updates

It’s tiny answer Tuesday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. Can you be more frank with temp agencies than with regular interviewers?

Can you be any more frank when interviewing with temp agencies than you can with a regular employer? I understand that you still can’t say “OMG. My last company just stunk! It was a nightmare! People are crazy there!” My question is, where I can’t say “I left due to bad fit” to a traditional employer, is it generally OK to be a little more honest with an agency?

To a certain extent, but not as frank as you’d be with a friend. You don’t want to complain about past employers, obviously, but the type of thing you’re talking about is generally fine. And it can actually even be helpful, if it lets them place you somewhere that’s the right fit.

2. Coworker wears the same outfit every day

We have a member of our department who wears the very same clothes every day – not just the same “type” clothes but the actual clothes themselves. I understand some people may be struggling with money and I really don’t care what they wear but… A couple weeks ago I discovered that she wore something else to work, changed into her everyday outfit and changed back out of it at night, leaving it hung up in here cubicle overnight. OK, so I thought she’d take it home on the weekend to wash. Nope, she leaves it at work over the weekend, and the cycle of changing into it in the morning and out of it at night begins all over again.

My friend suggested that she might be homeless so I started feeling sorry for her but she’s such an obnoxious person otherwise, it’s difficult to deal with her on any level. My boss is the greatest boss ever and I don’t want to really discuss this with a man – what would be the best thing to do here?

This seems like a clear-cut case of Mind Your Own Business. It doesn’t sound like this is affecting you — you don’t mention a smell or other issue that would impact you. So I’d leave it alone and just not think about it.

3. Do I have to sign and scan in my cover letter when emailing it?

Do I have to sign and then scan the cover letter even when I am emailing the documents as an attachment, or the signature is only required when I am mailing via USPS (for example)? Also can the cover letter and resume be combined into one document or do I have to separate them?

Nope, you don’t need to sign and then scan the cover letter when you’re emailing it. (I actually think it’s kind of weird when people do that — like a misunderstanding of technology.) I’d do the cover letter and resume as separate documents, although some people put them all in one PDF.

4. How to answer “where do you see yourself in five years?”

I always have a hard time answering the question “where do you see yourself in five years?” I don’t have a clear answer for this as I hope to be somewhere doing a job I enjoy, that provides me enough to support my family and celebrate success as it comes. Do I hope it’s with the same employer? Absolutely — I am after a career not just a “job.” Does it hurt me in the interview process when I don’t have a clear defined response to this?

They’re trying to get a sense of what your longer-term goals might be: Are you hoping to move into management, get more experience doing XYZ, change fields altogether, etc.? But it’s fine to say what you said here: You’d like to be with the same employer, having increasing successes and (if you want this) increasing responsibilities.

5. Applying for multiple jobs at the same company

My dilemma is applying for multiple jobs at the same company. I have 15+ years of experience and my last professional position afforded me a multitude of responsibilities all wrapped up into one position: B2B sales, project management, client relations and operational collaboration. Today there are two great jobs open at the same great company and actually in my geographical area (three shocking facts). One is a sales job, one is a client services management job. I believe I’m qualified for both and have good projects and sales numbers to back up a valid resume for either position. However, I thought I have read that this is detrimental for the applicant, as HR deems the applicant as desperate, willing to apply for anything, or unsure of their chosen career direction. For me, I would be happy in either type of role, as both have overlap and are multi-faceted.

So do I have to pick one and go for it, or is it valid to apply for both? I thought about addressing such in a cover letter, but a) I don’t want to reference Job B in my application to Job A and b) it may be overlooked anyway depending on the recruiter assigned to the position(s)….just thinking that idea may backfire in some way.

It’s true that you don’t want to appear to be taking a scattershot approach to your job search, applying for everything you see, but if you’re clearly qualified for both, you shouldn’t need to worry about that. You can either do one cover letter for both jobs, explaining why you’re interested in both, or you can do separate cover letters (and separate applications). If you do the latter, mention in each cover letter that you’re also applying for the other position so that it’s clear you realize it and so that you can explain why you’re doing it. (And this is definitely a time for very tailored cover letters, rather than something generic.) Good luck!

