Ask a Manager

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

1. How soon can I leave this job?

So I started a full-time internship for a charity as a Grants Officer. This charity has a large network and there is a possibility of a permanent role with them or their associated partners, depending on funding. I only started this 2 weeks ago and I really, really don’t enjoy doing grants and bids. It’s not for me. I don’t want to leave the organization on bad terms or give them a bad impression of me because given the right opportunity I would like to work for them. So how do I go about leaving? Should I just wait till the new year and suck it up? They are aware that I am looking for permanent work and I have an interview with one of their affiliates this week. I am really confused on what to do.

If you leave after a few weeks, you will probably burn the bridge; they hired you assuming that you understood what you were signing up for and that you were willing to do it. It’s doubtful they’d hire you for another job later if you leave this one after just a few weeks (or even a few months, depending on how long of a commitment you made to the internship). Plus, for what it’s worth, you generally can’t know after two weeks whether you hate the work or not. It takes far longer than that to learn and get used to a new job. But if you really do know that quickly, then they either misled you about the job or you didn’t think it through before taking it — the former would be an excuse to leave soon, but the latter would reflect badly on you.

2. Adding a certificate to your business cards

My employer orders business cards in bulk, and I received cards just before I got my CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) designation. So my cards don’t list my CMP designation, and I’m out of luck getting new ones for now.

I’m going to an industry conference soon and plan to take cards for networking. Would it be better to hand out my “official” cards without my CMP listed, hand out my “official” cards with “CMP” handwritten on them, or have personal networking cards made up (i.e. Vistaprint)? If I get Vistaprint cards, should I list my work e-mail/phone or personal?

Don’t put CMP on your business cards. There’s no need for it, most people won’t know what it means, and you’ll come across as if you think people put more weight on the certificate than they do. There are very few fields where it makes sense to include your degree or certificate on your cards, other than MD, CPA, and occasionally PhD or JD (although even those two can be questionable). Use your existing cards.

3. Job-hunting while pregnant

My question is diving a bit deeper into the issue of interviewing while pregnant. I am about 4 months pregnant and definitely showing. I am wrapping a contract position that ends in a few weeks and have started sending out resumes to line up something new (either contract or permanent). I’ve been doing a lot of research on when to let a potential employer know I’m pregnant, including reading one of your posts on the topic, and agree with most people who advise to let the company know once an offer is made and negotiations are in process.

If they ask me during the interview process, prior to an offer being made, if I am going to need any time off, what is the best way to answer this question? I’m concerned because I don’t want to disclose my pregnancy until an offer is made, but I don’t want to lie and create bad feelings down the road. So I’m wondering if there is a diplomatic way of skirting this question until an offer is made and I ready to share the news?

Ooooh, yeah, that’s tricky — because while it’s perfectly legitimate to wait to mention a pregnancy until you have an offer, you don’t want to outright lie or you’ll look like you’re operating in bad faith (and in fact will be operating in bad faith). I think if directly asked about planned time off, you’d need to be honest … although it’s not an especially common interview question, so I wouldn’t expect it to come up too much.

4. Determining salary expectations when you don’t have much work history

My work history consists of unpaid internships, one limited-term position lasting a few months, and Peace Corps, where I was paid about $320/month, plus benefits. Given that, I have no idea what my salary requirements for a new job should be. Obviously I can’t base it on what I made in Peace Corps, since $320/month is not a livable wage in this country. Should I give the lowest number I’d accept? I’ve figured that, living extremely frugally, I could make ends meet on $18,000 annually, but should I be low-balling myself that much? Would it make me look attractive or desperate? And I also don’t think I’d be very happy living that way, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?

Whoa, no, this is not how you figure out salary requirements. They’re not based on what you need to live on; they’re based on the market rate for the work you’d be doing, taking into account your experience, skill set, and track record. You don’t expect more money when your expenses go up and less when they go down. Salary is based on the market, so that’s what you need to look into. There are some ideas for doing that here.

