Ask a Manager

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

1. Interviewer asked what my favorite fruit is

I was asked on an interview, “What is your favorite fruit?” What is this question supposed to tell the interviewer about you?

It tells them nothing about you but it tells you loads about them: that they’re a bad interviewer who doesn’t know how to hire.

2. Interviewer said the job’s salary is $20,000 less than I’d earlier said I was looking for

I applied for a job at an organization I’d be very excited to work for. In the form application, I had to indicate my preferred salary – annoying at that stage, yes, but I had to enter a value into the field. I put my current salary. I was thrilled the next day to be invited for an interview. The interview went great – I was told I’d move on to the second round within 20 minutes – except for one thing. In rattling off information about the job, the hiring manager said, “The salary is $X,” a figure nearly $20K less than what I’m currently making and what I put in my form application. I finished out the interview without asking any follow-up questions about the salary.

My guess is that this hiring manger never saw the salary I’d indicated in my application. Wouldn’t HR screen out candidates whose market rates are that far off from what’s budgeted?

My question is what to do next. I see my options as A) go to the second interview, do everything I can to become their top candidate, and then try to negotiate from there, or B) raise the issue proactively in an email. Let her know I am so excited about the position but that I was surprised to have been brought in when there’s such a big delta in my salary requirement and what’s budgeted and ask if the figure she cited is hard and fast.

I would be open to taking a small pay cut (maybe $5K) because this is an organization I really want to work for, but $20K would be a deal breaker.

Yeah, they shouldn’t necessarily have screened you out over it (because some people don’t actually hold firm to the salary requirements they list), but they should have raised it with you before moving forward.

Ideally, you would have responded in the moment when the interviewer named the lower figure and said something like, “Is there any flexibility on that number? That’s nearly $20K less than what I’m currently making; I’m not sure if you saw the salary requirement portion of my application.”

But that doesn’t mean you can’t raise it the next time you talk (presumably in this second interview). I’d do it then, though, because you don’t want to go through their whole process without raising it, and by the time they make you an offer, they may be annoyed that you didn’t speak up earlier if the range they told you was a deal-breaker. Don’t go with the “try to wow them and then negotiate once they make an offer” because they’re likely to be annoyed that you knew along that their range was too low for you and let them invest time in you anyway. (And yes, you can say the same of them; they shouldn’t have wasted your time at that first interview without addressing salary before having you come in.)

3. What the hell is a “learning lesson”?

About a year ago I switched from a support role in academia to one in a corporate environment. This was a huge cultural change, but there are many things that catch my attention and underscore the differences in these environments. Language and grammar is a big one.

The academic institution I worked for is large and prestigious; lots of smart people who work in science and get tricky grammar correct every time. Think: is “data” plural or singular? Answer: plural. Consequently, I notice when people are incorrect in their choice of phrase, grammar, or language. It is like a little bell going off in the back of my head.

I’ve noticed that the corporate environment is much more lax about these things. Which isn’t a huge problem, I do try to let a lot go…I’m not perfect myself. However, I have noticed that there is one specific thing that does bother me though, is the phrase “learning lesson,” which I hear a lot. It is used to describe a variety of “take aways,” lessons, or learning opportunities. I find “learning lesson” particularly galling and frankly I think it makes the speaker sound ignorant. My recently hired direct report has been using this phrase, though I have also heard it in several cases from people much higher in the organization. Am I missing something? Is this new business speak? Is there a way I can gently correct this, at least with my direct report?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard “learning lesson,” and yeah, it would gall me too. Being around a bunch of ridiculous corporate buzzwords is pretty unavoidable in certain fields, but you can ask your direct report to stop paining you with its use. I’d say this: “I know a bunch of people use ‘learning lesson’ here, but it drives me crazy since it’s so redundant. Humor me and use ‘lesson’ or ‘learning opportunity’ instead?”

4. My coworkers keep talking behind closed doors

I work in a satellite office about 20 minutes from headquarters. There are three of us (all young women 30 and under) in this office, one who runs this location and who is the overall leader/boss, another who I work closely with and who is above me slightly but I do not report to her, and then there’s me. I have been here for about three months. The other two like to gossip throughout the day. Frequently they will go into each other’s offices and close the door, or I will hear the one I work closely with talking to another friend/employee at the HQ location and she will close her door to talk to her.

