September 2011

fired for not replacing the milk?

I’m curious to know what you guys think of this email, which was sent by Keith Zakheim, CEO of Beckerman PR, to his whole staff. (The story is courtesy of Gawker.)  He’s fed up with no one replacing the milk in the office kitchen when they use it all up, and he’s going to fire […]

Read the full article →

cc’ing supervisors when you email your coworkers

A reader writes: I work in a professional school within a very large private university. Our campus is home to several schools, and a number of facility-type departments (IT, buildings & grounds, etc.) are shared between the different schools. A colleague of mine had been trying repeatedly to contact one of these departments to set […]

Read the full article →

more things that don’t belong on your resume

More things that don’t belong on your resume: * the name of your junior high school * the names of your children and their years of birth * an objective like this: “to obtain a position where I can leverage my skills, knowledge and experience to use proven methodologies for the successful implementation of project […]

Read the full article →

a request from me to you

Remember when I told you that I’ve been doing some pro bono work for Natasha’s Justice Project, which is working to end the backlog of rape kits? Quick refresher: Nationwide, an estimated 180,00 rape kits are backlogged — sitting on shelves unprocessed, for lack of money and/or will. That’s 180,000 rape victims who went through an […]

Read the full article →

say “I” — not “we” — in your interviews

This is getting discussed in the comments on a previous post, and the point is important enough to draw it out separately here: When you’re talking into an interview about projects you’ve done previously, if you say “we did this” and “we did that,” it will not be at all clear to your interviewer what […]

Read the full article →

behavioral interview questions, demystified

Behavioral interview questions: Do you dread them? Do you seize up with anxiety when an interviewer starts a question with, “Tell me about a time when you…”? I am here to tell you that behavioral interview questions are your friend. They’re a chance to actually show the interviewer how and why you are awesome. But […]

Read the full article →

my mentor blocked me from a career opportunity

A reader writes: Susan is a marketing executive I have worked with for 3 years. She is not my boss, but I help her with the occasional project and consider her a mentor, someone I confide in and discuss career aspirations with (I’m an administrative assistant and would love to get into marketing). We both […]

Read the full article →

earn cash by introducing your friends to Ask a Manager

Are you a fan of my job searching advice? Are you a fan of cash?  Now you can combine the two! What: Encourage your friends, blog readers, and social network followers to check out my e-book, How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager. If they purchase a copy, you’ll get a 40% […]

Read the full article →

how to deal with an employee who takes too much sick leave

A reader writes: I am a relatively new manager, and would love your help. I have an employee who, in my opinion, has a sick time problem. Or, alternatively, my workplace has a sick time problem. Our work environment is such that my employee not showing up for work means someone else needs to carry […]

Read the full article →

can I apply for jobs anonymously?

A reader writes: I am writing to inquire about anonymous CVs—whether they can be used with the right impact and shield the privacy. I am a job seeker with no network in a new town, and what’s most stopping me and burning my “energy” during the search is the feeling of exposing myself blindly to […]

Read the full article →