April 2022

weekend open thread – April 30-May 1, 2022

This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: Secrets of Happiness, by Joan Silber. In a story told by six different narrators, a family finds out their father/husband has a second wife and two […]

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it’s your Friday good news

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I started a fantastic new position in August 2019 after a few years of trying to find the best place for me. I ended up with an amazing salary, good benefits, short commute, interesting and challenging work, great colleagues, and the best boss I’ve ever had. Seven months later, […]

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open thread – April 29-30, 2022

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

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was my interviewer in the wrong … or was I?

A reader writes: I was wondering if you could help enlighten me on an extremely odd situation I had and whether I was wrong in any way. A few months ago, I applied to an entry-level assistant/reception position for a large company. A third-party recruiter posted the listing, so he contacted me for an initial […]

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update: employee doesn’t want to use a name for themselves

Remember the letter-writer whose employee didn’t want to use a name for themselves? Here’s the update. Thank you to Alison and to all of the commenters. I read every comment and learned a lot. (One thing I learned was that you all have excellent literary and pop culture taste!) I took a lot of what […]

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is rudeness and hostility on the rise in your profession?

On last week’s post about the person whose clients have have started becoming abusive after she gives them feedback, several people wrote that they’ve been seeing the same change in their own professions: “I’ve been in retail over ten years and there has been behavior from people in the last few months I’ve never seen, […]

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what’s the best time to send rejection letters?

A reader writes: Is there a standard for when to send out rejection letters? I deal with a lot of hiring in my job and I usually know as soon as I review a resume or hold an interview whether or I’m going to reject someone, but I have always figured that people don’t want […]

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