June 2011

boss is angry that I missed a meeting for a medical emergency

A reader writes: I have worked for my present company for 6 years and my current boss, who is the current Chief Executive Officer, for the last 5.  A month ago, I had to have emergency dental surgery. My office generally has a very liberal leave policy for salaried employees and this normally would not […]

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employee made a homophobic remark during job interview

A reader writes: I went to an interview today at a very small insurance company. Everything was going great until I spent some time with one of the account managers I was going to be working with. She made a comment about her daughter playing softball and went on to say “but she’s not a […]

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asking about salary freeze at an all-employee meeting

I’m really testing you guys today on how many posts you can tolerate from me in a single day, but the answer to this one is short. A reader writes: The company I work for has about 200 employees and is part of a larger corporation. Merit raises for everyone have been on hold since […]

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it’s time for a job-seekers’ bill of rights

As the job market continues to favor employers, job-seekers are increasingly reporting poor treatment from employers – from employers who never show up for scheduled interviews to inappropriate demands for private information in online job applications. Employers may feel that they don’t have to pay much attention to the candidate experience in such a flooded […]

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what to do when you’re overworked

I’m quoted in this article on what to do when you’re overworked, making the obnoxious but true point that sometimes the problem is you. Stop playing on Facebook! Once I got that out of the way, though, I offered up some tips on what to do if the problem is really the workload.

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short answer Sunday: 6 short answers to 6 short questions

It’s once again short answer Sunday, with another six short answers to six short questions. Thank-you gifts when an internship ends My summer internship is ending in a month, and I am having trouble thinking of appropriate thank you gifts. The team I work with has six individuals who have all taught me a lot, […]

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what’s the deal with informational interviews?

A reader writes: Would it be OK for me to contact a college alum who is in a senior-level position at a company I’m interested in working for AFTER I apply for a job at the company (e.g. to ask if s/he could personally consider my resume and/or if s/he knows of a job that […]

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4 words to remove from your resume

“References available upon request.” Do you have this line on the bottom of your resume? If you do, go delete it. Believe me, no one is concerned that you might refuse to provide references upon request. It’s assumed that you will. It’s like saying “phone calls returned upon request.” You have that line there because […]

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