Ask a Manager

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

1. Cutting the salary of a disappointing new hire

We hired an employee almost two months ago who seemed to have quite a lot of experience in our field (which is rare in our city). She asked for a higher salary than entry-level, which we were okay with giving based on her experience. Now, almost two months in, it’s become obvious to us that she actually doesn’t have as much experience in the field as she thought she did and her work is only slightly better than what we get from candidates straight out of school or switching into this industry from another one. Essentially, we regret paying her the higher salary and feel that she isn’t worth it. Legally, we know that we can reduce it a bit, but should we? And if so, how do we handle that situation? (She is at $60k. Entry level for us is $45k, possibly $50k. We haven’t settled on a firm number yet.)

Nope, don’t do it. It’s not fair — you agreed to a salary when you offered her the job, and she may have left a previous job and/or turned down other offers because of the salary you offered her. Lowering it now would be a bait and switch, and you’d be asking her to shoulder the burden of you not doing enough diligence to really investigate her skills before you hired her. (That’s not necessarily your fault; no one hires perfectly every time.)

What you can and should do is to talk to her about where she’s falling short and what you need to see from her to improve. You could also tell her that in order to stay at this salary level, you’d need to see (specific changes) in the next X months. That way you’d be giving her some warning and an opportunity to improve, rather than just blindsiding her with a salary cut. Be aware, though, that if you do that, it’ll likely be a serious hit to her morale and there’s a decent chance that you’ll lose her — if not immediately, then pretty soon afterwards.

It might make more sense to just write this off as the price of a lesson learned about better verifying people’s skills during the hiring process. (In fact, this will be a fairly cheap lesson if it becomes that — some employers never learn it!)

2. My company refuses to let me remove the lights above my desk

I sit in a cubicle at work all day. The overhead lighting is everywhere and bright as hell. I have a dry eye condition, and the brightness dries my eyes and sometimes causes headaches. I’ve asked my supervisor if they can take the bulbs out from the lighting right above my desk. I was told to get a doctor’s note, which I did. The doctor’s note stated that the lights should be dimmed in my area due to my eye condition. The note went to my supervisor and HR. Someone in facilities came by and took one (yes, one!) bulb out. It made no difference whatsoever. I asked if they can take all three out–keep in mind that there is plenty of lighting in my surrounding area, even if the three bulbs were taken off. Anyway, so now I get a meeting request from HR to “discuss.” Really?

Okay, so me, my supervisor and HR have a meeting, and I was told by HR that they can only remove twi bulbs and if that doesn’t work there are other options. Here are the options she gave me: use eye drops (which I already use per my doctor’s recommendation) and the second option is to get glare-resistant lenses on my glasses. What?? Really? She said the reason why the three bulbs can’t be removed is “in case IT has to go under my desk for any reason” (it’s always going to be dark under the desk, with or without lights!) and the other reason is “because janitors need light to clean.” There are plenty of lights everywhere! It’s not like I’m asking them to purchase some expensive chair or desk to accommodate me. Does this sound ridiculous to you?

Yes. Very. Your company sucks. There was no reason they should have made you get a doctor’s note in the first place (I mean, really, do they think you’re somehow trying to game the system into … having less light?), and they’re being ridiculous about it now. If you want to pursue it, I’d look into whether your condition is likely covered by the ADA and, if it is, approach it from that angle since they’d be required to engage in an interactive process with you to find solutions that will work on both ends.

3. I lied in an interview but then confessed

I recently got an interview with my county to become a dispatcher for emergency services. During the interview, I was asked if I knew anyone in the department or who dispatched. I answered yes, because my friend from high school does in fact work there. But then I told a lie to make myself sound more experienced and qualified I said my “cousin” worked for the public safety office in a neighboring county. Then they began to probe, and I kept lying because I froze up.

I used a fake name and everything. But only minutes after leaving the interview, I called the supervisor back and told the truth, that I just wanted to look good to the company.

Now I’m nervous that they won’t hire me. (I’m almost certain.) Do you think that they won’t hire me, even though I told her the truth and apologized?

Yes, I think they won’t hire you. Lying is a big deal, even if you confess it later, because it says something about your integrity and how trustworthy you are. This employer knows very little about you, but one thing they do know is that you lied to look better when you felt under pressure. That’s not something employers want to knowingly invite on to their staffs.

