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Should I give additional notice period? I'm a consultant who's in the middle of a very significant project that would be nearly impossible to handover to another team member without putting the deadline at significant risk. On Monday, I"m resigning. I'm in a position where I can provide extra notice period to my employer to allow the project to be completed. Should I do this? Should I feel obligated to do this (as I do)? If so, is there anything I should ask for in exchange or should this just be considered professional courtesy? <Q> Obviously you are obligated to fulfil your notice period, but any time beyond this is totally up to you. <S> so if you can leave on a really positive note that's always going to go in your favour. <A> First of all understand your contract regarding your obligations to stay, their obligation to keep paying you, and any penalties involved with leaving early. <S> Note on Monday you are not resigning, you are telling them that you intend that some specific day in the future will be your last day. <S> Yes giving them the maximum advanced warning is great for keeping your options open for working with them in the future. <S> But you have no idea how they will react to your announcement. <S> If you are obligated to a specific notice period why are you wanting to give them extra notice? <S> The moment you announce you are leaving they can decide at that moment to terminate your employment. <S> Lets say you have to give them one months notice, but your work at will. <S> Then when you decide to give them three months notice, they can decide that they would rather move in another direction because the project will not be completed in time. <S> Two days later your are now unemployed. <A> I'm not seeing the negative consequences of giving more notice. <S> If you're able to give more notice, does that mean you don't have another job right away? <S> Maybe you're burned-out and look forward to some more time off. <S> If you have fulfilled your contract up to this point, it would be a shame to burn the bridge right at the very end. <S> Let them make the first move and let them know you're willing to consider other options. <S> Don't be too sure to feel you're not replaceable. <S> Someone over there may have a kid fresh out of college that they think would be perfect for your job. <A> At least in the projects I work on, time estimates are pretty elastic. <S> Therefore, giving them extra notice doesn't mean you'll be finished by the extended date, it just means the project will be farther along. <S> The best thing you could do is introduce them to someone you think could take over, however that may not be within your reach. <S> If you're taking on a new job, the new employer may have policies against working 'on outside projects'. <S> If so, there's not much you can do. <S> At the very least, you should offer to interview people they find as your replacement, to see if they really would work out.
| You can give the agreed upon notice and see if they want to negotiate the extended period. You shouldn't feel obliged to stay the extra but it may be the good thing to do - you never know if you may end up working with the company again
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How to keep track of time spent helping others? I'm a fast learner so I often become the go-to guy in the office (and out of it, but that's off topic), I love helping people and I learn much from seeing different perspectives, ideas (even bad ones) and solutions to problems the organization is facing. Thing is, that my own work sometimes suffers from this. I want to balance time spent on my own tasks and helping others, but to do that I need to track and see when and if I'm helping too much during the day. I thought about getting a push counter and pushing it every time a person asks me for help and I oblige, or writing post it notes of who I helped and with what and count them at the end of the day. The problem with both that they don't help me track time, and the post it option is messy. Using a stopwatch app will probably alienate my coworkers, thinking I'm timing them. I'm looking for something that will not take me too long to "activate" so it won't double the time spent on helping others, as most cases helping is a 5 minute process here and there. Any other ideas how I should do this? <Q> As my side project I implemented an OSQA (Stackoverflow clone) web site at my work. <S> Everytime someone asks me a question I direct them to the site and answer the question on a public forum. <S> This has saved me time as I can easily refer repeat questions to the site and it has enabled others to join the community and help each other. <S> In addition my contributions are recorded in a Karma points and management has visibility into what I know and contribute. <S> You can find more information about OSQA at this link . <A> Since you're working at a office, why don't you use Office ;)You could invest some time to create a nice little excel template. <S> A guy working next to me does that, not for your reasons, though. <S> He keeps track of his time, because he is involved in a lot of different projects. <S> As a sidenote. <S> I wouldn't keep track of things that are just taking minutes. <S> But if you're spending 30mins+, it's probably a good idea. <S> If you're such a handy guy, why don't you extend your position to a job where people can actually seek your advice? <S> UPDATE <S> I came off with another idea, after I read the comments. <S> It is openly known that you're the handy guy , so bring that up in the next meeting (maybe via mail, but I recommend the meeting). <S> Tell people how these interruptions disturb your workflow, and that a interruption of 5minutes can lead to an effective time loss of 30+mins, since it disturbs your state of mind. <S> Ask what the others think about it. <S> And how your situation could be improved. <S> People can seek your advice from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. or sth. <S> like that. <S> For the rest of the day you would like to focus on your work. <S> Ask people to address their problems via email, so you can decide when you want to take a look at the mail. <S> Answer it via mail, or maybe even go to them in person. <S> Maybe combine these two approaches. <S> Opening hours, where people can come by and for the rest of the time ask people to address their needs via mail. <A> There's nothing wrong with using a stopwatch application, either openly or discretely. <S> What happens now when somebody comes to your desk for help? <S> You probably say "just a sec", finishing typing whatever you were in the middle of, save a file, kick off a build, or whatever, right? <S> Clicking on a virtual stopwatch is just one more bit of typing. <S> It needn't be invasive, once you've written (or found) the application. <S> (A coworker once wrote something like this so he could track which projects he was spending how much time on; he had it prompt for the project name at the end, not the beginning, so it didn't interrupt the flow while someone was standing there waiting.) <S> If you're concerned about the impression you're giving, as one commenter suggested, you can just explain to people that you're trying to better understand how you spend your time (optional: so you can give better estimates in the future), and it's not personal <S> and you want to help them . <S> It's just data-collection -- no big deal. <S> If your employer tracks time spent on different projects (daily timesheet), you probably ought to be doing that anyway. <A> Register on a site like Harvest and simply enter your time spent on activities there. <S> You can take the opposite approach of tracking the time you're actually working and when someone asks you to help them, stop your timer and restart when you're ready to get back to work. <S> The difference between the time you worked and the time you spent at the office (minus lunch) is the time you spent helping others. <A> I keep a journal of what I am working on each day, with the times and project information. <S> It's a simple text file, but the format isn't very important. <S> I put in the time I come in and the project, and any notes that I might find useful about what I am doing. <S> If I am interrupted, I put the time down, help them, and then make a note about what I did, then put the time down and go back to what I was working on. <S> This has several advantages. <S> If I want to know how much time I spent on something, I can go back and find out, but I'm spending very little time tracking something that I may not want to check. <S> I send a weekly status report to my boss, and I look at this to see what I worked on during the week and issues I had that are still unresolved. <S> And if I remember solving the same problem in the past, I can easily search my journals, find how I fixed it last time, and resolve it quicker this time. <S> (This is especially handy for me, since I don't remember the details for more than a week or so.) <S> So, I am tracking the time, but not adding it up unless I need to know. <S> It takes seconds to write it down, as I have the journal open for notes at all times anyway.
| I do have to put in some time at the end of the day, and I can look at my journal and tell how much time I spent on each project. A solution would be to have opening hours .
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How to ask for a raise after passing probation I have interviewed at a company and asked for a salary of 25k. They have given me an offer of 24k and they said they will consider again after I have passed the probation. I passed the probation 1 and a half months ago already and they still have not mentioned anything. should I take it as that my skill is not sufficient enough for a salary of 25k or should I ask for the raise. If I should ask, how can I make it seems like I am not a money hungry person. <Q> If you agreed on a reevaluation after the end of your probation this reevalution should take place. <S> And it should be explicit. <S> If it is implicit it didn't happen. <S> So yes, go and ask for it. <S> Usually there should be a probation end talk/meeting anyway. <S> Maybe someone just forgot. <S> You still have your job, which should be taken as a good sign. <S> We all are working for money. <S> Not exclusively, but money matters. <S> Anybody telling you something different is lying or naive. <A> I'm hoping they have it in writing that this consideration could be made. <S> If not, it's known as a 'gentleman's agreement'. <S> This is something which they should acknowledge and give you some form of answer. <A> It's nothing to be ashamed of. <S> Just be genuine and communicate your needs in a friendly buturgent way. <S> Depending on the feedback you got about your work - may it be explicit in paper form or implicit by means of commendation - you may put a bigger focus on the good work you did, and not only on the earlier agreement. <A> Many companies will pay as little as possible at every opportunity. <S> They are probably hoping you never bring it up. <S> Always remain respectful and positive, even if they won't give you a raise. <S> Sometimes you have to be patient, but communication is the key, and if possible, documentation in writing of what you are promised, is always important to have. <S> You should do some research as to what your position typically pays in your region and ask your supervisor / director, what would you need to do to be worth this much to your company? <S> If there is a quantifiable output (eg X websites per month ) that is always better so that you have a concrete goal. <S> Practice what you want to say before-hand. <S> Remember to breathe and don't be nervous, if you project fear they may sense weakness and pay you less than you're worth.
| I would make sure I would invite the person for a meeting (the one who said they'd consider after your probation) and approach the subject with them again. Don't worry about being conceived as "money hungry". Don't be forceful when asking and try to remember to be professional about it.
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How do I avoid company outings without being an outcast? I currently work for a small (15-25 employees) startup that likes to have company outings. Things like going bowling, going to a bar, etc. Work is never discussed. There is a lot of social pressure to go to these. Whenever I avoid them my coworkers express disappointment and try to pressure me to join them. It's not that I don't like hanging out with people, or that I don't like my coworkers, it's just that I have a lot of other friends who I hang out with very often and, quite frankly, as much as I like my coworkers, I'd rather hang out with my friends. How do I avoid these company outings without feeling like I'm an outcast? <Q> How do I avoid these company outings without feeling like I'm an outcast? <S> ... <S> you can't. <S> People form friendships at things like that. <S> It's the same as if you join any organization, then refuse to eat lunch, <S> take smoke breaks , or spend time with coworkers outside of work. <S> This can influence your work interactions the same way posting negative things on Facebook can. <S> Is either situation fair? <S> Probably not. <S> But part of how social humans work. <S> Now, there are two situations here. <S> 1. <S> Friendly teasing <S> If it's friendly banter, not a big deal. <S> 2. <S> Serious frustration <S> It may be your coworkers legitimately feel as though you don't want to be part of their group. <S> This might make them feel as though you think something like, "I'm too good for your group." <S> Which, somewhat is true, given what you said about preferring to spend time with your friends instead. <S> In this case you probably can't just ignore it. <S> You can find time to spend with them though in similar contexts. <S> Perhaps lunch, or a morning "how was your weekend?" conversation. <S> You might not be connecting as much as they are but they at least see you putting effort into the friendship/team camaraderie. <S> This can greatly help to avoid them feeling like you don't care or are too good for them. <S> By the way, I have similar issues given where I live (25 miles in wrong direction of 99% of my coworkers). <S> I make efforts to eat lunch with people or connect when I can because I do not have the ability to spend time with them outside work, without serious effort on my part. <A> There's no real way around this. <S> If you are the only one not doing it, there is really nothing you can do to stop "feeling like an outcast." <S> You are making yourself an outcast in this situation. <S> I've seen this happen before, and our group tries to get someone to come with us on an after-hours company outing, but they always decline. <S> After a while, we just give up and stop trying to get them to come, and the expectation is that they won't show up. <S> With all that said, this shouldn't affect your working relationship with your coworkers, as outside, non-work activities do not reflect on your competence on the job. <S> You go to work to make money, you don't go to work to make friends. <S> Not that it isn't nice to make friends with people at your shop, but it's not your job to spend free time with them. <A> Even if you go to these outings and don't mingle with them folks, you risk being branded outcast. <S> This is just one of those necessary evils. <S> May be you can try and attend half of them in a month. <S> You could also try and take them to a lunch once a month to make up for it. <A> Interesting solution my friends use for this:Whenever the place they work needs a new employee, they refer friends. <S> If the friend is qualified, in company outings they have one/some of their friends with them <S> so they don't miss out on "good friend time". <S> Naturally this is not the main reason for this, but it is one of the perks of getting a friend to work with you. <A> I generally dont like hanging out with people except my sister and maybe one or two friends. <S> But I also hate feeling like an outcast <S> so I decline two invites then accept one as a rule.
| It is natural when a group participates in these and one person does not, the other person will feel like an outsider. Maybe try to find some time once a month go to one of the events. If this is the case, I'd just get used to it and realize you are going to have to, if you want to keep not attending those events. The culture of your company seems to be that everyone goes and spends time with each other.
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Basic computer skills test for job applications We're trying to screen applications for a job based on their basic computer skills. We'd like some sort of website that we can give to the candidates that times how long it takes them to click on buttons, use drop-downs and enter text, and records how fast they were. Nothing amazing or strenuous, but enough to show us that they can use a mouse and keyboard with reasonable skill. Does anyone know of anything similar to what we're after? Alternatively, can anyone recommend a quick way of testing someone's computer skills/aptitude? EDIT: The job is to control the raising/lowering of a road bridge over the summer months when we've got a lot of boats going in and out of the harbor. The job applicants are mostly retirees. The basic opening/closing process involves some VHF radio communication with the boats, then using a computer-based control system to raise/lower traffic barriers (clicking buttons), sending a text-based message to some traffic boards (basic selecting, typing and clicking buttons), then clicking a series of 4-5 buttons in order as the bridge machinery starts/stops to perform the raising/lowering process. I guess we're basically trying to determine if these candidates will get flustered by the process. It's not feasible to train all ~20 candidates to find out. <Q> Here's an idea: create a mock application that has the exact same layout as the live system and have them use it for a while. <S> You can then use the testing environment to see how they work under stressful conditions, or when things don't go correctly, or when multiple people are asking for help. <S> This should be a version of the training system. <S> It doesn't have to include all the scenarios, but it could test how quickly they learn and adapt. <S> You will have to be able to tell who is likely to climb the learning curve, and who will be overwhelmed by the entire process. <A> I'd suggest going out to Google Docs and creating a form that has examples of whatever tasks they'd need to do. <S> You could then either just share the form with the candidates (which would require that they have or create a Google account) or you could just have them use the form while they're onsite using your Google credentials. <S> I'm guessing that having them just use the form while they're onsite would be a better test of the specific skills you're talking about since it's easier than creating a new account. <A> Thank you for providing more information because I think you risk losing your best candidates if you put too much emphasis on computer skills. <S> Seems like people with a track-record of safely working in potentially dangerous environments is more important than being able to click a mouse. <S> This may narrow your list of candidates to the point where making them take such a test under your observations would yield the best results. <S> Yes, some people get nervous testing when someone is watching; you don't want to hire them. <S> Also, beware of someone who is desparate and lets someone else do the online test for them. <S> I think the goal is trying to avoid hiring someone who is too reluctant to use a PC. <S> Someone with extremely poor PC skills, could panic. <S> Of course there is some balance, but I'd hire a crane operator before a gamer. <S> Those boats crashing into the bridge are real. <A> While I do agree with the mocking approach I doubt an application is worth it. <S> Instead, figure out all the important elements of the tasks they will have to do and find fairly simple tasks that incorporate the elements. <S> For example, part of the task could be obtaining information over the radio and putting it into an e-mail and sending it.
| Google some of the online tests and have your current people take them and create a baseline of performance.
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I found out the person I report to suffers from alcoholism I've had some disagreements with my manager and have found some of his jokes and stories offensive. I recently found out he is an alcoholic (in the medical sense). I have never met an alcoholic before and am wondering, what kind of things should I avoid saying or doing? For example obviously I will not bring up the subject of alcoholic beverages. One thing I'm concerned about is sometimes we have to go to another office and he drives me; is it legal to refuse to get in a vehicle he is driving? How should I approach this? I think the replies describe the situation better than I have thus far: I agree the fact that he is an alcoholic is immaterial but his symptoms of alcoholism may be effecting the work place. How do I know, and does it matter, if a specific trait is alcohol related? For example he sometimes speaks incoherently. Is that just the way he is or is this an effect of alcoholism and if so can/should anything be done to better the situation for him and the people he works with? Some people seem to be ok when he talks about things inappropriate for the work place, such as bodily functions, is this allowed since he may have a medical reason for it? <Q> Well, first: An alcoholic is someone who is or was physically addicted to alcohol. <S> It is a lifelong medical condition, and is subject to medical privacy laws (I'm not familiar with Canada's, <S> but in the U.S. <S> it's the HIPAA law). <S> Secondly, whether or not he is an alcoholic is immaterial. <S> The issue is impairment. <S> If the person is medically an alcoholic, but has a Blood Alcohol Level of 0.00, then he is not impaired and there is no issue with him driving. <S> If you get any flack at all from your company about this, document it completely and seek legal representation. <S> As far as being supportive of him if he is in recovery, then use good sense. <S> Don't recommend visiting taverns or bars. <S> You are within your rights to drink if you're off the clock, but a little compassion might help: Don't order any alcoholic drinks so he doesn't feel "alone" with his iced tea. <S> I wish I could be more specific, but there is a big difference between a recovering alcoholic and an inebriated person. <S> If they are drunk, his alcoholism isn't your problem. <S> His impairment is. <S> Deal with that, and don't worry about his alcoholism. <S> I hope you can see/ <S> appreciate the difference between the two (even though they are intertwined). <A> If he is drunk at the time then he should not be driving. <S> If you feel uncomfortable with him driving then take your own car or just flat out refuse. <S> Your life is more important than your job - just handle it politely. <S> It is his personal problem and should only be your problem if it is affecting your work. <S> I have worked for alcoholics in the past and there has been no problem but stand up for yourself if his problem is affecting your work. <S> As for interview... <S> Unless your stay was an odd length of time (like less than a year) they are unlikely to ask you why you are leaving. <S> Edit: <S> Incorporated Jim's suggestion on handling the interview <A> Your actions should depend on the company ethics: <S> Does your company stand for party? <S> Consume? <S> Not thinking about tomorrow, etc. <S> Is it a rather conservative company, that stands for old fashioned values? <S> If the ethics of your company are more related to the former point. <S> You should probably get out. <S> Preferably in peace since your boss could be reference for future applications. <S> You shouldn't mention that your boss is an addict, unless maybe he's is getting help and had some kind of 'outing', since it could be considered as deceitful. <S> If the second point is the case, you should document the behaviour of your boss to be safe against future threats and then confront him with your concerns. <S> E. g. <S> you don't want to drive in the same car. <S> Depending on his actions, you should maybe take lawyer.
| If the person has been drinking, then you are absolutely within your rights, and within the bounds of any good judgment to refuse to ride in the vehicle with the person. simply state state that you were not comfortable working in the 'unprofessional environment' created by your supervisor and leave it at that. In terms of day-to-day work - if the alcoholism is affecting your work then raise that issue.
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How can I best indicate my desire to relocate to another part of the country? I'm a US citizen trying to relocate to another part of the US. Right now, I'm using my current address on all my job applications and also my resume. I've read online that applying out-of-state can actually be a hindrance to you and that it's actually better to use a local address of a friend or relative in the area instead of your current one. However this was for jobs in general and not particular to software developer positions. How big of a deal is it that the candidate is out-of-state or not? Are there any special considerations for the software industry? <Q> I've read online that applying out-of-state can actually be a hindrance to you and that it's actually better to use a local address of a friend or relative in the area instead of your current one. <S> This is not good advice. <S> Just be honest, you'd be surprised how often honesty really is the best policy. <S> Just put in your cover letter that you are willing to relocate at your own expense if offered a position and give them a general idea of when you could become available for work after accepting an offer. <S> I think most technical hires start with a telephone or Skype interview, so your initial contac won't pose a problem. <S> Once you've talked to them you can decide if you are willing to travel to an in person on your own dime. <A> I'd try a few other things first, before trying to get creative with my address. <S> Your job history is certainly going to show that you worked in a different location, so hiding the fact that you are trying to move isn't going to be successful. <S> Things <S> I'd try: Clarify that you want to relocate in your cover letter and as a bullet at the top of the resume <S> Make sure that any online profiles show your eagerness to relocate. <S> Clarify with recruiters (repeatedly) when working with them. <S> You may also want to highlight anything you are wiling to do to relocate. <S> While companies will pay a relocation cost when they are looking for skills they can't find locally, most won't bother to spring for the extra money if they can recruit from the local pool. <S> So if you are willing to pay your own relocation, make that clear as well. <A> I think that your question isn't about the software industry as a whole, but rather about the area of the country that you want to move to and the particular type of job that you want to get within the software industry. <S> If your particular job within the software industry is one that has a lot of applicants, then it is more difficult for the company to justify the expense of a candidate who is not local. <S> If your particular job has more specialized skills and thus fewer qualified applicants, or if you want to move to an area with many open positions, then it's harder for companies to fill the roles and thus they are more open to relocation. <S> For example, roles working in support or the helpdesk are easier to fill than positions for kernel hacking. <S> The latter is more likely to relocate the right candidate for their role, the former has their pick of local candidates. <S> Personally, as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, relocation often isn't an issue. <S> Every company that I have worked at thus far has relocated people if they were the right person to do the job. <S> When I consider candidates for positions on my team, I don't pay a lot of attention to their current location. <S> I do take note if it appears that a particular candidate might need sponsorship to work in the US, but mostly as a flag that my HR team is going to have to do some extra legwork if we decide to hire that candidate. <S> Judging by the resumes that cross my desk, my employer's recruitment team sends me the candidates that they think are the best fit for open positions, not just the candidates who are already local. <A> On the other hand, if you have advanced / renowned / specialized skills they may be happy to fly you in and put you up in a nice hotel just for the interview. <S> Go on-site at least once before accepting any offers. <S> There are some things you just can't tell from skype. <S> Or if you're sure you know where you want to be, if at all possible, I would move first and look in person. <S> If you can't afford to do that, try to schedule more than one on-site interview in the same city during the same week so you can check out multiple opportunities on a single trip.
| You could look for job offerings that specifically mention a willingness to relocate candidates. Depending on the position, a lot of companies won't consider non-local candidates at all.
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Are beards perceived as unprofessional in the workplace? It has recently been mentioned by a colleague that I should look at shaving my beard as it may limit future opportunities in my company as it can be perceived as lazy and too casual. It may or may not have been said in jest, but looking around I notice that none of my co-workers have one and that anyone in a higher up position doesn't have any facial hair. I maintain a beard of around 2cm (if you can call that a beard). It is always kept at the same length and it can be considered a slightly overgrown chinstrap . Would it be seen to be unprofessional to keep my beard? <Q> It would depend on the corporate culture. <S> There are places where beards, tatoos, nose rings etc are acceptable and places where they are not. <S> If colleagues are telling you it is limiting you where you are <S> then you are at one of the places where the culture is more conservative as far as professional look and you need to either conform or move on. <A> Basically, the decision at play here, that your superiors would have to make when deciding to promote you into a position where you might interact in person with customers or business partners, is "do I want this guy meeting the money people face to face?". <S> That is a question that requires a look at various aspects of you from both a personal and professional standpoint, including your speaking skills (including impromptu), your wardrobe choices, and personal hygiene and grooming. <S> There are plenty of very highly-skilled, talented members of the workforce who don't give a flip what they look like or even what they smell like. <S> As a senior manager, you generally do not want these people representing your company in person, however high the quality of their work is behind the scenes. <S> This is where this kind of thing becomes a bar to advancement. <S> Various things come in and out of fashion; facial hair is one of them. <S> Clean-shaven is pretty much always fashionable, while facial hair runs on about a 30-40-year cycle. <S> Facial hair denoted the hippies from the "normies" in the late 60s, then mustaches became fashionable in the 70s, then it was back to clean in the 80s and 90s, and then a close-trimmed beard with various amounts of trimming work started coming back into fashion in the 2000s. <S> Therefore, while fashionable, it still gives the impression that maybe you don't care how you look. <S> That's typically not a good image for a business type to be projecting. <S> So, in summary, the expectation in most of the business world is to look clean and presentable. <S> Beards are generally acceptable as long as they look well-groomed, but getting and keeping it acceptably clean-looking could be more trouble than it's worth versus just running a razor over your chin every day. <A> It is also possible that your colleague is wrong. <S> I had one colleague who had in his mind strict rules about dress, hair and tattoos. <S> The rules only existed in his mind. <S> He refused to notice that management sometimes dressed casually, and that they didn't have buzz cuts. <S> There is a difference between not shaving today because I over slept and making a decision to have a beard. <S> Unless there are safety or health rules banning beards, most companies aren't going to have an outright ban. <S> You also have to evaluate the opportunities you are supposed to be missing. <S> Technical tracks tend not to care about your appearance, as long as it doesn't cost them business with the customer. <S> Public facing positions do have some guidelines. <S> Only you can decide if a beard fits in the definition of 'professional'. <A> It will really depend on they style of beard you wear. <S> If it appears well groomed then most people will not give it a second thought. <S> There will always be some very conservative people who believe that anything short of smoothly shaved face, well groomed (short) hair, suit and tie is unprofessional. <S> And there are those who find that dress repressive and if you are in a culture that hates suits and ties <S> then it is unprofessional to dress in one there. <S> There is no one size fits all solution to this problem. <A> Part of professionalism is being well-groomed, bearded or not. <S> Your colleague may be referring to the way you groom your beard, as opposed to having a beard in the first place. <S> Your co-workers may be clean-shaven because it is easier to shave than maintain a well-groomed beard. <S> This is not a well-groomed beard: <S> This is a nice beard:
| If you just let your beard grow and do not trim it up cleanly or if it looks like you only grow the beard because you do not want to take the time to groom it, then many people will find it unprofessional in appearance. The driver of this current trend is a change in the perception of wealth over the last couple decades; "new money", the dot-com startup types and young celebrities, cultivate a look that says "I'm wealthy enough, smart enough and busy enough to not have to care whether I shave every day".
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How should I ask prospective employer about declining revenues? I have been interviewing with a very small size public company here in the US and I am in the final stages of the interview process. I have one more round with the hiring manager and I would like his/her own view as to why the revenues have been steadily decreasing over last 4 years and whether he/she expects the company will turn around in couple of years. More info: It is not a start-up and is in business for over couple of decades. I already reviewed 10-K and 8-K reports but I am still not able to connect dots. For example, based on what was mentioned in the latest reports, they should already be seeing increase in revenue in last three quarters. In short they are only helpful to a certain extent. Question: Without sounding offending or jeopardizing my chances of getting the position, how should I ask him/her to address this specific concern of mine? <Q> As I'm sure you understand from your question, interviews are a two way process. <S> You should be evaluating whether you want to work for the company as well as persuading them <S> they want you to work for them. <S> An important part of whether you want to work for them is whether they have long term viability. <S> Falling revenues could mean that the company may be going bankrupt soon, or that layoffs are coming. <S> Both of these decrease the desirability of working for the company. <S> As a secondary benefit, asking the question shows that you have been researching the company, taking an interest in its performance, and that you have some business skills. <S> All of these should increase your prospects with the company. <S> Is the company doing something to address that?" <S> Having said that, you may not get much of an answer. <S> It's true that a low-level manager isn't able to influence the revenue of the company, other than by doing his job well. <S> However in a good company some things should have been communicated to employees about the situation. <S> Answers like "I didn't know about the falling revenues" or <S> "We don't concern ourselves with things like that" mean that either the company isn't good about communicating this stuff, or that the team isn't interested in them. <S> (By the way, I work for a company of 10,000 and this stuff is communicated to every employee). <S> It's likely that any steps being taken to address this are confidential, so you aren't going to get details. <S> But an answer like "There are some steps being put in place, but I can't tell you what they are" should at least be somewhat reassuring. <S> You might explicitly ask about layoffs. <A> Depending on where in the company you are applying and what the hiring manager's duties include, while I can acknowledge this could be a good question it is also a tricky question. <S> You could phrase your question like, "I was reviewing the organization's financial statements and noticed this trend. <S> What are your thoughts on the organization's ability to overcome this?" <S> Where the idea is to ask an open-ended question from the perspective of, "What do you think about this? <S> " though recognize that depending on the manager's role there may not be much to be said here. <S> A key point here is that while you may want answers about this, consider that the hiring manager may have a limited view of the corporate strategy and access to executives to know the turn around plan, especially if the manager is in the middle level of a company with 10-100 employees where the top brass may well keep their future plans close to the vest but tell analysts and followers of the stock that there is a turn around plan that they hope will be successful. <A> Short answer: <S> You don't. <S> First, a manager is not in charge of determining corporate strategy. <S> They are in charge of making sure employees implement it. <S> Strategy is done at the senior executive level (CEO, Pres, VP's) and implementation is done at the director level. <S> Second, whatever your manager shared with you that wasn't public knowledge would be considered "Insider information" and if you were to trade on it (rather than accepting a job), it would subject both you and them to a whole boatload of hurt from regulating authorities. <S> If you're concerned about the company's short and long-term plans, go find their last 8K or 10K filing's press call (usually available in the "Investor Relations" section of their website) and listen to what the senior execs told the financial analysts and press. <S> That's the only place you're going to get a valid answer to that question. <S> EDIT: <S> Follow-up to question edits <S> Not wanting to get to pedantic about corporate financials, but are you certain you're looking at revenues, and not profits? <S> The "bottom line" number could be misleading as they may be amortizing capital expenditures, or other issues. <S> The number I would recommend looking at quarter-over-quarter is EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). <S> In the end, though, there are only two questions that really matter: <S> Is my position secure? <S> Will my paycheck clear the bank? <S> Number 1 is always a toss-up. <S> A merger, buyout, or corporate restructuring can cut you even in the most successful of companies. <S> Number 2 is not going to be a problem in a publicly traded company. <S> You may get laid off suddenly, but stiffed on pay (almost) never happens.
| An appropriate questions might be: "I've been looking at your financials, and it looks to me as if your revenue is falling. Yes you should absolutely ask about this at the interview.
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How can I convince my boss I am the right person to lead a future team? I am currently a sole contributor working on a team within an enterprise software company. I have been here approximately a year. I foresee a new team being created in a brand new market/category within the next couple of years. I am the only engineer in the company with significant experience in this field. My question is: how can I convince my boss to groom me/train me for this position before the team is actually created, rather than hiring someone on the outside when it does become important? Non-generic example that actually applies to me: I'm a fairly new software engineer that is interested in management eventually. I have fairly extensive experience with mobile application development, and I believe that we are going to have a need for that in the future. <Q> Don't sell yourself short. <S> Say you want to be the Lead of that new team - and why. <S> Don't agree to do all development, but you want to manage the standards, practice, and be the one they go to for input. <S> You won't do all development on it, but things should come by your desk for advice. <S> You want to be the expert on it at that company - what makes you an expert? <S> For a lead position you should aim to possess the following skills: Communication Design Methodology ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Project Management (initiating, Planning, executing) <S> Business Development (Opportunities, Bid/Proposals) <S> People Management (Performance, change, coaching / mentoring, resource planning) <S> Budget <S> You should also be able to drink coffee while skipping and juggling multiple hats, and remain confident the entire time. <S> Prove <S> you can do this - show him how and why you deserve the job. <S> And if they say one doesn't exist, then convince them to make one. <A> My question is: how can I convince my boss to groom me <S> /train me for this position before the team is actually created, rather than hiring someone on the outside when it does become important? <S> You don't. <S> You act like you're the leader of your team (of one). <S> Show that you can keep them working together cohesively, and volunteer to do leadership sort of tasks. <S> Essentially, do the job you want to do. <S> Companies make hires based on need. <S> If you show that they don't need a manager, then they won't hire one. <S> Companies give promotions/raises for employee retention. <S> If you show that you're doing a good job and hiring a new manager is way more costly than just paying you like a manager, you'll quickly find yourself there. <A> Every company has slightly different requirements for programming managers. <S> The more programming experience they require, the better-off you may be. <S> You need to identify what they are looking for, then you can work on ways to demonstrate those abilities. <S> This may require you to volunteer for some things. <S> If there is an opening you may want to recommend someone or get involved in the interview process if you're going to be required to build a team. <S> Voice your ideas for improvement. <S> You'll learn what it takes to have influence in the company. <S> Solidify your relationships with coworkers. <S> They may be involved in the selection process informally. <S> You want more from them than just, "He's all right." <S> Also, try to identify what are the strengths of the existing managers. <S> Not that you want to be a clone, but this may give insight into what they really want as oppose to what they post in the job description.
| I think your message is good, but rather than just asking for his opinion on what you should do, do some research yourself and come to him with a plan to put you in that position. As new people are added in, show that you can get them on-boarded and work well with them.
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Should I put my 2nd undergraduate studies that I did not finish on my resume? I have completed a Computer Science bachelor's degree, from where I went on to pursue an MA in Digital Game Design, which I am about to finish this September – and these are obviously the two things that I put on my resume into the Education section. However, while I studied Computer Science, I also pursued another undergraduate studies at the same time, French literature, which I actually pursued for two years in Prague, where I live, and another year on an exchange programme in France. I actually almost completed even this second studies (I had approx. 150 out of the 180 credits needed to finish), but when I was accepted to study the MA in London, I decided to not pursue the French studies anymore and move to London straight away. My question is, should I put the second, unfinished bachelor studies on my resume when applying for jobs where I think that a three-year education in literature could be relevant? In particular, I am applying for Game Designer jobs, and I think that the combination of Computer Science and a more humanistic subject such as literature could create the positive impression that I am a well-rounded person, which I think is an excellent trait particularly for a Game Designer. That is also what I lead with in the summary on my resume: 'With an university education that combines technical, creative, and humanistic perspectives, I am well-equipped to approach all the aspects of modern video game design.' However, I am worried that putting an unfinished bachelor's studies on my resume could also create a negative impression for obvious reasons, and I do not know whether this would in the end score me more positive or negative points. Should I list the second studies on my resume? <Q> If you believe that on balance these unfinished studies would help your chances more than hurt, you should include them. <S> I've interviewed a lot of people over the years, and have seen a wide variety of studies that were used to bolster the applicant's candidacies. <S> Clearly not completing your studies make them somewhat less valuable than if they had been completed. <S> Consider that the lack of completion might need to be explained during an interview, since some employers will wonder if you are are a quitter <S> (I'm not saying that you are). <S> You also don't want to give the impression that you are at heart a French Literature professor, who is simply settling for a Game Designer's position. <S> While I've hired people who clearly would rather be doing something else, I've had most success with people who really wanted the position I was offering. <S> Again, I'm not saying this is you <S> , I'm just trying to point out what might be going through the heads of people reading your resume. <S> Your statement 'With an university education that combines technical, creative, and humanistic perspectives <S> , I am well-equipped to approach all the aspects of modern video game design.' <S> seems very strong, and would probably work as well even if you left off the fact that you had pursued but gave up a second degree. <S> You should consider if this approach could work just as well. <S> If it were me, I'd probably leave the indication of a "partial 2nd degree" off, and emphasize the courses you took that would be useful in the new position. <A> Do uiniversities still have the concepts of majors and minors? <S> I have always listed my education as a major in Political Science and a minor in Mathematics <S> and I was in a similar situation where I tried to double major but the classes conflicted my senior year <S> and I had to choose. <S> When they are very different fields, that is often a plus. <S> If you can talk in the interview about how the French lit helps you in the game design, it is even more of a plus. <A> Absolutely. <S> With French in particular, this is spoken not only in Europe but in Quebec and Viet Nam. <S> Therefore anything down to the ATMs need to have a French language option. <S> Knowing your way around Prague and other parts of Eastern Europe doesn't hurt either - make this clear on your resume. <A> Is there a way you can start the process of completing the 2nd undergraduate degree? <S> If you take one class in the Fall, you can say that you are expected to complete it in Spring 2015. <S> If they ask tell them that the advanced degree was done first because of the opportunity for the Masters wouldn't wait for you to finish the 2nd Bachelors. <S> This allows you to mention your French studies, even though your university doesn't have the concept of a minor. <S> It also doesn't give the impression that you are a quitter.
| Your resume should include everything that is relevant and helpful for the position of interest (from the interviewer's point of view). Saying you have a minor in something doesn't look like you were a quitter, it looks like you studied something in addition to your main studies.