I don’t know why. but this irks me deep down. I am new and still getting acquainted with the culture, and everyone else is extremely close at both offices. I cannot help but think since they’re shutting me out that it is about me or something to do with me. We all share multiple files and I have open access to view the HQ girls files anytime I want, so I do not think it is work-related. None of the girls who frequently chat and call each other within the company are involved in HR, so what could they possibly be talking about that I cannot hear? Am I being too sensitive?

Well, it’s pretty normal to feel excluded by this kind of thing — it can sting to be on the outside of obviously close relationships when there are only three of you — but unless you have reason to think they’re talking about you, I’d assume that they’re not. Lots of people close their doors when talking to avoid disturbing other people, and that’s especially true if it’s work-related. (In fact, if they didn’t close their doors, your letter could easily be about how annoying it is that your coworkers are always socializing in front of you while you’re trying to work!)

You’re new, so it’s normal that there are already established relationships in your office. Give it some time, and you’ll probably develop deeper relationships with them too. (If you like them, that is; if you don’t like them, it’s fine to just focus on your work and stick to being pleasant).

5. A client is ignoring my advice and the final product will be bad

We have a client who is asking for a video. I will be the camera person and video editor for this project. The client has ignored my advice on the video (they’re not scheduling enough time with the subjects, not providing a room with a suitable background, etc.). I’ve repeated my advice and explained why these things are important, but it is really out of my control. So the video is going to look bad, and my boss is going to see it. How do I explain the awkward situation to him without sounding like I’m making excuses?

Explain it now, before things go further: “I’m concerned about the ultimate quality of this video because of X and Y. It’s ultimately their call, but I’m concerned they won’t be happy with the final outcome. How much do we want to push them on this stuff?” (Or you could ask, “Can you give me some advice on how to navigate this?”

Ultimately, the answer is probably to tell the client, “I can do it the way you’re asking, but I want to make sure you understand the trade-offs are A and B so that you’re not surprised by that in the final product! Does that still sound like the way to go, or would you like to do X and Y instead?” But if this is the first time this kind of thing is coming up, get your boss in the loop about your you’re handling it.

 

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

1. The office snack basket is posing too much temptation

The boss has decided to have a snack basket in the office. She thinks this makes people happy. As soon as the basket is low, she purchases more candy, chocolate, potato chips, pretzels, and more. It appears the plan is to constantly replenish it. The problem is, it’s not really making us happy, but fat. Yes, we eat it — because it’s in our faces 24/7! But that doesn’t mean we want to be snacking all the time or that we feel good about ourselves when we do.

Some of us have expressed our trouble with will power, and she says she can’t have the basket in her office because she’d end up eating too much. Instead, it’s right in front of me. I’ve even told her I’m supposed to be on a diet and she obviously doesn’t care. She’s watching her own weight and resisting the urge to eat from the basket, and I feel miserable for caving in at least once every day (when I’ve been great at avoiding the vending machine all this time!) Do we press the issue? If so, how? Or is it simply our responsibility to resist 27/4 temptation?

If some people in your office want the snack basket, you can’t really ask that it be removed because you don’t want to be tempted; you can’t rain on your coworkers’ snack paradise just because you’re having trouble resisting. But if the vast majority of you want it gone, you could go talk to her as a group and say something like, “We appreciate you stocking this, but we’d strongly prefer not to have it here for health reasons. Would you be willing to remove it?”

If your sense is that she wants to provide something and would be willing to provide something different, you might suggest a weekly fruit delivery or something like that.

2. Shirt sizes for conferences

I’m being positioned as something of a thought leader in our teapot supplier’s niche market — speaking at conferences, consulting for their clients, etc. This is good experience for me, and good business for my company.

The problem? At an annual conference, we were provided shirts by the vendor to identify ourselves as teapot experts. I am a size 0, and despite providing my size in advance, I was given a men’s small. I looked like a kid who had borrowed dad’s clothes, particularly since I am young (in my mid-twenties) anyway.

I don’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill, and had planned to simply emphasize my need for a smaller size when asked for my size next year. However, it came up recently that I am expected to wear my current shirt at a teapot event next week. I appreciate the teapot vendor’s desire for branding, but I also want to look professional when meeting peers and prospective clients. I would prefer it if I could stick with my normal business casual clothing that fits properly.

Is there a way to handle this? Should I just show up dressed normally as if I forgot? Address it directly? Suck it up and wear the shirt? The vast majority of teapot experts are men, so I get why it’s easier to just order one sizing line, but I still feel self-conscious when wearing it.

“I’d love to wear it, but I was swimming in the one I was given because it was men’s-sized. If you can get me a women’s small before the event, I’d be glad to wear it.”

