Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. My friends think I should bash an employer on Twitter

I went abroad to get my master’s, finished, I’m doing also an internship abroad, and now I am looking for a job. I filled out an online application (taleo system) for a large multinational consumer goods corporation in my home country. I am a national of that country, so obviously I can work there.

However, I got an email a week ago that says that they can’t consider me because I am not allowed to work there. Obviously they misread all the fields (they explicitly ask things like country of birth, country of nationality, country of current residence, etc.) and must have thought that I require some sort of immigration sponsorship. I tried to reply, but their email does not accept replies. Getting through that corporate bureaucrazy is going to be really time-consuming. My concern is that this is a big red flag about their company; they don’t even read their applications! I don’t want to work in a place like that! God knows what will happen if I am hired! They do pay well though…

Some friends have suggested that I insist and get them to consider me and apologize; some say I should forget about it; some say I should just put it on Twitter and bash them, that this could help me get their attention or that of another good company that will value me. What should I do?

Don’t listen to your friends — none of them, from the sounds of it. Insist that they consider you? And insist they apologize? How exactly do your friends think that’s even possible to do? Or bash them on Twitter?! That will not go over well with other potential employers who look at your Twitter feed in the future, believe me.

Ignore your friends, who seem to want to keep you from gainful employment. If you’re still interested in working there (and this really shouldn’t deter you; employers are staffed by humans, who occasionally make mistakes), find an email contact for either the hiring manager or the HR department and email them to politely explain the misunderstanding. That’s really all you can do.

2. Recruiters who text me as their first contact

I have a question about weird recruiter contact methods, and if they’re as weird as they seem to me.

I’m a software engineer in a major city. People with my skills here are in super high demand right now, so I hear from recruiters all the time. That’s not surprising.

What is surprising is when they text me. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s happened a few times. It feels way too personal if I get something like “Hey Eric, I’m X, a recruiter with Y agency. We have a Z job with a company downtown. Interested?” in a text, even if I’ve talked to the recruiter before.

The last time a recruiter texted me, I replied with “I prefer discussing these things through email. If you email me the job description, I’ll look it over and let you know if it sounds like a good fit for me.” No response. Did I mishandle this, and is being texted by recruiters as weird as it sounds to me, or am I just old fashioned?

I think texting people in a business context when you you don’t know them is obnoxious, although clearly some people disagree. It’s totally reasonable, though, for you to respond with “It’s easier to reach me via email — would you send this to me at (email address)?”

I’m not surprised that resulted in silence when you tried it — people who are unprofessional in their first communication often aren’t professional enough to follow through with the next step when you ask them to.

But I’d just think of it this way: This will help you screen for recruiters who are willing to communicate in a way that works for you and who respect your preferences once you state them. (Not everyone has the luxury of being choosy in that regard, but it sounds like you do.)

3. Is it annoying not to get to the point when you call a company?

When calling a company (bank, utilities, store, etc.), my husband starts the call with “Hi, how are you?” when they answer. I told him that these phone reps are very busy, handle lots of calls, and would prefer that you just get to the point and forget the pleasantries. Besides that, you don’t really care how they are anyway. He says I’m wrong. What do you think?

I’m with you. Of course, there are probably some phone reps out there who genuinely appreciate these pleasantries — but I suspect that they’re in the minority. Still, though, I doubt that anyone is gnashing their teeth when your husband is nice to them, so I wouldn’t give him a hard time about it.

4. Student employee didn’t acknowledge the gift I gave him

I have a question about someone not thanking me for a gift. I manage two grad students who are new this year. I gave them each a holiday gift, a small gift of food. Each got a food I have seen them eat, because I wanted to be sensitive to allergies and what they like. I left the gifts on their desks the same day, with a card saying happy holidays and who it was from. They work in different spaces. One employee came to me right away and said thank you, and took the gift home with her. The other employee has clearly seen the gift, because it has been moved to another part of his desk and the card is gone. I have been in his office a handful of times since I left the gift, and I have seen it there. He has not said anything about it, including thank you. I also think it’s strange that he is just letting it it on his desk. If he didn’t like it, I understand it could be awkward for him, but still strange to leave it in his office. And I think that’s unlikely since I got him something I know he likes.

It’s been almost a month. Should I say anything? Maybe he feels awkward receiving a gift from me, and I don’t want to make it more awkward. I also think it’s good etiquette to say thank you for a gift, but I don’t know if it’s my place to say so. Maybe I shouldn’t give gifts? Am I overthinking it?

