July 2020

it’s your Friday good news

It’s your Friday good news, with more accounts of success even in this weird time. 1. I just wanted to share a little good news and thank you for your blog. I’ve been reading Ask A Manager religiously since I was in college and I’m now almost 10 years into my career. As a new […]

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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 Washington Post about some employers’ increased monitoring of employees now that so many people are working from home. I talked to NPR about the same topic. I talked to Kiplinger about what protections you have if you don’t want to […]

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open thread – July 31-August 1, 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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how can I be less emotionally invested during my job search?

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I am about a year into my job search and it’s really wearing on me emotionally. I finished grad school about a year ago in a STEM-related (but not lucrative) field. I am trying to stay in the area where my partner lives and it […]

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companies that ask people to answer mini-essays before submitting resumes

A reader writes: In previous posts you have written that employers generally shouldn’t require applicants to do work (assessments, tests, what have you) at the very outset of the hiring process because that’s asking folks to dedicate time/effort when the majority of them won’t even get an interview. I agree with you wholeheartedly, but I’m […]

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updates: Joseph Stalin, sleeping during car rides, and more

Here are three updates from people who had their letters answered here in the past. 1. My manager named Joseph Stalin employee of the month I followed your advice, and mentioned without going higher than her that I thought the email was insensitive, and that I’d prefer to be excluded from similar emails should they […]

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