We all make silly mistakes, but sometimes the price of them is that we take ourselves out of the running for a job/a date/a promotion/a Powerball win. Write this one off, and figure out how to avoid whatever prompted you to do it.

4. My promised promotion hasn’t come through yet

I’ve been at a big and well-known media company for about two years now, where I was hired in an entry-level position with the caveat that because of my master’s degree, I’d be looking at a promotion in a year. My list of responsibilities has continued to grow, including essentially taking over the roles that were once covered by not one, but two, senior professionals. I’ve been praised for my work and at my first annual review told I was “highly valuable” and received the highest merit raise possible. I decided to ask for a promotion back in September, and my boss (the VP of my department) told me that without a doubt, I was doing the job of the level above me and deserved the promotion and it would just depend on HR and my “big” boss (his boss).

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when my boss told me that I would be getting the promotion on my work anniversary (this week). I let him know I was excited (but also took it with a grain of salt, because my boss sometimes over-promises … and I had a feeling this might be one of those times). I come into the office today and my boss tells me that there are going to be a ton of layoffs tomorrow (I know I’m not included in this) and that he spoke to his boss and my promotion won’t happen on my anniversary date after all. He mentioned that they can’t promote someone when they do all of these layoffs. He then went on to say that my promotion was “a done deal, it’s happening” and when I asked when he thought it would be, he said “closer to February.”

Does it sound like I’m being toyed with, or should I just be grateful I’m being told I’m getting a promotion at all? Is it normal to be told when you are getting a promotion to begin with? I feel like I’ve been very patient and putting in the work, but I don’t want to get jerked around. I’d love to go to HR and discuss this, but I know that to my boss, that would like I was going over his head. I’m really at a loss for what to do – just sit around and wait for it to happen or push for a date?

I’d take him at his word. He could have easily told you that it was on hold indefinitely, but he didn’t; he told you “a done deal, it’s happening.” Unless he has a track record of lying to you, I’d be believe him. Not being able to deal with this in the middle of layoffs is perfectly reasonable.

If February rolls around and he puts you off again, at that point I’d have more concerns — but so far none of this seems like major cause for concern.

5. How to let an out-of-state company know I’ll be in their area this weekend

I found a job posting for what sounds like the perfect job for me with a company that, no joke, I have dreamed of working for since I was in high school. Of course, I immediately applied, but the catch is that this job is with an office that is part of a larger nationwide company. This means that, of course, my application went into their big, centralized system, and the person who will have the first contact with it will likely not even be in the same state, let alone the same office, as the job itself. This is a little concerning to me because I tend to struggle to present myself on paper, and the job that I currently hold is not in the same field as the one I’m applying for. (The bills weren’t going to pay themselves while I job hunted, so I had to take what I could.)

The job is in a city that is 750 miles away from where I live now. I usually make a trip up there once a year for personal reasons, and by luck, this weekend is that trip. I feel like I should do something to put myself on their radar while I have the chance, but I fear crossing the line into “gimmick” territory. My first instinct was to reach out to the person who would be my boss if I got that job, but it would be obvious that I had done some detective work to get ahold of his email, as it’s not actually published on the company website anywhere. That seemed a little creepy to me. My second instinct was to use LinkedIn, but to be honest, I am not super savvy with LinkedIn, and this person’s profile seemed sparse enough to suggest that he wasn’t a big LinkedIn user either. My third thought was to simply stop by and drop off a business card and maybe resume as I passed through town, but that seemed amateurish, clumsy, and the exact opposite of what you would say to do.

What, if anything, should I do? It seems silly to let my application sit unnoticed in HR purgatory when I’m going to be right there. I would feel better about this whole situation if there was some easier way for me to get introduced, but my main networking contact from the last job I had in that field and that city (about four years ago) brushed me off the last time I asked for his help.

Most hiring managers won’t find it creepy that you figured out who they are; having people track you down like that is a pretty common part of hiring. (I mean, don’t contact him at home; that would be creepy. But otherwise, most people won’t have an issue with it.) Send him an email and say that you applied for the X job through their online system but that you wanted to let him know that you’re going to be in town this weekend, and that if he thinks it would be useful to meet and it happens to be convenient for him, you’d be glad to set up a time to talk. Attach your application materials to this email.