Probably, a bit. It’s natural to want some kind of acknowledgement for a gift, but … well, some people are not especially gracious, which I suspect is the case here. I would let it go.

5. Which state law governs when an employee works in a different state than the company is headquartered in?

The minimum wage in my state went up to $9 an hour as of January 1st, but I’m noticing remote job listings in other states are paying their state’s minimum wage (sometimes as low as $7-8 an hour). Do these jobs have to comply to the employee’s state’s minimum wage or do they have to comply with the minimum wage standards set in the state the company is located?

It’s governed by the laws of the state where the employee is working. So if you work in California but your employer is based in New York, they’ll need to comply with California’s laws on minimum wage, overtime, and so forth (where you’re concerned, that is — they wouldn’t need to do it for employees who are in New York).

Even more interestingly, this can apply to employees who are only temporarily in another state, so if you’re normally based in Wisconsin but you spend a week in California on a work trip, you’re subject to California’s labor laws while you’re there. That could mean, for example, that if you’re non-exempt, during that week you’d need to be paid overtime for all hours over eight that you work in a day (because California has a daily overtime threshold, in addition to the usual weekly one). In practice, employers rarely bother with that (and probably rarely even realize it), but it’s actually a thing they’re supposed to do.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. Networking contacts keep sending me job leads that are too senior for me

I’ve been looking for an intern / entry-level engineering position for a long time and I’ve spoken with a lot of people about my job search (former classmates, professional engineers, hiring managers, neighbors who work with engineers, etc.). I noticed a recurring pattern that happens a lot and I was wondering if you had some insight on it.

Sometimes I get referrals to job openings or direct input to HR about certain positions. The problem, though, is that those positions are never entry-level. Example: I ran into an engineering director at a conference and he knew that a client he was working with wanted four junior level engineers. He asked for my resume, but told me honestly that they’re looking for people with 2+ years experience and it was very unlikely I’d get a call back. Occasionally, a neighborhood engineer (or friend of the family that works with engineers) offers to see my resume (some straight up, some after an informational interview) and show it to someone in hiring, but then later hear back from the person that “they’re not looking for entry-level candidates and are looking for people with more experience.”

Do you have any advice regarding this conundrum? There isn’t a lot of information about this “networking entry level” problem out there, and I’m wondering if you have any strategies for networking with respect to this issue?

It’s not really an entry-level networking problem; it just comes with asking other people for help. It’s pretty common for people who are trying to help you in your job search to send you leads about jobs that just aren’t quite right for you (and sometimes are incredibly wrong); it happens because no one really knows your professional history or positioning like you do.

When someone sends you something that’s not the right level, it’s fine to just thank them and politely explain that it’s more senior than what you’re currently qualified for, but that you really appreciate them keeping an eye out for you. And know that this is going to happen at all levels of your career, and don’t be thrown off when it does.

2. Surgery right after starting a new job

At my previous job, I had everything thing aligned for a surgery I am planning on having. It takes 6 months to complete all of the requirements for surgery, due to various pre-doctor visits, tests, etc. and recovery time is about 2 weeks. Once I complete all the requirements, I can then schedule surgery. Although this is an elective surgery it is medically necessary for me in the long run. After much deliberation, I decided to leave that job for several reasons, despite the fact it was approved by insurance and management.

I recently started a new position at a great nonprofit. During my second round interview with my now boss’s boss, I was asked if I had any plans for time off and I mentioned that I was planning on having surgery in the new uear (depending on benefits) and he didn’t seem to have an issue with this. Nothing else was mentioned as part of the interview process. I accepted the new job about a month ago. The new job is now cyclical, and much of our work won’t ramp up until March. I recently talked to my boss about completing the remaining steps I have to get surgery scheduled, and she didn’t have a problem with me talking the time off for surgery. In fact, she told me that I shouldn’t put my life on hold because of the job.

I was then talking to my mom (who religiously reads your blog) about everything and she was concerned about me taking time off after just starting a new position. I’m now afraid that even though my boss said it would be fine, there could be negativity surrounding the situation in the long run. I don’t want to be negatively dinged in the future for deciding to follow through with my plans. Are my mom’s concerns justified? Should I follow through with surgery?

Follow through with the surgery! For one thing, this is for medical reasons, and for another thing, you already discussed it during the hiring process. Your mom is right that it’s not great to ask for two weeks off right after starting a new job if it’s for vacation, but medical stuff is different. Believe your boss when she says it’s okay!

