why I don’t like “employee of the month” programs by Alison Green on June 18, 2008 A reader writes: What are your thoughts on Employee Recognition programs? Examples: Employee of the Month, Year, etc. We rely on feedback from peers/managers to “nominate” employees for Employee of the Month and lately have been getting very little participation in said program. The prize shouldn’t matter since the person “winning” doesn’t nominate himself! The […] Read the full article →
quitting after only six months by Alison Green on June 18, 2008 A reader writes: First I would just like to say I am a frequent visitor of your blog and have gleaned a lot of helpful information from it, so thank you. Secondly, I was wondering if you could provide some insight about the appropriate amount of time to stay at a job you dislike. I’ve […] Read the full article →
pre-planned vacation when job hunting by Alison Green on June 17, 2008 A reader writes: I was laid off without warning two weeks ago. Luckily, I have some interviews lined up. Trouble is, I was planning on going to a wedding around the July 4th holiday. The wedding is on the 6th, and it’s out of state, so I’d need the 7th off to travel. Is there […] Read the full article →
how to follow up after an interview by Alison Green on June 16, 2008 One of the most common questions I get asked is whether, when, and how to follow up after a job interview. Following up in some way is nearly essential — yes, you can get a job without it, but if you’re in competition with other top candidates, following up to reiterate your interest when the […] Read the full article →
should you play the sympathy card at work? by Alison Green on June 15, 2008 Liz Wolgemuth at U.S. News & World Report explores the question of whether you should play the sympathy card when asking for a raise. I’m quoted. Read the full article →
informational interviews by Alison Green on June 13, 2008 Public service announcement: “Informational interview” is not code for “sneaky way to get a job interview.” If you ask me for an informational interview and I tell you that my schedule is crammed right now but I’d be happy to answer any questions by email (since I can do that when I find 10 spare […] Read the full article →
company dragging its feet on hiring by Alison Green on June 12, 2008 A reader writes: I had an interview May 6th, which went well, and I was told by the hiring manager that she would like someone to start the first week in June and that I would hear the outcome by the next week. Two days later, HR called and asked me to come in for […] Read the full article →
10 ways to make your employees love you by Alison Green on June 9, 2008 Last week, I wrote about ways to make your boss love you. This week is a similar list for managers, offering ways to gain the respect and affection of your employees. Confining myself to 10 turned out to be hard—there are so many ways to manage badly and so many things that it’s important to do […] Read the full article →
granting and denying vacation requests by Alison Green on June 6, 2008 A reader writes: I’m a new supervisor of a small software team. I’m responsible for granting and denying vacation time. I often find myself in a situation where an employee would like to take a random day off… say Friday. They will often bring this to my attention the day before. Our workplace has generally […] Read the full article →
naming salary requirements by Alison Green on June 4, 2008 A reader writes: I’m interested in applying for a job that asks for my salary requirements to be stated in my cover letter. This feels like a loaded question: if I shoot too high, am I pricing myself out of a job? If I shoot too low, am I condemning myself to be underpaid? I […] Read the full article →