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Why you looking out for change? I am working in Software development and have recently faced couple of interviews. Interview 1: I have cleared the first (Technical) round, when I faced the HR round, the first question they have asked me is "Why you looking out for change?". I answered with better prospects in terms of salary and carrier growth. The next question is HR asked is "Are you not getting any growth in current organization?" I was stuck at that question. Interview 2: I have faced an HR discussion and again I have been asked the same one. How do I answer this question without any imperfection and what possibly the best way to answer it? And if they ask any further like “why you do not have growth here?” or “if you have growth in current organization, then why look out another one?” checked this so question , but unable to get the exact answer. <Q> You need to be careful when answering this interview question. <S> Your response can make the difference between getting the job or not. <S> This question can be asked in several different ways including, "Why do you want to leave your present job?" <S> or, "Why aren't you content with your present position? <S> " <S> An interviewer may also ask you this same question with respect to past positions. <S> However they phrase this question, keep your responses positive and focus more on the open position. <S> More Challenging Assignments <S> One reason you can state that you are looking for a new job is more challenging assignments. <S> Start by saying something positive about your present job. <S> You must know about the new position to make such a comment, so always obtain a full copy of the job description before your interview. <S> Another option is to tell the interviewer how excited you are about the position and challenges that await you. <S> More Security Greater job security is another acceptable response to any question about leaving your current job. <S> Explain why you feel security would be greater with the open position. <S> You may work for a small upstart company and want more security with a bigger firm. <S> Larger companies usually offer better benefits, including college tuition reimbursement, so this is a acceptable response. <S> More Money <S> More money can be an appropriate reason for leaving a job. <S> However, you must already know the salary range of the new position before using this response. <S> Salaries are sometimes listed in job descriptions or online job ads. <S> Whatever the case, explain how you enjoyed your previous job but felt somewhat underpaid. <S> This may be obvious to the interviewer if you volunteer your salary. <S> Most human resources managers know average salaries for jobs because they research salary data. <S> Location Companies relocate employees around all the time. <S> Consequently, you may not like where you live. <S> You may also have too far to commute to work. <S> This is common in larger cities that are widespread, where homes in outlying areas are cheaper and located in more desirable suburbs. <A> I think this is simply a case of choosing your words carefully. <S> But the obvious answer would be: "In my current job I do not have the growth possibilities that best suit my interests. <S> "You can elaborate on this, continue saying what you would want in a growth path. <A> "Are you not getting any growth in current organization?" <S> How do I answer this question without any imperfection and what possibly the best way to answer it? <S> There is no correct answer to this question. <S> There is the truth. <S> And there are bad answers. <S> You are looking for a job, they tried to determine why you are looking. <S> It can tell them how serious is your search, and how likely you are to stay if they offer you a job. <S> When they asked why you are leaving you said X (salary) and y (career growth). <S> They took one of your answers and asked you to explain it. <S> So before your next interview think of 2 or three examples to explain your reason. <S> Pretend you are telling a parent or good friend. <S> Then clean it up to sound like an answer you will give at an interview. <S> Avoid trivial examples, and make sure it isn't a rant. <S> If it turns out that career growth isn't one of the reasons for leaving, then go through the same process for that reason. <S> Why do they care? <S> If they can't meet your needs you might not stay around for long. <S> If you can't explain why you are looking, you might not be a serious candidate. <A> There are reasons that you are applying for that particular job. <S> Something made it stand out so tell them what it was. <S> If it is a development technology they listed you can say that you think technology A, B, or C will benefit your career. <S> If the company is multinational and you have aspirations in that area tell the interviewer so. <S> If you admire the company or have used their products and/or believe in their future prospects now would be a time to speak up. <S> I applied to positions for reasons such as: <S> "my present company is relocating our division to China." <S> "My parents have recently taken ill and this will provide me an opportunity to care for them." <S> It is very important to never complain about your employer, supervisor, or co-workers.
| Tell the interviewer how you liked the experience you gained on your job. "My current organization is very top heavy and Idon't see any movement possible for quite some time."
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Offered the lower position because I had no degree. I got the degree. Do I ask for increase? When my boss left, I interviewed for the position and I got it. However, because I didn't have a degree I was offered a lower position for less pay. I was told that once I got my degree my position and pay would increase. A couple of months ago, I had a conversation with the HR lady and asked how things would be after I got my degree. She basically told me things didn't work like that. I recall the GM mentioned on another occasion that he would provide a raise to anyone that advanced their education or career. I graduated in June and it so happens that everyone also got a merit increase in June. I got clarification from HR that my merit increase was not based on receiving my degree. It was based on my last years appraisal. So my questions is with having just received a merit increase, should I still discuss the possibility of an increase because of my degree? <Q> If you got the salary increase offer in writing, then you're good. <S> If you did not, there is nothing stopping you from asking for a raise. <S> Make sure to frame it as "my new education enables me to be a better worker, therefore I deserve a raise" rather than <S> "my old boss said if I did this he'd give me a raise" and you will be more successful. <A> One of the things I keep seeing is the perception of 'Degree as License'. <S> In short, the degree is viewed as some kind of entitlement to more pay or other more favorable terms of employment. <S> Often managers don't quite know what the HR policies are, they may be making assumptions as to what they can offer or what the company does. <S> However... your employment opportunities have certainly expanded. <S> In the US, for example, one can't fill many programmer roles in government agencies without the degree. <S> Largish established companies (banks, insurance companies, etc.) are sensitive to credentials. <S> Therefore their reason for giving you the raise is not that you 'earned a degree' per se, but that you have broadened opportunities. <S> The best thing to do is start searching for them, to find out how many more you have. <S> From there, you can get an idea of what kind of raise is reasonable to expect. <S> If the demand in your area is weak, there may not be much point in asking. <A> My role and job title didn't change, but I went from part time to full time employee. <S> I think the change in status allowed the salary negotiation to happen, and the qualification set the new ballpark. <S> The merit increase in June was a standard practise of the company, this however is not and shouldn't be affected by it. <S> You mention that you were offered a lower position because you didn't have a degree, so use this to open the negotiation. <S> "Now I have graduated I would like to discuss the position I originally applied to"Which <S> should lead to salary talks. <S> The only thing is that you've left it a long time. <S> When I did this, I had the agreement sorted out a couple of months before graduation. <S> There is a danger that it's been and gone in the eyes of management. <S> You will have to use your knowledge of the company and people to make it seem like your degree is a recent change for you, and allows a change of status in your work. <A> You should always discuss a change in your work status, the question is, with whom? <S> It sounds like you have only talked to HR. <S> Are they the people who make the decisions? <S> In most companies, they just implement decisions others have made. <S> You need to find out who would make that decision to change your job title and job pay, and talk to that person. <S> That person may not know about your career aspirations, and accomplishments. <S> I'm concerned that you have not discussed this in your question- <S> that person should be who you talk to (usually the person you report to) not HR. <S> Is it the GM? <A> You ask for an increase at your next job. <S> The company used this as an excuse to pay you less. <S> About 10 years ago I was offered a job. <S> Then a VP reviewed it and decided to offer me $10k less because I did not have a computer science degree (it was in an unrelated discipline). <S> I needed a job, so I took it. <S> Quit 1 year later and got more than a 10k raise. <S> Asking for raises works on TV, you're generally not that important. <S> Just go somewhere else. <A> It depends on your organization. <S> If you are in a big company, they are sensitive to education credentials because they have few effective ways of measuring productivity of individuals. <S> The degree becomes a signal for higher productivity. <S> In a small organization, it is much easier to measure productivity. <S> Low producers have nowhere to hide. <S> So...if you are in a big organization, you have probably been pigeonholed as "the guy with no degree", even if you now have a degree. <S> To advance your salary you need a competing job offer from another large company which hasn't pigeonholed you. <S> Then give your company a chance to make a counteroffer based on your degree and experience. <S> Pick one. <S> you would cost them a lot of money, which not likely because you are so new. <S> In that case, you will have to go elsewhere to get a better paying job.
| I worked for a company during my degree and received a substantial increase following graduation. If you are in a small organization, you are not getting a raise for the degree, unless you are awesome and losing
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Is it a good management style to degrade oneself so others feel comfortable approaching? A manager at work said "I go to great lengths to make a complete idiot out of myself so people feel comfortable coming to me". This gave me a bad gut feeling but I realize there is some rational behind it. Is it a good management style to degrade oneself so others feel comfortable approaching? Could this approach be bad? If so, how? <Q> All it will achieve is making you appear as if you are not fully qualified for the position, and create unnecessary doubt in others regarding your ability to contribute positively and adequately respond to their needs. <S> You can make yourself approachable without having to make yourself look like someone you're not. <S> You want people to view you as intelligent, reliable, and helpful. <S> Listen more than you talk. <S> Answer the questions you're asked honestly, completely, and descriptively. <S> Ask people for feedback when you help them and when they help you. <S> Be genuinely interested in who they are as a person, not just as a coworker. <S> You don't have to be best friends, but you also don't want to create artificial boundaries, either. <S> It's really not that hard if you take the time and effort to understand that even though it's work, there is a social perspective which cannot be ignored. <A> A great deal depends on the context. <S> What, precisely, is the manager doing to "make an idiot out of himself"? <S> If "making an idiot out of yourself" means that the manager is willing to sit in the dunk tank at the company's charity carnival or is happy to be the first one to get up on stage when the team decides to go hang out at a karaoke place after work, that could certainly make people more comfortable approaching him. <S> If "making an idiot out of yourself" means having the confidence to regularly admit in meetings that he doesn't know something or to risk asking questions and exposing gaps in his knowledge, that may make others more willing to be honest when they don't know something or need some help. <S> Of course, there are many ways to "make an idiot out of yourself" that would not have a positive impact. <S> If you are "degrading" yourself, it is highly unlikely that you are doing something productive. <A> What I expect from a manager is someone who keeps me supplied with the resources I need to do my job. <S> In one dimension this is the usual computer - desk - network connection - comfortable office nexus, in another it's having an appropriate level of taskings, in another it's keeping me up to speed on the progress of the project and the situation of the company overall. <S> Being approachable simply means having the door open and be willing to listen. <S> Managers are, very often, in the business of comforting people that are frustrated - whether they like it or not. <S> What is more important at that point is emotional intelligence. <S> One can make self-deprecating remarks to inject humor in tense situations from time to time, but doing it all the time just leaves everyone disgusted. <S> In general, is this someone you would like sitting at the same table at lunch in a crowded restaurant? <S> If the answer is no, your manager is causing more problems than he's fixing.
| Making a complete idiot out of yourself just for the purpose of appearing approachable is disingenuous at its core. There are situations where this might be beneficial depending on exactly what the manager is doing.
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How should I approach a careless error in a submitted resume/CV that dramatically changes perception? This is one of those human errors that I know , and we all know, every single one of makes yet still leaves me with a pit in my stomach and is incredibly embarrassing to make on a resume. I submitted a resume this morning with a stupid error. I had listed my years in college as 1996--2000 but this caused the information to spill onto the next line, so I edited the resume and the now the information in the resume says I completed college in 1996 instead of 2000 , so I appear four years older than I really am, and it makes my resume seem like there's a gap from 1996 to 2000. Regardless of the error, be it a typo, formatting, or other careless mistake that significantly alters the perception of the candidate, what is the best way to move forward after the resume has already been submitted? <Q> It is near impossible to not have a typo in a resume at some point because we’ve all read our resume five hundred times, and it’s ineffective to proofread something you’ve reread so much. <S> On top of that, job hunting is often a repetitive, boring task, so it’s no surprise that people copy and paste and put the wrong information time to time In all honesty there <S> ’s <S> nothing you can do to fix a typo if the resume is sent. <S> You look bad resending a resume to a hiring manager and saying “I had a typo in my resume.” <S> Most likely the person won’t notice the typo anyway unless it is in their name. <A> Further, at this point, it could be that no one human has yet looked at the resume, so sending in a correction seems like the lesser of the two risks to me. <S> Of course there may be people who think differently than that, but would you really want to work for somone who would get angry about you making a mistake and fixing it? <A> I actually had a hiring manager point out a typo in my resume (for a computer programming position), and was still offered a position at the company. <S> A single mistake is likely not going to be noticed, and even if it is, will likely not take you out of the running. <A> In many companies the website where you apply for jobs does allow you to change the resume or cover letter after you apply. <S> Now it doesn't mean that they haven't already read it, but there is no harm uploading the corrected version. <S> It is likely that when a person reads the resume to prepare for the interview they will download a fresh copy of the resume. <A> This is a good case for enlisting your friends or a professional service to scrutinize your resume. <S> At this point there is not much you can do. <S> Do not repeat your mistake and make sure that you have at least four independent reviews of your resume. <A> You have four potential outcomes here. <S> Current resume passes muster without the mistake being discovered (likely) Current resume is good enough for a job <S> but the mistake prevents it (highly unlikely) <S> Send in corrected resume and hiring manager considers it a plus point (possible) <S> Send in corrected resume and hiring manager finds it negative and/or 'not quite right.' <S> (unlikely) <S> The saying in this situation (not wholly apt but close enough) is ask for forgiveness <S> not permission <S> It is far easier and much more effective to conduct an action and then talk your way out of the situation or use it to build rapport than it is to highlight the problem up front and ask permission to pursue the action. <S> If the mistake is found, turn the negative into a positive by saying I am really sorry, I edited my CV quite significantly for this role to highlight the strengths I felt the role needed (smile and pause). <S> The truth is, on my third pass at proofreading I did spot the error and I have the corrected CV with me. <S> (show new CV). <S> Then breathe and let the interviewer speak and lead the conversation. <S> If they are any good at rapport building they will most likely shrug it off or even insert an anecdote about a mistake they made. <S> Good luck though.
| If you notice the error right after initial application how you correct your resume/CV depends on how it was submitted. Personally I am more impressed with someone who finds their own mistake and owns up to it and does something to fix it that somone who tries to pretend it didn't happen. Let it stand and hope it passes.
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How to label inaccurate job titles on resume I'm currently employed as a "web developer" for a company. That's what it says on my business card and that was the title on the job ad. The thing is I haven't done ANYTHING that can be considered "web development". The job is 100% system administration. There are several other people employed as "web developers" in this company. Only two do actual web development, the rest do many different things. I'm planning on leaving the company and looking for a new job. How should I label this job on my resume? I was employed as a "web developer", but a more accurate title is "systems administrator". <Q> Since your new employers will ask your old employer what you did, the right way of saying this is: Web Developer (System Administration responsibilities) <S> That way they know your title, and what you actually did. <A> I use my official title (for reference checking) and then put the title I should have had in parenthesis () after it. <A> On your resume, when you highlight in bullet points your accomplishments based on the duties you performed in the position, be sure they are accurate and do not worry that the accomplishments might not fall under the purview of employees with your (incorrect) title. <S> In any cover letters that accompany your resume, you could address it simply (and then move on, not dwelling on it), such as "Although in my previous position I held the title of 'Web Developer', I did not perform traditional web development but was in fact responsible for system administration duties such as ..." <S> How you frame this job will depend on whether or not you are looking for something in web development or systems administration (or both). <S> Finally, I agree with what HLGEM said about clarifying your title in parentheses if you really feel it is warranted. <S> For instance, I was once officially a "Systems Engineer V" but my actual working title was "Chief Architect and Manager of Software Development". <S> For verification purposes, I would use the former, but I would also parenthetically note the latter, as it is so vastly different. <S> Your overall goal should be to represent your skills and experience appropriately on your resume, augment this information through your cover letter, and provide verifiable information on your resume/applications to ensure the process runs smoothly. <A> I'd go with the job title that is most in the direction you want to go with your new job, ofcourse without lying. <S> You have to market yourself towards the new job, and if your goal is a system admin position, go for that. <S> If you aim for a web development position, mentioning that as your job title might be beneficial. <S> Ofcourse, in this latter case a problem might be that a potential employer expects different experience from a web developer than the experience you gained in your previous position. <S> A more subtle example might shed some more light on what I mean exactly. <S> When doing some statistical research on a contract basis, I could use one of two job descriptions: statistical consultant or researcher. <S> If I was aiming for an academic position, I'd go with the latter, and stress the academic parts of the job. <S> Alternatively, I'd go for statistical consultant if I where applying for an industry position, stressing the parts of the job that where relevant for that.
| On your resume and job applications, use the official title you've been given by the company so everything will match up and go smoothly when your references are checked and your employment is verified by potential new employers.
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Given verbal offer from a company but about to start a large project at current company I have been told by HR of a company that I have been interviewing with that they would like to extend me an offer and it will take 1-2 weeks to get approved. I do not want to put in notice at my current position until I get the actual offer, but I am supposed to give a timeline presentation in two days on a multi-month project which will probably not be started if I leave (until they find a replacement). Do I tell my manager (who I have a good relationship with) that I am going to be leaving or continue as if nothing was going to happen and present the timeline? <Q> As long as you do not have a signed contract with a new employer, I would simply continue working at your old job as if nothing is happening. <S> The potential offer might not work out, which would mean the multi-month project is still for you to finish. <S> Pre-emptively starting to burn your bridges does not help you in any way. <S> Once you sign your new contract, you can give notice and transfer the project to someone else. <S> If this is not possible, this is the problem of your company, not yours. <A> Don't tell, even though you have a good relationship. <S> It's still not a done deal and the risks if it falls through <S> are too great <S> ( at best you'd likely be sidelined off the big project, at worst your a dead man walking). <A> Never give notice until you have an in writing start date with an offer letter. <S> These can still be revoked, but its very rare. <S> Start dates and verbal offers are verbal for a reason. <S> Tell them you need this formally in writing before you can give your two weeks notice. <S> It is never worth the risk. <S> Even if there is just a 1% chance that your job will fall through and/or the company will fire you. <S> You need to look out for yourself. <A> If you are a 'good catch' so to speak, you might want to let the new company know that you require a signed offer sooner than the two week timeline they have given you. <S> A person with the right talent and good fit for the company shouldn't be kept waiting, and there is nothing wrong with letting them know that.
| May seem hard, but you need to carry on as if nothing has happened until the new job is signed and sealed( or if you need to show your hand for references etc). Do NOT risk telling your boss your leaving until you are gone.
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Is it appropriate to submit a Resume/CV when there are no job openings? Not sure if this is okay to do, because I'm not sure if it's okay to just walk-in to any store, and submit an app, regardless whether or not there's a job opening. To clarify, there are no listed job opening in the local classified or online. Just curious if I can just walk-in and give them an application. <Q> This situation is unique because you are looking for part-time work (not a full-time job like the other answers seem to assume). <S> Some things to consider: <S> These types of stores may have a lot higher turnover and somewhat more flexibility in number of employees <S> If you make a good impression, a manager might decide they want to hire you even if they do not "need" someone <S> Smaller places might not have a good process for posting openings or there might be considerable delay between needs/posting (this is true of all jobs..) <S> The worst they can do is say no. <S> You probably don't care even if you got blacklisted somehow, since it's unlikely you are aiming for a career at these stores (you won't get blacklisted anyways) submit an app, regardless whether or not there's a job opening? <S> Sure. <S> It might be considerably more beneficial to do the following, however: <S> Walk in and ask to speak with the manager <S> Present your situation, wanting to work part-time, going to college at XX for YY, hoping to work some to pay your way through rather than taking student loans, etc After this, ask if the manager has any openings for part-time work and what the process to apply is If the answer is "no, not right now" leave some sort of contact information and find when that manager is working so you know how to do next step (hopefully by this point in the conversation you've convinced the manager they would want to hire you if there was an opening) <S> If "no," then after about two weeks, stop back and check-in (preferable to see the same manager, see previous step). <S> Otherwise you can probably fill out an application right then. <S> edit - you are also an undergrad in software dev, you should be setting your sights a lot higher than working part-time in retail! <S> Find something in software dev. <A> If the store is an independent, then it's likely that hiring decisions are made by someone in the store <S> and they can take your resume and act on it. <S> If the store is part of a larger chain, they may do one of many things: Require that you leave and submit your resume and application online. <S> Ask you to submit an application through an in-store kiosk. <S> Ask you to take a test at an in-store kiosk. <S> Based on your score, the store manager may talk to you. <S> The bottom line is that it doesn't hurt to go inside and ask. <S> Do keep in mind that you are making your first impression immediately, so be dressed and groomed appropriately for one of their retail associates. <A> It is up to them to decide what if they will accept them, and what they will do with them. <S> If they say no, there is nothing lost by asking. <S> Regarding submitting a resume/CV via electronic means is trickier. <S> It will depend on the system the company uses. <S> Some require that you submit your application or resume to a specific position. <S> They may or may not automatically include your information against other related openings. <S> My experience is that most don't, unless they use a generic posting to fill low level positions as needed. <S> For some companies it might be possible to submit a resume or CV to HR, but you have no guarantee that it will ever be considered for a position. <S> they might delete it after a few months because it is considered stale. <S> You will have better luck if you know somebody within the company. <S> They can see postings earlier, they can see which ones have a bonus if the person that is hired was recommended by an employee. <S> They may also be able to see the name of the hiring manager. <A> Depending on the type of position, properly phrasing your question about openings could give you your appropriate answer. <S> Instead of asking "Are you hiring? <S> " <S> you could ask "Are you hiring now or taking applications for future openings?". <S> Its a subtle difference <S> but it is an important one.
| You can walk into any store and ask if they are hiring or accepting applications. The simple answer is, it doesn't hurt to try. I think this could depend on the specific employer.
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Is it appropriate to ask coworkers and boss to let me know when they arrive and expect to leave? Where I work, the other four members of my department always arrive at random times, usually latter than when they are expected. It is not uncommon for two of them to arrive around 11am. I know it's none of my business why they are late so I'm wondering if would be an appropriate request to ask them to let me know around what time they plan to be in the next day? They also leave at random times. Can I ask what time they are leaving? I think this would impact my work in a positive way because I could make sure to talk to them before they left if I have any questions or concerns. I'm worried that I will offend them as they get super defensive really quickly so I need to word it carefully. <Q> In business and in life, it is better to ask directly for what you need. <S> You need to meet with your colleagues. <S> Instead of asking them when they plan to arrive or depart, ask them if they can meet with you: "Alice, can you meet with me this afternoon? <S> I have questions about the transmogrifier." <A> There are a few ways to approach this. <S> First, companies with more flexible hours sometimes have "core hours" - perhaps 10am-2pm - where employees need to be on-site, for purposes of scheduling meetings, etc. <S> Find out if your company has these (sounds like "no" or at least they are not enforced). <S> Second, try scheduling an actual meeting. <S> If you need to talk something over, add it as a meeting on calendars. <S> Then, if they are gone, you have a more natural way to bring this up. <S> " <S> Hey, we had a meeting at 10am, <S> I know you generally come in between 9am and 11am, will 10am work in the future? <S> What time is better?" <S> instead of coming across as a creeper. <S> Third, does anyone on your team work remotely? <S> Perhaps they work from home some, etc. <S> I would definitely NOT recommend bringing this up without a specific instance, though, as it would be a bit weird to me. <S> I come in at 8am (most others here start at 7am) <S> and it would be weird if someone asked me, "why do you come in at 8 instead of 7" - and that's just one hour difference. <A> There is one situation where asking about co-workers work schedule is important. <S> When the team is responsible for staffing the office for the entire workday. <S> The people that arrive early like to know when the rest of the team will arrive so that calls/requests can be handled properly. <S> I have been in this situation and I don't like having to keep telling people I have no idea when Joe will arrive. <S> The people that stay past dinner time want to know when the others are leaving. <A> If the company allows for liberal flex time, then you are better off just focusing your efforts on your specific tasks. <S> From a professional point of view, if the lack of scheduled hours begins to create dissension between your department and other departments in the company, your manager will be informed and it will be up to him/her to adjust the policies accordingly, if he/she chooses to do so. <S> From your explanation, you are not the manager, so therefore, your focus should remain on completing your tasks and not trying to take responsibility for anyone else's tasks or lack of responsiveness. <S> From a personal point of view, it could reflect negatively on you in a number of ways. <S> From the perspective of your manager, you could be seen as someone who isn't a team player and is more focused on their ambitions than the overall success of the department as a whole. <S> You also may be perceived as lacking the objectivity to fit into the cultural makeup of the organization, which may make it more difficult for you to advance to a leadership position. <S> From the perspective of your coworkers, simply stated, no one likes a tattletale. <S> You don't know what arrangements they have made with their manager to have the flex time they have, and it's really not any of your business. <S> They are not keeping you from getting your work done... <S> they are only keeping you from getting your work done in a manner that's acceptable to you. <S> When it all boils down, if your manager doesn't have an issue with the quality of your work, then why create a problem where none currently exists? <S> Relax. <S> Do your job. <S> It is possible that you may be modeling the future behavior of the department... <S> they just don't know it yet. <S> Let things happen, and worry about those things you actually have control over. <A> Unless they are direct reports, then you don't have the right to ask this, and it could be taken as a negative response. <S> They may also have agreed those start/stop times with the manager, which you would not be made privvy to (eg. <S> Pick up kids, hospital appointments). <S> If it is impacting the job, then mention it to the manager. <S> If your reason is actually to ask a question, then use email or some IM that tracks when you asked/answered. <S> That way if the question/response delay impacted the project you have a log related to that later on.
| If their overly inconsistent hours impact the office performance directly then you can ask, but if the only thing that is impacted is the ability to ask a question face-to-face then drop the subject.
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How do companies handle 'he-said she-said' situations with no objective evidence either way? Recently, a co-worker of mine claimed to my supervisor that while I was on a forklift and relocating pallets, I pushed a pallet and hit her with it twice throughout the day. I told my supervisor that I did push a pallet close to my co-worker and she was startled by it, but nothing ever came close to hitting her, not even once. My supervisor "temporarily" took me off of the forklift until the people in HR can figure out what's going on. It'll be a few days before I go back in for my shift, but there are no camera's to prove what happened and no injuries or marks on my co-worker. I'm not sure if it would be better to go in and talk to HR to find out what they'll say and explain my side of the story better, or just wait until my shift starts and find out from my supervisor. I don't think I'm at risk of getting fired, but I'm worried I may lose my position for forklift operating. How do companies handle a my-word-against-yours situation? <Q> As a general rule, HR people look for patterns - do you drive a forklift carelessly and damage goods, hurt people, or wreck equipment routinely? <S> If so, they're going to pull you off forklift duty. <S> Similarly, is the lady a 'complainer'? <S> Does it seem like everyone she comes in contact with bothers her, or <S> some group of people are 'problems' that she can barely deal with. <S> She might be afraid you will hit her the way you're operating the equipment - if she has to be in the warehouse routinely and you're operating 'too close for comfort' <S> she might decide it's better to say something before anyone gets hurt. <S> If you cut it close all the time, she might view this as an accident waiting to happen. <S> However, if she's already told this to HR and they don't talk to you, she might be escalating it to something more serious to get them to respond. <S> If you know she (or anyone else) is there, back off a bit so she doesn't feel threatened. <A> It has been my observation that in most companies, they may try to find corroborating evidence if possible <S> but if they can't, they tend to take the side of the employee that they feel is more valuable to the company which often translates into who is higher paid. <S> In this case as this is a safety violation, it is entirely possible they would take the conservative action of removing you from the job if you can't prove you were operating safely. <S> Personally, I would contact a labor lawyer. <A> In some cases where HR can't determine fault you may find that both employees are "punished" if HR believes that the events leading to the incident, or the dispute after the incident have poisoned the environment. <S> They fear that this is the start of a pattern. <S> They might decide that a change in shift, duty station, or job will separate the individuals. <S> This is to avoid the situation where one employee is so angry with the process that they force an escalation of the violence. <S> The victim could become the aggressor, or the aggressor can decide that they can getaway with it again; or the false accuser could try again. <S> The level of punishment is not severe enough to cause the innocent person to protest, because they can see that the main goal is to stop the incidents. <S> It also allows HR/management to see if one of the two goes out of their way to continue the incidents. <S> Or if they change their focus to another target. <S> Again this is done when there is no way to determine fault. <A> Word against word scenarios are problematic. <S> HR must act in an impartial and decisive manner much like the judicial system. <S> I haven't worked in this area <S> but I would imagine they would do some investigation gathering the facts as seen by those involved. <S> Unlike a criminal court the facts do not have to measure up to the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' criteria. <S> It may not seem fair to reprimand you without 100% proof <S> but it may happen. <A> If you're in the US, then any forklift accident would fall under OSHA Law and Regulation( https://www.osha.gov/law-regs.html ). <S> HR may be following OSHA regulations for an accident since this person says she was injured. <S> Before you will know the resolution, they may have to do an investigation to protect the company. <S> If it is an OSHA issue, you may be able to find out what the process is from your boss or foreman. <S> You might also have good luck googling OSHA regulations, you might be able to determine if the suspension is part of OSHA, and what your rights and obligations are.
| Even if there is not enough evidence either way they will make sure that the chances of the two individuals interacting on a regular basis is minimized. I would also imagine that they would review your safety record, length of service, and might even interview others in your workplace to determine if the accusation is justified. HR can and should make a decision based on what little evidence they can find.
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Doing freelance work on the side without approval I interviewed for a small company in San Francisco for a web development position. When I was asked what I was doing prior to the interview, I said I was "working as a freelance web developer." His response was: "but you would be willing to give that up if you got this job, right?" Do you think this is him indicating that he doesn't want me freelancing on the side? Now that I have the job, I find that I still have time to freelance beyond my normal daily tasks. Should I start freelancing? Do you think this would upset him? I would rather not speak to him about it considering I just started working here and I certainly don't want him to think my priorities are anywhere other than my full time job. <Q> <A> The right thing to do here is ask. <S> Plain and simple. <S> The options for freelancing are highly variable from company to company. <S> It's generally not a matter of the company trying to manage your not-at-work time - <S> the needs to balance work and life are difficult and urgent regardless of whether a person freelances or makes other out of work commitments like family, hobbies, or other personal interests and commitments. <S> The issue is largely how the company views its role in the marketplace, the nature of it's intellectual property and the way it uses the services of it's engineers. <S> If a company sells consulting or contracting services, they may see freelancing as you becoming their competition - even if you are not part of the consulting or contracting team in your regular job. <S> Guessing from a reaction in an interview, though, isn't the best plan. <S> Ask and get a clear yes or no. <S> Do the following: check any contracts or agreements you signed review any employee guidance available from the company check with your direct manager <S> There can be plenty of vague speak here. <S> Usually if it's a firing offense, it'll be pretty loud and clear <S> , e.g. - "employees are prohibited from ...". <S> But in a team with more vague standards, you may get the response " <S> I'd prefer that you don't do that." - which is valid grounds for asking the manager "why? <S> ", "what's your concern?". <S> If the rules are really guidelines, you may be able to negotiate options that work for both you and your manager. <S> Hindsight is 20/20, but this sort of reaction in an interview is a good trigger for you to ask at the interview - better to know the case before you commit then start with false assumptions. <A> Some employment agreements explicitly prohibit outside work - in some cases, of any sort at all. <S> Your current employer could fairly presume conflict of interest if you are also doing web development of your own, since strictly speaking that business should be routed through your employer. <S> One practical issue in all this is that the mental bandwidth that you're consuming on your side jobs is being subtracted from your capacity within your day job. <S> You might literally have 'time', but not all time is created equal. <S> After you've been working 8 hours the extra work is not getting the same quality of attention. <S> If you work Sunday night on your own project there are some Mondays you'll come in half-dead. <S> The counter-argument is that the side work has you working with tools or more aggressive problems that your day job won't touch. <S> In such circumstances the skills you build will 'expand your reach' within the more normal job duties. <S> However, not all work has this quality. <S> If you do this at all, avoid largish projects. <S> Focus on something that is small but technologically 'rich'. <S> Focus the side work on things you're not doing 8-5. <S> Don't spend most of your evenings and weekends on these projects - keep every other weekend and most weeknights free. <S> Avoid anything that has a strong support component to it, where they might be messaging you in the middle of the day. <S> It's probably safe to say you already know this. <S> Also assume your boss will find out in a matter of weeks. <S> You may be thinking there's no way anyone you're working with interfaces with anyone he's working with, but you'll have to count out all the programmers groups, soccer games, and other opportunities for social interaction where the conversation runs something like this: 'I'm trying to find web developers. <S> Know any?' - 'Oh yeah, I have someone working on my little project, here's his card'. <S> The best thing to do is figure out why your employer doesn't like moonlighting, then see if you fundamentally agree with their rationale. <A> I spoke to my boss about this when I started. <S> His answer was that he was not crazy about it, but was okay with it as long as it did not impact my work and was not a conflict of interest with my current work. <S> Granted, I have a very tolerant boss, but if you can frame your freelance work as giving you additional skills to help in your day job, it may be helpful to your argument. <S> Always frame it as a positive for the business when asking for things. <A> They may be concerned about any conflicts or delays in your starting date. <S> Contract positions don't always have the typical 2-week notice. <S> Maybe this is a small startup and they feel "we're all friends here" <S> but it's a bit unprofessional. <S> If they don't, you should either ask if it is a problem or risk having this held against you. <S> It's like anything else that can be held against you if they desire.
| They may not feel you're in a position to decline working over-time if you're able to do extra work. Yes that would how I'd interpret that. Check your employment agreement to see if there are clauses about "moonlighting" or what you create outside of working hours as in some cases this may be owned by the company. The hiring company should explicitly state in writing their position on external work.
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Should I send an errata after technical interview? I had a technical interview with a prestigious company and I did quite well during all the questions and the interviewer seemed pleased with me ... but after the interview I noticed that the code I wrote had a bug (not a very big one but still). I spotted the errors a few seconds after leaving the interview. Would it be a good move for me to also include an "errata" into my thank you message to the interviewer?I would include it as a "post scriptum", or should I write it as a separate message so that my email does not look too long? Personally I am the kind of person that will be bothered by leaving my solution as is. But I do not want to jeopardize my chances by sending an errata if it is considered a bad thing. UPDATE: So to conclude my story. In the end I sent the errata and it was received well and I was accepted for the next "phase" of the application process within that company. To give more context, we are talking about a american company with footholds in may countries. It is well known for the quality of its recruiting process too and the quality of its engineers/programmers. I, of course, shall not give you the name of that company. Thank you all for your answers. <Q> Personally I am the kind of person that will be bothered by leaving my solution as is. <S> But I do not want to jeopardize my chances by sending an errata if it is considered a bad thing. <S> If this is the way you feel and this is the way you are <S> , I think it's dishonest and ultimately counter-productive to hide it. <S> These are the people that you're potentially going to work with for years or even decades. <S> Trying to conceal or suppress your character traits will end up making your and the people depending on you unhappy. <S> If you consider this is a negative character trait (personally I believe the contrary), that you would like to work on, then just say that. <S> Or if you feel slightly awkward about sending errata, you can also express that - doing something uncommon (which this would be) without acknowledging it, may also give the wrong impression. <S> Communication is important. <S> If you manage to be open, friendly and concise, you're doing it right ;) <A> I can't speak to the UK experience, but as a professional programmer and a manager of geeks here in the USA, I can say that it would be unusual. <S> How the hiring manager will respond is likely to be a very personal issue for them. <S> Myself, I'd see it as a mostly-good indicator - the candidate may be a little too fastidious, but he recognized a problem and called attention to it. <S> I'd suggest you think about the specific person you're addressing and try to see it more from that person's perspective than from a general case. <A> Send your thank you email and include the code fix with a small explanation. <S> They can choose to ignore it. <S> Personally I am the kind of person that will be bothered by leaving my solution as is. <S> If this company considers this inappropriate, you probably don't want to work there. <S> As programmers, we often compromise our standard of "good enough" by external constraints, so why impose this on yourself? <S> To me, all programmers or any other professional who creates and fixes things for a living, should have a bit of an aversion to mistakes, but not to the extent you paralyze your productivity. <A> You should discuss the bug - but not necessarily fix it - in a followup thank you email. <S> Don't take too long with the followup. <S> If you send a short email discussing the bug before they make a decision, it can help you. <S> If you send a brilliant email fixing they make a decision, it will be too late. <S> Also if you fix the bug, then you might create a new bug, which won't help you. <A> My experience is that such interviewes are to get a gut feeling for your tech skills. <S> A follow up would probably not change your chances as such since real world situations differ much from interview setups. <S> However, sending the errata will make you look more like a perfectionist. <S> If this is good or bad depends on your employer, if they earn profit by "quick n dirty" or "perfect". <A> Recognizing your own flaws is a skill that no employer should undervalue. <S> You can be pretty sure that you will not be the first programmer to write flawless code and how good you are at identifying your own mistake, is basically how small your own blindspot is. <S> There is one thing that goes deeper here though. <S> How does your employer react to your own flaws that you point out yourself? <S> Will you be punished? <S> Or will you be rewarded for fixing mistakes? <S> Successful companies encourage you to fail often and fail fast. <S> In other words, this is a great opportunity for you to test how your employer responds to mistakes .
| When you recognize flaws in your code before it is pointed out, it is a skill to be appreciated.