3. Would following up with this interviewer be overkill?

I had an interview that went well. A week later, the manager left me a voicemail while I was on vacation for the New Year and my phone was down. Because I didn’t want to keep him waiting, I called back as soon as I received the message (the very evening), even though I had just come back from my trip, was really tired and hadn’t thought about what I was going to say.

He asked me if I was still so motivated as I had seemed to be during the interview and explained that he was still set on my application but was facing huge administrative hurdles, so the process would take some time. I thanked him and assured him I was still enthusiastic about the job. I can’t remember how I sounded over the phone or the exact words I used.

I was wondering if it’d be worth sending him a quick note to reiterate my interest or if it’d smack of “overeager.”

Note that in the meantime I sent him a postcard for the new year, but that was not strictly related to the interview.

I was about to say “yes, that would be smart to do” until I got to your last line. If you sent him a postcard for new year’s that wasn’t an interview follow-up, I’m hesitant to tell you to send something else now. In general, I wouldn’t recommend sending interviewers general greetings or postcards. Sending something like a news article that you think they’d be interested in is fine, but a new year’s postcard is a bit outside interviewing norms.

So now I’m torn, and I think I’m coming down on the side of just checking in with him in a few weeks. Keep it job-focused this time!

4. I can’t remember my former managers’ names

I’m almost finished with an application for what appears to be my dream job. But I’ve run into an odd snag. The work history section requires detailed info on the past 10 years (e.g., pay rate, weekly hours, supervisors), but I can’t remember the last names of two of my former supervisors! To make matters worse, those jobs were three years ago, through a temp agency, and lasted 1) six weeks and 2) three months. Even if I knew the supervisors’ last names, they might not remember me if they’re called. I’ve searched the companies’ websites, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google, all to no avail. My next step is to call the companies (or the temp agency) and say something like, “I used to work there and I’m applying for a job that requires [supervisor’s first name]’s last name on the application,” but to me that seems so intrusive. I would be mortified if I didn’t get an interview simply because I said my supervisors were “Satchel” and “Bucky” instead of “Satchel Pooch” and “Bucky Katt.”

I’d just write “uncertain” or “info no longer accessible.” It’s not ideal, but sometimes this happens — you’re certainly not the only one to run into this — and reasonable employers will understand, as long as you give them some way to verify the employment (which in this case would be the temp agency contact info) and have other references. (And actually, because these jobs were through a temp agency, it’s probably better to just put down the name of your contact at the agency — since the company where you were placed probably has no record of you, which is normal with temp work.)

5. How should my resume show that a job was to cover for a short-term vacancy?

I would like to list a short-term position on my resume. I was promoted from an internship to provide temporary cover for an NGO’s public affairs officer when she was suddenly fired. I took on most of her duties during the six months that it took to find a replacement. Although I am sure that I did not perform at the same level (my official title was public affairs assistant), this job was a huge step up in responsibility for me and I achieved a lot in those six months.

How can I concisely convey that I left this job because they found a replacement with the required level of expertise, not because I was job-hopping?

List it like this:
Public Affairs Assistant (interim)
* short-term position to cover while organization searched for a Public Affairs Officer
* accomplishment
* accomplishment

That’ll make it clear right up-front that it was always intended to be temporary. Job-hopping really only applies when you’re quickly leaving jobs that were never intended to be short-term, but this one was — so as long as you explain it like this, it shouldn’t be a concern!

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. I got scolded for letting my team chat while they work

Several of my subordinates and I sit at desks very close to one another in a large office. During slow times, we chat while we work. (During busy times, we have no time to socialize.) We enjoy these breaks as it gives us knowledge about each others’ ideas, beliefs, family, lives outside of work, etc. I have always looked at it as a strengthening of our team.

While doing data entry today, we were chatting about our families and different cultures, when our (newly appointed) general manager scolded me via email for allowing my team to have non-work related discussions that he could overhear from his desk. He acknowledged that while my workers did a great job during busy times, if they didn’t have “enough” to do when it’s slow I should send them home (they are paid hourly so this was a threat to take away their pay). I was genuinely shocked, not only at the suggestion, but that he couldn’t see we were working while talking, and at the idea that there is zero value in simple human communication between team mates. I’d like another opinion because I sure don’t trust his.

Well, it’s certainly true that there’s such a thing as too much chit chat, especially if it’s distracting other people (which is possible if he can hear it from his desk). It’s also true that it’s not realistic or wise to expect people to work like automatons and never talk to each other. I can’t tell from your letter which of these categories your team is in. In your shoes, to try to figure it out, I’d look at productivity — for example, are people much more productive on quiet days or days when other people are out? Do you have a backlog that would benefit from people working with more speed and focus? Are you hitting all your goals? Those answers should point you in the right direction.

