after I hired someone, a mutual friend told me I’d made a huge mistake by Alison Green on April 20, 2023 A reader writes: I made a pretty big hiring mistake and I’m not really sure how to proceed. I recently hired a new employee — let’s call him Julian — for a fairly niche role within my company. Julian’s background aligned well with the role, all communication was timely and professional, he gave polished first […] Read the full article →
how can I hire good people to work in a dysfunctional organization? by Alison Green on March 13, 2023 A reader writes: My small organization is currently in transition. We have had significant staff turnover in the last two years, and the result has pushed the organization into a level of dysfunction that I know will drive many good quality candidates away. However, I still have to hire people (I have two positions currently […] Read the full article →
when I offered someone a job, her dad got on the phone with questions by Alison Green on February 14, 2023 A reader writes: We recently hired a new grad, Jane. As my colleague, Sally, was making the verbal offer over the phone, she asked Jane if she had any questions. Jane replied, “No, but my father does.” Then, Jane’s father took the phone and started asking Sally questions about the offer! The questions ranged from […] Read the full article →
job applicant keeps asking for another chance by Alison Green on January 30, 2023 A reader writes: How would you respond to a candidate who continues to ask for an opportunity after you’ve rejected them? This candidate was screened out and we sent them a message about finding a strong group of candidates and moving in a different direction, and we did tell them that we’d keep their resume […] Read the full article →
how to answer when a job candidate asks, “how did I do?” by Alison Green on January 18, 2023 A reader writes: Lately at the end of interviews, I’ve had people asking me how they did in the interview. Everyone who has asked me this question hasn’t done very well. I think it’s a really awkward question that puts the interviewer on the spot. What’s your take? What’s the best way to respond to […] Read the full article →
can I hold a job applicant’s proselytizing email signature against them? by Alison Green on January 4, 2023 A reader writes: I’m curious about your thoughts on a situation that I encountered recently. I conducted an initial interview with a candidate for a part-time position whose email address and signature caught my attention. The email came from an explicitly religious domain — think Name@JesusSaves.com or Name@ChristDiedForYou.com. A little research revealed that this address […] Read the full article →
how many interviews are too many? by Alison Green on October 10, 2022 A reader writes: I’ve seen a lot of questions on your site about interviewees who feel that the interview process is too lengthy or burdensome, which got me thinking about my practices as a hiring manager and how many interviews will scare off strong candidates. This 2016 letter writer from the archives was subjected to […] Read the full article →
I don’t want to interview a candidate who took 5 days to respond by Alison Green on September 26, 2022 A reader writes: We posted a job opening on Indeed and emailed a potential candidate to send us days and times available for an interview. We did not hear from this candidate for five days! This is not acceptable to us as prompt communication is essential in our line of work. There was no explanation […] Read the full article →
should we hire a candidate who talked non-stop? by Alison Green on September 21, 2022 A reader writes: We’re hiring for a candidate to fill in for me while I’m on maternity leave. The strongest candidate we’ve had so far has a great resume and industry experience, which is rare for us. But she was so talkative in the interview it was staggering. An interview that typically takes 30 minutes […] Read the full article →
how should I handle friends who apply for jobs with me? by Alison Green on September 12, 2022 A reader writes: What’s the best way to handle a friend who applies for a job not just at your company, but working with you? This has come up a couple of times now. In both cases, the friend in question would work with me, so I was involved in the application process, but they […] Read the full article →