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What is the appropriate way to give your boss a book on management techniques? I've read Rework (by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried) and found that it has some really good points about ASAP, meetings, etc. I've found that this book addresses many mistakes that are regularly practiced at my daily job. My boss is hosting an annual BBQ party soon. Is it wrong if I give a copy of this book to my boss as a gift at the party? I'm afraid he might interpret it as an insult ("Hey, here is a management book! Go read it to learn how to manage us!"), but I feel that, if taken constructively, the book could be very helpful. What is the best way to give the book to my boss (e.g., at the party, in the workplace)? Is there any way to do it such that it is not inappropriate? <Q> Directly suggest one process change at a time. <S> Maybe tell him you read about it in that book. <S> If he's not open to suggestions, he won't be open to reading a book either. <A> Have you ever had a discussion with your boss about a management book you've read? <S> If she was interested, you may have suggested letting her borrow it. <S> That would give you an indication of how this person feels about business books or reading in general. <S> An office full of them would be another indicator that they are almost a collector. <S> I might give a copy as a gift to this person, but never without strong indications they wouldn't be offended or not interestd. <A> Many years ago, I gave my boss a copy of Peters' & Waterman's <S> In Search of Excellence . <S> I delivered it along with a recommendation - <S> " They've got some great things to say about why the things we tried to do here didn't work. " <S> But he already understood that the things we were trying to do weren't working. <S> If you're trying to tell your boss that he's doing something wrong, you're likely to be less successful than I was. <A> While it may be inadvisable to give a book like this to your boss, I think it depends on the type of person your boss is. <S> If you know that your boss is someone who loves self-help management books and has "The One-minute Manager" and "Am I the only Sane One Working Here?" on his/her bookshelf already, this would be totally fine. <S> If this is your way of trying to get him/her to change or improve management styles... then probably not. <A> This very much depends on your manager and relationship with him. <S> If he's friendly, open to new ideas and unlikely to take things personally, you're probably okay - <S> but I'd perhaps mention it to him first informally and see how he responds to the idea of "Loaning him your copy to read", as it has some techniques you really feel could improve processes at the company/within the team. <S> If he responds well to this, you could consider giving him a copy, otherwise drop it. <S> If in doubt, bring a bottle of wine instead.
| Done wrongly, you will run a significant chance of offending your manager as you could be seen as suggesting he is doing his job poorly.
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When keeping track of your hours, should you round at all? I'm keeping track of my own hours for the position I'm currently working at a small company. I have never had to keep track of my hours before, so I'm unsure about whether or not I should be exact in my report. For example, if I finished at 6:08 would it make sense to round it to 6:10? I'm afraid that if all of my numbers are rounded off, my employer may think I'm "cheating." A friend told me that it's actually how you are "supposed to do it," though. <Q> This is almost certainly something that is specific to your company. <S> There is a good chance that it is specified in your employment contract or in the Employee's Handbook you were given on your first day. <S> If not, it's something that you should ask your manager about to understand how your company handles this sort of thing. <S> If your time is billable, there are probably additional wrinkles where you always round up to a specified increment when counting up your billable hours. <S> The company might, for example, bill your time in 15 minute increments with a minimum charge of 1 hour. <S> So if a customer calls for support and you fix the problem in 5 minutes, the company might still bill for a full hour to deal with the time spent getting back up to speed with whatever you were doing and to prevent customers from regularly calling in with trivial issues. <S> Another company might bill actual time. <S> Yet another might record time in 30 minute intervals with no minimum. <S> Even if your time is not billable, different companies have different policies because they're collecting data for different reasons. <S> If the company just really cares that their salaried employees are generally putting in 40 hours a week, they probably want you to round off your time. <S> Most companies aren't going to care about a few minutes here or there in that case. <S> But that doesn't mean that your company isn't the odd-ball that is a stickler for exact accounting and wants to dock your time off if you only work 7 hours 55 minutes one day. <A> Some of the requirements regarding charging will be because of the software they use. <S> Some limit you to the 0.25 hour others to the 0.10 hours. <S> Others will be how they handle lunch, and is it mandatory. <S> Generally if you are supposed to keep track of the starting and ending time, keep the exact time, though you can drop the seconds. <S> If you can only record the delta time you will always want to round the hours worked down. <S> If you can charge in 6 minute increments (0.10 hours), if you record that you worked 8.1 hours you better not have worked for 8 hours and 5 minutes. <S> Sometimes hours are directly billed to a customer. <S> It can also result in you being fired. <S> I have known government agencies that pulled the turnstile logs for the building to prove that an employee or contractor didn't work 8 hours that day. <S> Sometimes you hours aren't directly billed to the customer but the company doesn't want to overpay you. <S> Therefore they tend to keep the rules the same no matter how you are billed, just to minimize confusion. <S> There are many rules regarding charging. <S> Some of the rules will be same for all employees, others will only apply based on if they are eligible for Overtime pay. <S> Being full time doesn't mean the rules don't apply, since if you aren't at work they will want you to charge vacation or sick. <S> You should expect guidance from HR. <A> Time tracking may serve one or more of several purposes: <S> If your hours are being billed to client, use exact time. <S> This is a legal requirement for government work, otherwise you are 'falsifying records'. <S> If the timesheet is purely for project schedule tracking , rounding to the nearest 10 or 15 minutes probably won't hurt anything. <S> By the time your current phase is near completion, the schedule will be unrecognizable anyway. <S> If the timesheet is used for job costing , rounding should be in pretty small increments, probably no more than 6 minutes. <S> Again, this is applicable if this is for internal use, if the 'job' is for a client follow whatever instructions you're given, it's probably in a contract.
| Ask HR, there should be a time charging document. Over billing can result in penalties to the company. Temp agencies often want rounding to the nearest tenth of an hour, a lot of people therefore finish up at the half or full hour interval so they don't have to figure out whether 5:53 is 4/10ths or 5/10ths. Most of the time, companies prefer that things get rounded though they'll often differ about what they round to.
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What is the most appropriate way to handle a coworker's habit that affects my health (and productivity) I got a job with a small web development firm last week and I'm still getting acquainted with the whole setting and environment. I've been paired up with a guy named John. I'm about to start working on my own (my training is almost finished) and I'm going to be in the room with him for five+ hours a day. The problem is he works with the lights out all the time. Working on a monitor without an appropriate light source is a serious health concern (in terms of vision). I'm the new guy - I don't want to come in and change everything up and hurt his "workflow," but I just find that this drives me crazy. What is the appropriate course of action? <Q> What is the appropriate course of action? <S> First talk with John. <S> It's entirely possible John will go, "yeah sure, doesn't bother me" and this is a non-issue. <S> I can't believe none of the answers or comments have suggested this as a first course of action. <S> Say something very similar to, "do you have any objections to me turning the lights on? <S> My eyes get strained if they are off." <S> Note the wording here is very deliberate. <S> It basically means if John wants to leave them off he needs to find a good reason. <S> Saying something much more passive, such as "can I turn the lights on?" allows an easy "I'd prefer not, thanks for asking!" <S> type of response which ends conversation. <S> I don't recommend just turning the lights on without at least asking John. <S> Assuming this doesn't work (which is probably unlikely) try some of the suggestions listed in other answers. <A> I have no idea if move to an another office is even possible, or if you want to try that one first. <S> If you try to compromise and adjust first, you might have greater success when asking to move to another office because you can say we tried X,Y and Z. Compromise ideas would include: Can you position some task lighting to minimize the glow that impacts him, yet gives you some additional light. <S> Can the light from the window be better utilized by you if the desks were moved or turned. <S> Can the light from the hallway be better utilized by you if the desks were moved or turned. <S> Is there a different bulb that can be used. <S> Adjust options: <S> Get there earlier or stay later. <S> It might give you additional hours with sufficient external light. <S> Asking to Move: Explain what you tried. <S> Explain why they didn't work. <S> Suggest some options. <S> Don't call it a health issue, unless it really is one. <S> Now if you do have a documented issue with low light conditions then you can explain the situation. <S> In some places they would have to make reasonable accommodations to deal with the disability. <A> In Denmark there are regulations in place to ensure you have a good working environment, and which you can point out is not being followed and then have to be put in order. <S> In other words, we can without being looked strangely at request proper lightning, adjustable tables and chairs <S> (I am really tall <S> so I have seen a lot), <S> etc so that the law is followed. <S> I don't know in your culture if that is the same, but this is the approach I would suggest. <S> If that then is incompatible with John then you can most likely not share offices, and will have to find another way to communicate efficiently.
| The options are: Move to another office Compromise Adjust Live with the issue Saying my suggestion forces a dialog on it should John want to leave them off. Is there a low setting on the lights that can be used. If you must work together for those 5+ hours is there a way you could adjust your starting time to minimize the overlap. Say that it impacts your productivity.
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Sending references and transcripts along with resume and cover letter? I have master degrees in applied math and statistics, and am looking for jobs in statistics and biostatistics. I am reading this site , which says: In either your cover letter or C.V., list the names of your references, giving their addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, assuming they have agreed to this. I also advise having letters of recommendation sent immediately, rather than waiting for the search committee to request this. The same can be said of sending academic transcripts. I was wondering if the two practices are indeed helpful? At what point do I need to have the references ready in general: when sending out my resume and cover letter, before interview, or after interview? I haven't figured out who will be willing to serve as my references.Nor have I contacted any professor yet. I am actually a PhD studentfailing my qualify exam and have to leave the program, and I am notsure how much support I will find from my professors. Also how about sending transcripts along with resumes? Now I onlyhave unofficial ones, and do most employers like to have transcripts andeven official ones? <Q> Yes prepare the letters of reference and make sure the contact information for them is good. <S> HR won't even look at them until they get past a certain point in the process. <S> HR assumes you have some, and that they put you in the best light possible. <S> If your work history is short, then the academic transcript might be required to prove that you have that degree. <S> The unofficial one might be the only one you need. <S> If they want an official one it will have to be generated by the university and sent to the employer. <S> That will also mean that if they want to see it, it will be later in the process. <S> References can can be both from work and college professors. <S> For a BS degree there might not be very many professors that will remember you due to some class sizes being in the hundreds. <S> For the MS and PHD programs pick one or two that remember you, and you did well in their class or with their project. <S> You earned the BS and the MS <S> so why worry about the PHD problems. <S> That doesn't invalidate the earlier work unless the reason was because of cheating or some other fire-able offense. <A> While there are exceptions, I'm going to say, in general no. <S> According to AskAManager ,who actually does hiring, consider the following: <S> You don't want to annoy or wear out your good references. <S> The hiring manager knows that you will have them, and will ask for them when they want them. <S> Have the available for the hiring manager, and contact your references to let them know they may be contacted. <S> You don't want to waste space on the cover letter with references when you could be using that valuable introduction to say why you'd be a good choice for that particular job. <S> Go ahead and have the letters of reference, but the hiring manager will want to actually speak to your references. <S> The letters were written, at least in part, for you, and are something that they know you see. <S> The conversation between the hiring manager and your reference can be more honest, and impart nuances that the letters don't. <S> Hiring managers know this. <S> Have an unofficial copy of your transcripts, for if they request it. <S> If they need an official copy, you can get that when needed (usually from the college directly to the employer). <S> Once you have experience, they will usually not care about transcripts (although they still may want to verify your degrees). <S> So, have a good resume and a compelling cover letter. <S> If you can catch their interest in the 15-30 seconds they spend on that, you can offer the rest when they speak to you. <S> Without that good resume and cover letter, they're not going to spend any time on anything else you include. <S> They don't expect it at this point either. <A> Have references available to call upon, but do NOT give them out when applying for a job. <S> There are a couple of reasons for this in addition to the good ones already mentioned above: <S> You want to engage in a dialog with the hiring manager so that you can highlight your skills and abilities, your interest in the position, and show how you are a good fit for the job. <S> If you give away everything in the first interaction, the dialog doesn't get a chance to start. <S> After all, what is the point of them to come back to ask for more information? <S> They will assume they have everything they need. <S> I have references that know me in different contexts; I might choose to use one reference for one job and another reference for a different job. <S> I might not know which one to use until after I have already have interviewed with the company. <S> I want my references to be prepared for being contacted. <S> I tell them the company I interviewed with, the names of the people (hiring manager, HR rep) and a description of the position. <S> They now have some context in which to talk about me in the best way possible. <S> If I forgot to mention something in the interview, I can ask a reference to bring it up for me ("By the way, Jeff is really good at..."). <S> I can ask a reference to highlight a particular strength of mine if I think it needs to be emphasized. <S> -Jeff <A> from someone who job hops alot and is in the IT industry where references tend to be checked. <S> Do not send references until they ask for them. <S> You don't want them bugging your friends too many times. <S> The only people who check references before an interview are contract companies, however, make them ASK for them first. <S> Your first priority is to be considerate to the people giving references. <S> You may want them to do it again.
| Unless the letter of recommendation is from an awesome reference it is not even necessary to mention that you have them in either the resume or the cover letter.
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Should I mention not knowing a particular programming language in the cover letter? If a position requires programming language "A", but I only know a different one, is it recommended to mention that in the cover letter? Such as when an employer prefers someone knowing SAS over other similar statistical programming languages (such as R ), but I only know R. Is it good to say the following? Currently, my primary programming languages are R, Python and MATLAB, and I am able to quickly pick up SAS or STATA as needed. Should I include the above or not mention it at all? <Q> If the language is a requirement, then it not showing up in your cover letter / CV at all would be a negative. <S> The way you have phrased it - that you can pick it up quickly, is (in my eyes) a bonus. <S> You should make a point of R being a statistical programming language - this helps show that you are familiar with the domain as well. <A> Should I include the above or not mention it at all? <S> Your cover letter should emphasize the positives and ignore the negatives in your background. <S> Thus, you should not mention anything that is missing. <S> Something like this emphasizes the positives: <S> Currently, my primary programming languages are R, Python and Matlab. <S> Over the years, I have been able to pick up other languages very quickly. <A> Usually you will find two sets of "requirements" in a job posting. <S> Those the applicant must have. <S> Those <S> they desire that the applicant have. <S> If the particular language or technology you are missing is from the must have list that is harder to overcome. <S> You risk that the initial filtering by either the computer or HR will reject the application/resume. <S> They want to see those words. <S> It is easier if you have some experience but not as many years as they describe. <S> If a skill they desire but don't require is missing from your resume that is much more easily overcome. <S> They realize that applicants resume and experience is shaped by the jobs that they have had. <S> If you worked for a company that only used R you might not have the expertise in SAS. <S> They will usually list a bunch of statistical packages to allow as many applicants to qualify. <S> They expect that every applicant is missing some of the list. <S> The more items of the list you do have the better candidate on paper you are. <S> The new company will generally give you time to come up to speed on the desired items. <S> They might train you or send you to training. <S> On the other hand items on the required skill list you are expected to know before you walk in the door. <S> Use your cover letter to overcome the deficiencies, by expanding on the related experience. <S> Though realize that the more you are missing from the required list the more likely your application will be rejected long before the interview. <S> Most of this concern is moot <S> if you can get a recommendation from somebody on the project, they can more personally vouch that your long experience in the field will overcome some minor deficiencies in the specific technology. <A> This just depends on the company. <S> If the technologies requested are at least related to work you have done in the past, I would play up my domain knowledge and ability to learn new languages quickly (which it would appear you are already doing). <S> However, some companies are looking for someone that can fill an immediate need. <S> They want someone who has knowledge and experience in the specific technologies they are using such that they require little or no training and can be productive on day one. <S> These sorts of companies tend to stick to widely adopted technologies (Java, etc.) <S> so that they can find replacements quickly. <S> These companies will generally prefer someone of average talent who has X years experience with the right technologies over a genius with experience in other areas. <S> If you don't have the skills, you won't even get an interview. <S> No great loss, you probably wouldn't want to work at such a place anyway. <S> Other companies (usually the smaller ones, but not always) tend to seek out talented software engineers first and consider experience with the right technologies to be a bonus. <S> Usually you'll be able to tell which sort of employer you're dealing with early on in the application process <S> (if the job posting itself doesn't give it away). <S> If they don't care what language you use to solve problems during the interview process (either pre-screening homework or 'whiteboard' questions during the interview itself), that's a good sign. <S> I have been known to satisfactorily complete such an 'interview homework' assignment in an unfamiliar language only to be rejected later on when the interviewer(s) learned that my experience in language X was basically limited to said homework assignment <S> :/ <S> Alas, I have had to develop better filters on my side of the interview process, and a lot of it comes down to gut feelings (based on experience) that lead me to say "Sorry, no longer interested" :)
| In short - if you don't currently have the requisite knowledge, ensure your cover letter makes it an much of a non-issue as possible.
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How to make a smooth exit transition? I have worked at my current company for 13 months now, and have accepted an offer yesterday from another firm. I love the work environment at my current job and all my coworkers, but an increased research-oriented view and 40+k pre-tax salary bump was hard to resist. I have heard all over the internet that I am not as irreplaceable to a company as I may think, and that may well be true. However, the project I have worked on the past year is a huge bet for my current company and I have been the sole guiding force and only one with intimate knowledge of its workings. In anticipation of a laborious knowledge transfer, I've pushed out my new job's start date to mid-september. What do I do in the upcoming month+ to make this as easy on my current employer as possible? I am in the middle of a fairly large project delivering in about 1.5 months (but technically not complicated. just functionally.) in addition to the behemoth that I have been heading. The large project, in my mind, has overcome all the major architectural hurdles, and I have assigned a task to a newer employee to take care of the remaining minor one. In my mind, the project's success or failure lies in execution now, rather than technical vision which is my forte. I plan on documenting LITERALLY EVERYTHING I have done on this separate module and keeping all the resources in one place. I have further scheduled a class tomorrow to begin the knowledge transfer - teach some others how it works because I am the only one right now. Is there anything else I can do to ease the pain on the company? It is not large, so my departure will be a significant blow to the development resources. Final Note: They do not know yet. I was planning on giving standard 2 weeks notice (USA), maybe 3 weeks because I do not want to see them fail. Is that the appropriate amount of time? Thank you in advance for your wisdom. UPDATE: My background check cleared on Friday, and I told my boss privately on Friday afternoon, as well as the Head of Engineering. We've started coming up with a 4 week transition plan, and they are very happy for me, but understandably disappointed at my departure. Thank you all for your input, and I hope this question helps others in the future. UPDATE 2 BY REQUEST: The exit plan worked great, there was a rush of meetings set up to KT for whoever they could shuffle into the project, and within the guidelines of my new company's moonlighting policy I am actually still consulting for the old one as well (not that the pay is great but it's nice to keep a track of the project that feels like my child :) ). What we did to for the exit: 1) Spend 1 full business day with boss, his boss, and the teammate(s) most likely to burden your responsibilities (last one not as important, but it helps if they have people in mind) and come up with a list of WHAT YOU DO. Be very detailed. 2) Spend 1 week on your own, writing a word doc on each task outlined above. Be very explicit - it helps to write out how a normal day goes. 3) Spend whatever time you have remaining to go over each segment with your boss and anybody that is in your immediate circle as a presentation. Don't use the word doc - this is a guide they'll need for later. Just get up to the whiteboard/PPT and start talking. After all, you do it, so it needs no preparation. 4) It helps that I am in a technical field and most of the transfer was actually transferable. Quite a bit of it was class-like and updating the team members on the cutting edge that i was using but wasn't touched by the others. This part probably doesn't translate very well to other fields. This seemed to work in my case, but I'm no expert, so additional input would be welcome. <Q> You have already accepted the new job. <S> The responsible thing to do is to go talk to your boss - now . <S> Explain that you have pushed the start date in order to help with knowledge transfer and tie up any loose ends. <S> Talk it over with your manager. <S> That you can give two weeks notice doesn't mean you can't give more. <S> Two weeks is just the minimum - you can give 4 weeks notice if you wish, and give it now (which is a fair thing to your employer). <S> The laws differ in different places, by I believe 2 weeks is standard in the US - a company knows this can happen and should not be relying solely on you - this is their problem now. <S> The job of transitioning the project over to others is not yours - it belongs to your manager. <S> What you can do is ask them how best you can help in making a smooth transition as possible. <A> There are a few things about this situation that don't add up. <S> No offense, but a company that puts an extremely critical project in the hands of an inexperienced person and doesn't bother to structure your compensation to try to make sure you'll stay for the duration, either doesn't realize the risk they are taking or the project is not that big of a deal. <S> You seem to be willing to work with them except you're not going to stay until the project ends. <S> Give notice and see what they want to do. <S> I doubt they can replace you before leaving, but who knows? <S> Continue to be cooperative. <S> Don't burn any bridges. <S> Before you tell them, decide what you'll do if they make you an counter-offer. <A> Seeing the things you mentioned in your post, as a manager <S> I would say your heart is at the right place which believe me is quite rare (at least in my experience). <S> What I write below is something I did as an employee as well as I would like as an employer. <S> First, as others have mentioned talk to your boss immediately . <S> Don't blind side him with a 2 week notice. <S> Given that you mentioned that your boss trusts you, that would be the ideal thing to do. <S> Also talk to your new employer. <S> As them if there's a possibility of delaying the joining date. <S> Tell them that you're working on a project and you would like to finish the project before you join. <S> I think your new employer will appreciate that (I know I would). <S> If the new employer does not agree for that (they may have their own reasons for that <S> and you would have to honor that), ask them if you could do part time work for "x" amount of days for your previous employer. <S> I think he would highly appreciate this (again, I know I would). <S> After you have had this conversation with your boss, make sure you set up expectations straight. <S> There should be a clear plan of action like what will be your responsibilities during the notice period and after that (if you continue working on that project). <S> On a personal note, start detaching yourself from the project. <S> Since you have been associated with this project for a long time, you may have formed an emotional bond with the project. <S> Now is the time to gradually start severing those ties. <S> Believe me, it would be easier for everybody.
| When the situation is resolved with your new employer, go talk to your boss and give him all the options you have worked out with your new employer.
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Nothing to show for the past several months at work I've been working in a job for a little over 18 months. The company is seriously small - for a long period I was the only full time employee, I work in a semi skilled position, requiring some knowledge of the industry but training was given. For the first few months I was learning the position and a lot of training was given to help. Once I had learned the basics I started making more managerial decisions, eventually I assumed a position where I was managing most of the businesses functions/needs/tasks etc. After I had been working nearly a year the owner made it quite clear he did not want me to leave, even though I had shown no interest in leaving. They said as long as I am here they would do what ever they can to help with my long term career goals i.e experience in a certain area, putting me on courses to help with qualifications etc. However a few months later wasn't on any courses, the owner was showing less interest in the company as he had interests in other businesses and my daily activities at work were becoming more menial. I was finding myself in a position where I was working to just keep the company running rather than growing or exploring new areas. I started looking for another job but the owner then said he would put more interest in the business and I would be given more advanced work. Another few months later nothing had changed, I was pushing new ideas to the owner and they we just getting ignored, for almost a month now I have had very little contact off of him, I am given very little work to do and when I make suggestions he disappears and doesn't make any contact for weeks. He has pretty much given up on this business and doesn't show an interest in it at all. I am now looking for a new job but I am concerned what I can say interviewers. If they ask what my current job involves I can only say menial activities. If they ask for an example of when I have lead a project I can explain how I formulates ideas and produced reports on a given topic but they wasn't a success because they was ignored. I feel now I am in a worse position than I was 6 months ago. What is my best option in this situation? <Q> What is my best option in this situation? <S> I'm not sure what you are looking for here, but let me give it a shot. <S> Being the sole employee of a business puts you in a rather unique position. <S> Learning enough to earn the owners trust is a good sign. <S> Managing most of a businesses functions/needs/tasks sets you apart from others. <S> As you look for your next job, your best option is to reflect on all the positives of the last 18 months, find ways to use them to your advantage, and be positive about them in your resume and in interviews. <S> If necessary, practice conveying that optimistic outlook during mock interviews with your friends. <S> Good luck! <A> Don't stick to what you were doing yesterday. <S> Speak broadly of what you've done over the course of the complete time at the company. <S> Even in a great company, people have lulls. <S> And skip the small stuff of late that hasn't been challenging. <S> They are hiring you for what you are capable of, not what you were doing yesterday. <S> Don't think of "current" as the absolute most recent experience - think of it as an option to talk about skills you have used on the job, and would be able employ quickly in a new job. <A> When you first started this job, were all the tasks menial? <S> Something else to consider is what you call menial may not be menial to someone else as there is something to be said for what proficiency have you developed in this job? <S> Are you closing sales? <S> What is involved in managing things so that the owner can focus more on other businesses? <S> These are where I'd go as there is something to be said for working well on your own as that does appear to be the case here <S> no? <S> While right now things are in one state, look back over all of what you've done rather than just in the past week or month.
| When looking for a new job, trying to show what makes you different from all the other candidates is usually a good thing. Speak of the parts of the job you liked - taking responsibility, managing business functions.
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Can I ask for salary increase now that I've graduated? I did my final college internship at the company where I still work now. The internship was about five months long. At the end of my internship I kept working for the same compagny over the summer. Now summer is ending and school is coming back. I will be missing a few courses before entering university so I asked them if they would have a job for me over the next year. They said yes. They know it will be somewhere around 25-30 hour per week depending on my schedule. The salary they gave me during my internship is about 2/3 of the salary that people graduated in computer technology are actually making. For the summer I didn't ask them for more because I didn't want to be this guy "always asking for more". Now I have graduated. What would be the best way to ask them to raise my salary without looking like "I just graduated and you should pay me X more an hour"? Edit: The classes I still need to take are in order to get to the university, those weren't simply included in my program. <Q> Actually, "I just graduated and you should pay me X more an hour" is a fine thing to say, if in fact you had graduated . <S> But you haven't, you have some more classes to finish. <S> You could try negotiating now what your raise will be when you graduate. <S> That will probably work out fine. <S> But don't expect them to pay it to you until you are actually finished your school work. <A> You can always ask for more. <S> You would go to them and basically say, "Now that I have a degree <S> , I think I'm worth more." and see what happens. <S> But you aren't yet a full-timer. <S> And from a hiring manager's point of view, they may not be sure if you will be sticking around for the long haul, or are just staying there until you complete your education. <S> (After your latest comments, you indicate don't believe you will be sticking around and that they know it. <S> I'd be surprised if they give you the same pay as someone who they think will be around.) <S> I know I like to give benefits to folks who I expect to be around longer, at the expense of those who may be gone in a year or two. <S> But, it seldom hurts to ask! <S> All they can say is "No". <A> It sounds like you've already researched what similar companies in your area are paying for people with similar skills for a similar job. <S> It can be awkward asking for more money, and for ideas on that, I recommend reading AskAManager about ways to handle the actual negotiations. <S> But you do need to have a solid case for the value you provide to them, and why paying $X more is reasonable. <S> If they agree, fine. <S> If they don't agree, then you have to decide how long you work for them to continue get experience, and then prove you are worth more by actually getting that better paying job.
| You need to make a case for the value you bring to them, and how your graduating (if you really have done so, it's not clear) provides a benefit to them and is worth $X more.
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Help former coworkers or ask for paid consulting? Assuming one left on good terms and enjoyed working with the former coworkers, I'm wondering if it would be unusual or unprofessional to only offer help if the former employer offers payment for effort. On one hand I would want to help my past coworkers, but on the other hand they are asking on behalf of the business and for my help as a professional, and I doubt the business would expend resources to help me if it were reversed. Assuming something more involved than a quick answer (such as helping troubleshoot, or domain knowledge transfer that was overlooked etc), would it seem unprofessional to be willing to help but on a consulting basis? <Q> Assuming something more involved than a quick answer (such as helping troubleshoot, or domain knowledge transfer that was overlooked etc), would it seem unprofessional to be willing to help but on a consulting basis? <S> No, it would be unprofessional to continue working for free. <S> Professionals are paid for their work. <S> I would answer an occasional "Where is" question, but if the question starts with "Can you look at...", the answer is "sorry, we would need to set up a consulting arrangement before I could do that." <A> Assuming something more involved than a quick answer (such as helping troubleshoot, or domain knowledge transfer that was overlooked etc), would it seem unprofessional to be willing to help but on a consulting basis? <S> I guess I'll have to disagree a bit with some of the other good answers. <S> It probably depends on how much of your time is needed for this type of help, and what type of work you do. <S> I've helped co-workers on numerous occasions over the years (still do), and would never think of charging my friends or family. <S> I consider this part of my personal networking, part of my responsibility to my profession, and think of it as a "what goes around comes around" scenario. <S> If I ever needed a reference or some help, I know I could count on them. <S> On the other hand, if they needed a week of my time, I needed to cancel a vacation to help them, or if I needed to postpone a paid consulting gig for their benefit, I would think about asking for a consulting fee. <S> In my case, I always considered it as "helping my friends". <S> If instead, you feel this is more like "helping their business", you might view things differently. <S> If your job is consulting for this sort of business, it probably makes sense to offer your consulting services more formally. <A> Nothing unprofessional about helping <S> but you might consider making some sort of distinction between what constitutes help and what counts as actual "work" that might be potentially billable. <S> Making the difference clear at the start can eliminate a lot of potential misunderstanding down the road. <S> It also makes it easier for them when they do want to pay you for your services (or for you to ask for payment) as a basic framework will be in place. <A> As a software & web developer, I've done some paid freelance work for a former employer, and I've also provided a lot of help and advice for free. <S> Where I think it's important to draw the line is when you're touching and changing their assets (both physical and intellectual). <S> I'll give advice and guidance via phone and email or over a coffee or beer, for free. <S> Even quite detailed advice. <S> But if I need to check in code to their source control, or log in to one of their servers, then I need to have a consulting agreement in place. <S> I really, really don't want to ever be in the situation where something goes horribly wrong, and it's connected (or <S> even appears to be connected) to me changing something "as a favour" to a former co-worker. <S> That way real trouble lies. <S> Something to think about, <S> anyway. <S> As Kevin said, "professionals are paid for their work", there's nothing wrong with requesting a freelance agreement for any significant piece of work.
| While professionals do deserve to be paid for their work, professionals also do a lot of unpaid work in many circumstances.
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Listing unprofitable business ventures as professional experience For the last ten months or so I've been working essentially full time on a webapp. The webapp doesn't make much money (through donations it covers hosting costs and allows me to go out to lunch daily). I'm not bitter about it. I knew it wouldn't be profitable, but it was a labor of love and I plan to continue maintaining it when I get a job. Would it be alright to list this under professional experience? I mean, I learned a ton, and the site is live and has a decent userbase. <Q> It seems to me that if the app covers its costs and lets you buy lunch 5 times a week, that's profitable (and a lot better than most apps). <S> I would include it on your resume, since personal projects are a huge indicator that you can work and learn independently, and actually enjoy doing it. <S> Where to put it on the resume depends on what job you're applying to, your locale, and how successful the side-project was. <S> If it was all you were working on during a period of time, I would definitely include it alongside other jobs. <S> A side project that is bringing in a few lunches a week might be better put under a "personal/open source projects" category after your work experience so to not detract or distract from the sort of experience you're focused on selling. <A> Of course you should list it as professional experience. <S> You worked full time on it, it has a user-base, and most importantly it is live and operational. <S> The level of profitability is not important and doesn't need to be brought to the forefront, especially since you had no expectation that it would be profitable. <S> The fact that it exists and is self-sustaining suggests that it could become a valuable asset. <S> 10 man-months is a relatively short time anyway. <S> At the very least, you could think of it as a "portfolio" piece and a springboard for useful discussion about business. <A> Would you fail to list a full time employer that you worked for years on the basis that they went bankrupt and never made a profit while you were there? <S> If you've been working on it full time, you've put a lot into it and have hopefully learned a lot. <S> Not only is it experience, it is something that they can look at to see your work. <S> Include it.
| If it was a side project that was big and profitable, I would probably include it alongside other jobs.
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Is hiring a single software engineer common or reasonable for smaller companies? I work as a software engineer at a small/medium sized company. I work alone as a software engineer. There are two other people in the building that know programming, but one is the head of the engineering department and the other is an engineer (biomedical engineering). My question, is hiring a single software engineer common in the industry? I have no real complaints about the job but, working on my own, I have no one else in the company I can go to for help with major problems if I encounter any. The deadlines and expectations are reasonable currently but my fear is that this might change in the future. Is it reasonable for a company to expect one software engineer to function independently like this? How can I best handle this situation? <Q> As another lone programmer, I can tell you it is very common and <S> a lot of software gets written this way. <S> To get help, you have to reach outside your office. <S> Join local or online user groups. <S> Stackoverflow has been a big help for specific programming questions. <S> You could argue you may get better answers faster there than from your own team members who are too busy. <S> For domain specific questions, you should have other resources there, but they may not be programming-savvy which may require more time to get on the same page. <S> and you should get more fluent as you improve your skills and understand the business needs. <S> Less productive developers could have an advantage of getting lost in the team. <S> Time-off can be difficult because you're the only person to put out all the fires. <S> A supportive supervisor may be better than having others pick up the slack in the long run. <A> I worked at a small company as single developer <S> so I would say it is not unusual. <S> Two are more developers are always better since there is always the danger of you getting serious ill and there will be no one the carry on with your work. <S> Maybe you will even go on vacation from time to time. <S> But additional people always mean additional expenses for the company. <S> Even if you work alone you still can (and should) communicate with other developers. <S> The internet is a great place. <S> I guess you already use Stackoverflow and the related sites. <S> The most important and helpful people for your job may be working on the other side of the planet. <A> A small company can be compared to a small project. <S> For some companies/projects having one employee with skill set <S> X is fine, for others it is not. <S> It will depend on the product being produced by the company/project. <S> Is function X critical to the survival of the company/project? <S> If yes then you want to avoid a low bus number. <S> If it is not critical then it might be able to survive while you find a replacement. <S> They can't just have two of everything just in case of disaster, or to provide way for an employee to grow. <A> Yes this is reasonable. <S> Small companies on average have small budgets. <S> A software engineer is an expensive position to fill. <S> Having two would be doubling that cost from a budget perspective, and probably offer minimal gains in productivity. <S> My best advice for you would be to spend 3-5 hours a week maintaining documentation for getting another developer up to speed quickly. <S> Then, if you get hit with a major project and have to hire a contactor, or developer, you won't spend a month getting them up to snuff with your evnironment. <S> This will also help your replacement if you get hit by a bus.
| With one programmer it's easier to see what you are capable of It will also depend on the workload needed to complete the tasks.