From there, it’s in his court. You may hear nothing, you may hear “we’re not interviewing candidates yet,” you may hear “HR handles these early stages and I don’t know where the process stands,” or you may hear “yes, let’s set up an interview.” If you don’t get a positive response, at that point you’ll need to let it drop — do not under any circumstances just show up at their office, which will mark you as out of touch and a bit annoying.

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

1. New employee won’t stop talking about how she did things differently at her old job

I have a new employee who is in orientation. Every time I or one of the other staff members tell her about something, she says, “That’s not how we did it at my last job,” or “we did it XYZ way at this other place.” And she expresses an opinion about everything she is told, no matter what the topic. My staff is starting to get frustrated but so far has been kind and saying things like, “Well, this is the way we do it here.” She is also printing out orientation pages and telling me what needs to be updated when she was already told what the updates were.

Is there a kind way to tell her to listen and learn and stop telling us about how she did things other places?

Sit down with her one-on-one and say this: “Jane, you’ve mentioned multiple times that you did things differently at previous jobs. Right now, we want to focus on teaching you how we do things here, and it’s becoming a distraction to keep discussing how you’ve done things differently before. Can I ask you to stay focused on what we’re teaching you about how we operate here?”

Also, if you’re not this person’s manager, give a heads-up to the person who is, because this has Pain In The Ass written all over it. (And that will be helpful for her manager to know about, since it’s more likely to make her direct about nipping this in the bud when she sees it herself.)

2. I’m going to lose money on this business trip

I’m from Asia and am being asked to fly for a business trip to Europe (Germany). There are many issues, but I don’t know how to bring it up without making it seems like I’m a difficult person to deal with:

1) We have to choose the cheapest ticket available. Of what I’ve found online, the cheapest would take 19 hours, while paying about $150 more would shorten the flight to 12 hours. But I’m not allowed to take a shorter flight, just the cheapest flight.

2) I’m only allocated a per-day allowance of 25 euros, which don’t think is reasonable since a meal costs 15 euros in general and I have to eat two meals (lunch and dinner). This 25 euros allowance is inclusive of everything. I have been on business trips in other countries and felt like I had to fork out more money than I’d spend if I were to stay in my home country. And of course I’m not compensated for the lost time I could spend with family and friends.

Is there any way I could reject this trip without making it seem like I’m rocking the boat? Thinking about this just makes me really miserable.

Whether you can just decline to go really depends on your job, the nature of the trip, and your relationship with your manager. But before you get there, I’d try pushing back on both issues: You can point out that paying just $150 more would shave seven hours off the plane ride and ensure that you show up far more rested and ready to work. You can also put together some samples of what 25 euros will buy in the city you’ll be in; you might be able to show that it’s not sufficient for two meals there, even if it might be realistic for other destinations. (Note: I don’t know if it is or not, but by looking at actual menu prices in the area you’ll be in, you should be able to conclude pretty definitively.)

This may or may not change anything. In a reasonable company, it would, but you may not be working for a reasonable company. If that turns out to be the case, you can try framing it as “It seems like I’ll be losing $__ by going on this trip. What can we do to ensure that I don’t lose my own money during business travel?” But if they’re unreasonable and the trip is required, you might be stuck.

3. My coworker keeps trying to speak our native language to me, but I want to speak English

I share a room with the rest of my team (seven of us in total); it’s a fairly small and packed open plan office. A guy who joined this week speaks my native language (which is not terribly common). Finding this out delighted him, and now he insists on talking to me in that language in front of everyone (trying to make conversation, not just asking one question or two). This makes me uncomfortable, and I also believe it’s unprofessional and rude to the rest of our team.

Am I overreacting? If not, can I shut this down somehow (presumably by telling him)? He told me before going home yesterday that he needs to talk to me in that language even MORE from now on (no clue why). I think he’s trying to establish some type of connection, and while I’m more than happy to share any work-related knowledge I have, I don’t want this to happen in any language that isn’t English.

