likely to pay much attention to it. Your parents are off-base when they tell you to ask these organizations for advice for your search. Most people who do hiring are busy and aren’t going to take time away from their jobs to respond to a request for job search advice from someone they’ve never spoken to. After all, they’re not in the business of giving job search advice; they have something else that they’re focused on getting done. They might give advice to candidates who they’ve interviewed (although plenty don’t even do it then), and they might do it for people in their network, but you’re unlikely to get responses just going in cold. (Also, is it their advice that you’re really seeking? It sounds like your parents are recommending it as a back-door way to build relationships with people who hire, sort of like people who ask for informational interviews when they really want jobs. That rarely works, and it’s usually pretty transparent.) What I would recommend instead is to take a hard look at your resume and cover letter, using the advice in this post. As I wrote in that post, whenever I talk to people who are frustrated that they’re not getting interviews, the problem is nearly always their resume and cover letter. Nearly always, seriously, even when they think those things are fine. And when they fix them, they start getting interviews. So I’d start there, and be brutally honest with yourself about whether you’ve really done the things that that post will tell you to do. Meanwhile, regarding parents: While some have great, up-to-date advice, an awful lot don’t. And that’s not just true of parents, of course — it’s true of most people who don’t have significant and recent experience hiring. But you do tend to hear a lot of outdated advice from parents because they’re so invested in helping their kids and will push them to do whatever they think will help, even if their knowledge is outdated. Related: Ignore your parents! They are forbidden from giving you advice. is my parents’ advice destroying my job search? more bad job advice from parents You may also like:should we require resumes from high school volunteers?do you still need a mailing address on your resume?here’s the right way to submit your resume online { 91 comments }
fast answer Friday — 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on February 8, 2013 It’s fast answer Friday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go… 1. Alerting other employers that I turned down a job offer Yesterday I received a job offer. After thinking it over for the past day, I have decided not to accept because I don’t believe it’s the right fit for me (just a gut feeling). Shortly after receiving the offer, I contacted several organizations that had interviewed me over the past few weeks to notify them of the offer, reiterate my interest in working for them, and seeing if there was any way to expedite the process. I would rather work for these organizations than the one that extended the offer. One company wrote back immediately, thanking me for my continued interest and letting me know that they would try to give me a decision in the next two days. Today I received a follow up note from this business, indicating that interviewing for the position had not yet concluded and accordingly, they were unable to extend an offer at this time. Would it be appropriate for me to send a reply letting them know that I declined the other offer and wish to remain under active consideration for the position? If so, what would be the best way to word that message? My inclination is to thank them for their response and their consideration of my time constraint, but communicate to them that after further review of the offer, the position is not the best fit for me and since I have declined, I would still like to be considered for the opportunity at their organization. Absolutely. Don’t get into too many details, but that’s completely appropriate to do. 2. Husband’s boss is pressuring me to apply for jobs I don’t want I’ve been looking for a new job for awhile with no luck but recently have started getting more interviews. My industry has very specific times for hiring, so it is not unusual for there to be very few job postings for certain periods. Thanks to your blog, I have improved my resume, cover letters, and interview abilities. Recently, my husband’s boss found out I was job searching and offered to help. Normally this would be a great networking opportunity, but he wants to help me get one of two jobs: one at my husband’s store, or another at a sister store as a cashier. Right now, I’m not desperate enough to accept either one. I worked as a cashier in high school and hated it. Plus, I am a state-certified teacher and am working towards a masters degree so I can move into higher education. Accepting the other job would be strange because my husband has a high position within the store and no matter where I was assigned, he would be my boss. I think we could keep it professional but I’d rather avoid the situation. Combining my work and personal life has not typically worked out in the past. Every couple of days, my husband’s boss asks about when I am going to come talk to him or apply for these jobs. I have other opportunities and I’m not interested in adding irrelevant experience to my job history. In the past week I’ve had three interviews and the timeline given to me by the hiring managers has not yet expired. How do I (or my husband) politely handle this situation so we don’t offend my husband’s boss? My husband has tried to explain that I have other opportunities and interests but the his boss keeps bringing it up. Be direct: “I really appreciate it, but I’m focusing on teaching jobs.” Or you could go with, “We’ve talked it over and decided we’re more comfortable not both working for the same company. But thank you.” If he keeps pressing, you can keep responding with, “That’s so kind of you. It’s not quite right for me right now, but thank you.” 3. Mentioning published poetry on your resume A poem of mine was published in my college’s literary journal in the fall of 2007. The literary journal in question has won several national literary awards both before and after my poem was published; in fact, the writing department at my college is well respected. The poem is the only thing I have had published. I am proud of it but at the same time it’s a 6-line poem (I’m not known as a writer among friends and former colleagues, though I do have a good writing skill) and to my chagrin, there’s a word at the end of one line that is misplaced that the editors neglected to remove. The poem has no bearing on what I want to do in my