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Why do some businesses start insurance after 30 or 60 days or on the 1st of next month? I've noticed that while some (U.S.) employers start health insurance on day 1 of your new job, others start after 30 days, 60 days, or on the 1st of next month. Obviously this state of affairs doesn't benefit the employee, so whom does it benefit, and how? Does it make the insurance cheaper? Do some health insurance companies or plans require this? Is it just a way to avoid paperwork for employees who quit quickly? <Q> There are a couple of reasons a company may not add an employee to insurance immediately: <S> A waiting period prevents new workers from accepting a new job, using the benefits and then simply quitting the job leaving the company to pay the bill. <S> This is the argument for keeping preexisting condition in insurance policies too. <S> The company may quickly discover you are a bad hire and will have saved time and effort letting you go. <A> There are two scenarios in your question: 30/60 days: You may not work out in the job. <S> You may not like the job and not come back. <S> There are likely penalties to remove someone just added to insurance, so let's wait until the everyone is committed. <S> 1st of Month: <S> The insurance company may not be geared up to add someone immediately. <S> There is likely a cut off date, and all changes will take effect from 1st next month. <S> So it depends on the deals/procedures of the company/insurance. <A> The insurance company is often the one making this rule. <S> I own a firm in Canada, we provide health insurance to our staff for things not covered by universal health care, such as prescriptions and glasses, and our insurance made this rule, not us. <S> I believe that applies to others too. <S> I think in addition to the scenario Paul Brown mentioned, it also helps to keep owners from adding friends/family to the payroll for just a few days to get something covered, then dropping them again. <S> Or to be more accurate, policies that only cover people who have been with the company for a minimum period of time are cheaper than those that cover everyone from day 1. <S> The smaller the company, the more impact this distinction will have. <A> The bigger companies, which self insure, can dictate that they will cover somebody from day 1. <S> They don't have to, but they can. <S> They will still require you to signup by a deadline, but will cover any expenses you have starting from day 1. <S> The fact they self insure means that they have a more control over certain rules. <S> They still use an insurance company to arrange doctors, hospitals and to process paperwork, so the card might take weeks to arrive but the coverage starts before the arrives. <S> Medium sized companies will not have the power to dictate the rules they want on the insurance company. <S> Therefore they don't have the flexibility in this area. <S> They will still give you a deadline to register, but will start coverage for new employees on a set schedule. <S> In some cases a boutique company could decide to cover an employee starting on day 1. <S> Their size doesn't allow them to dictate to the insurance company the start date, they just cover the employee from corporate funds for that initial period. <S> This is vary rare. <S> The reason why an insurance company likes a set schedule for the new employees is that is simplifies their processes. <S> They know when they will process the accounts for the new employees, they know that they don't have additions every day of the month. <S> They also don't have to bill for partial months. <S> In a related situation how companies handle the end of the employment. <S> Some will continue your policy to the end of the month, others will end it on the last day of employment. <S> Knowing before quitting is important to make sure that you don't count on insurance that isn't there or don't take advantage of the insurance that does exist. <S> I don't see how there are a large number of employees who find a job, get insurance and quit as soon as they get the expensive treatment. <S> Just by chance there will be some, but it can't be a large number.
| The paperwork for the HR department or insurance company is a lot easier to deal with on an incremental basis, so only adding new workers to the benefits when paying the next bill prevents the complexity of partial billing.
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Should I ask my new employer for an extra laptop charger? I do not want to be perceived as overly demanding, high maintenance, or downright lazy in my new job, but I do dislike having to carry/pack any more work equipment than just my Mac Book. Carrying the charger around introduces the possibility of me losing it, and having one charger at home and one at work would make the process of dock alternation really simple. The thing is, Mac chargers are rather pricey (about $50) and I just started the job two weeks ago. Is this a frivolous request? <Q> Is this a frivolous request? <S> No this request is not frivolous at all, particularly if you perform a fair amount of company work at home on a regular basis. <S> At my current company, we have many folks who work from home often. <S> They have all been provided with the tools they need to work efficiently - including additional chargers as needed. <S> I have one myself. <S> If you are wary of approaching your boss, ask one of your co-workers first to see if this is something the company normally provides. <S> Seems very reasonable to me. <A> By all means, go ahead and ask for a necessary equipment . <S> Having volunteered to expend some of your personal time towards your work, you may expect for tools that would make your work at home comfortable; Working at home for just a single hour would probably make your company a profit bigger than $50; Forgetting a charger at home just once would ruin your entire working day; Many companies set a certain amount of monthly allowance that the employees could spend to improve their working equipment, whatever it can be: paper holders, flowers, or photo frames. <S> If your company doesn't have it yet, you may give a start for this nice tradition. <S> Ask early and be patient waiting for a result as it may require some time to arrange. <A> On average, I find the macbook chargers to be around $30. <S> dx.com <S> I agree with the comment that you think to much about what others think. <S> Just plainly ask to your employer "hey, can I get a second charger for home?". <S> No explicit reasoning necessary. <S> If not, just pay 30 bucks yourself for the convenience if you so desire :/. <S> It's not much, especially not when you have a job. <A> The worst questions are the ones you never ask <S> I think that if you clearly indicate to your employer your reasoning behind the request as well as how it would increase your productivity, he would gladly arrange for another charger.
| I believe that you should first of all, kindly ask for a charger with either a formal email or a very sincere talk with your employer. $50 is not a lot to spend to help an employee be more productive.
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How can I decide if I should use a title (Mr./Ms.) when e-mailing a prospective employer? I have been corresponding with several potential employers, but I'm not sure about the appropriate way to address the representative. How should I determine how to address them ("John", "Mr. Smith", "Mr. John Smith", "John Smith", etc.) I've never met these people and do not know what is typical in the company they work for. I have received several e-mails addressing me by my first name and often with a greeting (e.g. "Hi [Firstname]") rather than by referring to me by my last name (e.g. "Mr. [Lastname]"). Should I follow their lead, or should I err on the conservative side the first time I address them to test the waters? What are some ways to evaluate the proper title to use? <Q> Should I follow their lead, or should I err on the conservative side the first time I address them to test the waters? <S> In the U.S. it almost never hurts to err on the conservative side when dealing with written conversation and a prospective employer. <S> I am sometimes taken aback <S> when someone who I don't know and have never spoken with addresses me as "Joe". <S> (Perhaps I'd rather be called "Joseph", perhaps in my company everyone uses full names in emails, etc) <S> Thus, until you are comfortably on a first-name basis with someone, address them as "Mr. [Lastname]" or "Ms. [Lastname]" in your emails. <S> After you have talked with them on the phone, or met them in person, you'll get a better idea as to how casual their culture is. <S> At that time, you may feel more free to address them by their first name. <A> Last name. <S> Even though the other party may address you with your first name. <S> Once you have made some progress with your aplithe prospective firm <S> and you know the other person for a while (as opposed to talking to a team of HRs) and the other other person is addressing you by your first name, then you can address the other person with his first name Ex. <S> Hi John. <S> Due to the conditions <S> Mr. <S> Fox talks about, over the years I have found that opening a mail just saying a simple 'Hello' to be the best way. <A> When you answer - follow their lead. <S> Hi John, Hi Jane, Hello Mr. Smith, Hello Ms. Doe. <S> When you write first - I'd say Mr./Ms. <S> FirstName LastName would be safest. <S> Especially when you write to foreigners and have no idea which part is their last name and which is a family-country-specific name. <S> A friend of mine is responsible of creating email addresses for new employees with the standard jsmith routine. <S> The ways of politely asking "Which word is your last name?" <S> ... I once referred to an Indian coworker as "Currently not in the office", because I heard he had a strange [for us] name <S> and this is what I found in his status. <S> So yeah, better go safe.
| I have found that this works best in communication with prospective future employers :In the beginning of your communications, always address the 'To' person as Mr/Ms(Mz)
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How long should you keep your payslips? How long should you keep a payslip from your company? Should you keep ones from previous employments? I've never been asked for one but I feel I should keep them - is this correct? <Q> If you are in the UK, the tax year goes from 6th April to 5th April and I would advise payslips be kept either until the form P60 is received at the end of the tax year, or until a form P45 is received after leaving the job. <S> If you wish to be extra cautious keeping them another year couldn't hurt. <S> If you are talking about the UK, keep in mind that the tax office can go back up to 6 back years if there is any query on your tax affairs. <S> Payslips are not legal documents so they may not help you with this. <S> Forms such as the P60 or part 1 of any P45 MUST be kept for seven years (the current and six back years). <S> There may be a US version of this <S> but I'm not sure. <A> Almost every payslip I've ever received included year-to-date information. <S> I check for accuracy and only keep the most recent for the last slip from each job for any tax and/or calendar year. <S> Again, this assumes all necessary information is aggregated correctly. <A> In the United States you should keep the end of year one, it has all the information on that will appear on the W-2 plus additional company related information like vacation balance. <S> During the year it is OK to keep them all and then destroy all but the end of year or end of job ones during tax prep time. <S> It is a good idea to review them when they are received to make sure that the pay and deductions match what you expect. <S> I have known people who didn't review the slips periodically and never noticed that the company was withholding taxes for the wrong state. <S> Follow the IRS guidance for keeping tax forms. <A> The law defines the minimal time you must keep your payslips, and it depends on the country you work in. <S> They don't take much place and the don't weight much. <S> And you never know when they can be needed. <S> Just to illustrate, in Poland, during the WW II, almost every work evidence was destroyed, which has a consequence in lower pension for the people unable to prove they have worked before the war. <S> The evidence can be any document - a payslip would fit well. <S> Of course the problem is, it would have to survive the war intact, but it's like a backup. <S> If you have the backup, the chances of loosing your data is lowered, even through it will never be 0.
| Keep the end of year, or end of job ones with your annual tax forms. But it's wise to keep them forever.
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Can I modify the subject line of a forwaded email to make it more relevant? We team members are discussing a matter on an email which is replied by around 10 people with their suggestions. Now I want to forward this email to a person who is supposed to take a action. I want to forward this same discussion email and request for action, but the subject line is not effective with respect to the current scenerio. Do I modify this subject line to make it more effective, or are there any email etiquette rules against this? <Q> I got the answer of this question - we can use subject line prefix "WAS" as below- <S> " <S> Re: What is the best kind of teapot? <S> (WAS: What is the correct temp. <S> for brewing tea?) <S> " Thanks <A> You can modify the subject and forward the thread. <S> However, that probably isn't what you want to do. <S> When you produce that summary, there is no need to forward the existing long thread. <S> That summary almost certainly deserves a separate email thread. <S> Not forwarding the email thread up the chain of command also has other benefits. <S> When a team is discussing options internally, they tend to be quite a bit blunter than they would be when speaking to management or to other teams. <S> They may make a joke or two or make a comment that someone outside the team might interpret differently. <S> If you forward that sort of thread to decision-makers, that has a strong probability of embarrassing someone in the team. <A> Don't edit the forwarded content (body of the forwarded messages) <S> Don't eliminate important information like recipients of the prior e-mails, or timestamps (when the back and forth happened) <S> Make sure that you state clearly why you are attaching the forwarded e-mail <S> So long as you don't remove the identifying information (like sender, recipients, and times), and you don't edit the content of the e-mails you are forwarding, the person you forward it to won't lose any information even with a changed subject. <S> As Justin suggested , be sure that you make sure your body is clear about what you expect the person to do. <S> To be safe, I would also suggest saying, "For reference, I've forwarded the discussion we had on this subject below" or something of the sort. <S> This makes it doubly clear that the below messages are for reference only and weren't a conversation they were involved in. <A> One option is to make a new email, but then attach the original email chain to the message. <S> It is still a good idea to summarize the conversation, but having the entire chain as a separate attachment will allow the person to review the chain for more details. <S> Adding the original email as an attachment highlights the important summary in the new email, while providing the historical context if they need it. <S> The new email should have the key people involved in the original chain cc'd <S> so they know that the issue has now been sent to the correct person for action.
| Even if you edit the subject of your e-mail, the forwarded messages should still contain the original subjects they were sent with, and the original recipients. Yes, you can change the subject, with three caveats: Unless you are confident that the decision maker really wants to read through a long thread where ten different people have weighed in with their suggestions, the decision maker really needs a summary of what was discussed, the options on the table, and the consensus of the group about the pros and cons of the various options.
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What to do about loud snoring at work? We work in a large open space. The facilities are pet-friendly, so one person brings a dog to work. The dog sleeps most of the time and when it is sleeping, it snores very loudly. All the people I interact in the course of my duties are in a different city, so all my work-related communications are done over the e-mail and phone.I am also quite introverted, which limits my social interaction at work (so it is not easy for me to measure how much the snoring bothers all the others). What can I do? I already work from home a couple of days a week, but I don't want (and probably can't) telecommute 100%. I don't want to come across as "uncooperative" or "hostile" or "troublemaker" &c. EDIT1: I don't interact with customers. My problem is that I find it hard to tune out the snoring (as opposed to the general chatter which, decibel -wise, is probably almost is loud). EDIT2: I (and a few others!) am now trying to pretend-snore whenever the dog's snoring gets above a certain noise threshold. People are laughing... <Q> What can I do? <S> Whenever you have a disturbance like this that hurts your work, the solution is virtually always the same - talk directly with the person who can help solve the problem. <S> Perhaps the owner doesn't even realize the problem this is causing, and perhaps there's something simple (another sleeping location, a different dog bed, etc) that can be done. <S> There are dozens of possible solutions here - from disallowing pets to moving your workspace. <S> But first, talk to the owner. <S> Good luck! <A> I'm guessing that the snoring interferes with phone conversations. <S> If it is disturbing the clients/co-workers you are speaking with, it is definitely a problem. <S> Before going to your manager, you might want to talk to the owner of the loud-snoring dog. <S> If you want to avoid sounding "uncooperative" or "hostile" or "troublemaker", try to keep a positive/constructive tone when you bring this up, such as: Hi <S> $Co-worker, I've noticed your dog $MrSnore snores very loudly when sleeping. <S> Actually, some of our clients have noticed too and have commented that they have a hard time hearing me when the snoring is going on. <S> Do you think we could find a new place for $MrSnore to sleep, maybe further from my desk, or in a small side room? <S> Or maybe give him a pillow/blanket to muffle the sound? <S> Of course, if this work environment advertises itself as being "pet-friendly", I'm not sure how well this will work, but I would hope the manager would agree that "pet-friendly" can't accommodate animal behaviour that is disruptive to the workplace (I can't imagine that they'd want "sales lost due to dog-snoring" happening on their watch). <A> Some things just can't be helped. <S> The sound bothers you and I'm guessing affects your work. <S> Work with the dog owner and suggest the dog sleep somewhere else. <S> Maybe an enclosure to lower the sound? <S> Dogs like to have their own little den. <S> Don't think of it as a cage. <S> Just a place to sleep. <S> Most people who do creative and complex work need quiet to concentrate. <S> This isn't such an unreasonable request, but consider some dog owners can get pretty protective of their pooches.
| If that fails (either because the owner isn't reacting, or because the owner's changes haven't solved the problem), you'll need to escalate the issue to your boss, and perhaps the dog owner's boss. In this case, you should talk with the dog's owner, and explain how the dog's snoring interferes with your productivity.
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Is email an acceptable medium for a thank you note? It is generally considered good etiquette to send a note of appreciation after an interview. And traditionally I have usually sent this note on paper. In contemporary western culture is an email an acceptable format for a "thank you" note? <Q> In contemporary western culture is an email an acceptable format for a "thank you" note? <S> Yes, in contemporary western culture, an email is acceptable. <S> The majority of people who even bother to send thanks at all use email. <S> But, do you really want to settle for acceptable , when you could do better? <S> I've interviewed a lot of candidates over the years, and I've received a lot of thank you notes. <S> The ones that really stand out were hand-written on note paper, and it was clear that the writer had put some real thought into them. <S> Often they thanked me, but they also emphasized details that had come up during the interview which they wanted to expand on. <S> The best candidates sent an email immediately with quick thanks, then also followed up with a longer, paper thank you note. <S> Send emails if you want to meet minimum acceptability standards. <S> Do better if you want to stand out from the crowd. <A> If the interview process has been handled electronically then definitely send an email. <S> If the application/resume was done via a website, the initial screen by phone, and the full interview by <S> Skype and screen camera <S> your only contact has been via computer and phone. <S> Depending on the job the mailing address portion of their contact info for each employee is not the best way to reach them. <S> Sometimes if I am working at a customer site, I only make it back to the company site every few months. <S> Mailing a letter to my corporate office building will result in either it sitting in box until my next visit the mail room, or having them put it in another package and mailing it to my home. <S> Mailing it to the customer site will rarely result in it getting to me. <S> Of course you will have to get the email address of those you want to contact. <S> Other than the HR POC, and maybe one other person in the interview I have never known anything besides names for the people who have interviewed me. <S> If the interview invite was by email, then I might be able to pull some names from the email. <S> If I am lucky I will get one or two cards, but that doesn't always happen. <A> Is this modern day nearly everyone is on Email. <S> Sending an Email is by sure the best way to show a few key things: <S> You can send it the day of your interview to show just how eager youare. <S> If the interviewer ever searches for your name in their email, thenote will pop up and remind them that you followed up. <S> You can easily tailor it to the vibe of the interview. <S> It can be ascasual or as formal as you decide. <S> The interviewer might drop you a line back. <S> The email will be open ontheir computer, and there's a larger chance they'll respond, or askyou a follow-up question. <S> There are some slight issues with handwritten letters that may hinder the chances of you getting a second look by your potential future employer: <S> There's a delay. <S> I've always believed in following up with a thank younote which they would have in less than 24 hours after the interview. <S> This way you're still fresh in the interviewer's mind. <S> The letter might never get to your interviewer. <S> It could get lost inthe mail which does happen occasionally even these days. <S> Thesecretary could throw it out, it could end up in a pile of envelopesthat don't get opened for months. <S> The chances of the interviewer writing back to you are less. <S> Theletter feels more final.
| If you expect any acknowledgement from the people that interviewed you, email is probably the best way to go.
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How do I explain a 2 year long Career Gap due to personal goals I was working in a reputable IT company for 2 years, however I took a break of 2 years to pursue a career in Indian Civil Services. I got selected at state level but couldn't make it to Highest post and now I am planning to return to IT. Please guide on how I can describe my this career gap in the interviews. <Q> So when it comes to them asking about your 2 year gap don't just say 'Oh I was meeting personal goals <S> ' you want to show what you did and amaze them with the transferable skills you learnt. <S> Transferable skills <S> For example did you have to communicate a lot with other people? <S> Has this improved your communication abilities? <S> Are you more clear and concise now? <S> Communication is a skill that is important in every workplace, you will rarely work alone and someone who is able to explain themselves concisely will be a fantastic advantage. <S> Were you frequently presented with difficult tasks? <S> Did you complete them on time to the best of your abilities? <S> Showing that you can handle difficult tasks and still give it 100% of your effort shows that you aren't likely to just give up and stop trying if you are presented with difficult tasks whilst working for them. <S> This is definitely a desired quality to have. <S> Were you presented with conflicts, either in the workplace or with a customer? <S> How did you handle it? <S> Did it go well? <S> Someone who can remain calm and professional whilst in a conflict of any kind will be a very good trait to have, if you have an example of doing this then definitely bring it to their attention. <S> Someone who isn't going to snap at a client in high pressure situations will be a very valuable person to have. <S> Conclusion <S> All in all, as long as you can show what you learnt, and show how this has improved you <S> then I can't see it being too much of an issue. <S> However, on top of this you might want to make sure you have done some sort of training course or tests to bring yourself up to speed. <S> Things change fast in the IT world and 2 years is actually a fairly long time to be out of it. <S> Your biggest challenge probably won't be the 2 year gap, but will be the lack of current knowledge, so make sure you brush up on all of that too to make sure you aren't at a disadvantage! <A> Always explain these in one or two sentences. <S> There is no need to go into lengthy details or explanations. <S> It is always easier to explain gaps in detail later in interview situations rather than in a initial CV application. <S> You will almost certainly be asked about it in any subsequent interview you have with a potential employer. <S> Make sure that you give the same explanation for your career break as you listed in your CV. <S> If you have been invited to a interview then take this as a positive sign as it means that even with your employment gap the recruiter is still interested in you. <S> During the interview always focus on and try to get across that you are excited and eager to get back into work. <A> Please guide on how I can describe my this career gap in the interviews. <S> I'd go with something like this: I was working in a reputable IT company for 2 years, however I took a break of 2 years to pursue a career in Indian Civil Services. <S> I got selected at state level but couldn't make it to Highest post and now I am planning to return to IT. <S> There's no reason to hide your foray into public service, so just be honest about it. <S> Indeed, you might be able to use it to your advantage. <S> Consider looking for IT positions where your interest in and knowledge of government and public policy would be a useful asset.
| Emphasise your strengths As always with interviews you should be trying to present yourself in the best light possible. You can either try to explain your employment gap in your CV, or by mentioning it in a covering letter but not in to much detail.
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Is it okay to ask my manager if I'm about to get laid off? There has been a rumor lately about a massive round of layoffs at my company. Some other company in a neighbor city has just opened a spot for a programmer and I could apply there. If I do though, my current company is definitely going to hear about it, and I don't want them to think I'm looking for another job (I'm really not). Being one of the latest additions at the company, it's fair to assume that if the rumors are true, they would consider laying me off. Is it okay to go to my manager and express my worries? If I am to apply to another job, I'd have to do it fast, before they hire someone else. There aren't many opportunities where I live (very small town). The other job is not as well paid as my current one, so I don't want to switch jobs preemptively. How do I approach this matter? <Q> It depends on your relationship with your manager. <S> If you have trust and respect, it can be done. <S> Go to the manager and tell him that you've heard rumors of layoffs. <S> Then tell him about the other job, that you prefer this job: for the pay, the work, and the leadership (or whatever the reasons are). <S> Then ask if he thinks you should apply for the other job. <S> He may even assure you that the rumors are not true. <S> Of course, there is no guarantee you would get the other job, or even an interview. <S> But by talking to him first, you're avoiding the problem of him hearing of it from another source. <S> I was once on a layoff list and knew it. <S> I went to my boss and said that I suspected I was on the list, and asked for the consideration of 2 weeks notice if it was true, so I could wrap up projects and make sure things were not left hanging. <S> He said he couldn't give me that notice. <S> He didn't reassure me that I wasn't going to be laid off, he didn't seem concerned by my question, and that non-answer was also an answer. <S> So, even if your relationship with your boss isn't great, it is still possible to get an answer, although that will be more dangerous. <S> You could get put on the list if he figures you have a fall back opportunity. <S> In many ways, even if you have a good relationship with him, you're looking at what he doesn't say. <A> I worked for a company that was in financial stress - in fact the entire industry was in stress, but I didn't know about it until about six weeks after I started my job. <S> Basically the VPs showed up one day and said they'd had a cost overrun on a project and were implementing a hiring freeze. <S> Yup. <S> Been there, done that. <S> Realistically, it meant downsizing, sooner or later. <S> I put my resume in circulation immediately. <S> It took me well over a year to find another position. <S> While most likely a coincidence, I had been given an offer on Friday and discovered I was in the current layoff round of the original company the next Monday. <S> Lesson being that hopping to another lily pad may not merely be a matter of being out the door first. <S> Would, for example, the employer with the new job be financially affected if the current employer lays off a bunch of people? <S> If so, would the new job disappear as fast as the one you have? <S> The only real 'security' is to be working in an area with more demand than supply, and to have skills in the disciplines with the highest demand. <S> If you can't find that in 'the next city' keep broadening your search until you find more work than you can stand. <A> I like what thursdaysgeek said about this depending on your relationship with your manager. <S> That relationship really does influence how I'd approach your concerns. <S> I had an experience like this once and <S> what happened was that we knew some layoffs were coming. <S> About the same time I knew of an opportunity elsewhere. <S> I had a good relationship with my boss at the time, we respected each other and he knew I was a good employee. <S> I felt I could be honest with him <S> so I told him one day, "Look, I know you're going to have to release someone <S> and I may have an opportunity somewhere else. <S> If you want, we can make for an amicable split. <S> I can quit and move on, and you get to look like a good guy that didn't have to fire anyone." <S> He took it well and wanted me to stay so I did. <S> But you have to be careful because some bosses would perceive that as a slight on them or the company and if they're the type to succumb to petty human things like anger or revenge then they may go ahead and release you ahead of schedule. <S> TL;DR version: if you have an opportunity to leave voluntarily when the company is looking to layoff, communication with management could lead to a win-win scenario. <S> But if the environment is not one where honesty is valued, then I'd look into the other opportunity while still delivering at the current job, and not say anything. <S> That puts you in the best position to be prepared for either eventuality.
| As others have commented, he may not be able to tell you if you are on the layoff list, but his reaction to that question should give you ideas of whether you should or not.
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How do I prevent myself from leaning too close to the monitor? Sometimes I get too excited about something I'm doing with my computer and I tend to lean closer and closer to the monitor, though it becomes harder to read and my neck starts hurting. Usually I snap out of it when my neck is hurting enough to leech off all my attention that was previously focused on that overwhelming activity. I would like to find a way to remember not to sit or lean too closely to the monitor before I hurt my eyes or neck. <Q> For getting used to always stay on the backrest, you can use a sticky note which you will place in a different position on the margin of the monitor (and change it's color) every day. <S> When you will get close to the monitor, you will see it, and it will remember you about that. <S> If you get close, you will get you eyes even more tired. <S> Check to see that you have an ergonomic position, and the 'default' distance is appropriate. <A> You may want to try to zoom in on your content. <S> Many Programs do support this. <S> All Browsers and IDEs <S> I worked with on Windows <S> supported it via Ctrl + Scroll Wheel . <S> Your Program may support this, too. <S> By this solution you are "leaning close" only mentally and not physically. <A> Sit on a chair without a backrest. <S> Then you cannot do this without falling down. <S> I can personally recommend one of these: http://www.varierfurniture.com/Collections/Work/Move/
| Educate yourself to always stay with the body leaning on the backrest of the chair, it also helps a lot the spinal cord too, because most of that weight will be taken by the chair, not your bones. Feeling the need to get close to the monitor could be a symptom that you eye muscles are tired - try to take short but often breaks away from the computer, so you can give them a rest.
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What is the best way to represent department email addresses in companies where there exists turnover? Currently, we have email addresses, such as the following addresses: designer@company.com operation1@company.com operation2@company.com bookings@operation.com Should department addresses be something like design@company.com, or should they use the names of real people in that department, such as john@company.com or helen@company.com? Please explain why. What would be better in a scenario where people leave the company, for example? What is the best way to represent department email addresses? <Q> How should a departments email addresses look like? <S> The answer depends on how you intend to use these departmental emails. <S> When an individual leaves, that person's individual email address is simply dropped from the email list and replaced with the individual email address of the replacement. <S> One company I worked for used something like "Sally@companyname.com" as an email alias for the Customer Support team mail list. <S> Almost every company also has individual email addresses. <A> The most common I see as well currently using in my current job is department@company-uk.org <S> first.lastname@company-uk.org <S> receptionatlocation@company-uk.org <S> These are the main ones that are used constantly internal and external. <S> Using the 2nd one is good per person as how many people have the exact same name. <S> By using a departmental address that everyone can access when someone is to leave they can leave a out of office message stating please email the shared email address where the remaining people can assist you. <A> Generally we do both. <S> We use the general ones for things that we sent in an automated way such as emails from successful or failed databases imports or for things that we might want a group of people to have access to. <S> Then we forward those to the individuals concerned. <S> But everyone also has a direct personal email for the majority of the work where they need to be contacted directly.
| Many companies have departmental email lists like "Support@companyname.com" designed to forward the emails to everyone in the department (even if only a department of one). Sometimes, if the email address is used externally, and the company wishes to project a "friendly face", a fictitious name is used in the email.
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How do you break off a friendship with a coworker? Reputation will stick with you more closely in a workplace setting. If I get the reputation as being difficult to work with then advancing or moving laterally in my organization will be extremely unlikely. Over the past summer, I had shown an intern on my team, who had similar interests as myself, a few of my favorite spots in my area where these interests are celebrated. He seemed like an interesting person and I wanted to show him some of the better attractions in my area while he was visiting. As time passed, and we continued to interact, it slowly became obvious through his actions and comments that he is not a person I want to associate with in a personal setting. At the end of his internship he went back to his university and it seemed he would turn down the offer my company had given him. He has now instead accepted this offer. I have changed teams recently but still work in the same building. I would like to end our personal relationship with the least amount of damage possible to the professional relationship and my career as a whole, but I do not know how to go about doing this. <Q> If asked if you can go out to some function - you have a prior engagement. <S> Watercooler moment? <S> There is something urgent for you to do. <S> Lunchtime? <S> Can't today. <S> etc... <S> After a while, if this person doesn't get the hint, since you no longer socialize, they will stop trying. <S> I can't see how this could impact your professional career if you simply stop the social interactions with a former intern (current junior - I am assuming). <A> I would like to end our personal relationship with the least amount of damage possible to the professional relationship and my career as a whole, but I do not know how to go about doing this. <S> First, you might be overestimating the level of perceived friendship and this entire situation is much easier than you think. <S> You will be working on different teams in the future. <S> Those personal events will be much more deliberate than spontaneous. <S> Second, there are ways to do even more than what Oded suggests . <S> If your primary desire is to avoid personal settings, shift all interactions into workplace settings when you cannot simply refuse them. <S> "Hey want to go out for some drinks this weekend?" "That won't work for me, do you want to get lunch sometime next week instead?" <S> This diffuses the out of work situation very deftly. <S> It also pushes your time off into the future which further distances you from the previous intern. <S> The goal is to distance yourself. <S> Also don't friend them on Facebook . <S> Bad things happen when you friend coworkers. <S> Third, I would caution you against an abrupt "go away" attitude (especially being that direct) like suggested here . <S> This could cause you all sorts of problems if/when the new employee brings that up in social conversation at work. <A> How do you break off a relationship with a Facebook friend? <S> By slowly decreasing your communication with them. <S> How do you break off a relationship with a classmate? <S> How do you break off a relationship with a next door neighbor? <S> By remaining cordial but not too chatty when you see them in the halls or over the fence. <S> How do you break off a relationship with a teammate? <S> By continuing to practice hard and remaining committed to winning games as a team, but largely avoiding said teammate outside of the arena. <S> So to answer your question: <S> How do you break off a friendship with a coworker? <S> In light of the fact that you are equally a socially networked friend, a student of the business domain, a workplace neighbor, and a workplace teammate... <S> Do all of the above.
| Don't be available for anything personal/social.
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Should short term jobs on LinkedIn profile be left off? According to several articles including this one from Forbes and even answers to this question , the general advice I'm seeing is to put EVERYTHING on your LinkedIn profile. Yet for a resume, it's best to leave off anything irrelevant to your goals, as it is a marketing tool, and this includes short term jobs. Unless it's contract work (which might be best left consolidated), it should be left off. This is the rule I follow for a resume. I don't get the reasoning to put everything on your LinkedIn profile; it is also a marketing tool. Shouldn't the same rules apply. I do not see how it could ever help me further my career to add the grocery store I worked at fetching carts or putting short term jobs which could hurt me for the same reasons for putting them on a resume. Should short term jobs be left off in your LinkedIn profile? <Q> Executive Summary LinkedIn is a massive gold mine for headhunters. <S> They can search millions of people by keyword. <S> The more you have in your profile, the more headhunters will find you. <S> If you are looking for a job, it may be in your best interest to get more people to look at your profile. <S> "There is no such thing as bad publicity" <S> The concept behind throwing everything on there is that while someone looking for an expert in sprockets may be disappointed that you were only at Spacely Sprockets for two years, if you excluded that from your profile they wouldn't have noticed that you are actually an expert in cogs they are looking for in another position. <S> Paper or 0101 0000 <S> 0110 1100 0110 0001 0111 0011 0111 <S> 0100 0110 1001 0110 0011? <S> Paper resumes are different because they are restricted by the format, the purpose, and silly HR quirks. <S> They follow separate rules (and you leave out things not relevant to the position). <S> If the company is doing their homework, excluding a job from your resume and your LinkedIn profile <S> doesn't mean the company wouldn't find out about it during a background check. <S> Chances are there is little harm from putting it on your LinkedIn -- anything deal-breaking they would likely find out anyway. <S> Focus on the Goal Figure out what you want to do with your LinkedIn profile. <S> Do you want to get headhunters to notice you? <S> Then toss all your jobs in there <S> so you'll match more keywords and get more eyes on your experience. <S> Would you rather focus on getting headhunted only for jobs related to X, Y, and Z? <S> Then only list skills related to X, Y, and Z. <S> At any rate, don't misrepresent yourself, your experience, or your abilities. <S> While an employer may intentionally ignore your days spent working in an IT call center for money in college, they probably would be a lot less tolerant if you added a dozen skills you don't actually have just to get more hits. <A> Paper resumes should be two pages long if you've been around for awhile, and a single page if you have less than five years of experience. <S> On-line resumes, however, aren't 'brief'. <S> The point here is to 'be seen' by people searching for as many different things as possible. <S> If the only Oracle database project you did was over and out the door in six weeks, you're invisible to the Oracle camp if they can't see this. <S> If you did a quickie in Crystal Reports it's the same story. <S> What comes out of this is that you can 'turn on a dime' - take on a short term requisition, learn the skills necessary, and get it done. <S> Of course, if these are flubs, that might not be as good an idea. <S> The emphasis in this information should be on versatility - you can walk in on an unexpected situation and thrive. <A> When you apply for a job they check your background in every aspect that you have already provided for them which means it does not have much of an impact if you left out including a job or jobs. <S> But for almost every other job, no one cares that much. <S> A company will check references based on the names and companies that you gave them. <S> Perhaps they might even call some HR departments for companies you listed that you didn't provide a reference for, run your Social Security number through a database to make sure you didn't steal it and run a criminal background check. <S> But out of all of this would they really have the time to be searching for information that might not exist? <S> Dont forget that resumes are marketing documents and not historical records. <S> Everything on your resume must be true, but you don't have to list everything that is true on your resume. <S> The real problem with leaving a job off your resume is that you have to come up with something to say about the time period where you were working this missing job. <S> If you were working while travelling or just moved house and had something for the transitional stage then its an easy out where you have something to fill the gap. <S> For other people however, it's generally better to put short-term jobs on your resume <S> so you don't have to explain missing time. <A> Why do people make linked in profiles? <S> So recruiters can find them and so that old colleagues can find them. <S> The more words you have that recruiters use to search, the more likely you will be found. <S> If your profile is a false positive, just ignore their request. <S> If you aren't interested ignore their request. <S> If your profile is a false negative they will not be contacting you. <S> Because you don't know what keywords are required or desired for a position, leaving off a job because it was a long time ago, or for a position you are no longer interested in minimizes your chances of being found in the search. <S> A long resume suffers from the fact that they might never notice the key phrase that can get you an interview. <S> But that long profile is what is found by the search engine, so that they can read the resume. <S> A skimpy profile also makes it harder for former colleagues to know if you are the right person. <S> This can artificially reduce the size of your network.
| The reality is that a prospective employer is very unlikely to find out about a short-term job that isn't listed on your resume.