Just be direct with him! The next time he does it, say in English, “I prefer to talk in English at work,” and then go on to answer him in English. If he seems confused or put out by that, you can explain, “I don’t feel comfortable speaking in front of others in a language they can’t understand.” If pressed, you can explain that it feels exclusionary to you and you simply prefer to stick to the language spoken by those around you.

(To be clear, I do think it would be fine for you to talk with him in your native language if you preferred to, especially if it were faster or easier to communicate that way, but it’s also legit for you to choose not to, and he should respect that.)

4. Should I check with the candidate before I give a reference for them?

My industry is kind of small, and while everyone doesn’t know everyone, it is pretty darn close. The people who work in our industry move from site to site with stints in the HQ. I used to work at Company A (left about eight years ago). A friend from Company A emailed me yesterday to ask if I would give a reference for my old boss at a site rotation at Company B. She told me that she and the hiring team already know that he is technically excellent but that he administratively needs a strong ops team and hates being bothered by HQ (this is pretty standard in our industry for people in his position, unfortunately).

They are asking because, as is clear on his CV, he went straight from the site where we worked together to another site and didn’t include references from either of those sites. My friend was on a site rotation for her company in the same small town as us and knew that he and I worked together. I don’t know why he didn’t include a reference from our site, but I would be willing to give a good reference. I know that he left the next site abruptly, but I didn’t work in that department so I don’t know why (I mean, I assume why, but when the C-suite lets a guy run sites a certain way for 20 years and heaps praise, promotions, and bonuses on him, and then all of a sudden decides they don’t like how he does things, that’s not on him and certainly not something I would discuss outside of Company B).

I know that a good hiring team does their own due diligence on reviewing a candidate, including using any resource they can access to get feedback. But as the person being asked, do I get permission from the applicant first? Is it a different standard if I am being asked to be a reference for someone who reported to me vs someone I reported to? I ultimately decided to contact Old Boss and let him know I had been asked and that I was willing to give him a good reference or tell Company A that it was my personal policy to only give references if requested by the applicant. He said he would be pleased if I spoke to Company A. I did this because Old Boss knows that I am looking for a new job and offered to be one of my references so I wanted to maintain the good relationship. But this is likely to come up again for other people I know so I want to be prepared.

It’s really up to you, but in general there’s no expectation that you’ll get the candidate’s explicit permission before giving a reference. That’s doubly true when you know the person who’s asking you for the reference, as you did here. You still might choose to reach out for permission, but you’re not violating any convention if you don’t.

Your friend who contacted you was basically drawing on your friendship and saying “hey, can you give me the low-down on what the deal really is with this guy?” That’s a pretty normal thing to ask when you know someone personally. (Imagine, for instance, that you’re hiring a nanny and notice that you’re friends with one of her previous employers. Would you really not reach out to your friend and ask her about her experiences with the person and expect her to be honest with you? This is basically the same thing.)

5. Letting a contact know I’m not looking for other work right now

A manager I’ve worked with in a part-time role in the past sent me a job posting. She said she thought that I would be a perfect fit, and encouraged me to apply. I loved the team, the work, the management, and the mission. A year ago, it would have been a total dream job.

The problem is, I am really happy with where I am now. I am happy with my salary, several people in leadership have “clicked” with me and have been informally mentoring me, I enjoy my work, I love my clients, I genuinely like most of my coworkers, and I have a short commute. There is probably not as much room for “on paper” growth as I’d like, but there are lots of different types of personalities to deal with, and I’ve discovered that I actually really love finding ways to work with difficult people when others have thrown in the towel. (I think dealing with difficult people at work could become one of my secret superpowers.) In other words, I’ve still got more to learn in my current role and am not ready to look for other opportunities.

What is the best way to say “thank you for thinking of me, I’m not looking for a change right now but would love to keep the door open in the future”?

Exactly like that would be fine! That’s a very normal thing to say. In fact, she’s probably expecting that there’s a decent chance you’ll say it, so don’t feel weird about it.

If you want, you can reword it a bit to “Thanks so much for thinking of me. In a lot of ways this would be my dream job, but right now I’m too happy with my work and my company to think seriously about leaving. However, I’d love to get in touch with you at whatever point I do start thinking about what’s next.”