should I interview candidates who show up without an appointment? by Alison Green on April 22, 2025 A reader asks: My small business has had a recurring discussion regarding taking meetings with job seekers when we don’t have an open position. Someone will reach out, either by stopping by our office without an appointment or just sending an inquiry by email, and ask if they can meet with someone. In the past, […] Read the full article →
should I hire back a bully? by Alison Green on April 14, 2025 A reader writes: About a year and a half ago, I was forced to lay off multiple employees. I was truly heartbroken to see most of them go. But there were two employees I swore I’d never hire back. They both did fairly decent work, but were bullies who fed off of one another’s bad […] Read the full article →
can I poach an employee from my mentor? by Alison Green on April 7, 2025 A reader writes: I am going to be leaving my company soon and starting my own business, and will need to hire support staff. One of the employees at my current company (Taylor) has told me she is looking for a new job. I find Taylor to be an excellent employee and I would be […] Read the full article →
were we wrong not to interview a volunteer for a paid job? by Alison Green on March 25, 2025 A reader writes: I would really love your opinion on how we handled this hiring process — and on the subsequent fallout. I work for a public library that has a very large volunteer base and a small paid staff. When we have a job opening, which is rare, volunteers are welcome to apply. We […] Read the full article →
what’s the deal with one-way recorded video interviews? by Alison Green on March 12, 2025 A reader writes: Over the past year, I’ve been applying for jobs and have been invited for some interviews. I’ve noticed that a few of the places that I’ve applied to responded to my application by requesting a pre-recorded video interview. I’m really put off by this practice. I would need to find the time […] Read the full article →
job applicants are hounding me on social media by Alison Green on March 11, 2025 A reader writes: I’m a recently appointed executive director who is hiring a number of people for newly created roles. In the past, I’ve hired but never had the overwhelming response I’m getting now. Much of it is coming through my personal channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and even my personal email. Our organization […] Read the full article →
how do you write an ad for a job that can be very unpleasant? by Alison Green on February 6, 2025 A reader writes: I was working on writing up a job ad today for temporary research assistants for a field biology project, and noticed trends in my ads and in others’. It’s common for early career employees applying to assistant or technician jobs to think that they want to do fieldwork and then quit in […] Read the full article →
job candidate says she would need to work for us secretly by Alison Green on November 13, 2024 A reader writes: We interviewed a candidate for a part-time position who had been out of our line of work for 10 years. I interviewed her because she had some other things on her resume that seemed really interesting (from a business she’s been running with a family member). Still, we are a quickly-changing industry […] Read the full article →
is it OK for job postings to require a “clean-cut appearance”? by Alison Green on October 17, 2024 A reader writes: There is a small family-owned butcher shop near me. They list job postings on their Facebook page, and I’ve noticed every time they post for counter staff, that they include “clean-cut” or “clean-cut appearance” in their list of requirements for applicants. I don’t believe this is specifically about food handling/sanitation requirements, since […] Read the full article →
how can I reject former coworkers applying for jobs with me? by Alison Green on October 17, 2024 A reader writes: Several past coworkers have reached out to me on LinkedIn asking about a job posting at my company. The only thing is … they don’t know that I am the hiring manager for the role, and they are under-qualified. I already know I would not hire them for the position. I have […] Read the full article →