6. Is my lack of experience hurting me?

Last year, I graduated from a Medical Billing and Coding program, I made a 4.0 GPA, I had attendance awards the whole nine yards. As part of the curriculum I had to complete a 160 hour externship, which I did and even got a letter of recommendation out of it. Then I went and got my Certified Professional Coder certification. I’ve had several interviews since but no one is hiring me. The last interview I had I thought for sure I had it. I felt like she was giving me all the cues, it seemed like a perfect fit. She even told me that much experience wasn’t necessary, that they like their employees to come to them with a clean slate.

I’ve only had one paying job at McDonalds in 2008 during high school. I’ve been going to school at community colleges around the area since graduation high school. So my question is: is it my lack of work experience that’s hurting me?

Possibly. It’s a very competitive job market out there, and even highly experienced candidates are finding it hard to find work. You might consider temping, volunteering, or finding other ways to get experience to put on your resume.

7. Can you tell employers you’re leaving your job because of lack of opportunity?

Can you be honest with a prospective employer if you are leaving due to lack of movement or opportunity? The company for which I work does not allow any movement for administrative staff. We are not generally given promotions or even allowed to transfer. (They hire temps instead when there is an admin opening. Nice, huh?) The “skills training” they give us is pitiful. Our jobs tend to be the same, month after month, year after year. There just is no movement, so I feel my skills are stagnating. I do side projects that keep my skills fresh, but it’s not happening at work, and that is a huge part of the reason I want to leave. Is it OK to be honest with prospective employers if you are leaving for this reason? If not, what would you say instead?

Absolutely. Say something like this: “For the role I’m in, there’s no room for advancement or increased responsibilities, and I’m really hoping to take on ___.”

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It’s terse answer Thursday! And I have to say, as much as I enjoyed December’s many updates and best-of and worst-of lists, I’m glad to be back to regular posts.

Here we’ve got seven short questions and seven very short answers…

1. Using notes when talking with an employee about her performance

I have an employee whom I need to speak with about her behavior. I made a list and a short “speech” of sorts about what I want to say to this employee when I meet with her (not an exhaustive list, just key points I want to remember). Is it okay to refer to it (or perhaps even read a bit of it aloud) when I’m talking to the employee, or will this come off as being unprepared and reliant on my notes? I don’t want to forget anything, but don’t want to come off as incompetent either.

Don’t read it like a speech because that will be weird. But you absolutely can have a bulleted list that you consult so that you make sure that you hit all the points you want to hit. And as silly as this might sound, practice it beforehand so that you feel more comfortable and are more prepared in the conversation itself. You should also think about what she might say in response and how you’ll respond to that, so that you’re not caught off guard.

2. I have to give a report on why my boss should be happy I work for him

My boss is becoming increasingly harder to work with, and this recent episode is a prime example. I received an email yesterday stating that the members of my department (there are only 2 of us) have to give him a weekly report on the topic of his choosing. This one is “Why should (insert boss’s name) be happy I (myself) work here?” This is completely unrelated to my job. Any suggestions?

Look for another job? Your boss is either a loon or an ass, or both.

You could also ask him — nicely and without being confrontational — why he’s assigned you this. Does he have concerns about your performance? Etc.

3. Am I supposed to know the exact start/end dates of every job I’ve ever had?

In going over my LinkedIn and updating it, I realize that I’ve got a fuzzy memory in the middle years of my employment so far. I’ve had five or six different jobs between graduating college and now, and I can’t remember the exact start dates/ end dates for some of them. The main problem is that I had three positions in the same company (although in totally different departments doing totally different things) over the course of the three years I worked there, and one of them was part-time and was done before/in between the other two.