5. Taking on side work in addition to a full-time job

I am currently working full-time, but my skill set is such that I occasionally get offers for contract work (two weeks to several months in length). I have a technical skill set that is complimentary to my job, and while I enjoy the technical work, it is not the area in which I can, nor would want to, develop my career. That being said, it is this technical skill set these contracts seek to utilize. I have always declined these contract offers due to being employed full-time, but recently I have began thinking about taking these on part-time on the side (in addition to my current role). There isn’t any particular driving force in this change of thought, but at $50+ an hour it is hard to ignore these opportunities.

Is it worth it to take the risk of annoying my current employer? Even if this were to technically comport to the requirements of an employer agreement, I wonder if it will do damage to my reputation and career of I were to raise this with my managers — whose approval I would seek before going down this path. I am fairly certain that this situation would be unique in my peer group, so that adds a “bleeding edge” factor in my mind. I think (read: speculate) that this is frowned upon for full-time employees anywhere (since it is not for a nonprofit / charity board of directors or something similar) but I don’t want to leave a stone unturned if it could help moved career forward by putting my name and work in front of more people. What are your thoughts on this matter?

My thoughts are that you’re asking the wrong person. You need to ask your manager about this. Just be straightforward and ask (a) whether it’s allowed at all (it may not be) and (b) whether it would be frowned upon, even if allowed. She’ll be able to tell you with far more certainty about how it’ll be perceived in your particular organization that I can.

6. Sending praise to coworkers’ managers

Will you offer your thoughts on sending recognition/appreciation letters to the supervisor of coworkers? I recently worked with a couple programmers from our IT department who quickly responded to my request and accomplished the work in a timely fashion and kept me in the loop the whole time. On the one hand, I think this should be the rule, not the exception, but I still feel like expressing my appreciation in a way that can be put in their file for future reviews (if they desire). Should I be concerned about thanking them for “just doing their job,” or go ahead and pass my appreciation on to their supervisor regardless of if the efforts were routine or extraordinary?

Absolutely send the email! You’re not really thanking them just for doing their job; you’re thanking them for doing it in a way that you especially appreciated: being quick, keeping you informed, making it all easier on you. Be specific about what you appreciated, and that will make the praise more meaningful. But do send the note to their manager, and cc them so they see it to! This kind of thing really makes a difference to people when they hear it.

It’s tiny answer Tuesday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. Applying for a job that you applied to a year and a half ago

I finished grad school last spring and applied for many jobs, got one job (first choice) about a year and a half ago. Now, due to a variety of things, I’m not loving my job and am looking again. Is it okay to apply for the same jobs at the same companies as I applied for originally? I was never contacted about them before, presumably due to limited experience given that I was right out of school. The job I have now is directly related and in the same field. Is it going to be weird if I apply for them again now?

Sure, it’s fine to apply again. I’ve hired re-appliers who didn’t even get interviewed the first time around — either because they become a stronger candidate in the interim or because the first time they applied there was a particularly competitive group of candidates or whatever.

2. People are stealing my pens!

I’m fairly new to my job, and if I’m being honest with myself regarding my situation, one of the lowest on the totem pole at my workplace. It’s not an ideal position for me, but I’m trying to make the best of it.

One of the things that I’ve found makes my work far more enjoyable is using pens that I like, i.e. nice gel pens (not fountain pens or Mont Blancs or anything crazy). I buy these personally, and have never asked a workplace to supply them for me, it’s just something I invest in for myself. I’m a fairly conscientious person and take good care of my belongings, so it’s worth the expense to have a decent writing instrument handy.

The problem is that I’m not the only person around here who enjoys good pens. I just had two walk off — one my direct supervisor borrowed and never returned, but for diplomatic reasons I was willing to let that one go. But today I saw one around the work ID lanyard of a coworker that definitely was just taken off my desk. (Yes, the pens are distinctive enough that the chance is very remote that he would suddenly have the same one right when mine disappeared). How would you recommend addressing this for the future? Should I invest in the pen equivalent of a locked lunchbox? :)

People are so used to thinking of non-Mont-Blanc-quality pens as communal office property that you’re going to have an uphill battle with this one, but I’d at least try keeping them in your desk rather than on your desk. It’s a rare person who will open someone’s desk and take things out of it.

And if you happen to spot one with someone else, exclaim with the same pleasure you’d use upon spotting your lost dog, “My pen!” And then reclaim it.

