April 2020

weekend free-for-all – April 25-26, 2020

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 Inn at Lake Devine, by Elinor Lipman. A Jewish teenager in the ’60s begins a decades-long fixation on a Vermont inn and the […]

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Ask a Manager in the media

Here’s some coverage of Ask a Manager in the media recently: I talked to the Los Angeles Times about how to socially distance politely. I talked to the BBC about how advice-giving has changed because of coronavirus. I talked to USA Today about why employers need to change their expectations of employees right now. I […]

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more success stories

More good news people have written in to share recently: 1.  You asked for good news, so I thought I’d share: after years of trying and even a career change to become a better applicant, I finally got a job with my “dream organization.” It’s common to take many tries to get a position there, […]

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open thread – April 24-25, 2020

It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything work-related that you want to talk about. If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. * If you submitted […]

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where are you now? (a call for updates)

We clearly need a special mid-year updates extravaganza to distract us from Things. So: If you’ve had your question answered here in the past, please email me an update and let us know how your situation turned out. Did you take the advice? Did you not take the advice? What happened? How’s your situation now?  (Don’t post your […]

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is it a bad idea to work for a first-time manager?

A reader writes: I need help in assessing the pros and cons of going to work for someone with no experience managing direct reports. I’m currently employed with an organization where layoffs are looming in the near future, and I have started looking for a position with a hopefully more stable company. I have over […]

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how can suddenly remote teams keep functioning well?

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: Like many others, I am now managing a team that is fully work-from-home. I have a team of seven and we are typically dispersed across three cities anyway, but I’m stuck as to how to keep them feeling engaged / connected when they aren’t going […]

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