Should I start calling people and nailing down dates, or is fuzzy logic okay? I used this fuzzy logic when reporting to my current company for a background check and employment inquiry and everything came back fine.

Most people don’t remember precise dates, and you’re not expected to, although it’s good if you can get the specific month right.

4. Writing a letter to my new boss about how excited I am

I just recently got an internship position with an engineering company. I will be starting within the next two weeks and I want to write a letter to my supervisor before I start saying that I look forward to working with him. I was wondering if this is a common thing to do. And if it is, is there a certain way I should go about doing this and what should be included in this type of letter? Please let me know. Thanks.

Send a quick email, but not a lengthy letter. It’s common to say something like, “I’m really excited to start working and am looking forward to my first day,” but not a long monologue beyond that.

5. How to best use Glassdoor

There’s a resource that I’m not sure how to make the best use of: Glassdoor. The company reviews are all written by employees. Glassdoor tries to obtain objective responses by asking folks to report on both pluses and minuses at these companies, which helps. But I’m not sure how to filter what I’m reading, which is (understandably) quite biased. I guess I was curious what you’d do with the info in Glassdoor if you were a job hunter looking for a company to work for.

A couple of caveats about Glassdoor: You don’t often find smaller employers on it, and people tend to be more motivated to write reviews when they’re unhappy. And you don’t know anything about the sources; they could be disgruntled because they’re being coached out for low performance, for all you know. (I’m definitely not saying that’s always the case, but the problem is that you don’t know when it is and when it isn’t.) It’s still worth looking at, but take it all with some skepticism. It’s one data point, but you should collect many, many more.

6. How experienced do you have to be to be called “senior”?

My current employer has strict rules regarding the “senior” label (at least 20 years of experience). I only have a little bit more than 10 years so i don’t classify as Senior yet. I noticed that some places require 5 or 7 years of experience for my same position but as Senior, so i wonder if there’s a standard regarding this subject and my employer is just a special case. How many years of experience should someone have to be classified as Senior?

Totally depends on the job and the employer. There’s no one standard.

7. How to develop and motivate employees

Many (most?) of your posts are about dealing with problem employees. I really appreciate this advice and it has helped me with some of my issues. But I could really use more help in developing my staff into a cohesive, happy, productive team. They are all great people with good attitudes, good work ethic, and a lot of potential. I want to know more about what I can do to motivate them, push them to do great things, and retain them longer in the organization (they are just starting their careers and looking for opportunities).

The quick answer: Give people meaningful roles with real responsibility, give them clear goals and the resources to achieve them, hold them and yourself to high standards, offer candid and direct feedback about what is and isn’t working, and treat them as well as possible.

The longer answer: I don’t usually fall back on “read my book,” but in this case, I’d also suggest the chapter on developing people in my book on good management (second edition to be published by Jossey-Bass in the spring!), because it goes into lots of detail about how to do this. Oh, and read this post on mentoring too.

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We have a late-breaking update!  This is from the reader who didn’t want her coworkers to know that she was “living off of cupcakes from the employee kitchen.”  She was struggling financially and couldn’t afford meals, let alone new clothes, when her employer changed its casual dress code to one that prohibited jeans … and started requiring a $5 “donation” for every violation.  Her three pairs of pants were all jeans.

She wasn’t asking for any help other than advice, but lots of readers asked for her address so that they could send her pants and other help. Here’s her update:

Sorry it took so long to respond; I’ve been in the long process of moving to a cheaper place.

First of all, to address the original poverty-inflicted jeans issue. I ended up confiding in another co-worker prior to discussing the situation with my supervisor. My co-worker was very sympathetic and secretly pre-paid for all my jeans-wearing days. I did talk with my supervisor about it afterwards because I felt it was the right thing to do in case anyone else in the office was in a similar situation. But I was covered for the month that the fundraiser was in effect.