3. Employer asks for salary expectations on a resume

I’m working on an application that requests I include my salary requirements on my resume, that I will then email to HR. Personally I’d rather not include a figure in my resume because it just seems out of place, and I’m worried that placing requirements on the actual resume will distract from the content. Should I send a separate document detailing my salary requirements? Or put them in a cover letter (also not required for this application, but I’d like to send one as well)?

If they specifically said to put it on your resume, put it on your resume, not on a separate sheet or in your cover letter (even though yes, normally this would be inappropriate). Otherwise you’re just demonstrating that you don’t follow directions. But if they weren’t that specific, it’s fine to put it in the cover letter.

4. Following up when an interviewer offers feedback

I had a phone interview with a Senior Manager a couple of weeks back. The interviewer sounded friendly and the interview went well, but I did not make the cut. I sent her a thank-you email and asked for her feedback. She replied back, saying that she appreciates my interest in her feedback and would gladly call me back next week. It’s been more than three weeks now and she has not called me up. Should I drop in a reminder email to her or should I just forget about it? Her feedback could be of value to me but at the same time I don’t want to look pushy. What do you suggest?

Follow up once by email asking if there’s a good time to schedule a call for, but after that, drop it, since you don’t want to be too pushy when someone offers a favor.

5. Asking for a later start date

I currently have a job but I have received another job offer. I have already signed an offer letter and the new job requires me to start in 1 week. Would it be fine if I ask to delay the start date by another week? What would be the best reason(s) to give?

Well, but ideally you would have done this before signing the offer letter. Regardless, it’s fine to go back to them now and ask if you can give your current employer two weeks notice so that you don’t leave them in the lurch. It’s normal to negotiate these things as part of an offer; the complication here is that it sounds like you already agreed to the original terms, but if there wasn’t any negotiation of anything earlier, it’s not a disaster to ask about this now. Do it ASAP though; don’t wait.

6. Attending a company conference after giving notice

What is the proper etiquette in regard to attending a large company conference after I have turned in my resignation? They would like me to but I feel like I am misleading my team since they don’t know yet.

Why don’t you just tell your team? If there’s some reason you can’t, it’s still fine to go if your company wants you to, despite knowing you’re leaving soon. There’s nothing misleading about going to a conference.

7. Explaining flexible career goals

I have worked in the public policy field for about 4 years and I am currently applying to graduate school for a public administration degree. (A graduate degree is necessary to advance my career beyond the entry level.) I am interested in continuing to work in my field, but I don’t have any super-specific career goals. However, both in my application and in discussions with people, I am constantly asked about my career goals and I’m never quite sure how to respond.

Immediately after I graduated from college, I could have given you an answer like, “I want to be a senior White House advisor for health care,” or something like that. But after searching for two full time jobs and working for a few years, I know how ridiculous it is to plan a career based on the notion of working at any one particular organization. There is no guarantee that I will be hired by my dream organization, and in the course of a job search (and the course of a career), one’s goals often change and new opportunities are discovered and the doors to former dreams are closed.

That’s not to say I don’t have career goals; they are just far more flexible and less strictly defined than they were when I was a fresh graduate. I want to continue working in public policy, but I don’t particularly care if it’s in a think-tank, or in government, or in private consulting, or in a non-profit. I want grad school to give me a background and the analytical skills to find work in the field (isn’t that what it’s for?!), but I’ll let my career and expertise develop organically depending on what jobs I am able to get. So what do I say in my application, and what do I tell people when asked what my career goals are? “I’ll take what I can get,” doesn’t exactly inspire admissions officers to open the doors to their school.

This is completely normal; don’t feel weird about it. Most people who have spent any time in the working world know that it’s usually far more practical to have somewhat flexible career goals. Yes, occasionally someone does have a super-specific I-want-this-specific-job-in-this-specific-organization type goal, but it’s far more common for people to have the sort of flexibility you’re describing.

You don’t want to say “I’ll take what I can get,” of course, but it’s completely reasonable to say something like, “I want to continue working in public policy.” As you get more experience and more exposure to what paths do and don’t appeal to you (and are and aren’t realistic for you), you’ll probably refine that a bit, but really, that answer is just fine.