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When is it acceptable to share someone else's contact details? At times, I may be speaking to someone and think it would be a good idea for them to contact someone else: "Oh! You should really speak to [insert name here], let me find [his/her] contact details for you..." Other times, the person I am speaking to may ask me to provide a list of contacts: "Could you send me a list of people you think could help with [this project]?" Is it acceptable in either or both cases to share someone else's contact details with a third party? If someone's details were to be shared, is it essential to then contact that person and let them know (even if there's no guarantee the third party will get in touch)? If I wish to share someone's details, is it best to ask them first and, if it's not possible to do this, is it best not to share that person's details? (An example of when it might not be possible is in the case of situation 1 above, where it would be weird to say: "Excuse me, I'll just call [insert name here] and ask them if they mind me sharing their details with you..." Another example might be when the third party has time restrictions, or the person you wish to share the details of is not available.) <Q> When in doubt, always reverse the direction of contact. <S> Say to X: "I might know someone" (Y) <S> "Shall I ask him/her to contact you? <S> No promises, he'll either contact you or not". <S> You could ask X specifically what message to convey to Y, then leave it up to Y to contact X. <S> This has the added benefit that both X and Y give (only) the contact information they want. <A> Email addresses are personal information, and in this day and age personal information is a sought-out ware which is traded at high prices by data-miners. <S> When you give away someones contact information to a 3rd party, you never know who they might sell it to. <S> Many countries (especially in Europe) have data retention laws which put limits on sharing personal information, so when you give away personal information without autorisation you could technically break these laws (ask a lawyer). <S> Personally I would not want people to give my email address to strangers, because it always raises suspicion in me when people I don't know contact me via a non-public address. <S> I greatly prefer it when people ask me for permission before they share my email address with someone I don't know. <S> Full disclosure <S> : I am part of a political organization with the goal to improve privacy of citizens, so I might be more sensitive than most people in this regard. <A> In general, it is OK to share the business email of a colleague at your company when responding to a business need. <S> However, I would never share a personal email address without checking with the person first. <S> And it can be tricky sharing the business email of someone who doesn't work for your company. <S> If you are in an organization together (like a committee to put on a conference) and the business is related to that then it would be fine. <S> If they are contractors who work directly with your business and will need to be involved in whatever the business is, then fine. <S> If the person you are giving it to is a recruiter, then do not share without permission.
| If they are clients, I would probably ask before sharing and I would definitely ask before sharing for a non-business need (say if someone might want to send them an unsolicited resume or business proposal).
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How should I handle a situation where my Manager thinks I was offensive? Consider the case: 1) On a mailing list a question got asked by manager @Alice "why is this Blah Blah not shown in upcoming list on homepage" 2) I replied with following: Because the way Data Structures are implemented. The index page is rendered based on .......(some three four lines of how we render index page) @Bob, add facts, if I am missing anything. Bob is the guy who had implemented index page initially. He has started implementing the system from scratch and I just jumped in to add new functionality. Consider Bob as fresher, and I am experienced developer. Does the above reply is offensive or an example of accusatory? My manager @Alice thinks this is offensive for @Bob How should I handle this situation in order to discern whether or not what I did was offensive or not? <Q> It doesn't really matter if you think <S> or we think it was offensive if your boss does. <S> Ask your boss to suggest better wording to you <S> so you can learn how she wants things handled. <S> We all have to adjust our communication style to suit our boss's wants. <S> Maybe she would have preferred you to say, "Bob implemented that part of the site, I will forward your questions on to him. <S> " I'm not her, so I don't know what she wants. <S> So ask how she would have wanted you to phrase it. <S> You can also directly ask Bob if he was offended (she might have had a complaint from him about being embarrassed by your email, after all) and if he was, apologize. <A> Your answer was strictly factual, containing no context to convey tone. <S> That allows the reader to supply her own tone, and for many people a lack of emotion implies negative emotion. <S> So when the communication is written, take extra care to insert wording to establish the tone you intended. <S> To a technical person, it seems superfluous, but it's important to make your communication clear. <S> For example, you could discuss some good things about the data structures, or the reasons why this particular case may not have been anticipated, or take some blame for not noticing when you made your additions. <S> It's also possible asking why was mostly rhetorical, and going into too much detail <S> made you look defensive and accusatory. <S> A simpler answer might have been in order, like, "That appears to be a bug. <S> I entered it into the tracker <S> and I'll coordinate with Bob to see how he wants to handle it." <A> Does the above reply is offensive or an example of accusatory? <S> It doesn't matter what we think. <S> The only opinions that matter are those of your Manager @Alice, and to a lesser extent @Bob. <S> Taken out of context, I don't see anything offensive, but there may be a pattern here, or your company's culture may deem that offensive. <S> How should I handle this situation in order to discern whether or not what I did was offensive or not? <S> Since your Manager @Alice deems this offensive, then clearly you should talk with her first. <S> Ask her why she feels it was offensive. <S> Ask her what you should do about it now (apologize, resign, etc). <S> Ask her how you should handle this sort of situation in the future. <S> As always, talk with the person who can give you the answers you need. <A> How should I handle this situation in order to discern whether or not what I did was offensive or not? <S> You are asking the wrong question. <S> It was offensive to someone, you need to be asking, "how should I handle a situation where I accidentally offended someone by my communication style?" <S> Talk with your manager. <S> I would suggest focusing the conversation with the manager a bit more like, "I didn't mean to be offensive, what sorts of things should I be aware of in the future to avoid this?" - instead of trying to justify yourself or directly figure out what you did wrong. <S> People are more willing to discuss when they don't feel defensive. <S> Communication is fickle (and people, for that matter). <S> Sometimes you just have to shrug your shoulders and say, "I guess I don't get it" - but this point should happen after discussing the issue, not before. <A> One possible interpretation of your email is "The code sucks, @Bob did it". <S> Although I doubt that's what you intended <S> , it's possible <S> that's how your boss read it. <S> The biggest problem with that take on your email is that you might be seen as to be dodging responsibility. <S> If you really wanted bob to fill in details, you could have gone and talked with him first and then not mentioned him in the email, or you could have just cc'd him which would have brought him into the discussion without calling him out <S> --he's obviously a person of interest at least. <A> What is the communication norm? <S> Even within the same country there are industries where a more confrontational communication is the accepted norm. <S> For example, within a front office envrionment in a financial firm one can expect the F word to be thrown around discussing people's and system's F-ups all the time. <S> A person that does not fit in to this culture will not last. <S> At the same time, in the same country, the norms for communications within a government organization will be such that people will have to undergo sensitivity training (and potentially get fired) for the same behaviour that is acceptable, and indeed expected, in finance. <S> You need to figure out what the norm in your company culture is. <S> What to do now that you know the norm? <S> If it was you that was out of touch with the culture and the norm, then you should apologize to all parties, and make sure to not make the same mistake again. <S> If it was the manager that was out of touch with the culture, then you should still apologize for offending anyone but keep doing what you are doing. <S> I have seen people get pulled over and told that they are being 'too soft' and not 'pushy enough', which ultimately limited their career. <S> In summary, there is a danger in being 'too soft' as well as in being 'too offensive'. <S> Your manager may dictate the company culture to some extent, but they are not necessarily the authoritative figure that define culture (and I've seen managers get pulled out for 'not fitting in').
| Tell her that you didn't mean to insult Bob and wish to avoid inadvertent offense in the future. The key here is to bring it up with your manager and try to learn from them. In this case, Go Ask @Alice! The answers as to whether this was offensive or not depends completely on the culture of your locale / industry.
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How do I correct something a colleague did wrong without going over his head? I'm currently working in a project with 3 other developers. One of them isn't really experienced with one of the technologies we are using (an ORM), but he is higher in the hierarchy and doesn't take criticism well, specially from those below him in the ranks (like myself). He is unhappy with how the technology is supposed to work and is setting up all kinds of workarounds to not use the tool the way it's meant to be used. I can see how those workarounds are going to be harmful to the project in the long term, I have already told him, but he simply disagreed, said I'm wrong and continued on doing it. I have thought about just waiting for him to push the code to the repository and then changing it anyway, but I don't want to go around him like that. I have considered going to the manager and telling him what's happening, but I don't want to be that guy. In all honesty, I am currently thinking about doing something I hate -- saving the chat logs to prove I objected and letting things take its course. I know it's going to harm the project, but all other options seem to harm me . What is worse? To be unprofessional and let the project be negatively affected or to be professional and be hated by my colleague(s)? He is going to hate me if I either change what he did (after he explicitly rejected my corrections) or tell the manager on him. Edit: Some people are skeptical, apparently. Dude's using an ORM (Doctrine2), which has a few limitations concerning multi-level inheritance. All 'leafs' have to be in the top-most class DiscriminatorMap, and therefore their IDs are FKs that points to the top-most class in the hierarchy, not to the class' imediate parents. He figured it's more important to have leafs pointing to their parents and keep the mapping wrong (he doesn't agree that an ORM's job is to handle the database, he wants to do it manually -- "no, this way the database will be wrong"). Obviously, having a broken mapping broke some of Doctrine's repositories native functions (such as findOneBy ). His solution was to keep the broken mapping and override Doctrine's native functions to "fix" the issue. This is absolutely insane. <Q> If your job is not to review the work of others, then you need to let it go. <S> Often, there are many roads leading to "good enough" in the software world. <S> While your colleague's approach may be different than yours (and may or may not be "wrong"), the approach he chooses may be outside your control. <S> If so, let it go and move on with whatever work is really your job. <S> The exception here is if someone is making a critical mistake that will potentially harm others physically, or financially. <S> In that case, you should consider being the whistleblower, talking with the manager, and accepting the consequences (ostracism from your colleagues, etc). <S> If you take that route, make sure you are right in your conclusion, and make sure that the risk of remaining silent is too high. <A> In addition to what Joe Strazzere answered, if you feel so passionately about using your favorite ORM correctly, how about taking a use case and showing your co worker how things can get blown ? <S> And if things are moving smoothly teach the guy how to use the thing. <S> One of the most important things that you can do <S> IMO - You can point out the issues you foresee in code review meetings and propose solutions for it. <S> Obviously if other reviewers don't see the problem, you have to be ready with a use case for problems you see. <S> I know from ORM experience that if you don't do it right, it can be the single most traumatic thing to debug/fix. <S> Right from application response time to corrupt data. <S> As a developer, end of the day, my top most priority is the well being of the application/project am working on writing efficient code that performs at its peak and doesn't break. <S> That is what I am paid to do and that is my top most interest at work. <A> This needs to specify the immediate benefits, and the long term benefits. <S> You also need to address every one of his concerns he has about letting the ORM do it the way it was intended to work. <S> You need to put at ease his fears, this is why he is changing it. <S> If you can write all of these things down in an organized fashion, and go over it in a meeting with the other two developers, then you may have a shot at convincing him of your approach. <S> Make sure you include that you've worked with this technology before. <S> Elaborate on how you used it correctly, and no issues arised. <S> Also, show him that the developer community around this tool highly encourages you to let the ORM do <S> it's magic.
| If you job is reviewing the work of others on your team (perhaps through a formal code review), then you need to review it, present your findings, and live with the consequences. You will need to lay out a good argument on paper of why using the ORM the way it is intended will be better. In general, you simply need to do your job .
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Is it my employer's or my own responsibility to find someone to cover my hours when I am on holiday? I been working for two years with my current company and the new manager is trying to implement a new rule which states that when an employee needs to take some time off, they need to find another co-worker who will work during your time off. Is it normal for employers to require that employees make their own arrangements for their hours to be covered when they are away? <Q> If you need to take a day off your chair still needs to be filled. <S> By putting the requirement on the employee that does make it harder to take a day off, but if the schedule is a rotating schedule they expect that many appointments can be scheduled during non-work days. <S> If the manager is responsible for generating a weekly schedule they usually ask that the employees let them know about days off prior to them creating the schedule. <S> Once the schedule is published the employee is now responsible for finding a replacement. <S> The requirement to find your own substitute generally doesn't apply to unanticipated sick days, but does apply to scheduled medical appointments. <S> Places where I have experienced this type of scheduling rules: hospitals, fire departments, satellite operations, help desk. <S> If you don't think that this should apply to your situation then you need to demonstrate that this new rule makes meeting the shift staffing requirements harder. <S> If the schedules aren't locked in long in advance, then it is hard to schedule some appointments because you won't even know that you need to find a replacement until the schedule is published. <A> I know that I've heard of this type of rule in retail/restaurant-type workplaces, though I believe it's typically only in the case of "calling in sick", not "taking a vacation". <S> Even then, though, it can be a difficult rule to work with, if many employees are unwilling or unable to fill in on their day off. <S> That said, employers can put in place many different rules specific to their workplace, and you will need to abide by them if you wish to work there. <S> If you want to change your manager's opinion, your best bet is to speak with him/her and ask why the new policy was put into place. <S> You can also ask what to do if you can't find someone to cover your shift. <S> "If I get the flu next week, and I call everyone who's not scheduled, but no one answers the phone <S> , what should I do? <S> Should I come to work and expose everyone else? <S> Should I call in and explain 'I can't come in, but no one else would take my shift'? <S> " <S> If they can't answer this (or if they answer it in a way that you find unsatisfactory), but they continue to insist on the new rule, then you need to accept that this is the way the company wants to work going forward, figure out how likely it is that you'll run afoul of the new rule (do you get sick often? <S> are your coworkers likely to ignore their phones when they're not working, so that in an emergency, you're unlikely to find someone to take your shift?), and determine whether you want to continue with this job or begin a search for a new position. <A> It is your manager's or assistance manager's or scheduler's responsibility to staff the office/department. <S> If you are not sure if this is in your job description, ask for a copy of your job description at Human Resources. <A> No if you are an employee its not your responsibility to find replacements to cover annual leave if you are self employed it may be - the right of substitution is one of the tests of self employment status that courts and the tax man use.
| Requiring the employee to find a replacement when they are scheduling a day off is generally done at locations that must be fully staffed and tries to have a set schedule.
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How to represent a once proficient, but now lesser used skill in resume C was the primary language used at my university. We did all sorts of things in C, including socket, systems, and OS programming. At the point of graduation, I would have considered myself rather proficient in C. A little over a year later, I find myself maintaining my resume. During this year, I have not even looked at C code, thus, I'm rather positive my skills have withered. Given some time, I'm sure I can regain most of my abilities, but for the time being, how would one represent an "out of practice" skill on a resume? Formerly proficient in C doesn't quite roll off the tongue. <Q> I don't even see what the problem is: if your resume is complete, it'll show that you worked with X over the past year, not with C . <S> At the same time it shows that you worked with C some years ago. <S> The problem you are thinking of is in fact of the opposite kind: what if you worked on a Java-job for the last two years, but you did a lot of C programming in your spare-time, on open-source projects, etc. ? <S> Only then do you have to worry about how to show that in your resume, because in all other cases a reader can only assume what's written there - namely that you last programmed in C in your earlier job one or more years ago. <S> You do have experience with C from some time ago, so you just write that. <S> It's honest, it's clear, yet you do not have to place yourself in a bad situation by stating that you don't know it anymore. <S> If you are asked during the interview, you can keep a straight face and tell them the simple truth: "As I wrote in my resume, the last time I did some C programming was <S> x years ago, so of course I will need a little bit of time to get up to speed again". <S> In summary: If you have used the skill recently, then, and only then, should you state that in the resume. <S> In all other cases you simple state that you used that skill at whatever time/job and leave it at that. <S> You should not focus on it (for it is long ago <S> and you do lack proficiency), nor do you have any reason to defend anything in that case. <S> Just leave it as is. <S> If your prospective employer is interested in that skill he will get exactly what he needs from your resume. <A> I have never seen a resume where a candidate listed any of the skills as "out of practice". <S> From my limited knowledge, I dont think thats a yard stick used anywhere. <S> Most technical interviewers go by the timeline of projects on your resume and its perfectly acceptable in an interview to say "Its been a while I since I used that language so my answers may seem a bit rusty". <S> Obviously, if you are applying to a job which involves C, you would want to be better prepared with your knowledge in C. <S> And if your resume lists project details and environments, mention C where ever you have used C. <A> I would strongly recommend that you instead separate things you only used at school from things you have used at work. <S> The reason is simple. <S> Production ready code running at customers is vastly different from code good enough for school, and the mindset needed for writing robust code is not something that can be easily taught <S> - you essentially need to experience it yourself to understand what to look for and how to handle it. <S> To answer your actual question, I would put a "Used C on a proficient level from 2009-2010". <A> I had something like that with Delphi/Pascal. <S> After not having used it for over 10 years, actually not in a programming job at all, I managed to get a job where I now use it daily. <S> The knowledge is there, if you need it, you just need to activate it and that won't take long. <S> You will not have to relearn the language. <S> So, Yes, you're still proficient at C, it just may be a bit rusty. <S> And if applicable to you job you should mention it on your CV.
| If in your resume you have a technical summary section, then you can simply list C as one of the programming languages in your repertoire. You do not even have to state that you are no longer proficient.
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How to work with somebody who works quickly without caring for quality? I work at an organisation with a very small dev department, developing a project with one co-worker only. We are both junior, never used ASP MVC .NET or worked on production grade code before. The others in the department don't have MVC experience either, and have never coded in a team, so they are no help. I appreciate that my coworker has a strong drive to do things, but find that he does not think them through well enough. As soon as he has imagined a possible solution, he jumps to implement it, without taking a moment to reflect a) whether the solution fits the problem , b) if the solution is good in itself, and 3) how will his code react if the state of the world is not what he expected it to be (simplest example: he never thinks of validating user input). What happens is that he is ploughing through features, churning out tons of new code. But I think that the quality of his code is very low. Case in point: after returning from vacation, I found that he created about 50 new semi-hard routes, most of which could have been handled by the default MVC routing system without any need for configuration. I told him why I think this is a bad idea, but he was not convinced and I did not insist that he change it. Today, I spent hours trying to find out why my first simple attempt to use an exception filter fails, until I noticed that one of his superfluous routes is wrong and redirects my request long before the method which throws the exception is called. I already talked with my project lead (who is also the manager responsible for our workgroup) about this situation, but she is accustomed to ugly, unmaintainable codebases, and does not see a problem, especially because she is impressed by the quantity of code he delivers, and finds it normal that he spends so much time playing whack-a-mole with bugs we accidentally find (his tests are no better than the rest of the code, if they exist). She suggested that, if he is doing something wrong, I should just teach him how to do it right. For the concrete feature implementations we need, I cannot teach him how to do it right, because I don't know the MVC-specific solutions. If I research the solution of a feature of his worklist for a day, he spends the day implementing two other features in his own brittle way, and I get nothing from my worklist done. And as for teaching him to think of consequences and side effects before he jumps into action, this is even harder for me, it seems to be too deeply ingrained in his personality. I don't know how I should handle the situation. 1) How do I help him to start writing better code? He is thankfully willing to listen to what I say, but I don't know what to tell him. And 2) What do I do about bad code he has written which is not obviously buggy? I have no time to fix everything for him, or even to research the proper solution for him, but writing my own part of the code becomes increasingly complex and frustrating. He hates revising something he sees no problem with, and is unlikely to come up with a better solution the second time. Any ideas? <Q> I think you really need to listen to what your supervisor is saying and not saying. <S> Her immediate, off the top of her head and without any data to support it, answer was the fact she is impressed with the volume of work he gets done. <S> Maybe this is her personal preference or maybe her boss and everyone else involved likes this as well. <S> You brought up the number of bugs and the difficulty to fix them and/or add new features. <S> Apparently, she doesn't see these as a major problem and has been willing to accept this risk. <S> Perception is reality. <S> A quick turn-around on a request is percieved as getting it done quickly. <S> Yes, the users have to point out some bugs and they take longer to fix than they should, but no one is factoring that into their definition of how long did it take to get done. <S> You've been given approval to try and implement some of the improvements you mentioned, but be careful, you have not been given approval to get fewer things done. <S> You may have to start tracking your current process, so you have something to compare it to when you start making changes. <S> The complaints about waiting too long could increase and make your newly implemented standards look bad. <S> It will take time and some data to show fewer bugs and quicker turn-around on requests in the long-run (i.e. when things are delivered with fewer bugs.). <A> Please consider carefully if "doing it properly" is actually what the project needs. <S> I strongly hate and despise bad code, and I want to do everything <S> "the right way"™, but <S> this doesn't mean that this is always the best approach. <S> Maybe this is <S> a low-budget project were fatal errors are acceptable, maybe they have a contract which binds them to a strict timeline, but they can fix it later <S> , maybe their goal is to mantain the product, so your collegue's approach might be better for two reasons. <S> I don't approve nor condone <S> these methods, mind, <S> but you should consider that these might be the reasons for some decisions. <A> Put up a baseline of code quality and make code reviews. <S> You need to work out the Baseline with him and your manager <S> what level of quality you want. <S> Things like input validation, unit tests, strict MVC separation of code etc <S> etc etc could be part of your quality assurance rules. <S> Then review each others code and reject code that does not meet the quality baseline. <S> Rejected code of course should not make it to production. <S> As for not solving every single problem in the optimal way you might have to relax a bit. <S> That said, knowing the most common and basic scenarios of the used framework by studying or reading some examples is likely required.
| Some times good enough is good enough if it works and the code is readable and unit tested and solves the problem.
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How to apply to multiple jobs at the same (small company)? There is a company that really appeals to me, with two open positions that interest me. Both are very much programming jobs, that I would enjoy. I think I might like one than another but am not sure. Is it bad, or seeming desperate to apply to both jobs? Should I apply to a specific one, but also mention that I think I could also be a good fit for the other? Or is it better to apply to both, and tailor a resume and cover letter for each specific job? Are managers, in general, apt to think along the lines of "well, I don't think this is a good fit, but this job over here might be, let's make a time to interview you for that one."? <Q> Apply to the one you think you want, and also describe that you're interested in the other. <S> At many small companies there is actually only one job. <S> They could hire two different positions, and whichever they get they'll shift other people around to cover the other one better than they had been. <S> (And you'll get more hats than just the one if you want it.) <S> In that situation having someone who wants both of those roles is pretty much perfect. <A> There is no way to know how their hiring procedures work. <S> Therefore try to apply for both and see what happens. <S> In some companies each applicant can apply to multiple positions but you can only have one resume and one cover letter in the system at a time. <S> In other companies each job opening is a separate item so that you can have multiple tailored resumes in the system. <S> You have no idea <S> if mentioning your interest in the other position will get your resume to the other manager in a timely manner. <S> Keep in mind that with some small businesses the hiring software is just a standard email account. <S> Others get most of their resumes from a recruiting company. <S> When hiring for generic positions, it is possible for recent qualified applications to be considered when additional generic positions are needed to be filled. <S> If the descriptions and qualification are created from scratch each time, there may be no way of automatically be considered for other positions. <S> Some companies hiring procedures are so dysfunctional that they are hiring people with skill X at the same time they are laying off people with skill X because hiring managers didn't know about the about to lose coverage list, and the people on the list didn't know how to force their resume to the top of the pile. <A> I'd say it depends on the mechanism you are using. <S> Automated Systems <S> I've seen a general style of automated system, many of them based of the same product - where you essentially build yourself an account and a profile, then submit your interest in certain jobs in the company's listing. <S> It's not a size-of-company thing, it's just the interface - although I'd assume it costs enough that a very, very small company may not ever want to spend that kind of money... <S> In any system <S> this abstract, I'd say it's worth it to apply for any job that interests you. <S> The company will see your resume and note the interest in multiple jobs. <S> Given that there's this system controlling it all, I doubt it will cause much chaos. <S> Personal Connections <S> If you ever go through personal connections, the first recommendation is to get the skinny from your connections. <S> Job description writing is an abstract art form, and the insights from a friend can be invaluable. <S> Do that first, and if you really are still interested in both options equally, go with your contact's guidance. <S> Writing to the Opportunity <S> If you're doing this in a more traditional formal, write a cover letter connecting the dots. <S> Behind the scenes <S> Generally, a company recruits by having someone inside or outside of the company take responsibility for finding candidates, screening them, introducing them to the process, and advocating for appointments with internal decision makers. <S> To keep ownership clear, it's typical that the recruiter is responsible for some collection of open positions. <S> So - the big thing behind the scenes is whether both opportunities are staffed by one person or two. <S> And if it's 2, how well they communicate. <S> With two people, it's likely that your best interest is served by applying both places, and mentioning that you've done so whenever you get a call back on one of them. <S> Hopefully the recruiters know each other well enough to keep each other in the loop, but that's not a given.
| Generally you can say in that letter why you like both options and what you want in a job overall, so that the person receiving your application can figure out what to do with you. With one person, anything you can do to connect the interest in both positions is a good thing - like a cover letter.
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Use Adjectives to describe yourself In interviews there is a question asked that goes somewhat like this... Can you state 5 Adjectives that are used to describe yourself? When asked the above question during an interview would the interviewer be interested in an answer that other people would formulate about yourself or what you would describe yourself as? As they have not stated they would like my personal opinion or possibly other peoples how should I respond to this question? <Q> If an interviewer does not clearly state their preference for the source of the adjectives, use whatever you want, but clearly identify the source yourself. <S> For example, if the question is literally the one you quoted, e.g. "Can you state 5 Adjectives that are used to describe yourself? <S> " you could say "The first adjectives that come to my mind are A, B, C, but interestingly enough my managers always describe me as D and E." <S> However, when I've encountered that question either as an interviewer or a candidate, it is almost always with the preferred source named, such as "How would you describe yourself?" and "How would your manager describe you?" and "How would your direct reports describe you?" <S> Whatever you end up saying, be prepared to back it up/explain why the adjective fits or does not -- especially when it's something someone else would say about you. <S> For instance, as an interviewer, if you tell me your manager thinks you are focused and hardworking (for example), I'm going to latch on to that and ask you to say more, such as "Can you give me an example of something you did that would lead your manager to describe you in those terms?" <A> Be aware of the context here. <S> If you pick terms that aren't that relevant to the job, it may backfire to answer this question that way. <S> For example, if someone is rather emotionally sensitive, this isn't necessarily something to mention in a job interview. <S> Rather, figure out what strengths may be useful for getting this job and use those rather than trying to give the real true honest answer here. <S> While some people may describe me as sensitive and deep, I'm not sure that employers would see great value there in comparison to being industrious and bright. <A> The adjectives you select will convey to the interviewer a few things: What you value in yourself <S> How well you can describe a situation using a few words <S> How quickly you think on your feet. <S> The only "bad" answer here is to use generic adjectives that don't set you apart or boring, vapid ones that say "He's a muggle." <S> (Obviously, you don't want to get too wild and wooly - "hard-drinking, life of the party, etc..." <S> But an interesting adjective has a lot to commend itself.) <S> Oh, and you don't need 5 - you just need one really, really good one. <S> (And 4 backups, in case you don't wow them on the first.) <S> Everybody is "smart," "hard-working," and "creative." <S> If you choose interesting adjectives and can back them up this is an opportunity to set you apart. <S> "I see the problems others don't" (ok, not an adjective, but more specific) <S> "Peacemaking" (Oh, interesting - a guy who not only plays well with others, but helps others get along) <S> "Thorough" (Hmm. <S> The Detail guy - tell me more) <S> "Stick-to-it-ive" (Haven't heard that <S> but I like) <S> You get the idea - try not to us a buzzword, try not to use the same old lines everyone else does. <S> Really, this is an exercise in vocabulary, creativity, and salesmanship. <S> Have the adjectives before hand, and you'll ace it. <S> Finally, if you can ascribe an adjective to something people have actually said about you, that earns you "objectively great." <A> I would look to my experiences to date in the interview to answer this question. <S> During the interview process, you should get some impression about what characteristics of a candidate are important to them. <S> Consider which of those characteristics apply to you, and then choose the ones that reveal important things about out. <S> For example, you could look to the following places for adjectives that are important to the position. <S> I've listed them from the one I least prefer to the one I most prefer: <S> The job description. <S> The company's career website, or simply their website. <S> Email or phone conversations to set up the interview (phone or in-person). <S> The conversation during the interview before that question was asked. <S> I most prefer conversations about the job with the team because they are most likely to accurately reflect what the team is truly looking for. <S> For example, if you hear during your interview that projects are highly technical, you could choose an adjective or two that expresses how you are technical and able to get up-to-speed quickly on technical projects. <S> If you hear that good communication skills are important, then you can choose adjectives that underscore that your strengths there. <S> If it's early in the process and you don't have information gleaned from conversations, then you can use information from the website or the job description to select good adjectives that are relevant to the company and are also strengths of yours. <S> Whatever adjectives you select, be prepared to back them up with examples from your work or education to give further details. <S> If you describe yourself a highly technical, you should have examples from your current role about how you are an expert in a technical area. <S> If you describe yourself as an excellent communicator, you should have examples of how you have communicated with those at your level, those above your level, and those below your level to influence important decisions or share important information.
| You should respond with adjectives that apply to the job as well as qualities that you will show on some level in the interview as otherwise you may come across someone that doesn't know themselves unless you can explain how while you see yourself this way, others wouldn't see you this way.
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How can I avoid divisive political issues at work? I am currently a member of a 4-member team. There is a current national political issue that is very divisive in our region (we are in India). The team lead and both other members of the team are on one side, and I am on the other. The team lead is actively promoting his side on social media and discusses it in the office, trying to start a discussion. I have tried to just avoid the topic but it keeps coming up. I feel like the relationship between me and my team members is suffering because of the difference in opinion on this political issue. How can I improve the relationship with my team members with this giant political issue causing a divide? <Q> "I prefer not to discuss politics with coworkers." <S> "No really , I'd rather not. <S> How was your weekend?" <S> (Or "how's your son's rugby team doing this season?" <S> or "what did you think about the CEO's presentation? <S> " or "what do you think is working well in our scrum process?" or anything else specific). <S> Just because he wants to talk about it <S> doesn't mean you have to -- but you may have to repeat this approach a few times before he gets the message. <A> Your choices seems to be as follows: <S> Agree as mildly as you can and change the subject. <S> You might also point outthat you being in the group on the opposite side of this issue ismaking you feel uncomfortable and singled out making it hard to be accepted. <S> Personally I would take option number 3. <S> If that doesn't work take number 4. <S> It honestly tells your boss that you are uncomfortable and allows you to get out of expressing a public opinion. <S> If your boss is such a jerk that he still doesn't back off, option 1, while dishonest, is the probably most viable option because he clearly won't stop until you agree with him. <S> Option 2 is the riskiest if this subject is as important to your boss as it appears to be. <A> If you have made it clear that you do not want to discuss politics <S> and he keeps pressing the issue with you then look at maybe raising a grievance with HR because it is creating a hostile work environment for you. <A> I'm of the mindset that all work places should make it policy to not talk politics, religion or anything other than the weather, the weekend and work as acceptable topics. <S> Most things completely derail productivity. <S> Simple as that. <S> As for you situation, if it were me, I would say "This isn't the time or place for that discussion, we have work to do." <S> and from there I proceed as normal.
| Talk to your boss privately and explain that you would prefer not beinvolved in political discussions at work. Disagree and state why Change the subject whenever it comes up.
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Why is the address so important on a resume? Mail era is gone. Now we contact either by email or phone, so why is it still necessary? I have read it is to let the employer know where you live, but why is it necessary? If I'm applying for a job which is far from home is because I know I will have to relocate, isn't it obvious? <Q> In general, when you apply for a job (or rent an apartment, apply for a credit card, etc) <S> folks want to do a background check on you to make sure you're not a felon, or a credit risk, or a thief, or someone who for whatever reason won't qualify for the role because your personal profile represents unnecessary risks to the business that outweigh whatever skills you bring to the table. <S> According to career coach Terri Lee Ryan, author of <S> Should You List Your Home Address on Your Resume? <S> , employers may use a pre-screening process where any resumes that don't include this information are tossed out. <S> With so many applicants, screeners may use such techniques to narrow the pile to an array of candidates more manageable. <A> While there is e-mail and phone as ways to contact someone, how do I know how local someone is when they apply for a job? <S> If I have 100+ candidates that all meet my initial requirements, wouldn't it make sense to interview the local people first? <S> If someone has to move this can cost in both money and time in some cases. <S> The key point here is that if I have a pile of resumes, how does the company distinguish who should get an interview? <S> There can also be that odd personal touch for some people, like an <S> "I went to school near there," or "Oh that's a nice neighborhood," as there can be things inferred from the address,e.g. <S> if someone lived in Beverly Hills or Compton for a couple of parts of California that one could contrast. <A> Obviously employers may vary. <S> I have hired dozens of people over the years <S> and I have never: run a background check. <S> I'm not sure it's even legal in Canada. <S> We're not supposed to take a criminal record into account. <S> Credit rating never made sense to me as a legitimate proxy for hire-ability. <S> decided on someone else's behalf whether they could stand a commute or not <S> - I hired someone once who had a 1.5 hr commute to downtown Toronto, he came to work for me without moving and had a 1 hour more pleasant commute in the opposite direction, to our office. <S> covered anyone's travel expenses, whether to come and be interviewed or to come and work for me. <S> We're just too small to afford it. <S> That said, I still like to see the address in the cover letter if not in the resume, and my children both provide resumes that include this. <S> I think it's more a matter of respecting the rituals than it serving any practical purpose. <S> After all, I can probably narrow down roughly where you live by looking at where you work now. <S> Even if you see no good reason for including it, omitting it gives people an excuse to toss your resume aside; don't do that. <A> Commuting to work can be a major factor in selecting a job. <S> Either in larger cities because of traffic or in more rural areas based on distance. <S> Depending on your current address, this may not be a factor <S> so there's no reason to mention it. <S> If I thought someone would have a long commute, I would want to make sure they were aware of it and try to get any past history on willingness to have a long commute. <S> In some major cities, commuting can be very expensive if you're paying for parking, train tickets or even gas. <S> Your address can be used to have more information about your prior work experience and probably to do a background check before hiring. <S> Some names are common, so having a current address can make it easier to check the right John Smith. <A> My opinion you can put the town name. <S> I wouldn't want to publish my full address to everyone who read my CV. <S> In case the company offers you the job <S> then you should give them your full address.
| Your credit report, criminal history, and mode of living can all be tied to your current and previous addresses, and background screening companies use this information to verify you're not an employment risk. Many people will say they are willing to live with a long commute, but may be more likely to take a similar job if it is closer.