I was completely overwhelmed with the generosity of complete strangers after you posted my question. I really hadn’t expected even to get posted much less the outpouring of response. I received several monetary and pants gifts from Ask a Manager readers across Canada and the U.S., as well as a ton of thoughtful letters and Christmas cards which I will save. I don’t think I can overemphasize how amazing it was to feel the support of so many nice people; it had a huge impact on my life. Thanks to the kindness of your readers, I was able to collect enough clothes for at least the next two years. I also was able to buy a few Christmas presents for my son and replace a few household items I had left behind, as well as actually eat nutritious meals for two months! It was the best Christmas I have had in years.

I made some financial adjustments to cut back on any expenses wherever I could and I’m now able to make ends meet. It will be a tough year, but I’ve decided to go back to school next year to improve my career outlook and ensure I can provide for my child, so I am taking on extra employment and freelance where I can get it to save up. I am looking forward to the day when I can pay forward all the kindness I received.

Thank you all!

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Here’s our final “where are they now?” update. I’ve really loved reading all these updates — thank you to everyone who sent them in!

Back in April, a reader asked about whether it was feasible to move to her dream job while still continuing to work on projects for her old employer, who she didn’t want to leave in the lurch. Here’s her update:

I did apply for the “dream job,” but didn’t even get a call. I may not have been as qualified as I thought, or I might have made a bad judgment call with what to highlight in my cover letter, or (the organization has been known to do this) it may have always been slated for an internal applicant, but advertised externally only as a matter of policy.

The good news: I followed through with my engagement for my current job and had an amazing experience. Shortly before that engagement, I received a minor promotion that essentially formalized some of the extra duties I’d already taken on. I’ve always loved my job, but now I’m more excited about it than ever. With the exception of some of the usual politics and frustrations that go along with any office environment, I couldn’t be happier. I’m an ambitious and driven person, so if I find that I’ve gone as far as I can with the company I’ll move on, but I don’t think that’s the case right now and I hope it won’t be for a good, long time. It’s a larger organization where, if I can continue to stand out, there should be plenty of “up” left.

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This update is from the reader who was going through a divorce and was worried about how to talk to his boss about the impact that the associated emotional and financial stress was having on his performance. His update is in two parts — one update a few weeks after his letter ran (back in September 2010), and another one from this month. Here’s the first part:

After you wrote to ask me, ”So why are you still driving your wife to work?”, I thought, “Yeah, why?” and came to the realization that there was only one weak pro (it’s a nice thing to do), and many strong cons (it’s costing me in gas money and parking, I’m on her schedule both leaving the house and leaving work, and I also can’t take part in the occasional end of the day beer with colleagues). So I told my wife I wouldn’t be doing it anymore, unless I was already driving in. (Parking’s $12-$15/day; taking transit is $5/day; and biking in is free.)

I communicated my marital situation, as well as the decision to commute by myself, to my team lead and the director of development during my review, and it was received positively. They also recommended I talk with the Manager of HR, so a few days later I sat down and told her the whole sad story. She listened patiently, empathized, and then reassured me that no one had come to her and said, “He’s not doing his job (and we should think about moving him out).”

I’ve also cut way back on idle time activities: I check my personal email first thing, at lunch time, and once in the afternoon if I remember it.

So, I’m now commuting on my own schedule, management and HR are aware of the stress that I’m under, and I’m in a better situation than I was three weeks ago. Thanks again for your feedback and assistance.

And here’s part two, from just this month:

I really enjoyed reading the Where Are They Now updates, because it concludes the story arc — we hear about the problem, we read your suggested approach, then we’re on tenterhooks wondering how it all turned out. It’s very satisfying to read these updates.

After writing to you with my update last year, I had my end-of-year review / bonus announcement. At the end of my first year I received a 10% bonus, and the following year (during the financial meltdown) just 5%. This year, the Head of Engineering looked at the numbers, then said bluntly, “You’re getting no bonus this year. How do you feel about that?” I mumbled something about having had a difficult year, but just didn’t have the heart to go through all of the excellent technical things that I’d done.