If they push back and you to wear the ill-fitting one, you say pleasantly, “Oh, I really need one sized for a woman or it just doesn’t look professional. I can wear normal business clothes though if it’s not doable by then.”

And yeah, it’s annoying when they default to men’s sizes, which aren’t just larger but are also cut differently.

3. Family business has unequal party practices

Many of the people who work for my company are related to each other and/or the CEO. For example, the CEO’s husband, son-in-law, two daughters-in-law, several cousins of the daughters-in-laws, the CEO’s ex-husband, and the ex’s new wife are all employees. Plus neighbors, children of the CEO’s friends, and other people who are married to each other or mother/daughter and brother/sister combos, etc.

Because of these relationships, there is a hierarchy of parties to celebrate milestone events. For employees who are in the “inner circle,” there are often catered affairs, BBQs, and potlucks for birthdays and showers, with numerous people chipping in for large gifts. For those not in the “inner circle,” there is nothing – no cards, no email, nothing. I would be okay with nothing if that was the norm for everyone, but I really hate the obvious inequality that these events represent.

As someone who works in the field, I come into the office only once or twice a week and have been able to avoid 99% of these parties. Those that I have participated in have been for people I have a close working relationship with and only because I couldn’t avoid them. However, they have recently scheduled a dual wedding shower for two employees on a day when I have to be at the office and I am getting a lot of pressure to pitch in for two gifts and a potluck contribution. I don’t work directly with these people. I know that when milestones in my life roll around, there will be no reciprocation. I don’t want to buy presents and food for people I don’t know. Am I being a petty jerk? Should I just suck it up and attend? Is there a way to avoid these showers if I am in the office? Is this situation as weird as I think it is?

That is obnoxious, and you’re not being a petty jerk; they’re being rude. And yes, the situation is as weird as you think it is.

I think you probably need to at least stop by the shower since you’re in the office that day and normally aren’t (unless you conveniently have a meeting or phone call scheduled then), but I think you can ignore the requests to contribute, especially as someone who’s out of the office most of the time. If you’re directly asked, just cheerfully say, “Oh, it’s not in my budget right now.”

If you have a good relationship with anyone in the inner circle, you might point out how alienating this practice is.

4. Including non-core duties on a resume

My question is about listing important/useful but non-core functions on a resume. For example, I’m responsible for health and safety in my office, the liaison with building maintenance for repairs, pest control, and climate system monitoring, and I’m also regularly lent out to our communications department for various writing and editing projects. Other examples might be things like coordinating charity drives or office socials, being part of strategic planning (when not in senior management), being responsible for purchasing, even acting as local tech support.

None of these is in my job description, but they’re all things that someone has got to do, and a person with experience or skills in them might be attractive to potential employers. Where would you set the bar for including these types of things or not, and should they be included along with the more core job roles, or set apart somehow?

I need to keep both a short resume and long CV, and I suspect the answer might vary depending on which we’re talking about.

The question to ask yourself for each item is, “What about this, if anything, makes me a stronger candidate by demonstrating skills relevant to the employer’s needs that I haven’t already strongly demonstrated somewhere else?”

Writing and editing is much more likely to qualify than climate system monitoring or coordinating office socials. It’s not that climate system monitoring or coordinating office socials aren’t useful, but they’re going to come across as low-skill and not especially important (sort of like writing “weekly vacuuming of office” — it’s good for someone to do it, but it’s not going to strengthen your candidacy). Writing and editing speak to more in-demand skills.

5. My alma mater’s career office is sending us bad job candidates

I graduated from law school in 2013 and, after a couple of short term positions, was hired at my dream job about a year ago. We’re now hiring two new entry level attorneys, and the standard practice for the office is to send the job posting to the local law schools, including my alma mater. When a student decides to apply, they send their materials to the career services office, who sends it along to my office.

I’ve been appointed to the resume reviewing committee for this round of hiring, so I’ve read all the applications that are coming in, and a few of the applications sent in by my alma mater’s career services office have been terrible! Egregious typos, incomplete sentences, obviously cut-and-pasted cover letters, and more. It’s made worse by the fact that the openings are for highly detail-oriented positions where editing and proofreading are a big part of the job.

I’m embarrassed that these candidates are coming from my alma mater in general, and even more embarrassed that the career services office is apparently sending the materials along without so much as a read-through. It’s reflecting poorly on the law school in general and doesn’t help future candidates from the school. Can I say something to the head of career services, or would that be inappropriate?

Yes, please tell them. A good career services head would want to know. They actively want feedback from employers, and you’d be doing students from your school a huge service.