career. I’m in the middle of a job hunt right now, would it be helpful to put my publication down on my resume or a forum like LinkedIn to portray that I can write successfully? In addition, I have submitted an article that is currently being reviewed for possible publication in a journal (also has nothing to do with my career, but in this case, I was asked by someone who I respect to submit my prior research done in college on a topic that has little background). If the article does indeed end up being published, I will most likely add that to my resume (as the article has more beef than a 6-line poem), as well as the poem for “padding.” Do you have any advice? Don’t mention the poem. Six lines of poetry doesn’t demonstrate writing skills. It might demonstrate poetry-writing skills, but those are far, far, FAR removed from the type of writing that most employers are looking for, and you don’t want to come across as if you don’t understand that. If the article is published, you can include that. No poem or other “padding” necessary. 4. Do I need to throw out my experience and start over when moving into nonprofits? I’m currently working in procurement in Corporate America, and am looking to move into the nonprofit world, ideally in corporate partnerships. I realize that with no experience, I may need to throw out my 7 years of work experience and accept an entry level job with the entry level salary. How do I address this in my cover letter? Do I address it, or is simply applying to the position proof that I’m willing to do it? You don’t need to throw out your experience and start at the bottom. Nonprofits aren’t a different planet; your experience counts, even though it’s in a different sector. Think about what skills are transferrable, and handle it just like you would any other job application. 5. University wants letters, not phone calls, from references I have been offered an interview with a university (it is a “split position” — partially with the university and partially with a hospital). I am still working out the date/details of the interview but they have already contacted my 3 references by email to ask for a letter of recommendation (to be written and downloaded to their website). One of my references (a manager from a couple of jobs ago) has let me know that he thinks it is strange. He said he willing to “talk with them or help in any other way,” so I am assuming the letter is probably not going to happen. I am sure that my other two references probably feel the same way and just haven’t said anything yet (all this happened this afternoon). I have 12 years of experience, yet none with a university so a letter vs. a phone call is pretty new to me. I wrote back to him and said that when I finalized details of the interview, I could ask if he could be contacted for a phone reference instead. Will this seem too pushy? And could I request it for my other references as well? I really feel bad for them to have to take so much more time to write something as compared to a phone interview. I am now worried both about having this reflect poorly on my candidacy (that it emphasizes my lack of university experience) but also about burdening my references (this is the third reference in the past 6 months that I have requested from all of them). Ah, universities, with their own strange ways of doing things. This is indeed common in academia, although I’m not sure how common it is with non-teaching positions (not common, I hope). If it’s a position where they’re used to hiring candidates from outside of academia, they should be used to people’s references balking at the time commitment of writing a letter, but who knows. My hunch is that if they ask for letters, they’re going to want letters. (Anyone with university hiring experience want to weigh in?) One option is for you to offer to draft the letter yourself, for your reference to then modify and finalize on his own — that’s actually pretty frequently done, although not ideal. Read an update to this letter here. 6. Coming out on your resume I have a question about jobs that reveal personal information: I am the manager of a resource centre for queer students at my university. I am also graduating and starting to look for jobs. My experiences have been valuable and I don’t want to exclude them from my resume, but for obvious reasons I also don’t want my resume to reveal or drop hints about my sexual orientation. So far I have been fairly vague about my job on my resume, taking the program name out of my job title and replacing it with “Program Coordinator” (while still being descriptive about my duties). I also dance around it on my cover letters. Will employers look at this with suspicion? In an interview, if asked, should I disclose the name of the program I worked for? I think it’s fine to do it the way you’re doing it, but I also think it’s worth considering just being open about it — it’s one of the best ways to ensure that you’ll end up in a workplace that doesn’t make you feel you need to hide who you are. 7. Explaining cultural differences when applying for jobs I moved from Europe to the USA a few years ago. I have not been working in the USA so far, as I’ve been raising our kids, but now I want/need to get back into the work force. I wonder if I should address cultural differences in my cover letter? I already mention that I am now a U.S. citizen so employers know there won’t be any work authorisation issues, but I mean other things. My main concern is that most of my jobs in Europe lasted 9 months to 2 years; this is totally normal there, where medium-term contracts are normal, and due to outsourcing to India which happened to my call center jobs twice. Other concerns are my accent (I speak fluent English, but there is an accent), and somewhat different spelling. I’m interested to get other people’s opinions on this, but I don’t think there’s any real way to raise the shorter-term jobs thing in a cover letter, but it’s something you could bring up in an interview. You definitely shouldn’t preemptively address your accent in your cover letter; assuming that your accent doesn’t get in the way of communicating at work, it’s going to be unnecessary to mention with most employers and will make some of them feel uncomfortable (because discriminating based on national origin is illegal). The spelling though — that I’d work on changing, because many employers will expect you to use standard American spelling once on the job. You may also like:can I ask a company to speed up their hiring process?a company rescinded my job offer after I asked for more time to think it overare short interviews always a bad sign? { 158 comments }