My ex-wife and I continued our negotiations during the winter, then she was terminated from her job in the spring, and moved out shortly afterwards. This removed a major stress in my life, and also helped make my new dating life a little easier. (Yes, dating! Who knew it could be such fun!)

At work, I still felt like I had a cloud hanging over my head, and after getting no feedback from my team lead (a personal friend of mine) since my review at the end of the year, in May I was brought into a meeting where I was handed a You’re Doing Very Badly letter, signed by him (my lawyer was almost positive it had been drawn up by a lawyer when she saw it).

I tried to hang in there long enough to get re-financing completed on the house, and I worked even harder after that, but was let go at the end of July. Interestingly, they let me keep my security pass so I could return to the office later and pick up my stuff — unsupervised. I heard that there were quite a few people that were shocked to hear I’d been let go — but, as the employment lawyer told me, the die was cast by the time I’d received the letter.

My team lead left the company about a month later.

So, after a very busy few months looking for work (and doing renovations and cleaning up to sell the house), I finally got a short contract in mid-October. I just got word today that my contract was being extended indefinitely. I’m hoping the indefinite contract will let me re-finance, settle with my wife and keep my house.

Oh, and as a postscript, I recently heard that one of team members (a great guy) was resigning from this employer. Too late, management realized that they couldn’t afford to lose him. They suggested that he was in line for a substantial raise, which he found a little incredible (his reviews up until then had been below average). I don’t think their arguments are working.

I’m a little sad about how it’s all gone for this employer — it could have been a great place to work, but their feedback and retention skills are the worst.

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Back in February, a reader wrote in wondering how to avoid inadvertently accepting a job that would expect him to work ridiculously long hours. Here the update:

The contract-to-hire job I was working at the time of my email ended abruptly when I turned down the offer to go full-time. Initially they asked me to extend my contract and keep thinking about it instead of saying no. I was fine with that but was also honest that I probably wouldn’t change my mind. When layoffs were announced a week later, I was an obvious candidate. They gave me an on-the-spot ultimatum and I said no thanks. I have an emergency fund, reasonably-priced COBRA payments (from the previous job) and no debt so it didn’t phase me one bit.

I took a month off and visited friends, worked on some projects and basically slept a lot. I then made my Dice profile visible again and eased into the job hunt (meaning I clicked the visible box and went back to sleep). Two days later, I got a call from a Fortune 500 company in the city where I had been trying to relocate for a job that matched me perfectly. They needed somebody immediately, as in a very brief phone interview at 10 AM Friday, offer at noon and start on Monday.

I figured I would roll the dice since it would allow me to relocate, the money was good and the company would look good on my resume. I didn’t even ask about hours or being on-call. I thought about it but figured it would be more appropriate to wait until the second interview (that never happened). It turns out everyone leaves around 5 PM every day, always takes lunch and there is NO on-call. I stayed until 5:30 one evening because I was in the middle of a problem. A manager actually walked past my desk and asked, “burning the midnight oil?”  Seriously? It’s 5:30!!

I wish I had could say I had a plan others could follow but all I can say is sometimes things work out for the best. I guess the only lesson I learned is that it never would have happened if I didn’t stick to my guns and turn down the job I hated. That’s a tough lesson to pass on to others in this economy.

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We’re getting to the end of the “where are they now” updates from this year. There are just a few more coming.

Remember the reader whose manager wouldn’t let him take an internal promotion? Here’s his update:

I finally sent a follow-up email with all of the previous (few weeks of no response) emails to HR, and the bosses. After a day of silence and a weekend, I received a call the next Monday from the director, who said, “What can we do to keep you, we screwed up and your management didn’t handle this very well.”

The next day I was informed I would be allowed to take the job with a 2-month transition period.

I have been in my new position for a while now and feel like I’m in a great position. No one really even remembers the whole incident. I guess its more of a game of negotiations, what can we get away with. My new manager tells me I’m an asset to his team (he might tell everyone that) and I still help other teams with difficulties in their jobs. My old manager told me just the other day that it was the right move for my career.

