how to survive an awful coworker and management that won’t act by Alison Green on January 25, 2012 I probably won’t have time to write a post today, so instead I’m posting this interesting letter from a reader about a frustrating situation with a coworker: There is a bad employee in my office. He has a long history of being shuffled from department to department, doing little to no work, but filing copious […] Read the full article →
tiny answer Tuesday: 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on January 24, 2012 It’s tiny answer Tuesday! We’ve got a reader whose boss wants her to write fake online reviews of their product, recruiters who want to know if you’re considering other offers, and more. Here we go… 1. Boss wants me to start cold calling and I don’t want to My boss wants me to start doing […] Read the full article →
how can I avoid my manager inviting my parents to dinner? by Alison Green on January 24, 2012 A reader writes: I recently accepted a job abroad. I’m newly out of college (and therefore young, and moving out from my parents’ house) and I got this job because my dad does business with my current manager. In a couple months, my parents are coming to visit me as sort of a spring break […] Read the full article →
another job search cliche that isn’t true: “looking for a job is a full-time job” by Alison Green on January 23, 2012 “Looking for a job is a full-time job.” No, it’s not. I don’t know why people say stuff like this. It’s one of those simplistic cliches that have ended up getting repeated over and over without being true. It’s a great way to mislead job-seekers about what an effective job search is really about. If […] Read the full article →
how to follow up on your job application by Alison Green on January 23, 2012 I probably get more questions about how to follow up on a job application or job interview than any other other topic … well, perhaps second only to “is what my employer doing legal?” questions. So I’ve rounded up the basics on follow-up: following up after you apply, following up after an interview, and following […] Read the full article →
how to be an awesome mentor by Alison Green on January 23, 2012 Being a mentor doesn’t need to be a formal arrangement. It can simply mean that you’ve decided to take someone less experienced than you under your wing and help them grow professionally. In fact, some of the best mentoring relationships develop naturally without ever being officially labeled. If you know someone who’s relatively inexperienced but […] Read the full article →
are you always at least partly to blame if you’re laid off? by Alison Green on January 22, 2012 A reader writes: I am currently job searching right now and through the local library have ran across a couple of books by Cynthia Shapiro, who is a well experienced HR manager herself. In one of her books, she gave some good ideas of how to be a good employee and ways companies could come […] Read the full article →
fast answer Friday: 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on January 20, 2012 It’s fast answer Friday! We’ve got a recent grad without enough references, a coworker badmouthing someone to their former employer, an employee asked to work as a secretary after being hired for a different job, and more. Here we go… 1. Is it ever okay to give a prospective employer a personal reference? Is it […] Read the full article →
the care and feeding of your interns by Alison Green on January 20, 2012 Have a new crop of spring semester interns starting work? Here are three tips for managing them effectively. 1. Recognize that your interns are working for no or little pay and find out what they’re hoping to get out of the experience – and then think about how you might be able to help them. […] Read the full article →
how long should I wait for a company to contact me for an interview? by Alison Green on January 19, 2012 A reader writes: After applying to a job, how long do companies usually wait before reviewing resumes to set up interviews? Twelve days ago, I applied to a job that fits me perfectly. It’s what I been doing throughout my career. I feel, based on my background, I should be called for an interview. If […] Read the full article →