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In a non-English speaker country, should I write my resume in English when English is one of the requirements? I have read this question Is it better to write a good cover letter in English or a mediocre one in the local language? but this is a different scenario. Often, one of the requirements demanded on job posts in my country (previous question is in a foreign country) is advanced level of English . In these cases, should I send my resume written in English (indicating my level as well), or is it better to just send my resume written in the local language and indicate my level of English? <Q> When you should write your CV/Resume/Cover letter in English: <S> In vacancy's text they ask you to do so. <S> Vacancy is published in English. <S> Vacancy is published in English and local language. <S> When you should not write your CV/Resume/Cover letter in English: <S> Vacancy is published only in local language and employer does not ask you to write them in English. <S> Even if English knowledge is required for your position, it does not mean that the person who should review your CV/Resume/Cover knows English. <S> You can also send your information in two languages. <S> But i'd not suggest to do this if you are asked to send it in specified language. <A> Just because the position you apply for requires an advanced level of English doesn't necessarily mean that everyone in the company requires an advanced level of English. <A> Points F0G addressed above are good guidelines. <S> However, one must also consider that depending on the size of the organisation. <S> They may have a few (if not more) members of staff who's level of english is at full professional proficiency . <S> If that is the case, writing your resume in english would be your best option. <S> Trying to translate your intent and purpose will always not transpire well with such matters. <S> As the saying goes it may get 'lost in translation'. <S> Secondly, let us not forget that some international companies outside of english speaking countries (US,CAN,UK,AUS,NZ,etc). <S> Also hire native speakers (in this case english) with the intention of strengthening their communication barriers abroad in conjunction with their applicants secondary or tertiary language skills as an intermediary communication base in their branches abroad. <S> Either way, unless it is explicitly stated that a translation is needed. <S> It isn't required to do so. <S> Personally having written my own CV/resume solely in english to the middle east and africa. <S> I did not have any issues when it came to interviews nor the application processes. <S> Good luck! <A> So the fact is: You are an excellent English speaker, and at most mediocre speaker of the native language. <S> Either that is acceptable for the position that you wish to apply for, or it isn't. <S> If it isn't acceptable then you won't get the position, no matter what you do. <S> How you write your CV won't make a difference. <S> So logically, we can exclude that case. <S> Based on the assumption that they are happy to hire someone with excellent English but mediocre native language <S> I'd write the CV in English. <S> If possible I'd add a cover letter in the native language - <S> just in case your CV arrives in the postroom of the company with someone who wouldn't have a clue what this letter is otherwise, to make sure it actually goes to someone reading English.
| I'd say if there is nobody who can read your English CV, then you won't be getting the job anyway, so write it in English. Providing a resume both in the local language and in English provides accessibility to HR or other employees who may need to evaluate you but aren't as knowledgeable of English.
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Should I chase a bachelors degree or should I start my business? How are those perceived when applying for other jobs? I'm currently employed as assistant developer in a medium-sized company in my town. I'm stuck in this position because I don't have a college degree (which is required for analysts). I have recently started college (studying by night, working by day), to try to fix that. This past week, a family friend approached me with a business idea (an application) he wants to develop. He is the owner of a very successful company. He tends to be very smart with businesses, and the idea does sound good. He has the money and the 'smartness', which make it seem like a very good opportunity. He wants a partner, not an employee -- which means no payment during development and no guarantees of money afterwards. Because of the 'no payment' thing, quitting my current job is not an option. I'm [recently] married and have bills to pay. I could develop the application at night, but that would mean putting a hold on getting a degree. I can't help feeling I'm way past due (I'm 25, most people are graduated by then), which makes me feel like if this experience fails, I'd be an almost 30 year old man without a college degree, with an income as little as that of an intern in my current company and without any real chance of successfully searching for better jobs. Some people have assured me that experience as entrepeneur is great for the curriculum, but others have warned be about the 'dangers' of being 30 with no degree. I'm not sure how the market perceives a 30 year old man still in college, even if he has good professional experience. I started working as a programmer part-time when I was 16, working full time since 18 and "playing" with programming since the age of 9-10. That usually grants me some advantage when compared to some recent graduates. I like to think I'm good enough, but the people evaluating my curriculum don't know me, don't know the quality of my work and I'm not sure I could compete with bachelors/masters in a resumé evaluation. The question is: what is the real importance of college education and how it compares to entrepeneur experience/professional experience? For those who might be confused by the purpose of this question (I'm talking about starting my own business and yet I'm worried about job-hunting, which doesn't make much sense), I'm just trying to cover all by bases. I'd like to make a decision knowing the consequences of every possible scenario, which obviously includes starting the business and failing. <Q> The very first step is to talk to your wife. <S> If you make a life decision like this without consulting her that [recently] may become [formerly]. <S> Starting businesses are a hit or miss thing which can be very similar to gambling, where as a degree can be seen more like an investment. <S> Do you want the steady slow growth that comes with the security of a degree or <S> do you like to take the chances of starting (partnering) in a new company. <S> If you have a good deal of faith in the project that family friend brought to you and believe that he would contribute equally enough for the balance of a partnership then approach him about bringing you in on his other successful company while you work on this project. <S> Something that would provide you with a net while working on this project. <S> Be aware of how interested he is in this idea and how much commitment or knowledge he has on this subject. <S> Think about worst case scenario how you would handle it if he made a business decision in 6 months to drop out of the project, how would you continue? <A> what is the real importance of college education <S> It's a token that gets you past HR departments (during application or promotion). <S> It's a great way to learn about yourself and network with people who can help you down the road. <S> And occasionally, you actually learn things in your field of study too. <S> entrepeneur experience/professional experience <S> Successful entrepeneurs are exceptionally valuable. <S> Unsuccessful entrepeneurs are wistful dreamers who cannot be counted on. <S> Part of that is how well you can sell the experience, part of that is how the potential employer values that sort of experience. <A> what is the real importance of college education and how it compares to entrepeneur experience/professional experience? <S> My take would be it depends on which kind of work environment do you want to be: <S> Large companies with formal processes - In this case, HR will look at your resume and want to see a degree as this is often listed in the requirements for a position. <S> This is more to get past this point and get to the next stage of interview. <S> There can times where in getting the degree you find a passionate area within the subject matter or you find a connection that proves useful in the long term of your career. <S> Start-ups - <S> In this case, the entrepreneur experience will be more useful since small companies may have a different focus where you may gain experience in how to handle that. <S> How do you keep costs down? <S> How do you initially build up a team? <S> These are things that may be done in companies that are just getting started where you'd be known more for your skills than whether or not you have a degree.
| This varies due to locale, but in general, not having a degree will exclude you from opportunities and allow companies to pay you less when you do get the job.
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Is it unseemly to ask superiors about my upward mobility potential? Recently my company (who I've been with for just under a year) was acquired by another group. Later this month my new superiors are visiting my branch to meet everyone and have one-on-one meetings. I've been putting together a list of things to talk about when they come. The list is mostly things like projects I've initiated that are going well, things I'm actively working to improve, and some minor concerns about day to day operations/management. Is it appropriate to ask my superiors about their view of my upward mobility in a meeting like this? I am a one-person department in one of several branch offices. My supervisors positions are related to other aspects of the business that are not tied to my work. As such, I'm uncertain as to the path for progression within the company. Any thoughts or perspective is greatly appreciated, this is my first "real" job since finishing grad-school and I'm still adjusting to corporate culture after so many years in academia. <Q> Is it appropriate to ask my superiors about their view of my upward mobility in a meeting like this? <S> But if the acquisition is very new, and particularly if you have never met with them before, it's unlikely they will have put any thought into individuals' specific situations. <S> You could still ask, but will likely only hear vague generalities. <S> My company was acquired more than 2 years ago. <S> It is only in the past few months that specific directions have emerged for our division. <S> While the fate of a few individuals working in redundant overhead departments was clear from the beginning (they are long gone), for the rest of us, it's been far more of a wait to see how we fit in. <S> In our case, the acquiring company had only a general idea of where we were going - we got to shape our own future for the most part. <S> But you may want to do it a bit cautiously. <S> Don't expect too much, and don't push too hard <S> - it's likely that the first meetings will be more of a "meet-and-greet" than <S> a "here's where you are going" discussion. <A> It's not unseemly to ask your supervisor about how you can grow in your career. <S> Since this is an acquisition, my first focus would be on sharing information with them about what you're doing. <S> If they ask you what questions you have, you can think of it as being similar to the kinds of questions that you would ask when you're interviewing for a new job. <S> An appropriate question is about how they measure success in this new company (do they do annual reviews? <S> what is the process for that?) <S> , when and how they deliver performance feedback to employees, and how you can grow your skills to contribute more to the company. <S> When talking about upward mobility, make sure that you tie the conversation to the skills that the company values for your position (or for other related positions in which you might be interested) and how your goal is to be more effective in your role. <S> If you've got access to their internal website, you might want to see if there are HR webpages with information about career growth, available training, career ladders, and other information about growing your career. <S> Reading that before your meeting will help you better understand what they've got in place and help you create better questions about how you can grow. <A> Since you are meeting your new bosses (from an acquiring company) for the first time, the question I would ask them is "What can I do for you?" <S> If all goes well, that will get a conversation rolling. <S> After that conversation gets started, then you can ask them about upward mobility. <S> But not before.
| If your new superiors already know you well, and understand the great work you have been doing, then it is certainly appropriate to discuss what kinds of career paths they might see for you. You can always ask anything.
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Coworker CCs boss on trivial email correspondence I have a coworker who has a habit of CCing our common boss on nearly all email correspondence. The boss is hands-on enough to know what we are talking about but he is also cool and practical enough to not micromanage and I am almost 100% sure that her CCs do not get much of his attention considering his work load, his email traffic, and the relative relevance of her email content. Even when I initiate an email thread and she is the only recipient, when replying she would add him in CC. I tend to be minimalist and considerate of my manager's work load and prefer to not get him involved if things can be resolved between a coworker and me alone. Frankly, I think every smart manager (which I consider mine to be) would prefer this mode of operation. When replying to her, my obvious choices are to Reply all, which includes the boss, meaning I am adding to theclutter in his inbox and just following her (in my opinion needless)precedent of CCing him (while I do not believe he wants to be onit), or Remove him from CC but my concern is then he might think I never responded to her reply. How should I proceed in this type of situation where undue monitoring is being requested not by higer ups but actually peers and I suspect managers do not want to be involved? <Q> I've got a co-worker who does that! <S> This co-worker predates me at the company. <S> I agree with you about not CCing people who aren't involved and don't need more mail filling their inbox with details they don't need, I wasn't sure why it was being done. <S> During one of my 1:1 meetings with my manager, I asked these questions: <S> When should I CC my manager on what I felt like <S> were routine conversations? <S> What should I do when someone else on my team CCs my manager on what I felt like were routine conversations that didn't need my manager's attention? <S> What should I do when someone else who isn't on my team CCs my manager on what I felt like were routine conversations that didn't need my manager's attention? <S> In asking these questions, I wanted to focus the conversation on my behavior, not on my co-worker's behavior. <S> How my co-worker behaves is between my co-worker and our manager, and unless it's getting in my way, I don't need to be involved in that conversation. <S> My manager said that if someone else made the decision to CC when I didn't feel it was necessary (regardless of whether it was on my team or not), that I could simply reply-all and not worry about it. <S> My manager said that the delete button isn't that hard to click on. <S> Your manager might have different thoughts, so check. <S> You don't know why your co-worker is doing it, and you might not ever know. <S> I still can't explain why my co-worker does it, but I'm comfortable in knowing that it's not something that I need to worry about. <A> You know what your coworker is doing, but you don't know why . <S> Is your boss interested in certain topics, and your coworker trying to keep him in the loop? <S> Does your boss not know what your coworker does <S> , so he's keeping the boss informed? <S> Does the coworker think he's being ignored on stuff, and feel the need to cc the boss to get action? <S> Are your coworker and boss in the middle of a tiff and coworker <S> is following some rule you aren't aware of to the letter in order to get it changed? <S> Is your coworker or their significant other with medical condition that has not been disclosed to the rest of the office, and coworker <S> is keeping boss involved in everything in case of an emergency? <S> Is it stuff that you think is trivial <S> but that coworker thinks isn't? <S> You really don't know what's going on. <S> You should ask your coworker what's up. <S> If you don't feel comfortable with this, ask your boss. <S> Whether or not to remove the boss from your reply is up to you. <S> None of us know your relationship with your boss of how s/he will react. <S> I've worked for bosses that are glad to be removed. <S> I've worked for bosses who assume that I've dropped the ball if they don't see a reply and create a huge stink where it's not necessary. <S> I've worked for managers who I bcc to let them know the issue is addressed <S> but they're otherwise removed from the thread. <S> Once you know why coworker is including the boss, you'll be in a far better position to know what to do about it. <A> If your boss is as approachable as you make him sound approach him with the quick question of if he would like to be included in all communications of his employees. <S> You should be able to get a feel from the response to if it is just an annoyance to him or if he likes it. <S> As this is a question of opinion its hard to tell what a third party would think without actually asking them. <A> Such people exist in most teams. <S> A colleague of mine will CC the VP and the entire team when the manager asks for a status update on his tasks. <S> If I were you I wouldn't be worried about my manager managing his work load because of a few extra emails. <S> Once your boss is in CC it always makes sense to keep him in the loop, in your case primarily for the reason no. 2 that you have mentioned. <S> Mostly, it's a CYA practice many professionals these days follow. <S> It is almost a protocol to keep all originally CC'd people in the CC even if none of the CC'd members have any contributing role to the content of the the email. <S> It's a different thing to wonder why the CC'd people were actually CC'd. <A> a) "I think every smart manager (which I consider mine to be) would prefer this mode of operation." <S> - if you feel that your manager is not a control freak and if you suspect that he hardly takes out of his precious time to read every CC-ed email, then I see no reason why you should worry about anything at all; b) <S> some correspondence is really important to document - e.g. discussing major decisions, stating your specific requirements for a task, etc. <S> This is what project management platforms are for. <S> And a lot of them have internal messaging functionalities, so all communication would get automatically documented and accessible to your manager.
| In my case, my manager told me that I didn't need to CC on routine conversations, but to feel free to do so if I felt that there was something in the conversation that my manager needed to be aware of or take action on. There may be a cery good reason for your coworker's behavior.
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Returned to old employer after 5 months at a job I am and IT Manager and I was at a company for 10+ years and I took a another job with a large company. The job turned out to not be what I expected. My old employer reached out to me and I agreed to return. I have the same title as before but I have different responsibilities. I am now obsessing because I think I really hurt my career. On one front I could look like a job hopper. I have only had 5 jobs in 20 years. I usually stayed over 5 years at each job (I stayed at one job only 3 years because they went out of business). So I am definitely not a hopper. My other concern is it will look like I could not adjust to the new job and I returned to the old job with my tail between my legs. This one really concerns me as the company I returned to is having some issues and a layoff could come in the next few months. So it is safe to say that I am quite concerned. Would hiring managers see this as a red flag and throw my resume away? Secondly, is there any way I can represent my five month indiscretion in a manner where it won't cause me to be instantly disqualified for a position? Third, is it unethical to leave it off the resume? Finally, I am working on projects where I can add some interesting items to my resume (such as new programming languages and work in the cloud). Will new skills help me overcome any red flags from my choppy history of the past year? <Q> Don't omit the 5 month period from your resume. <S> It can come back to bite you if they call your employers to confirm the dates of employment. <S> You of course can't leave the 5 month hole in your resume, just be prepared to discuss it. <S> Several short duration jobs in this economy is not surprising. <S> I have seen many resumes with a detour in them. <S> I always ask about them, but their presence in the resume would not make me disqualify them. <S> Don't use the same phrases to describe your responsibilities and accomplishments. <S> If you are learning new skills in the new position make it clear that you really didn't regress. <S> Be prepared to describe why you made each job switch. <S> Knowing after almost six months that you made a mistake shows that you didn't quit after two weeks. <S> It also shows your old employer wanted you back. <S> The worst would be if you hated the job so much your performance suffered and they fired you. <A> First thing to consider is that having an employer hire you back after a short move would be considered a good sign. <S> One of the classic questions employers used to ask former employers is 'would you rehire this person?'. <S> Obviously this is demonstrably Yes. <S> Put the five month job/employer on one line at the bottom of the first page of your resume, indicating you worked for them for an incidental time period. <S> That way you 'haven't left it off', but aren't dwelling on it. <S> By the time a recruiter reads that far, you're probably on a shortlist anyway. <S> This is not the kind of thing that disqualifies a candidate. <S> An employer would probably see good things if the things you're describing are correct. <A> My old employer reached out to me and I agreed to return. <S> I have the same title as before but I have different responsibilities. <S> I am now obsessing because I think I really hurt my career. <S> I would not be concerned about it hurting your career. <S> The fact they re-hired you means they though highly enough of you to want you back - thats always a good thing. <S> Would hiring managers see this as a red flag and throw my resume away? <S> Probably not - the fact you were rehired indicates you are competent at your job. <S> Secondly, is there any way I can represent my five month indiscretion in a manner where it won't cause me to be instantly disqualified for a position? <S> Simply list these five months at the other company in chronological order. <S> They will call the old company to verify dates, so there is not a good way to hide this. <S> Third, is it unethical to leave it off the resume? <S> See above. <S> I don't know about the ethics, but it will be found out in short order. <S> Finally, I am working on projects where I can add some interesting items to my resume (such as new programming languages and work in the cloud). <S> Will new skills help me overcome any red flags from my choppy history of the past year? <S> Update your resume, and be truthful. <S> I think you are overly concerned that a bad job has ruined your life. <S> One mistake will not ruin your life. <S> You realized this other job <S> was not a good fit for you, and took action to correct the problem. <S> It may not feel like it know, but getting a new job is a much better idea than staying in a bad position.
| It may feel like you wasted 5 months, but in reality, you'll likely be happier at your new job because of the bad experience you've been through. Make it clear in the resume that the new job is different than the old job.
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How to display hobbies, interests and activities on a CV I have recently come across the following articles that put a lot of emphasise on displaying a persons hobbies, interests and activities on a persons CV. Articles 1 , 2 , 3 CV itself meaning as a rough translation is a follows: [the] course of [my] life. This shows that a potential employer is also interested in your life outside of work and anything that you would take an interest in would help show you on paper before an interview would even take place. How should the hobbies, interests and activities be displayed and listed on a CV? <Q> How should the hobbies, interests and activities be displayed and listed on a CV? <S> In my opinion, you should not include hobbies, interests, and activities on your CV. <S> I've read thousands of CVs/resumes in the years <S> I've been a hiring manager. <S> I've never once seen anything in a list of hobbies that made a candidate more appealing, but I've seen a few that made the candidate seem rather geeky/odd. <S> (It's hard to determine if something we find personally interesting will seem equally interesting to others, or just odd. <S> Many times it is the latter.) <S> I remember reading one resume from a candidate who seemingly thought that online "gaming" was a sufficiently big part of his life that he listed the number of years he had played a particular game. <S> Yet, he hadn't read a single book related to his profession. <S> Not a positive from my perspective at all. <S> For me, your CV needs to be professional. <S> You want to convey your abilities for the job at hand. <S> As an interviewer, that and your fit within my team are pretty much all I really care about. <S> When we speak during an interview - that's the time when your personality can come across. <S> And if I ask you something like "What do you do when you are not working?", that's when you can decide to inject a bit about your outside interests. <S> The only exceptions I could think of, would be if you happen to know your interviewer shares a particular hobby/interest with you or when the hobby happens to be directly relevant to the job at hand. <S> Perhaps then it would be appropriate to include them on your resume in hopes of catching her/his attention. <S> If you do decide to include them on your CV anyway, just list them in a section at the bottom of the CV titled something professional like "Interests". <S> Don't go crazy here <S> - you don't want an interviewer to think your hobbies are more important to you than your work (even if that is actually the case). <A> There are relevant hobbies and there are irrelevant hobbies. <S> I once landed a contract in part because mentioning offhandedly that I had a web server in my living room and was working on a Raspberry Pi made those conducting the interview feel that I was the kind of person who was interested in learning new things for the sheer challenge of it, which was a good thing to them since I was unfamiliar with the technology stack they were using and therefore would need to absorb a lot of new information in order to get up to speed. <S> Similarly, my resume lists a number of personal projects I have undertaken in my own time in order to learn new technologies, as a way to supplement my formal education; those could be considered "hobby" projects as well. <S> One of the articles you linked mentions things like informal leadership positions when going for a management job; these also seem relevant, though they're soft skills more than technical skills. <S> However, I can't envision a scenario where the fact that I enjoy costume making or baking would land me a job in IT; that kind of hobby is more of a "fun fact" to bring up at mixers than something to put on the resume. <S> As far as how to go about doing this: I created a section called "Notable Projects" where I listed a few of the more interesting/relevant projects. <S> I put it below the work history and skills sections, as it's less important; if I don't fit the basic requirements nobody wants to wade through bonus material to find that out. <A> For example, dancing might not help your CV, but being treasurer of your dancing club indicates financial awareness, bookkeeping, organisational skills, and perhaps proficiency with accounting software. <A> As a recruiter I kind of like it when people include hobbies at the bottom. <S> It breaks up the monotony of looking through resumes and reminds you that you're dealign with people and not just a collection of data points. <S> That said, I can honestly say in nearly 20 years of recruiting a person's hobbies/interests <S> has never helped get them an interview. <S> It's never hurt either. <A> If you think there is a benefit, then include it in your cover letter. <S> One of your hobbies could be a connection to why you are interested in this company and/or their industry. <S> If you don't have a lot of job experience (recent graduate), a hobby or interest is a way to show why you've chosen a particular field. <S> Otherwise, you're wasting valuable space on a resume. <S> There is an outside chance a person bias against one of your hobbies could be held by a potential employer. <S> Avoid the chance of irrelevant information clouding their judgement.
| You should include hobbies inasmuch as they showcase skills and experience relevant for the job.
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How to acquaint myself/be friends with someone who I do not work with/report to? At my workplace there are around a thousand employees. As it is normal I don't know all of them. But I do come across them at various places - cafeteria, lobby, lift. Sometimes I encounter people who I would like to get acquainted with but we were never formally introduced Similarly while crossing the lobby you see someone coming from the other end but we don't know each other and we keep staring and no one says "Hi".I feel later that maybe I should have said. What's the best way to tackle such situations ? How to acquaint myself/be friends with someone who I do not work with/report to at a workplace? <Q> Searching for a relationship at work is deemed very unprofessional in most cultures and can easily result in harassment accusations. <S> Nevertheless, there are quite a lot of couples who met each other at work. <S> The only situation where it would be appropriate to flirt with coworkers you were not introduced to are casual work-related happenings like a company party or an after-work round of drinks where people are expected to talk informally with colleagues they usually don't work with. <S> But even then you should tread lightly. <S> In other situations, you should try to perceive your coworkers as sexless. <A> The best way to tackle such situations at a workplace ? <S> I dont know of any other way but <S> to greet the other person with a smile either in the elevator or the foyer. <S> Tread extremely carefully, though. <S> Most companies have integrity/sexual harassment hot lines for any untowardly approaches at the workplace. <S> Of course, what is untowardly is relative. <S> Unfortunately, even a genuine attempt to befriend the fairer sex can backfire and people have lost jobs and these incidents have gone into police records. <S> Some companies have very strict policies/measures in place for workplace romance/dating. <A> A little friendly chit-chat with people at work is okay. <S> But look at the situation from an employer's point-of-view. <S> Let's say you hire someone to do a job for you. <S> How would you feel if they wanted to spend time chatting with your girl-friend while getting paid? <S> Your focus regarding work is off. <S> You shouldn't be focused on your personal need for connection with other people. <S> That's not why you were hired. <S> Nothing good can come from flirting with co-workers. <S> Co-workers tend to act nice to their fellow workers and it is very easy to get the wrong impression. <S> They're being naturally nice to everyone they meet, and you wish it meant more. <A> When I first moved to where I currently live one of the first real friends I made in the area was a somewhat attractive female I met at work <S> there isn't inherently wrong with it. <S> My advice is to keep it casual. <S> Break the ice with small talk. <S> Nobody will think anything of it if you make small talk with or if they see you two having a friendly conversation in the break room. <S> That being said as people like happybuddha have mentioned some workplaces do have strict policies about dating and the like between coworkers and most don't discriminate between actually dating and being "friends with benefits" type situations so if you do start to do stuff with her outside the office you should probably make sure it stays there.
| The workplace is generally a bad place for flirting. May be get into friendly banter if you work in the same team or meet outside at a common friends party and take it from there.
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Background check through staffing firm prior to recieving offer I am considering taking on a contract-to-hire position with a staffing firm. I am working with a recruiter, he is working for a reputable staffing company. The company he connected me with is extremely interested and ready to move forward, ge requested a background check, in which the background check - paper work asks for SSN, Drivers license number, previous addresses etc. Note: I have yet to receive any offer from the company regarding this position. I have had a phone interview that went well. However, nothing at all in writing as of yet. I am not comfortable giving my SSN, drivers license #, knowing that I have no offer in writing. Am I being overly cautious? Do I have a reason to be worried? or should I just provide this information and think noting of it other than it being the normal pre-hiring process? Also, can I insist on getting a written offer prior to completing any background checks? is this normal? I appreciate any advice. Many thanks in advance. <Q> Although I have never had to give out my drivers license #, it may be different in your state. <S> Its perfectly normal to provide personal information for a background check prior to receiving a job offer. <S> Even if you had a job offer and your background check returned something fishy, the offer can be revoked. <S> Most offers are 'pending background check'. <S> So if I were you, I'd go ahead and fill those forms out without having a written offer on hand. <A> Anything is negotiable. <S> You can refuse to take a background check unless you are given a written offer (which you can make contingent on passing the background check by explicit or implied standards). <S> The worst they can say is 'no' and refuse to give you the job, at best they will accept the conditions. <S> If you care more about the background check than you do about getting the job, then it seems like a win-win. <A> I had many background checks done, but it may be different here in Canada. <S> When I've had CRCs done here, I would fill out the forms, but because of Privacy laws, the forms go to the RCMP (Canadian Police). <S> We go to the RCMP with our ID in hand, and give them the forms. <S> On the forms is also the address and name of one individual in the company who the check goes back to, they verify you with your ID, and you're on your way! <S> When a record check came back for me (unrelated: for a volunteer organization), it is the same form, with no SIN (SSN is the alternative for Americans) or Drivers License number on it. <S> It's the form with the name, address, phone number, date of birth, etc. <S> and our initials on the checks we authorize the RCMP to do. <S> Then on the right is a tick box for either 'No data found' or 'There may or may not be a record' for each category. <S> If it's the former, great! <S> If it's the latter, then you (the applicant) would need to go back to the RCMP and get a list of what 'may' have been found, and you decide yourself if you want the company to see it.
| Drug tests proving you aren't an abuser are commonly performed before a final offer is made.
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Is there any merit to entertaining an offer from an ex-employer with a complicated relationship? I am being headhunted by my previous employer. We had worked together very well and had very close personal relationships until I resigned to join my current company, which is a direct competitor of my previous employer. After tendering my resignation they sent the police after me for allegedly stealing confidential information from the company, requiring me to hire a solicitor (attorney, legal council) to resolve. They additionally dismissed me from employment upon tendering my resignation, and contacted my current employer to explain why they should not hire me due to my alleged theft of intellectual property. I did not steal any confidential information from my ex-employer, and as it is a big company I did not understand the motivation behind their reaction to my resignation. Since they are headhunting me without me applying for any jobs there or showing any interest, I am curious about their offer. I have heard that my departure left a big gap, but also think it may just be to get back at my current employer for hiring me away in the first place. Should I even entertain their request for a meeting to discuss this offer, and if so what precautions should I take given our history? <Q> I assume this is some sort of joke? <S> I'll assume that you didn't commit the offence that they alleged, in which case they clearly don't care much about your quality of life. <S> Returning to them would not only tell them that you're happy to be abused by them, but that you're happy to have them pull this kind of stunt again in the future when you get a different job. <S> If you're unhappy enough with your current job that you'd even consider this, then please consider searching for other work elsewhere, instead of going back to the insidious former employer you've described. <A> You would be insane to consider this. <S> No wait, let me back that up. <S> There is one circumstance on which you might consider this - if there has been a complete change of management, and all the people who fired you and tried to get you prosecuted have left the company, and new management sees you in an entirely different light. <S> Don't even visit without getting from them a statement that they believe you to be entirely innocent of all accusations. <S> Even then, working with people who once thought you were a thief is going to be the definition of a strained relationship. <S> Without wishing to be melodramatic, it's not outside the bounds of possibility that this is a trick. <S> They leave you in a room with some classified documents and then claim you stole them while visiting. <A> If you are seriously considering it send a lawyer to the meeting, but you don't enter their workspace. <S> Or better yet have the meeting at your lawyers office. <S> If they did make changes to the company by firing everybody involved in the earlier incident then you could request certain provisions: Monetary damages to cover the actual expenses you had, plus emotional stress. <S> A signing bonus Increase in pay Increase in title <S> Other perks: parking space, bigger office, more vacation... <S> going back to the same position, for the same pay, after spending your time and money defending yourself doesn't make any sense. <S> Expect they might reject all or part of your requests. <S> Also get all the money in advance. <S> Don't let them promise to pay you in 30 days. <S> Also the documents you sign after the lawyer reviews them, should not require you to reimburse them if you don't work there for a minimum period. <A> What this sounds like is you had been in a fairly important role and a competitor poached you and the original employer <S> was sure the new employer was after trade secrets or IP. <S> Really this sounds more like a fight between the two companies - you are a pawn in the middle. <S> Problem is that the uncivil response of the original employer tends to poison the atmosphere. <S> Someone wasn't thinking of long term consequences when they called the cops. <S> Evidently you're holding all the cards - both employers need your skill and knowledge and neither can compete without it. <S> The original employer only figured out what you were worth after you were out the door. <S> If the one you're working with now is viable and treating you with respect, sit tight. <S> You would really have to figure out whether the old employer is trying to set you up for another nasty, or whether their only interest is putting you back to work.
| If the former employer is having problems keeping customers the situation may be too far gone to recover. No, it's obviously not a risk worth taking.
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Should titles be included in LinkedIn names? Is it advisable to include a title (like PhD or Dr.) in a LinkedIn profile name? Or do recruiters perceive this as pretentious? <Q> Is it advisable to include a title (PhD, Dr.) in a linkedin profile name? <S> What is the purpose of your LinkedIn profile? <S> Is it to connect with coworkers - how do they know you? <S> Is it by Dr. John Doe? <S> Just John Doe? <S> John Doe, PhD? <S> This will somewhat depend on industry and country too, as some locations/industries place more or less importance on this. <S> Or do recruiters perceive this as pretentious? <S> Like the above, this will vary based on industry and geography. <S> However, I would suggest leaving it off in - you are going to include your PhD education and publication(s) <S> anyways, so it will be quite clear you have the degree. <S> You can easily include make your degree clear in a personal statement. <A> If if makes it easier to find you, then it will be useful. <S> It can help if you have a common name that would return thousands of matches. <S> If on the other hand it is honorary and isn't useful for the positions you would be interested in, then it could be seen as pretentious. <S> The goal of the information on your profile is to allow current and former co-workers to find you, and for recruiters to contact you. <A> I don't include my title in my LinkedIn profile name and think the majority of LinkedIn members do not do this. <S> I think using your title makes you stand out in the crowd, but it heavily depends on the person reading your resume if they will find it pretentious or not. <S> I'd also keep in mind what jobs your are aiming for. <S> If it is not an academic job, I'd be shy to add the title.
| It will also be useful if a recruiter uses the degree as part of the search.
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How can I find companies with strong teamwork when searching for a job? I have developed for a few companies during my career. I have found that there is one thing consistent at each place, everyone is on their own. I feel like I try to answer questions for others when they ask whether they be specific to my project or for a "How To" coding question. I know I have asked plenty of both so I try to pay it forward, but I rarely see it back. Usually, I will see someone answer one to two questions and then they are done. Am I not looking in the right place for a good company (one with good hiring policies) or possibly asking for help in the wrong way? Basically, I want to know are all companies like this because I cannot keep switching jobs to find out for myself. How can I find companies with strong teamwork when searching for a job? This question is closely related. I am on the stance that I expect that help should be a standard for when given and asked for. Obviously there are times when others are busy, but a simple statement of I cannot help right now is sufficient, or I don't know the answer when that is applicable. <Q> If you ask directly about things like this in the interview, you're likely to get the answer they think you're expecting: Why yes of course we help each other out <S> , we're a great team, come work for us. <S> Instead, I think you have to ask related questions and infer some things about teamwork based on the responses: <S> It's best if you can talk individually with other developers on the team (i.e. this won't work as well in a group interview) and ask questions such as this: Example 1: <S> You: What's the most interesting bit of code you've written since you worked here? <S> Dev: blah blah <S> You: <S> Oh, that's cool. <S> What problems did you encounter along the way? <S> How did you solve them? <S> Example 2: <S> You: What's the most difficult technical/logistical problem you face right now in your project? <S> Dev: blah blah <S> You <S> : Is there somebody on the team who's an expert in that? <S> Dev: <S> Yeah, Jim knows that stuff pretty well <S> You: How easy is it to get answers from him? <S> Example 3: <S> Do you have any remote team members? <S> What kind of communication tools do you use to keep in touch with them? <S> Example 4: <S> What's the most interesting hobby that any of your team members has? <S> (this more gauges how much they interact socially, but might be a good proxy for teamwork) <S> Ultimately, there's no clear answer, just like there's no clear answer to " <S> how can I hire developers who work well in a team?" <S> but these are some that I've used. <A> Basically, I want to know are all companies like this because I cannot keep switching jobs to find out for myself. <S> So far, nobody has answered this part of your question, so I'll give it a shot. <S> No - not all companies are like this. <S> Where I work now, there's a very good sense of "we are all in this together" and "how can I help?" <S> Much of my background is with smaller companies, and startups. <S> Almost without exception they were higher-teamwork shops, perhaps out of necessity. <S> I have worked for a few much larger companies, and I do see less teamwork. <S> But I can't say for sure that company size is a defining attribute here. <S> It may be - I just don't have enough data points to decide. <S> So, If you think all companies are "like this", then I suspect we have never worked together, otherwise you would already know the answer ( No ). <A> The best thing you could do is ask the right questions in an interview, but I'm not sure even then it would work. <S> You can try asking questions like: <S> What kind of teamwork culture do you guys have here? <S> But that assumes that the interviewer will give you a completely unbiased and objective answer. <S> It might be that the best way to find companies with the culture that you're looking for is by word of mouth. <S> Unfortunately, that's not always reliable. <S> Overall, I'm not sure there's any easy, single way to find companies like this. <A> If you ask What processes do you follow for teamwork? <S> , you should be able get a strong clue of what level of teamwork there is in the organisation. <S> Generally I would assume that if the company follows/adapts some kind of formal teamwork process (e.g. Scrum , kanban, etc) chances are high that they value teamwork as high as you want them to. <S> Or the company might have some internally developed process as well. <S> Having the "right" process is not the main point, I think it is more that <S> Well, no we have absolutely no process regarding teamwork <S> should be a strong red flag and an indicator that this is somewhere you probably do not want to work. <S> And by asking that question you will direct the conversation onto something that require more detailed answers than that it can be answered with <S> Oh, we have very good teamwork in our company . <A> Some companies would have candidates stay with them for a "testing day", the employment equivalent of a test drive, I guess. <S> I'm not sure how it's called. <S> It's not always a great practice. <S> For one thing, if you're not hired, you'd have invested quite some time and effort for nothing. <S> Yet, in your case, it would help you get a good feel of how it feels to work for them. <S> Otherwise, you can research about the company and try to make an idea before the interview, in addition to the other tips given. <S> In my experience, small start-ups have this kind of environment, where everyone helps one another <S> and nobody is left behind. <S> On the other hand, startups can be a difficult environment, a lot of work is needed, sometimes they need to make difficult decisions and let go of a team member who is holding them back, and a lot of them startups will not see the light of the day, or not get very far.
| Most of the companies I've worked for (and with) have a strong sense of teamwork. Much better would be to approach individuals already in the company and ask them, outside an interview context, but that might be difficult unless you know them.