Taking the risk to confront the management on their decision was difficult as I didn’t want to be labeled as I have heard people talk about at other jobs. It was probably one of my best career decisions and I’ll be better positioned for my future. Thank you to all who posted, even though some of it wasn’t very positive, i.e. “that’s how it works, there is nothing you can do.” I feel like the only thing you can’t do is what you tell yourself you can’t do. It may not happen this time or at this place, but accepting someone else defining my future is not something I can live with.

Thank you for your great site. It helped me challenge my position and move in the right direction!

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Remember the reader whose disgusting boss was fixated on her (perfectly normal) weight, constantly making jokes about anorexia? Here’s her (even more disturbing) update:

I can’t believe how many people responded to that post. I was actually reading through the comments again today! The reader comments really gave me the strength I needed to pull through the past few months. I was relieved to hear that other people think he is in the wrong and I’m not just being a “sensitive girl.”

My story is pretty much the same. My boss is still a major jerk and my log of inappropriate remarks continues to grow. As a matter of fact he just reminded me again today that I’m “only a girl and he doesn’t expect much out of me.”

And instead calling me by my name or a shorter version, he now calls me “Teen Angel.” He just blurted it out one day and has called me it ever since. I don’t even know what it means! He seems to have a real tough time dealing with being middle-aged and holds a grudge towards younger people. He often reminds me that I am just a young girl with no clue. I am thinking that is where the “teen” part of the nickname came from. As far as “angel,” I have no idea. It actually makes me uncomfortable because I think he is a borderline pervert.

A few weeks ago, I was told that I am not to go to lunch with my male coworkers because he “knows what it looks like to other people.” What? I admit it, I am sort of a tom boy. I choose to use profanity quite a bit and the only other female co-worker is a drama queen who just wants to talk about her broken marriage. So yeah, I hang with the guys more, even outside of work. My boss said, “I know what I would be thinking if I were out to lunch with a 20-something-year-old girl.” Gross! Plus he always mentions that him and I can’t go out to job sites together because “he knows what others are thinking when they see an middle aged man in a Mercedes with a young girl.” I am 100% ok with that. I would rather not go anywhere with him.

The crazy thing about my boss is that he knows he is completely inappropriate and always says something along the lines of “you can add that to your formal complaint.” I am thinking that our company’s HR lady tipped him off after I broke down in her office a few months ago. She empathized with me and shared some horrific things that have been said to her about her weight (she is a heavier set woman). She also mentioned that one of the four business owners, who all happen to be brothers, was looking into offering free counseling for their employees because they know how difficult it is to work for them.

Finding a new job has become a part time job for me. I am planning to move out west, but I am convinced finding a job in a different city is almost impossible! I just reached my personal goal of keeping my head up until I received my Christmas bonus…I think I earned it! Now I feel like I can walk away at anytime and be fine with that decision. I plan to leave respectfully with proper notice. As much as I want to tell my boss what a nut job he is, I will keep it to myself.

Me again. I’ve generally been printing these updates without comment, but I can’t let this one go without saying: You need to lay down the law with this guy. The next time he makes one of these remarks, directly and firmly say to him, “You need to stop speaking to me like that.”  When he calls you an inappropriate nickname, say, “That’s inappropriate and I don’t want to be called that ever again. Please call me by my name.”  When he comments on “what people will be thinking” when you have lunch with men, say, “Who I spend time with is my business. I don’t want to hear any further comments related to my gender.” You want to say all of this in a serious, assertive tone — no toning it down with smiles or friendliness. When he tries to joke it off and tell you that you’re just “a young girl,” say, “My gender is absolutely irrelevant in the workplace,” and suggest he read up on the EEOC.

You need to send him a message that you’re going to stand up for yourself and that his wildly inappropriate behavior will need to find another target. This guy sounds like a bully who will back down if you refuse to accept his comments.

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