On his other point, it’s true that there are jobs where it does make sense to send people home when there’s not much work — but if you’re going to do that, you should let people know that before you hire them. Otherwise, they’re counting on a certain amount of pay each week, and it’s crappy to take that away. You might point that out to him. Since he’s new, he may be used to a different way of doing things … or he could just be a bit of a jerk. Either way, it would be useful to hash this stuff out with him and get aligned on how you manage your team.

2. Should I take on new projects at work while I’m job hunting?

I work for a small company. One of employees recently resigned and her tasks and responsibilities are being divided among the existing employees. The CEO would like me to take on many of her tasks, including managing our vendors. I am more than happy to do the additional work. (I’ve had a lot of down time in the past and can easily fit it in to my schedule.)

However, I have been job hunting for a few months now and am hoping to be in a new job in a maximum of four months, so I’m not sure it makes sense for me to establish relationships with our vendors, change all of our accounts to list my email address, etc. only to have yet another person take over those tasks in a few months. Though I think our CEO knows on some level that I’m unhappy in my job, I don’t think he knows that I’m looking to leave, and I’d prefer not to tell him until I have a new position lined up. He is borderline obsessed with loyalty and I fear he would fire me on the spot if he knew I was applying/interviewing elsewhere (this attitude is one of the many reasons I’m looking to leave). I’m not sure if there’s a way to suggest those tasks go to someone else without tipping him off to the fact that I’m hoping to leave soon or if I should just suck it up and take on the new tasks, knowing that (with any luck), I’ll be gone in a few months and yet another person will need to establish new relationships with our vendors, change all of our account passwords, etc. What do you suggest?

Proceed as if you’re not leaving. There’s no way to get out of this without tipping him off, and the reality is that you don’t know for sure that you’ll be gone in four months. Even if you’re gone sooner, though, this is just part of doing business — people leave and there are inconveniences associated with it, but it’s not usually practical to pull yourself out of stuff that would normally fall to you until you have firm departure plans in place.

3. Reapplying to a company whose offer I turned down five years ago

I have a question about reapplying to a company that I had turned down a job offer from in the past. Five years ago, I had a few rounds of interviews at a company (let’s call it Company A), and I ended up receiving a job offer. I also received another job offer at the same time (Company B), and I ended up taking the job with Company B. I had a great interview experience at A and felt bad turning it town, but B was more in line with what I thought I wanted to do.

Now five years later, I’m regretting the decision and want to go into the industry A is in. (Similar industries, and my experience at B is in line with what I’d be doing at A). I saw that Company A is hiring again. Do I apply again to the job? If I do reapply, should I email the person I worked with during the interview process and who offered me the job?

Yes, apply again, and mention in your cover letter that they made you an offer for position X in 2011 that you weren’t able to accept at the time, but that you really enjoyed your conversations with them then and would love to talk with them about position Y. Then, after you do that, email the person you talked with five years ago (if she’s still there), include a copy of your application materials, and let her know that you applied through their formal system but that you wanted to reach out to her and let her know. Add something genuine about how much you enjoyed your talks a few years ago, and why you’ve remained interested in them this whole time.

4. How should my resume show a position that was first volunteer but then paid?

I volunteered for an organization for several months, after which I was lucky enough to be hired. My duties remained exactly the same – they just decided to start paying me for it. Should I put the two periods of time as separate entries in different sections, or as two positions under the same organization, one clearly marked “volunteer”?

Two positions under the same organization, with the first one clearly marked as volunteer. That will emphasize that they liked your volunteer work enough to begin paying you for it when they didn’t have to, which reflects well on you.

You can list it like this:

Chocolate Teapots United
Spout Inspector (staff) – May 2015-present
Spout Inspector (volunteer) – November 2014-May 2015
* accomplishment
* accomplishment
* accomplishment

5. Donating books to prisons

Remember the interview I did with a former prison librarian last year? She just sent this to me and I wanted to pass it along:

In the comments section of my interview post, a few people asked about donating books to prison libraries. This popped up in my feed today (I imagine they are rerunning it because of Making a Murderer, which I have no doubt may of your readers are watching):

http://bookriot.com/2016/01/05/donate-your-books-to-prisons-what-why-and-how/

I think it’s all for U.S. prisons, but it’s a start.