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Great interview - hiring manager never followed up, should I follow up with a call? I recently had an interview that I felt went great! It lasted about an hour, I was asked some technical questions and was able to answer them all correctly. We spoke a lot about my previous projects and experience in the field. We ended on a great note and the hiring manager promised I'll hear from him. In the beginning of this week, I have yet to hear anything from him. I e-mailed him thanking him for his time and expressing that I am excited to hear back about his decision. Is it appropriate to call? I do have some other opportunities in place, but I am just curious really, because I really liked the company and it seemed they really liked me. <Q> Most companies only follow up with successful candidates no matter what they told you in the interview. <S> Do not expect a response ever. <S> In over 30 years in the workplace, I have only ever gotten a call from a job that I didn't get one time. <S> Companies don't generally have any vested interest in spending time calling people they chose not to hire. <S> Even if you are in second place, they may not want to tell you that in case the first place guy doesn't accept the offer or changes his mind before showing up. <S> If you call unsuccesful candidates, some of them will want to argue with you about it. <S> There is no advantage for a company to call you to tell you that you didn't get a job. <S> However, if you are interested in the job or if you want to let them know you have another possibility on the line but would prefer them, you can followup once or twice. <S> Do not however become a pest who calls daily. <S> I will point out to you that great interviews do not mean you will get the offer; you don't know how well the other people they interviewed did. <A> If you are putting other opportunities on hold and are sincerely the most interested in the one that you are waiting to hear back from, then you should absolutely call them. <S> For one, it lets them know that you are very interested in working for their company as well as in demand for other opportunities. <S> What do you have to lose? <S> Are they going to reject you because you are over-eager about their company? <S> I don't think so. <A> Some employers take anywhere from two to six weeks to make a decision. <S> It might be background checks, it might be someone on vacation, it might be that someone else they're trying to reach can't talk to them yet. <S> Right now there's stuff going on with ObamaCare and other deadlines around Oct 1, so it could be that the employer is concerned about a government shutdown. <S> The next few weeks are likely to be ghastly on the political front, so if your company is dependent on that in some way they may be holding back.
| I would be sure to express the point that your intention is not to pressure them into a decision but to get a better idea as to where they are in their hiring process so that you can make an informed decision about other offers.
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Boss always has me talk to co-workers about their behavior Whenever my boss wants to deliver bad news to someone, he usually tells me to do it. For example, two people in our office are having very lengthy conversations not related to work. Instead of him just telling them to stop, etc., he will email me and tell me to talk to them and tell them to stop talking so much, even if he is right next to them while the problem is taking place. He just ignores it at that moment. I have more seniority then these individuals, but I do not tell them what to do, monitor their work, or provide feedback on what they are doing. I keep track of their hours for payroll, make sure they get paid, and tell them what the bosses generally don’t want to tell them. They tend to listen to me though. Some gradually move back to where we started, and then have to go through it again. My problem is that it always seems like I am the bad guy when he is usually the one that has problems with everything. However, if there is a raise or bonus to be given, he will always sit down with them for that. In the meeting, can I say "the boss said..." or do I have to deliver the message as if it is coming from me? <Q> In the meeting, can I say "the boss said... <S> " or do I have to deliver the message as if it is coming from me? <S> In my opinion, it's perfectly reasonable for you to say "The boss wanted me to tell you..." or "The boss said..." <S> Did your boss tell you to lie, and say that it comes from you? <S> If so, there are other problems to deal with here. <S> How would you handle this? <S> You have to either do what the boss tells you to do push back on your boss for agreement on better ways to handle it or ignore what the boss tells you to do (and risk the wrath of your boss) <S> If it were me, I'd have a talk with the boss and explain why I feel uncomfortable being the middle-man for all bad news. <S> But knowing my boss, I wouldn't need to do that anyway, since she is perfectly willing to relay all of her own news - good or bad. <S> So clearly your case is different. <S> If your boss insists on having you handle all the bad news, try to determine if it's acceptable to start the news with "The boss says..." or not. <S> Then, you can decide which avenue you want to follow. <A> Since you say they are co-workers, I am assuming that these people work WITH you, not FOR you. <S> If that is the case, your manager is asking you to do the negative parts of his job. <S> This is inappropriate and you should discuss this with your boss. <S> If this does not work, you should probably speak with your HR department, since your manager is putting you in a bad spot and your coworkers could actually report you to HR for how you are behaving towards them. <A> Since you are senior but not a manager or even a tech lead, this is definitely an awkward position. <S> I would tend to believe that you should tell them the source of the bad news. <S> SO yes, telling them that "John said to tell you that you need to start coming in by 8 am." is appropriate. <S> That way if they have problem with it <S> they know who to take it up with. <S> I would suggest to you that perhaps your boss views you as either more of a tech lead than you think you are or is grooming you for a management position. <S> In either event, it might be a good idea to discuss with him why he is asking you to do these tasks and how he would like to see it handled in terms of reporting back to him, etc. <S> you might even use this as a way to get him to give you tech lead authority if you want it. <S> A boss who wants to delegate all his difficult work away is often one where you can get assigned the tasks you need to be considered for higher roles in this or other organizations, so this is not entirely negative for you. <S> (Although he is a jerk for only giving you the negative tasks.) <S> I had a boss like this once and it really grew my skills so I could successfully apply for the next level up. <S> Doing management tasks before you are offically a manager can be a good thing for your career. <A> How would you handle this? <S> Your options depend on what you want to happen: <S> Get Paid for What You're Doing <S> You can go to your boss and tell him that your job has started into expanding into managerial/team lead responsibilities and that you think a promotion/raise is in order. <S> This sends a few messages: <S> You're not getting paid for what you're being asked to do. <S> You're doing a manager's job. <S> You're not complaining to anyone else, or whining about not wanting to do it. <S> He may be glad to find someone able to perform a role he doesn't want to perform. <S> He Can Do It <S> Better <S> You could tell your boss that employees listen best to their manager, and that people are wondering why co-workers are the ones giving bad news. <S> Boss, I think that the feedback would be taken more seriously coming from you . <S> Ask for Clarification <S> Before I talked to anyone else, especially HR, I'd ask for clarification. <S> Does he want the topic brought up in a team meeting? <S> Does he feel uncomfortable giving bad news <S> but he's okay letting everyone know it came from him? <S> Does he want the feedback given anonymously, management feels , ...
| Consider talking with your boss first, explaining your feelings, and verifying what is actually being expected of you.
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How to be found by headhunters? In scientific conferences and online communities such as linkedin, there are many headhunters who recruit professional for employers. I wonder how one can expose himself that he is open to new offers? For example, the following approaches were not practical in my case: Changing linkedin status to looking for new opportunity : but thisis something that unemployed people do. I mean when one has a job butconsidering special offers. Posting resume on job websites: in my experience, offers are notserious or relevant. Sometimes, I wonder if this headhunting business is serious at all. Where and how effectively attract the attention of headhunters by showing openness to special offers? <Q> Your profile needs to have fairly detailed experience items - I have things like C#, SQL Server, Microsoft Access/VBA, etc. <S> on mine, <S> and I have a lot of endorsements. <S> and contribute content to those groups, particularly answering questions. <S> In short, you're an active participant in forums. <S> This will give hiring managers and recruiters the feeling you are a significant actor in your space. <S> I also go to MeetUps in my locality, and follow up with people I meet at these. <S> This is physical face to face networking, but this eventually percolates into the LinkedIn references. <S> On a number of occasions I brought someone over to install SQL Server Express on their laptops so that they could start learning the database, when they see requests for endorsements with my name on them they tend to say 'yes'. <A> I get inquiries every few days via the resume posting sites and LinkedIn. <S> I have no idea how serious they are, but one way to get more offers is to freshen your resume/profile on the site. <S> Many times people don't want to change their status to looking for a new opportunity because that would alert their current employer that they are looking. <S> I hadn't realized that the opposite is also true, that only the unemployed or those who were given notice would set this status. <S> If you are willing to alert your current employer by setting your status to looking, then do so. <S> It shows a willingness to switch jobs. <A> This is one of those YMMV questions. <S> I think it depends heavily on exactly what it is that you do. <S> Based on my experience as a developer, the following works: <S> At least a basic linked in profile with connections from your previous jobs. <S> In my opinion, you don't even need to bother with endorsements. <S> Connections will be sufficient. <S> Make sure to have the silly buzzwords that are relevant to what you do in both of the above. <S> Don't underestimate the power of this. <S> I've worked with a serious recruiter that scored a few good offers for me, and once asked over lunch " <S> So is C++ a different thing from C#? <S> " <S> Buzzwords is how these people work. <S> Finally, make sure that you leave every job on good terms. <S> The world has become a global village. <S> After a while, past employers or people you have worked with will be reaching out to you as well. <S> I've certainly done this when I needed people for my teams (to see if they are looking, or if they could recommend someone). <S> The above generates a couple of calls per week for me. <S> Most of them, as you have pointed out, are garbage. <S> However occasionally I've had interesting jobs come my way <S> (the ratio is maybe 20-1). <S> You have to accept that the economic incentive for recruiters is to send everything to everyone based on keyword matches, and it is up to you to sift through it. <S> There will be a few gems buried in the spam, don't despair. <A> Sometimes, it's as simple as approaching a headhunter or a recruiting agency and registering with them so they can be your "agent" in your job search. <S> If you have a background that's suitable for the clients they work with, chances are high that they'd be happy to hear from you. <S> Headhunters make money from their clients by providing top talent that the clients wouldn't otherwise have access to. <S> So you're right - putting your resume on general job boards might not do the trick. <S> If you're in a field that has specialized job boards for its niche (like Careers 2.0 for programming jobs), you can post your resume there so hiring companies can reach out to you directly, thus skipping the need for a headhunter altogether.
| Post a resume to one of the big job websites in your area. You need to have membership in relevant groups, such as, in my case, Microsoft .NET, SQL Server, Access, etc.
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Informing a phone interviewer about an offer from another company I have an upcoming phone interview with a company. I received an offer from this other company. The company I'm going to have the phone interview with, is a lot larger, and a lot more desirable option to me. I am aware that with large companies, the hiring process tends to be slow moving. I wanted to ask, what would be a good way to inform the interviewer of this other offer, in a way that is hinting that I would be more inclined to choose them if I was given an offer. Also, it is important to note that I have to decide about my offer by a particular date, so accelerating the hiring process, would also be in my favor. I appreciate any advice on how to accomplish this. I don't want it to sound like I'm trying to negotiate with them, at such an early stage and before I was even given an offer. Many thanks in advance! <Q> Assuming the phone interview goes well <S> , I would probably just ask at the end. <S> "Do you have an idea on the timeline for the next steps? <S> I'm in the process of interviewing at another company and (I'm expecting an offer / I've received an offer) and I (will need / need) to respond by <date>." <S> If they're still very interested, they'll take that into account and realize they'll need to accelerate their timeline to accommodate you. <S> If either they're not interested, or they're unwilling/unable to modify the timeline, then you'll either have to risk losing the other offer and continue through the process, or you'll have to let them know that you're accepting the other offer and dropping out of the process. <S> (You can also add in a note about why company B is more desirable to you: <S> If you've got a reason like "I'm much more interested in the work you're doing" or "I really look up to your company as a leader in <field>", then your positive feelings may give them added incentive to try to push you along.) <A> The only reason to tell someone you have another offer is to speed up the process. <S> Companies generally will not wait that long for you to make a decision. <S> In most cases I would tell them 'the other place needs me to make a decision, but it sounds like you guys have a better job'. <S> Generally you won't be able to tell from a phone screen if the other job is better, but it makes them feel good about themselves. <S> That being said, you can 'accept the position', then tell them your current company really needs 3 weeks notice (or 4 weeks if you think you can get away with it), is that ok? <S> Then you can use this period to go through an interview and see if you like the other job better. <S> Then pass on the new offer. <S> As a general rule I never decline an offer because I'm hoping to get a better one from another company, but I can and have strung people along. <S> Companies will do it to you, so don't feel bad. <A> I would expect a candidate (in this case, OP) to take the first job that sends an actual, written offer . <S> Speaking as a hiring manager myself, I am motivated to bring the right candidate on as quickly as possible (we need the work done!), but I'm constrained by the snail's pace of our HR department. <S> As has been my experience in many other companies, HR often sticks their noses in places where they don't belong. <S> If a candidate passes my screening process and I am assured they can do the job (and independently learn whatever they need to) and are culturally a good fit, I'm ready to hire. <S> However HR insists upon "interviewing" the candidates so they can ask them random questions from the BBoIQ , thus providing no value whatsoever—their time would be better spent doing a background check and making sure the person's I-9 is good, etc. <S> This slows down the hiring process to a crawl and means we lose out on many skilled people.
| "Your opportunity is more interesting to me because <reason>, so I'd rather continue in the process with you, but I can't delay the other company too long."
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How to deal with an overly familiar subordinate? My most recent hire is from a different country. We invited him for a face to face interview before giving an offer. He is handing a notice to his currently employer and hasn't started working for us yet. He comes off as overly familiar and somewhat an online stalker. So far he did the following: Searched for my photos online. He didn't stop at just seeing how I look like. He went deeper to see how tall I am, ...etc. He managed to find photos of me that I cannot find myself. Found my personal email address and added me on chat. For the record my email account cannot be found by search. He must have done some very intense detective work to find it. Found my personal Skype account and added me. Added me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, ...etc He did similar things to the other interviewers as well: Personal emails, facebook, watching/reading anything to do with them online. He was very friendly and eager but otherwise normal nothing else stood out when we met him face to face. He was very open about researching us online and finding as much as possible. He is very smart and an extremely good fit for the position. It took us a long time to find someone with the skills we need. How best to deal with him as his direct manager? Edit: I talked to him according to @JoeStrazzere advice. He seemed to understand.I really feel that some answers took this too far. It was more of an overly friendly and familiar behavior than anything else. Strange, yes, but not a red flag in my opinion. <Q> Over the years I've had personality clashes that I felt the individual didn't understand. <S> I discussed how I felt they were coming across to me, and to others. <S> And I discussed ways I thought they could change their behaviors and be more cognizant as to how they are coming across. <S> I think you should sit down with this new employee, and say something like "We are thrilled to have you with us, and we know you'll do a good job. <S> But as your Manager, I think I owe it to you to talk with you about some issues that might hinder your relationship with others here." <S> Then, you can explain what he has done that makes you and others feel he is becoming overly-familiar. <S> Chance are, he doesn't even realize how his behavior is being perceived by your team. <S> It bothers me a bit when you write " <S> He was very friendly and eager but otherwise normal", as if being friendly and eager makes him abnormal. <S> I suspect by that definition I, and most of my co-workers would be abnormal, because most of us are friendly, and most are eager, too. <S> Perhaps there is something about your company or your team that is more reserved/conservative than most companies? <S> If so, all the more reason for you to step up and talk with your new employee to gently guide him to the cultural norms in your company. <S> Don't wait - for his benefit and for the benefit of your team, do it now. <S> (While I strongly recommend that you have this one-on-one chat yourself, if for some reason you simply cannot, perhaps there is someone senior on your team would would be appropriate for this conversation. <S> In my shop, when we bring a new person on board, I assign a mentor to help the new employee learn the systems, the people, etc. <S> While having this sort of a chat wouldn't be expected of the mentor in my shop, perhaps in your company that would work well.) <A> Tricky. <S> This could either be personality issue, a cultural issue, or both. <S> You will have to talk to him but the best way to do this may depend on the root cause and will clearly depend on his/her and your own cultural norms. <S> I would try to find someone in your company that is familiar with the employee's culture and get some input on Is this type of behavior normal, a bit off but still acceptable, or totally out of whack in his/her native culture? <S> What is the best way to bring this up in terms of minimizing embarrassment and all around aggravation? <S> Depending on the answer to question one, you may approach this differently. <S> If it's normal in his/her culture than you can easily spin this positively "hey, it's great that you are excited and enthusiastic for your new role but in this country you may want to take it a bit slower. <S> For example wait for people to reach out to you or until you know them for a while before trying to friend them on Facebook." <S> If this behavior is creepy even in his/her home country you may have a problem on your hand here. <S> In this case, I would clearly and specifically state expected rules and norms, state which specific current behaviors are not OK and take it from there. <S> I'd do that matter of fact without judgment or emotion (regardless of cultural background) and then the ball is on his/her court. <S> If the behavior continues, you will have to repeat this with increasing force. <A> You said "He is very smart and an extremely good fit for the position. <S> It took us a long time to find someone with the skills we need." <S> There's a very old saying: When something seems too good to be true, it probably is. <S> I'm going to go way out on a ledge here and suggest that you, and the other interviewers, document very carefully everything that the individual has done, document very carefully everything that you know about the individual, and go have a very quiet, confidential talk with your firm's Head of Security. <S> Do this BEFORE the guy starts work. <S> What you describe is very unusual behavior, backed up by very esoteric, very high-level skills. <S> He may have been acting alone, or he may have had help. <S> It may be that I spent too many years in the defense industry, but something about this bothers me, and it isn't just the "potential stalker" issue. <A> this is a little wierd, but I'm not sure its a stalker. <S> sounds like someone trying to buddy up to the manager. <S> Give him the benefit of the doubt. <S> When you talk to him do it in a non-threatening way. <S> Tell him to please give you your space and that we are colleagues,but we don't know each other out of the office. <S> He may not have any friends over here and may be trying to suck up. <S> I would make sure to have HR present for this to protect yourself, but try to be friendly about it. <S> All that being said, if he doesn't 'get it' immediately, especially if you approach it in a friendly way, fire him. <S> This shouldn't be that hard to get across. <S> Just don't assume he is a stalker. <S> I can see someone from another country just trying to kiss up to the boss and make a good impression and not realizing that in the US he looks wierd. <A> Sounds like a socially backward but technically savvy young man. <S> Let him know that most people find this behavior too aggressive, and that he should primarily look for personal friends outside the workplace.
| As a Manager, whenever you have an issue with an employee, you owe it to them to discuss it individually, and in private. I wouldn't take it too seriously.
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Should I remove personal information in material brought in a portfolio? Specifically, I am referring to a resume I was hired to write for a client. When I include it in my portfolio (not publicly displayed) should I leave the contact info, remove the contact info entirely, black it out, or replace it with dummy text? If I remove it I feel like the interviewers may think I left out this crucial information. If I leave it in I think it is poor taste to give out someone else's information, as well as reveal my client's name. If I John Doe it then it may look like it wasn't a real client (not sure this even matters). I could black it out but that may not look professional / presentable. <Q> You should replace the personally identifiable information in the document with sample information. <S> While the real information lends credence to the substance of your work, I don't think your work would be damaged by removing personal information. <A> When I remove it I feel like the interviewers may think I left out this crucial information <S> If you remove the entire heading, yes. <S> If I leave it in I think it is poor taste to give out someone else's information, as well as reveal my client's name <S> Agreed. <S> Plus you are telling your hopefully future client, "I won't respect your privacy if I look for a new job." <S> If I John Doe it then it may look like it wasn't a real client (not sure this even matters) <S> I see nothing wrong with putting a very obviously fake name/contact information. <S> Just make sure it's obviously fake - something like John Doe, 1234 Example Street, Exampletown USA Acme Co / Sample Company / etc <S> Also ensure you have their permission to use it, because even without contact information some work experience/companies might be be identifiable. <S> A resume is a work of art, to some extent, and overall impressions matter. <S> Especially as part of portfolio. <S> Because of this I would not simply cut it out or even black it out, because these will fairly significantly alter the overall appearance. <A> First, make sure you have explicit permission from the client to use his/her resume in your portfolio in its entirety (include all personal and contact information contained within it). <S> If you have this permission, then it makes sense to include it unedited, with no data redacted, as that more accurately reflects your work, and looks the most professional. <S> If, on the other hand, you don't have this explicit permission, you should go back to the client seeking that permission, or exclude the resume from your portfolio entirely. <S> Your client can decide how much (if any) of this information he/she wants used for this purpose. <S> When I interview candidates, and they want to show me work samples, I first ask if they have explicit permission. <S> If not - I don't want to see it. <S> I'd never want someone to be displaying my personal information or my company's proprietary/internal information without permission.
| Even if you have permission I would do this, simply because a potential interviewer may construe not removing the information as a potential liability that you might similarly use their client information to further your own pursuits. There should always be a note available (either at the end of the document or attached separately with a post-it) indicating that client information was removed as a courtesy.
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How can I delay an interview? I am a chemist who has recently been contacted by a former supervisor to interview at her current company. My current company has strict deadlines (clinical trials) to meet and is reviewing all requests for paid leave. The company has denied several coworkers requests "for business reasons" (this is the first time I have heard of this happening after over 10 years working here). Coworkers have been coming in even with fevers just to get the work done on time. In my industry, a full-day interview is the standard. Because of the upcoming deadlines, there is a good chance that I will not be able to get out of coming to work for "personal reasons", and I do not feel comfortable lying to my employer. I should be able to take leave after the deadline passes in two weeks. What is the best way to approach the company that wants to interview me about delaying the interview? <Q> What is the best way to approach the company that wants to interview me about delaying the interview? <S> Most companies should be flexible on this, did the company you want to interview not say, "what dates would work" or "does date XX work? <S> " <S> I think you are making this into a much bigger deal than it actually is. <S> Something like: <S> Thanks for the opportunity to interview with Acme Inc ! <S> I am definitely interested, however the earliest I would be able to get time off due to a deadline at my current job would be October 16 . <S> Does a date this week work? <S> Is perfectly fine. <A> What is the best way to approach the company that wants to interview me about delaying the interview? <S> Simply tell them that you are excited to talk with them, but that you are unfortunately in the midst of clinical trials and won't be available to interview for 2 weeks. <S> I suspect they will understand, and schedule your interview accordingly (perhaps on a weekend, or after the 2 week trials). <A> Never had any issue being honest: <S> "Sorry, I am busy I am currently on business trip" " <S> Sorry, I am busy I have pretty tight deadlines this week" <S> and it should not be an issue. <S> If they drop you because you cannot be available by their "standards", they just don't deserve you. <S> I know, I may sound "easier said than done" especially if it is a GAFA contacting you but trust me, it's better to be in good conditions than forcing yourself to take the interview in a rush and being not fully prepared for it. <S> Plus, having some peace of mind and an early sense of cooperation between you and your potential next employer is certainly a "plus".
| If the new company is in the same industry as your current company, then they will certainly understand the need to work through the clinical trial period and thus your current unavailability.
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Not Given Enough Tasks: How to Ask For More Politely I am a programmer and the way things go in my workplace is people are given modules to work on and every module has a set of tasks. This is just my third month in the company and there are days, even weeks, that I have no task to do. I have only been desperately giving hints to my boss like "Good morning sir. I have already marked all of my remaining tasks as resolved..." but nothing happens. I wanted to directly tell him and ask him but I'm hesitant because I'm afraid I might not pick the right words. How do I ask for more tasks politely and without annoying my boss? I don't feel good receiving my salary when I haven't done anything for days or weeks. <Q> Good morning sir. <S> I have already marked all of my remaining tasks as resolved. <S> Can you please let me know what to work on next? <S> There is absolutely nothing annoying about asking for priorities. <A> I like Marek's answer , but I want to add, that being out of work is not necessarily a bad thing. <S> If I ever find myself in a situation where I suspect the current priorities are unclear, I take the initiative to suggest that I could work on something that I want to work on. <S> Under ideal (for me) circumstances, that might sound like. <S> " I'm not sure what to work on next, " and before being told what to do, add " I've heard of cool technology X, and I believe it would be helpful for us in system/situation Y, I could spend some time investigating/prototyping that. " <S> Either you get a new task, or no-one has the time to figure out what you should be doing, and then most likely, you are now authorized to get learn something new that you find interesting. <A> How about asking your colleagues if you can help them with their responsibilities while you are free? <S> It will also help you to broaden your horizon when you learn a bit about the other modules of your application. <S> When your whole department is underworked, you could suggesting to the management to implement Google's 20% time . <S> It means that all engineers are free to use 20% of their worktime on personal projects they consider useful for the company without requiring any input from the management. <S> By the way : Not having much to do might be a warning signal that your job is in danger. <S> When the upper management realizes that most of the employees are underworked most of the time, they might decide to downsize the department. <S> But it might also be the case that in your particular position, workload is cyclic. <S> There might be periods of less work to do followed by periods of extraordinarily high load, and it is important to keep extra capacity on hand for these busy phases. <S> In that case your position might be secure after all. <S> You should ask your colleagues about this. <A> I work in IT. <S> If I don't have enough to do, I begin to think 'someone will see this <S> and then I will be expendable'. <S> I always look for more work to do. <S> It is critical that you engage your manager and tell you want more to do. <S> It is also useful to try to find work to do. <S> Being new, you want to run this by your manager so you don't break something or get in someones way. <S> its not uncommon for new developers to have little work to do. <S> Managers are often not very good about engaging them. <S> as far as how? <S> just say 'I don't have enough to do, I need to take on more work'. <S> Then keep pestering him/her. <S> IF they dont get you more work to do, you need to look for another job. <S> Idle people are expendable. <S> Also, your skills are not improving if your not busy. <S> I have had cases where I don't get alot to do <S> and then I ask for more <S> and I get blown off. <S> I move on.
| So it is absolutely critical to tell your manager you want more to do and try to come up with ideas. Maybe the workload per module isn't evenly distributed and while you are underworked, some of your colleagues might be overworked and appreciate the help.
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Hiding promotions on CV because no real change in responsibilities My question is similar to another question here . The similarity is in that I had multiple titles within the company, and that I am unsure whether to show the promotions or hide them on my CV, and how to describe the role. My situation however is quite different: March 2013 - now: Middle Manager November 2012 - March 2013: Junior Manager October 2012 - November 2012: Junior Assistant I had a rapid and unusual progression of titles in the company, promoted right after my probationary period (because there could be no official title change before that), also exceeding my own supervisor. Part of the reason was that I was always proactive and reliable, showing that I could perform better than my actual title, but also because changes in management led plenty of senior employees to quit the company, giving me plenty of space to progress in little time. By October 2012, I was already doing what a Middle Manager was doing in terms of achievements and responsibilities, and everything I am doing right now is a direct consequence of what I started since I joined the company. To wrap up, although my titles changed, my actual responsibilities and achievements have been the same from the beginning, i.e. of a Middle Manager. So instead of writing all the titles with no change in responsibility, wouldn't it be more appropriate to just write: October 2012 - now: Middle Manager <Q> While officially a "Junior Assistant", you may well have been performing the same job functions as a "Middle Manager". <S> However, the risk of describing yourself as such on your CV is that someone may reference check with your employer and get told that actually, no, you were not a manager, you were an assistant. <S> And a junior one at that! <S> Instantly, it looks like you have been lying to inflate your achievements - and it's unlikely that you will be given a chance to explain, far more likely that this will just see your CV hit the trashcan at some speed. <S> My advice would be to present it in a fashion that is technically accurate and omits details that you don't want to draw attention to, such as the fact that you have only officially been a Middle Manager for six months. <S> October 2012 - present : <S> FooCorp : Junior Assistant / Junior Manager / Middle Manager <S> That's technically accurate. <S> And if someone asks you how much time you spent in each of those roles, there's your opportunity to explain that right from the start you were handling managerial responsibilities, hence your official promotions. <S> But don't write something that will look like a lie if someone checks up on it. <A> I was promoted about a year ago, but my responsibilities didn't significantly change. <S> The biggest change is that there was more freedom and slightly less checking over my work by others. <S> I also took on some additional responsibilities "on the side" that I didn't have before. <S> What I did was simply change the title. <S> You can see this on my Stack Overflow Careers page, which is very similar to my paper/PDF resume. <S> When I was promoted from Software Engineer to Senior Software Engineer, I left the description of my responsibilities the same and just changed the job title. <S> If I receive a significant change in job responsibilities, then I'll add a new section, but otherwise I'll continue to revise and capture responsibilities under the same section. <A> Your resume is a marketing document, but you want it to be accurate in what you are telling about yourself. <S> What you do is usually more important than titles, since those vary widely by company. <S> If you've been doing the same work all along, even though the titles changed, it is ok to list the current title. <S> If it causes less confusion, it is ok to list the current title. <S> In other words, you can mention it, but what you are doing and what you bring to a position are much more important than any title.
| If you wish, during the interview, you can mention that your title changed rapidly in your current job, but the title you listed is essentially what you've been doing all along, and here's how that experience is going to help the company you are interviewing with.
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What is the benefit of a standard Corporate Email Signature? Many businesses have more-or-less standard email signature formats. Some go so far as to dictate font pitch, font selection, spacing, etc. Others only ensure that your name, title, and contact info is readily available. Why should (or should not) an email signature standard be used? What benefit(s), if any, does it provide? <Q> First and foremost this is done for branding and marketing. <S> Most companies have a logo and mandate its usage when corresponding in an official capacity. <S> Why? <S> Because it is part of the company brand - making it recognizable. <S> Having a unified signature across the organization is the professional thing to do. <S> Some companies are more aware than others in regards to fonts, pitch, color selection and such. <S> Other reasons (mentioned in other answers) are to ensure that people don't personalize their signatures - why would a company want to avoid that? <S> Because they may not want to be associated with certain personal passions of certain employees (politics and religion for instance) and to ensure a certain professionalism (banning animated images or some inappropriate imagery/content). <A> As an addition to the other answers: There may also be legal reasons. <S> For example, in Germany all business communication (email, letter, fax) sent by a company must contain certain information about the company, such as its name, address, company registration number, managing board etc (see e.g. Handelsgesetzbuch § 37a ). <S> Violating these rules can cost the company a heavy fine, so most companies put this information into their standard email signature. <S> Strictly speaking, the information is only necessary in mails to recipients that you have (or intend to have) a contractual relationship with - <S> so it's no necessary in internal mail, or if you are merely requesting information. <S> However, since this distinction is complicated, most just always include the information. <S> I believe some other countries in the European Union have similar rules. <A> Standards can be used to establish a floor and/or a ceiling. <S> Specifying the exact graphic file to be used minimizes the space on the mail server, because it makes sure that the graphic file size is not humongous. <S> It also limits the use of inappropriate graphics, or animated gifs (unless that is what they want you to use) <S> Specifying minimum content means that external and internal customers can contact you even when they can't click on you email address. <S> This is great for emails that end up being printed, or heavily forwarded/replied emails. <S> Which can be important when many emails are read on phones and tablets. <S> The development of standards usually happens when there is a perceived issue that needs to be resolved, and the non-standardization of email signatures from a part of the company are deemed to be a part of the problem. <A> This is also to prevent people from using something inappropriate as part of their signature like religious or political quotes. <S> Since emails from the company represent the company, they don't want personal stuff in it that the company may not want to be associated with.
| Company email signatures are no different - they show the company brand and are a marketing tool. Font and spacing rules make sure that the signature doesn't take up too much space, or is unreadable.
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Is it normal to be asked to sign an NDA before an in person interview? I have had two technical phone interviews with a company. I believe they have both gone fairly well and the company has asked me to come in for an in person interview. The interview is scheduled for a few days from now, but I just received an email asking that I fill out an document titled "Application for Employment" as well as an NDA. The application appears to be for an external company to conduct a background check. The NDA seems to be focused on things like interview questions and recruitment practices. Is it normal to be asked to sign such documents before an offer had been made and especially before an in person interview? Thanks <Q> Is it normal to be asked to sign such documents before an offer had been made and especially before an in person interview? <S> Yes, it's normal. <S> Most likely it's a sign that they are serious about you. <S> Filling out an Application has been standard procedure for every company where I have worked, except for the very small startups. <S> It formalizes your information. <S> And as you indicate, they may be asking for your permission to do background check work. <S> Sometimes, companies do that this early in the process, sometimes later. <S> I've done the same for some interviews in the past (both as the interviewer, and the interviewee). <S> Both seem like routine stuff to me. <S> As with all documents you are given - read them carefully and make sure you understand and agree, before you sign them. <A> Some companies want to protect their recruting techniques, because many of them won't work as well if all the condidates know in advance what they are going to be asked. <S> It's much more common to do it because they want to be able to disclose some of the company's practices to you without the risk that you pass it on to their competitors, or publish it. <A> It is not unusual for a company with highly-proprietary data to ask for the NDA specifically for what is seen & discussed in the interview. <S> The NDA is not usually binding beyond that point; if you're hired, it would be different paperwork. <S> Signing it makes it easier for them to bring you behind the screen, without worrying about you revealing anything confidential that you might spy along the way. <S> It allows them to discuss development or proposed projects in specific, without risking you telling the competition what they're working on. <S> It allows them to reveal the org structure without you taking the information to the press. <S> The NDA should be specific, though, i.e relate to the interview & discussions. <S> Where NDA's are required for an interview, you are usually not allowed past the lobby or reception area until it's signed. <S> I have had it requested by one of the more well-known online corporate businesses (huge) all the way down to a 15-person graphics-processing-services company. <S> They all felt that they had information to protect. <A> It really depends on the situation. <S> Some large employers, paranoid programmers, expensive projects, or brilliant ideas will require an NDA even before sharing any ideas or discussing anything. <S> This is simply to protect the ideas - it is perfectly normal and there is nothing to worry about. <S> However, you should always read what you sign, and if the NDA is too long (more than a page or two), then that is a red flag. <S> If it is a large or expensive project, it is a good idea to have a lawyers look over the NDA before you sign it.
| And signing an NDA probably means that they will be discussing company/product issues with you during the interview process that they don't wish to become public. It's relatively normal, but not common.
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What does an employer check as part of a background check When a new employer does a background check on you, what exactly are they checking? I understand that it combines a criminal record check but what else? Will they call up each of the past employers listed and verify exact date and time and duration of employment. Because I have forgotten exact months for the employers that I left 5 years ago. <Q> I'd start with the caveat that this can be hugely variable depending on the job. <S> In general, the company is trying to verify that: <S> what you told them that led to the job offer/hiring decision was accurate (ie, dates of job history, employment verification) that there are no unknown risks to hiring you as an employee in this environment (legal to work in the country, criminal record) that you are as competent to do the job as they think you are (driving violations if you are an ambulance driver) that you are of good character (professional reference check) <S> How that plays out in a specific case is often a factor of the employer and the industry. <S> You'll find that high risk jobs have many more checks than jobs where the employee cannot easily harm the business if the business makes a hiring mistake. <S> How it gets implemented is also a part of the business. <S> As one respondent said - it's not unusual to have a third party do the background checks as the administration of all of that can be some serious work. <S> Where that's the case (and often it's obvious, because you fill out a web form that isn't from the company website) <S> - anything you can do to avoid a mismatch in the paperwork will speed up the process - for example, researching your former company's current address, employment verification phone number or contact point, etc. <S> Honesty is always the best policy here - if you don't know dates, give the dates you do know and admit to uncertainty. <S> I got in the habit a while back of being very careful to always have a copy of my resume nearby with month/year on it <S> so I could always be consistent. <S> But if you're unclear on a detail say so. <A> The scope of what is checked can vary depending on what is needed by the company, position, and customer, and what is blocked by the law. <S> It can be employment history, financial, criminal. <S> It can take a couple of days or it can take months. <S> They might also request non-work references. <S> When employment checks are done, they don't care about exact dates, but they do care about months. <S> If they discover that the dates were manipulated to hide a hole in employment history or to skip listing a very short they would be concerned. <S> Most companies will only provide employment date, and title information for background checks. <S> They might provide salary information for loan approvals checks. <S> They will look into judgements and defaults because that may show lack of judgement. <S> High levels of debt may show a motivation to steal. <S> Criminal checks are obvious, but what would disqualify a candidate does vary by company and position. <S> Violent crimes are bad for all positions, but reckless driving would be a concern for a position as an ambulance <S> driver.\ <S> advice: If you don't know a date try and determine the date, but then note your uncertainty. <S> Be truthful when answering all questions. <S> The investigator discovering a minor problem that you didn't note on the forms can make the situation worse. <A> In general most employers will utilize a company that specializes in background checks. <S> Those companies will run a check of databases for information that it can link to you. <S> If they find information in their database that conflicts with what you have provided they will often look into it to see if there is anything that the company should be aware of. <S> In addition they will usually run criminal history checks on any address they have for you, those will include those you provided and any that come up in their database search that they believe may be you. <S> If anything shows up at addresses you have not listed they will work to determine if it is actually you, or someone with a similar name or alias. <S> Many places will also pull a credit history report. <S> They will cross this will any criminal activity they find. <S> From this information they will put together a document and report any items of concern to the requester(usually your prospective employer). <A> They are checking your history in terms of what you've stated in your resume and possible interviews to ensure accuracy of the information. <S> If you stated that you graduated from a specific school in a specific year that may be checked. <S> Contractors would be exempted as they may be in a business-to-business relationship with the company and could bypass some of the HR rules. <S> A Full Time Employee may be seen as more of an investment that the company wants to check out rather than discovering later has lied. <S> Contractors may be easier to terminate in some cases as the contract may contain provisions for ensuring the hire is temporary.
| The thoroughness of the check may include queries to past employers where exact dates may be used though some employers may not want to dig into exactly when someone started to the minute and may just give a ballpark of, "Joe started in early August," rather than a specific date. Financial checks may be required by some employers/positions.
