April 2012

employee keeps tagging along on my smoke breaks

A reader writes: I am a manager of a mid-size team. The team has smokers and non-smokers, and unfortunately I am one of the smokers. I do make an effort to smoke less and my goal is to quit someday, but it has proven to be very difficult for me. One of my employees has […]

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my boss is asking whether I’m not interested in my job

A reader writes: I am currently facing an issue with my boss. When I make a mistake at work or don’t do a task perfectly, my boss has, on more than one occasion, brought this up in our conversation, asking, “Are you not interested in your work?” How can I explain to him in a […]

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mini answer Monday: 7 short questions, 7 short answers

It’s mini answer Monday! Today: you’re pregnant and making a lot of trips to the office bathroom, you want to appeal a job rejection, you sure as hell don’t want to help out a coworker, and more. Here we go… 1. Should I share resources with another department? I work for a nonprofit, educational institution. […]

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how to derail your job search

If you’re searching for a job, you face a hard enough market these days without making things even worse by sabotaging your own efforts. Here are eight ways that you might be derailing your job search without realizing it. 1. Not bothering to apply because you’re sure you won’t get the job. Sure, if it’s […]

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