business contacts say they want to ask my opinion, but it’s really a sales pitch by Alison Green on June 27, 2017 A reader writes: Your post last week about informational interviews made me realize I have a similar question. I’m a mid-career professional, and while I do sometimes get requests for the type of informational interview that that post was about, more often I get asked for a different type: the request for a phone conversation […] Read the full article →
my work habits are going to get me fired by Alison Green on June 27, 2017 A reader writes: I started a new contract two months ago. The projects are exciting, the team is inspiring, and I am doing a terrible job. It takes me two or three times as long as expected to perform simple tasks (like drafting documents that are standard in our field or corresponding with colleagues in […] Read the full article →
my spouse and I want to be a cam couple by Alison Green on June 27, 2017 A reader writes: My husband and I are 30 years old and last year we made $70,000 together (his wage about $20,000 and my salary about $50,000). We are working class folk who clawed our way to this earning power (he supported me for six years and I obtained my BS and MSW, and finally […] Read the full article →
my boss doesn’t like my maternity clothes, employee wears a blanket for sun protection, and more by Alison Green on June 27, 2017 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager doesn’t like my maternity clothes I am 30 weeks pregnant with my first child and having some difficulty with my boss over maternity clothes. I work in finance and my office has a particularly conservative dress. Pre-pregnancy, I generally wore a sheath dress, […] Read the full article →
my husband can’t work because of his boss’s chemo by Alison Green on June 26, 2017 A reader writes: I have a professional-type job with all the protections that brings, such as health insurance, paid sick leave, etc. My husband is an hourly wage slave for a very small (like, five people) family-owned company and he is the only employee who works in his particular capacity. There are no benefits and […] Read the full article →
how to prepare for 5 questions you’ll be asked at your next interview by Alison Green on June 26, 2017 If you have a job interview coming up, preparing for the questions you’re most likely to be asked can make a huge difference in how well you do. Of course, you can’t predict with perfect certainty what you’ll be asked, but some questions are so common that you’d be foolish not to prep your answers […] Read the full article →
I have to fire a highly inept summer intern by Alison Green on June 26, 2017 A reader writes: Every year the company I work for hires some college students for a three-month internship over the summer. It’s been one month and one of the interns is just not working out. He is not a jerky or malicious person, but he is an annoyance and is a complete hindrance to anyone […] Read the full article →
should I talk to a coworker about how she dresses, I live with my bosses, and more by Alison Green on June 26, 2017 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Coworkers want me to talk to another coworker about how she dresses I am in a very awkward position. Two housekeepers approached me about my coworker because they think her attire is inappropriate. Another colleague made a comment to me a few days ago saying, […] Read the full article →
weekend free-for-all – June 24-25, 2017 by Alison Green on June 24, 2017 This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. (This one is truly no work and no school.) Book recommendation of the week: The Heirs, by Susan Rieger. A family drama with money and scandals that everyone is surprisingly chill about. One review I saw called it […] Read the full article →
my biggest client is a jerk by Alison Green on June 23, 2017 A reader writes: I own a small advertising firm with one big client. The new exec we work with at that company is a bully, micromanaging our work and using abusive language when dealing with us. We had a wonderful relationship with previous managers – this is the first time this has happened. I know […] Read the full article →