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Dealing with jealous and overcontrolling ex-boss I started working at this company more than 5 years ago as an assistant. One of my superiors never trusted my capabilities and never supported my growth, however I got promoted quickly, and after some more struggle I got promoted again at the same time when I changed departments and I am currently managing an office there. Unfortunately, it's the same company, so I'm not too far away from this person. I know that my current boss (a great person I have in high esteem) has vetoed my ex-boss for the position which I have right now. That said, you can imagine that my ex-boss is not happy at all at me having the position that she wanted to have herself. I cannot guarantee she is aware of my current boss vetoing her, but in any case, she is definitely aware of the result - me having the position, her having to work in the same department as before (her position there is still superior to mine, but I do not respond to her anymore). Now my current boss is on maternity leave, and after a couple months, I have noticed an increased attention of my ex-boss to everything I do. She sometimes calls me three times a day to ask random questions about random things, or to tell me that a link in the email I have sent earlier was not working. She tries to make suggestions on how I should do one thing or another, and although I can still keep my territory, she is starting to make me really nervous, and that might be one of the things she is trying to achieve. She has also tried to damage my relationship with my colleagues, telling me bad things about a colleague she supposedly heard from another person, which I ignored, because I knew it was not true. She doesn't have any real power against me, but she seems to be observing my every move, looking for mistakes or clues to give her an excuse to diminish my work, criticize, or simply make sure I'm aware that she's always there. In this situation I think that it's not me who is having a problem, but her, but it's starting to affect me psychologically. I am nervous about the things I'm doing, as I know that she's going to be the first to appear if there's something wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if she is also looking for a way to prove that I was not worth the position, especially because the new office that I am in charge with right now has received a lot of positive attention in the company lately (diminishing her position, obviously, as when I was working under her, the performance in the same areas was a lot lower). We have never really had an open fight, so ignoring her when she asks for some information seems kind of drastic, so at the moment I simply ask her why she needs this info, when she calls, and she starts going around it and never gives a straight answer. I suppose I should be stricter about that and mark the boundaries of my territory, but I'm used to being nice with everybody and I think that I'm feeding the monster right now. I was also considering talking about the situation with my current boss, but I don't want to trouble her during her leave (although the appearance of my ex-boss is obviously triggered by the absence of my current boss). Am I doing the right thing? Is there anything else I should do to control the situation? <Q> She doesn't have any real power against me <S> Since you don't work for her, the only real power she could have over you is the power you give her to disrupt your work, or ruin your self-confidence. <S> Don't let her do that. <S> In this situation I think that it's not me who is having a problem <S> It's only your problem if you let it be your problem. <S> Am I doing the right thing? <S> Is there anything else I should do to control the situation? <S> If it were me, I'd ignore her as much as the professional arrangements allow. <S> Stop letting others make you feel nervous. <S> Do your job to the best of your abilities. <S> When your current boss returns, if your ex-boss continues to behave this way, make sure your current boss sees what is going on. <A> This is a dangerous situation. <S> She is trying to undermine you while your organizational support (your boss) is gone. <S> If you let her go unchecked, it may be too late to redeem your reputation when your boss returns. <S> So first, go talk to whoever you are officially reporting to while your boss is on leave. <S> If you don't know then that is a problem right there. <S> In that case, go talk to the person your boss reports to. <S> Tell this person that the other manager seems to be stepping outside her authority and trying to manage your group and is that true that she is in charge while your boss is out. <S> You may find out that she was tasked to do so <S> and you may find out that she is outside your chain of command. <S> If she is not supposed to be in your way, let the senior person deal with it or advise you how to deal with it. <S> Be prepared to discuss some of the incidents and ask what you should do about them. <S> In general it is always a bad move to let people put you down professionally without responding to them. <S> It doesn't make you look above it all, it makes you look like the things she is saying are true. <S> It also convinces her that you won't fight back. <S> If she is making you look bad, you made need to throw her a few curve balls as well and put her on the spot about her work. <S> But do present your side when she says something in public and do ask her hard questions about her work group. <S> And make sure that, to everyone else, you are presenting yourself as professionally and as competently as you can. <S> People won't believe her nonsense if they have a good impression of you, so go out of your way to make one. <S> Show some intitative if your jobs lends itself to that. <S> Really push to meet any deadlines. <S> You need to shine when people are trying to tarnish your rep. <A> Joe Strazzere's answer is the answer. <S> But there's one thing I'd like to throw into the mix: sometimes you get to work with really difficult people. <S> I'm talking about the unreaonasable bullies with all sorts of problems that have somehow managed to get an influencial position and spend their days making everyone miserable. <S> And if you are really dealing with one of these people, then sometimes the best form of defense is to counter-attack. <S> Is she waiting for you to make mistakes? <S> Watch her for mistakes. <S> Build up a paperwork trail that will make her look stupid and inadequate. <S> Make sure that you are right and assert yourself. <S> In my humble expereince, playing this game is a destructive process. <S> But like office politics, when someone drags you into it you frequently don't have a choice. <S> Doing nothing and being their punching bag is not the way to go. <S> But at the same time, once you fire back one salvo and prove that you will not be an easy target these sort of people tend to back off.
| Don't be nasty and don't be defensive. See if there is some way to lighten the load for whoever is covering for your boss.
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How do I deal with a high manager that is pushy with deadlines? I have a boss with extremely outdated software experience. He says it has been around 20+ years since he last did any development. When I give an estimate that he feels is taking too long, he publicly (during the meeting) says that is too long you need to do it in X time. I come back and I say no, I gave you an estimate based on my experience with this in the past. He will usually say, I used to do that in 5 or 10 minutes (doubtful, but whatever) and you should be able to do it in the same time since this is your degree. Note, he only did scripting languages and I am currently building in WPF :(. So, how can I (politely) tell the VP of the company that I am right and he is out of date? Side note, my other estimates have been accurate. UPDATE This is in response to those that said I did not give enough detail on the estimate. Here is how I create my estimates. Please do not take this as a request on improving my estimates unless you see something absolutely horrible. I write down what all I know about what needs to go in a project for each sub-task. These sub-tasks are then totaled. The total has an additional 33% for unknowns/testing. That usually gets me within a few hours unless something changes or completely unexpected comes up. The total of the sub-tasks is what is given to the manager. <Q> It's quite common to underestimate the complexity of a task when you are only aware of the rough details. <S> The more you think about the details of a task, the more small, unobvious problems you discover which will take additional time to solve. <S> This is a fallacy which even the most experienced people in our business can rarely overcome. <S> Here is an interesting article which takes this very website as an example for hidden complexity in software projects . <S> Time estimates should be based on facts and thus should be treated as facts themself. <S> When you estimate a task will take 10 days, this is not an offer, it's an estimation. <S> It can not be negotiated. <S> When your manager says "but you need to finish it in 5 days", then all you can respond with is " <S> But it won't be finished in 5 days, unless we [cut requirement x] or [get resource Y]". <S> When your manager then replies "But you MUST complete it in 5 days WITH requirement X and WITHOUT resource Y", all you can reply with is "We can try, but it is highly unlikely that we will be successful. <S> Do you want us to try anyway?". <S> When he says "Yes, do it", you start working, because that's what you are paid to do. <S> When you aren't finished after 5 days, you respond "I told you that we won't be successful, but you decided that we should try anyway". <A> Hmm, I'm going to play Devil's advocate here. <S> You say he's a manager 20+ years out from being a dev, so is that 20 years of being a manager or 20 years in a Tibetan monastery then back to software? <S> The thing is he may be sensing your estimates are on the high side and he may be trying to get you to justify why they are the way they are <S> ( you say they are accurate, but you could have estimated 6 months for a 3 day task and spent 6 months doing it, which would be accurate, but not very productive). <A> Estimates are estimates. <S> The time you take to do something might be completely different. <S> So if you have been in your job for a while, you can compare your estimates with your peers' and manager's, and see who is getting them off more often. <S> Since you are the one doing the actual job, and given your last sentence there, I believe you'll be able to make your point with that. <S> Also relevant is the amount of detail that comes with an estimate. <S> As Mark and HLGEM have said, add information to an estimate when you give it - how long each subtask is going to take, in the least. <S> Finally, I'd like to recommend you a book on software development estimation, called <S> The Mythical Man-Month: <S> Essays on Software Engineering . <S> It is a very pleasing read about one of our profession's greatest historical challenges. <S> There is this great quote in the book: <S> Good cooking takes time. <S> If you are made to wait, it is to serve you better, and to please you. <S> Just extrapolate that to coding and find a way to make your boss understand that. <A> This is an expansion on Renan s post. <S> When creating an estimate you should create the costing document as such. <S> List <S> each section chronologically. <S> It should detail like the following. <S> Task: [subject of the task in question] <S> Dependancies: [what tasks need to be completed before this can progress] <S> Time for task: [mark in 1-5 days maximum] <S> Any task taking more then 5 days should be broken down into sub tasks which should not be more then 5 days each. <S> Also do not leave anything out. <S> If you believe for example you need a day for upskilling, put it in. <S> This way it gives a clear picture of all the work involved. <S> It is then up to the manager to determine what they need to drop to stay within the deadline. <S> One issue on this! <S> Do not fudge the figures. <S> If you believe it will take 2 days to do X, do not put in 5 days. <S> Having a project come in well ahead of schedule is just as bad as a late project. <S> I'd also recommend getting project planning software. <S> For example ProjectLibre . <S> Although there are a number of alternatives out there.
| I'd look at breaking things down to show where the time goes, and seeing if he's quite so skeptical, I'd also avoid confronting the VP as you'll just come out of it badly.
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what is the protocol for thank you notes when there are multiple interviewers I had an interview this morning which lasted several hours. First I met with several of the IT managers, one of whom I would presumably end up working for if I was hired. Then an hour with someone from HR. Then a half hour with the development and data architects, and another hour with several technical staffers. What is the recommended protocol for thank-you notes in this scenario? I've read you should respond mainly to the "lead" interviewer (typically the hiring manager) with a courtesy note to HR. But everyone -- in particular, all of the managers -- asked me questions ... there wasn't a clear "leader", and I'm pretty sure they're all peers. My guess is I should write a note to each of the technical managers and probably the HR representative as well. In writing to the technical managers, I should ask them to forward my thanks to their team members. <Q> Thank you notes are very culture dependent - in 20 years of interviewing on the UK, from both sides of the fence, I've neither sent nor received a thank you note. <A> It doesn't hurt to send a thank you to everyone you interview with, whether they have a strong say in the hiring or not. <S> It is also ok to only send it to the main interviewers involved, but thanks are never a bad thing. <S> It can be fairly short. <S> You can add a question if you have one <S> and they're likely to know the answer, or just give a quick thanks for them taking the time and reiterating your interest in the position. <S> Send it via email: postal mail is not necessary and is also slower. <S> However, wait at least a couple of hours or even a day before sending it; take time to think about the interview and what you learned about the position. <S> Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you and the other engineers today at Acme, <S> Inc. I like the approach you're taking with just-in-time design and look forward to learning more about widget implementation. <S> MyName and contact info <A> You should send thank you letters to only the people who have a deciding vote on whether you will be hired or not. <S> Ultimately, it's up to you to decide who you want to mail. <S> Good luck! <A> If you are asking from the United States, the general rule of thumb is to send thank-yous to anyone with whom you interviewed. <S> With the growth in popularity and usage of email, there is no need to send handwritten letters-- however, you should write an individualized letter to each interviewer.
| If you are overambitious, you could consider mailing a letter to everyone you spoke to, but it's not necessary.
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Should I answer someone-else's phone when he's not around? Most of us have each owns a telephone and sometimes when a person is on-leave, or simply not on his/her work station, the telephone just rings and is somewhat disruptive to everyone around it. What we currently do is just wait for the phone to stop ringing, but sometimes the caller just don't get that the person he/she calling is not around and the phone just rings all the time. Should I answer my co-worker's phone when he's not around? Or should I just raise the phone so it's always busy and the phone wouldn't ring? <Q> A telephone needs to ring loud enough to alert somebody who is sitting at arms length. <S> If you are not that somebody <S> and it's disturbs you <S> , it's set too loud. <S> That's just a setting in the telephone, change that setting. <S> Even if the other person is actually available, the telephone will ring one or two times. <S> That must not be a distraction to the rest of your team. <S> From experience I would say make it ring half as loud as it is now and it will be much better for you and still loud enough for the owner. <S> As to answering his phone in his place: can you add value over "he's not here now" that just not picking up conveys? <S> If you can do his duties or can provide information that the caller needs, for example that the owner of the phone is sick and the name of his stand in, then by all means pick up the phone. <S> But if all you can say is "he's not here, I'm not sure when he's back." <S> then don't. <S> It doesn't help the caller and only costs you time. <S> Generally speaking, don't be his answering machine. <S> If your company would have wanted that, it would have invested $5 in an actual piece of hardware doing that. <A> Should I answer my co-worker's phone when he's not around? <S> No, of course not. <S> Do you answer your coworker's individual work email when he's not around? <S> Most people would be a little weirded out if you answered their phone at their desk and took a message for them. <S> Or should I just raise the phone <S> so it's always busy and the phone wouldn't ring? <S> If this problem is bothering you, the solution isn't passive aggressively dealing with it. <S> Talk with your coworker and ask him or her, "hey <S> - I'm wondering if I can get you to turn your ringer down, you get a lot of calls and when you aren't here <S> it goes off pretty often and is distracting." <A> The answer is: it depends. <S> Honestly, there are situation when all options would be completely appropriate, from changing the loudness of ringers, to always answering the phone, to never answering the phone, to setting the phone to "do not disturb/away", to disconnecting the thing entirely. <S> I have been in workplaces where the only acceptable answer was to answer the phone, regardless of what line it was or why it wasn't being answered, so much so that the general manager would get a nasty phone call from their boss if the phones weren't answered within a set amount of rings. <S> On the other hand, I've worked in places where one simply hit an "away/DND" button even when they went out to lunch to others wouldn't be disrupted. <S> I've also disconnected a phone in my area because I did not answer phones, so it was silly to be bothered by ringing all the time. <A> People who are planning to be out generally have the reponsibility to set up their phone to go straight to voice mail and generally to leave a message saying who to contact and how long they are out. <S> IF they are not doing this, then ask your boss to remind everyone that ringing phones are distracting others and that they should be doing this when they are out. <S> It also will help whoever is calling to know who to call in the person's absence which is a business critical usually. <S> Won't help with the "just left the desk for a couple of minutes" stuff but should reduce the number of rings significantly. <S> And learn to ignore the phone. <S> Don't get worked up or upset, just notice it is ringing and go back to what you are doing. <S> It is more your own reaction to the noise than the noise which is causing you to be distracted. <A> And depending on the situation, answering somebody else's phone might be considered an invasion of privacy. <S> If a coworker is away for a while and the ringing of his/her phone is a distraction, then you might consider lifting the receiver. <S> Do this only if doing so causes incoming calls to go directly to voice mail -- which is what it should be doing while the person is absent anyway. <S> Be sure that's what it does before you do anything (for example, test it with your own phone first). <S> If you do this, leave the receiver in a position that will be obvious, so your coworker can hang up the phone again when he/she returns. <S> If lifting the receiver doesn't cause incoming calls to go to voice mail, then you'll need to find another solution. <S> If it's really a significant problem, talk to your manager. <S> Among other things, discuss encouraging everyone to turn down their ringer volume and to reconfigure their phones so they don't ring while they're away for an extended period of time. <S> I wouldn't mess with the phone (changing settings, etc.) <S> beyond possibly lifting the receiver. <S> (Peripherally relevant anecdote: At a previous job, a coworker left on vacation with a mobile phone locked in a drawer. <S> The alarm went off at the same time every day.)
| Answering somebody else's phone prevents the incoming call from going to voice mail, which could be inconvenient or disruptive for the person the call was intended for. The safest answer is "talk your immediate manager or supervisor" - that person should have enough understanding of the culture and rules to decide how to handle this issue. Of course not - you have some sort of shared mailbox when you need to handle shared requests. This is not, generally speaking, considered proper.
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Should I write my biography in the first or third person? On many different professional profiles (Linked-In, personal website, StackExchange sites etc) I see some users writing their biographies in first person and others in third person. I feel like third person gives off an arrogant attitude that I think I am so important that others would write about me. What factors should I consider when choosing to write these types of statements in either the first or third person? <Q> Never refer to yourself in the third person. <S> If it's autobiographical, make it personal and from you. <S> Always treat your profiles as if you were meeting someone on the street and they had asked you to quickly tell them about you. <S> This is a "dialog" between you and the reader, and unless you're describing someone else it should be specifically from you. <S> Picture this in your mind: <S> Supermodel in a smoky pub setting: So tell me about yourself. <S> Paul: He's inquisitive, brainy, educated and really good at performing compound physical tasks. <S> Just doesn't quite ring right. <A> Executive Summary <S> As with many things, there is no black-and-white right-or-wrong answer. <S> Focus on content, and then default to <S> whatever style makes you more comfortable. <S> Content <S> > <S> Style <S> Which one of these employees would you hire: Employee A <S> I am someone who learns from my mistakes. <S> I have been fired from Spacely Sprockets dozens of times for all sorts of errors, but to my credit, I have never been fired for the same mistake twice. <S> That type of adaptability and resilience would be a credit to any organization. <S> Employee B <S> George Jetson has 20 years of experience in all aspects of the sprocket industry. <S> He has filled multiple roles in Spacely Sprockets, from Research and Design of the MiniVac, to his current role as Vice President of Sales. <S> Do you think employers will pick Employee A over B because Employee A uses the first-person? <S> Focus on making sure the content is good first, as that's what you will be judged on. <S> Comfort <S> > <S> Style <S> Each person is going to have their preference. <S> Some people may detest the Oxford Comma, some may love it. <S> Title Case in Job Titles may frustrate some employers, while others may prefer it to Proper case job titles. <S> There is no way to know who is who, so going through agonizing feats of literary acrobatics to try to avoid all potentially divisive grammatical constructions is probably going to make your content less clear. <S> Write however is comfortable for you. <S> If that means first person, then great, write in first person. <A> I feel like third person gives off an arrogant attitude that I think I am so important that others would write about me. <S> I always feel more comfortable writing more informally. <S> It sounds like you feel that way as well. <S> While some settings call for more "third person" narratives - like conference speakers' bios, authors' bios, etc - those are often written by a marketing person (a true "third person"). <S> On your own sites, and on sites like LinkedIn, etc, you do the actual writing. <A> The context matters greatly here. <S> On your personal website or CV it is usual to write in the first person. <S> In my work I am in the unusual position of having a "Work CV". <S> I work largely as a consultant, and sometimes the client will ask for a CV of the consultant being assigned. <S> The work CV is written in the third person. <S> It does feel a little clunky sometimes, but it is the standard style (in the UK at least).
| So my feeling is that you should write in whatever style is most comfortable for you. If you're writing a snippet about yourself that will appear on the company website ("meet our team") write in the third person.
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How do I handle a workplace diva? My husband and I have a small consulting firm in which I am the 'chief financial officer', and he and all the employees are the technical expertise. My husband and I share the responsibility for all policy decisions and work very well together, respecting each others contribution to our company. We have an employee who has been with us for 7 years now. Although she is good at her job she has become quite the Prima Donna of the office. She balks when my husband asks her to do a task she disagrees with, tries to take over meetings, and treats me like I am only present because I'm "the bosses wife". She has actually ignored a direct question in a meeting, looked at my husband across the conference table, and asked him how he would like her to handle my request and told him perhaps I should highlight the work descriptions I need clarified (which I needed before I could invoice the client) and submit them to her. My husband didn't know what to say so moved on to the next item. How do I handle this employee? Added: Thank you all for your input. It really helps me get my own head out of the way & look at this objectively. I think my husband will be speaking with her & kindly reestablishing what is expected. This will hopefully take care of both issues. <Q> My husband didn't know what to say so moved on to the next item. <S> how do I handle this employee? <S> I would have expected your co-owner (husband) to immediately respond with something along the lines of "Cleo is your boss, you are expected to do what you are told. <S> " <S> Then, you need to take Ms. Diva aside privately, and clarify the reporting relationships. <S> Make it clear to her that you are in charge, and that employees are not permitted to ignore management. <S> I would also expect you to make it clear what the repercussions will be if her behavior doesn't improve immediately. <S> That's for you and your husband to decide. <S> But if it were me, I'd fire anyone who continued to balk at tasks from one co-owner, and ignore direct questions from the other. <S> Small companies need everyone on the same page. <A> Focus on one or two specific area that you think is most important in this discussion, eg lack of respect for you the wife, or taking over meetings. <S> This will reestablish to her what everyone's position is in the company, and give her perspective of how to act accordingly. <A> I'm currently reading 'The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management' by Tom DeMarco, which has a chapter on resolving conflicts. <S> In the german wikipedia you can find a recap of that specific chapter here and this is a run down of the important points for this question: <S> In a professional setting conflicts can't be avoided (so we need to accept that these happen). <S> Negotiation is hard; mediation is easy. <S> Conflicts are no sign of unprofessional behavior, but of different success conditions. <S> Both parties must accept that they are on the same side - it's the conflict that is on the other side. <S> A mediator should not be the superior of one or both parties, but both parties have to agree to enter mediation to resolve the conflict. <S> That last point is important - having a superior do the mediation, puts the subordinates in a bad spot where they can't really be open, so I advise against asking your husband to do it. <S> The mediator doesn't even have to be part of the company. <S> Maybe you're friends with a teacher or social worker. <S> Those often times are trained in mediation techniques.
| Given that the employee respects your husband, he can sit down with her, without you present (this will feel like the two of you ganging up, and will be embarrassing for her), and reaffirm what all of your respective roles are. If the mediation - or which ever approach at resolving this issue - doesn't show any success, I think you have to accept the consequences and part ways as this is no basis for working together. I think that first you and your husband need to get together as co-owners and discuss how you want to handle similar situations.
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How to deal with praise for the wrong things I currently have the enviable position of a manager who is quick to praise for work done at or above expectations: however as my boss lacks the knowledge to determine how difficult a task is I often get praised more for easier / more mundane tasks than the more challenging ones. There are two implications of this that I am unsure how to manage: I'm finding myself drawn more to simplistic tasks which I wouldusually find boring as they generate more goodwill with my managerthan the challenging tasks. My team are also treated the sameway, and know that some of us are getting disproportionately praisedfor simpler tasks than what the rest of us are working on. I am unsure of how to go about communicating that I feel the praise is wrongly assigned: I don't want to look ungrateful, but am a little wary of my long-term motivation if the work I know is more challenging is not appreciated comparably. <Q> I am unsure of how to go about communicating that I feel the praise is wrongly assigned <S> As with most misunderstandings, the solution is to talk with the parties involved . <S> Find a quiet time to chat with your manager individually. <S> Thank her/him for the praise, explain how his/her praise really helps to motivate you. <S> Then point out cases where you were praised for mundane tasks, but not for challenging tasks. <S> Help her/him see and understand the difference between the two, and how that makes you feel a bit conflicted. <S> This is your chance to educate your boss. <S> Use it! <S> And conclude your discussion with another "thank you" for the praise and support, while ensuring him/her that you will continue to work hard to earn more praise. <A> In addition to the other answers, lead by example. <S> Either by email or at a team meeting, make a point of praising a teammate for something that was hard/a lot of work, etc. <S> Even though you aren't the manager, it shows your manager that your teammate's task was worthy of more notice. <A> In terms of action Joe Strazzere has said all the right things. <S> But let me put it a glightly different way. <S> The usefulness of a task isn't correlated with how difficult it is. <S> Of itself it doesn't mean he lacks knowledge. <S> He may be deliberately praising you for easy but valuable tasks, because he knows you find them boring <S> and you might otherwise neglect them. <S> I've both given and received praise for simple tasks, precisely because they are more valuable than the amount of effort <S> would indicate. <S> This doesn't change the action. <S> Talk to your boss and tell him that the tasks he is singling out are easier than some others, and ask him if this was intentional. <S> Explain that it is causing people to focus on easier tasks, and again ask him if that was intentional. <A> however as my boss lacks the knowledge to determine how difficult a task is I often get praised more for easier / more mundane tasks than the more challenging ones. <S> Reality check: this is most managers and bosses - especially further up the chain. <S> Unless they are micromanaging, they will have a much harder time appropriately rewarding "hard/important yet not flashy" vs "easy/trivial but flashy" tasks. <S> I don't want to look ungrateful, but am a little wary of my long-term motivation if the work I know is more challenging is not appreciated comparably. <S> You need to read this answer . <S> You have discovered that yes, your actual value-add work is a fraction of your bosses perception of you actually is. <S> My current project is a software dev project for non-technical people, exactly the type of manager you describe. <S> I can spend 5 min making buttons on an interface do something which is AWESOME! <S> and then spend 40 hours making the backend work or making code robust, which is boring. <S> You have to do two things. <S> You have to translate boring-yet-important work into something which can be understood. <S> I've taken to using analogies. <S> My current one is comparing building software dev to building a house. <S> Plumbing/electrical work is super important for a house but totally boring/not flashy. <S> Spending several days working on database design can be explained as similar to installing plumbing. <S> This helps communicate the "oh, this boring not flashy thing is important" in a way which people understand. <S> A beautiful home without working plumbing is a problem. <S> Actually communicate what you are doing . <S> No, really. <S> You have to communicate what you are doing even more when doing non-flashy things. <S> In your 1/1, have a list of what you have worked on, the importance of them, and an analogy. <S> Your manager is going to have such a deeper appreciation for what you work on if you do this that your entire question may become meaningless.
| If the simple tasks you have been doing are valuable to the company, perhaps disproportionately so, then your manager is right to praise you for them. Communicate it in a way your audience understands .
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Getting a reference from a hostile work environment The most recent job I worked at things didn't go so well. I always tried my best but for a number of reasons my productivity and relationship with other coworkers were strained. I believe it was a very toxic work environment and I'm prepared to explain why. On my last day I thought I would have until the end of the usual day to talk to my manager about leaving, but suddenly he came over and said he's going to an appointment and needs my badge (so I had to leave right away). When applying for jobs I don't want to have a blank in my work history but if I can't get a reference how can I prove I worked here? The company I worked for was IBM. One of my managers said "it is company policy not to give references and we can only say yes or no that you worked here". The person who told me this couldn't be trusted to give accurate information, and even if this was true people may not follow the policy anyways. I'm afraid they will bad mouth me and I won't have a chance to defend myself. What should I do to prevent my past employers from discouraging new employers from hiring me? Should I mention to potential employers that there were issues? <Q> You don't specify where you are. <S> In the United States, it is very common for large companies to have a policy against giving references (other parts of the world may have different customs) because they fear it exposes them to liability. <S> If an employee gives a bad reference, the company is theoretically vulnerable to a libel lawsuit. <S> If an employee gives a good reference, the company is theoretically vulnerable to a lawsuit for failing to disclose some material fact. <S> It is possible that a manager would violate that policy, of course. <S> But it would be unlikely that they would do so in order to badmouth a former employee. <S> A manager would have to have a major grudge to be willing to risk their job in order to violate a company policy in order to spite a former employee particularly when a negative reference gives the candidate much more incentive to contact HR and get the manager in hot water. <S> It's more likely that a manager would skirt the policy to give a good reference for someone they really liked since that <S> is much less likely to get reported to HR but even that is pretty rare. <S> If you are really paranoid and think you manager really has it out for you, you could always have a friend call your former company posing as HR from some company looking to hire you to see what sort of reference they'll give you. <S> If you were planning on having a conversation about the reference on your last day, though, that would strongly imply that things were cordial enough that no one would be likely to violate company policy on references just to torpedo you. <A> When applying for jobs I don't want to have a blank in my work history <S> but if I can't get a reference how can I prove I worked here? <S> You must never have an unexplained "blank" in your work history, but you don't need a reference for every company you have ever worked for. <S> On your resume, include the job as usual. <S> The interviewer may ask why you omitted this company from your list of references. <S> At that point, you can explain why. <S> Most likely, you will have already explained why you aren't working there anyway. <S> It's not unusual to omit references from your current company on the grounds that "I don't want anyone there to know I'm planning on leaving. <S> " <S> In your case you either quit or were fired, so that is a bit more difficult to apply. <S> I'm afraid they will bad mouth me <S> and I won't have a chance to defend myself. <S> What should I do to prevent my past employers from discouraging new employers from hiring me? <S> Should I mention to potential employers that there were issues? <S> Omitting them as a reference may well avoid having them "bad-mouth you". <S> Or not. <S> When I'm interviewing candidates and they omit a well-known company from their references, I often have a friend or friend-of-a-friend who works there and can be a back-door reference. <S> Thus, don't lie about the situation, or fudge the facts about why you left if asked. <S> You don't necessarily need to volunteer any information, but be honest if questions come up. <A> Many US companies only give the most basic information for employment checks: yes they worked here, this was their title and this was their date of employment. <S> Unless you were fired for a crime they generally will not get into specifics as to why you left. <S> They only provide salary information if it is part of a financial check for loan. <S> Many time the information is provided by an outside service, and the new employer never gets close to your manager or HR. <S> Why? <S> risk of lawsuit. <S> Also if you are currently employed, they might say you are great so you will leave; or a poor performer so you can't leave. <S> The references you provide to a potential employer should be from recent employer/coworker who will provide truthful but positive information. <S> Yes, don't leave a hole in your resume. <S> It make you look like you were/are unemployed, plus they might find out, and then they know you have lied. <S> The only exception to this policy of minimal information is for a background investigation, like one that the US government may require for some positions. <S> There they are looking for the quality of the individual not the quality of your work skills.
| When supplying references, if you cannot find a friendly co-worker to be a favorable reference, simply don't supply one for this job.
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How do I explain wrongful termination in an interview? I worked at a retail store ( big company, locations in multiple countries) for a couple of years as a low level employee. I was eventually promoted to supervisor. I remained in that position for roughly two years. I was planning on continuing moving as far up the management ladder as possible. I was accused of "harassing" a fellow employee. The incident in question never happened. I talked to the employee I was accused of harassing and this person says he has never filed a complaint and has no idea why they'd think that. When I was confronted about the incident, they tried to get me to sign a document admitting guilt. I refused. Then I was fired. I am currently pursuing legal action against the company, but it's a slow process. For what it's worth, I filed a sexual harassment complaint against the manager who fired me a few months previously. Nothing came of this. I'm looking for work, but I don't know how to explain why I was fired during interviews. In the one interview I've had so far, I was very honest about the situation, including that I was pursuing legal action against the company. The interviewer seemed receptive and understanding, but I ended up not getting the job. I have several people from my old job, both peers and subordinates, who are willing to provide me with good references. What's the best way to explain that I was wrongfully terminated in an interview? <Q> Rachel - the original question was about "how to respond during an interview" and you seem to have some meaningful comments about that part so far. <S> But now, the question seems to have veered a bit toward "When I submit an application (not a resume, not an interview), they specifically ask 'Were you fired or terminated from a job?' <S> How should I respond in that case. <S> " <S> My harsh answer is that I firmly believe it is never in your best interest to lie during the application process. <S> Thus you must answer "Yes", if Yes <S> and No are your only choices. <S> If you have the ability to amplify on your answer within the application, you should, using the explanations you provided in your question, without trying to slam the previous employer too harshly. <S> Here's my reasoning: <S> Your professional reputation is valuable and important. <S> If you lie and are caught, your reputation will suffer. <S> I consider that bad. <S> Your personal character may suffer. <S> Once you start lying, it's hard to keep the lies straight <S> and it's hard to stop. <S> That would bother me personally. <S> It's a small world out there. <S> While it may seem unlikely, I've encountered cases personally, where people have lied on their resume, then got caught due to a co-worker who either worked with them previously (in one case), or a relative of a co-worker who knew the true story (in another case). <S> Both liars were fired for cause. <S> I suspect you will be able to find a situation where you can be honest about your situation, yet still get an interview and a job. <S> I suspect you will either find a job application that doesn't ask the tough question, a job application that let's you expand beyond just a Yes/ <S> No answer, or a situation where the company is willing to interview you and hear your side of the story. <S> If you were my sister, I would advise you to keep your integrity and not demean yourself by lying. <S> That said, the choice is clearly yours to make. <A> There is really no good way to persuade a potential employer that you were indeed wrongfully terminated. <S> You say: "They fired me because of harassment accusations which were completely false." <S> They think: <S> Sure, that's what everyone says who harasses people at work. <S> You say: "I am currently pursuing legal action against the company. <S> " <S> They think: Is that a threat? <S> Does that mean she will also file a lawsuit against us when we ever fire her? <S> They say: "We will consider you." <S> They think: Please leave, and keep your hands and your lawyers where we can see them. <A> I would not provide any more information than I absolutely had to. <S> I would respond to the question of why I left with something bland like, <S> "The position was not the right fit for me and I am looking for something with real growth opportunity." <S> It is not a lie and <S> it avoids talking about the legal action. <S> A Company can not discriminate against you because of the suit but they can find plenty of other reasons not to hire you. <S> Some people make a career out of finding a job so that they can find a reason to sue their employer. <S> Employers do their best to avoid hiring those types of people. <S> And while I do not think that you are that type of person, having sued one company gives another company reason to think(rightly or not) that you would do it again. <S> You do not have to disclose this information and you are better off not sharing it with a prospective or even current employer unless you are required to do so. <S> When interviewing focus on the good things at the previous job and what you learned that will make you a better employee for your next position. <S> Avoid talking badly about any of the people or the company. <S> If you are willing to bad mouth your previous company then you are probably willing to bad mouth the company you are applying too. <S> You should only convey that you appreciated the opportunities that the position provided and are looking forward to your next position. <A> I'm currently in a somewhat similar situation; (first time ever terminated,in 40+ years working); I respond: "Unexpectedly terminated--can discuss at interview". <S> Also, I include very positive letters of reference from previousimmediate supervisors at same position. <S> All the best to you; hopefully, things are coming together, for you.
| I would rather describe the reason for your termination as a misunderstanding which lead to a damaged trust relationship between you and your employer, so you mutually decided that it's best for everyone when you search for new employment opportunities.
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What comprises pay package? In general terms does the pay package for a job also include the vacation time? For example if a company offers you 10 days of paid vacation, do the include the monetary value of those vacation days, when they tell you that the complete package is worth n dollars? In other words, when someone says they make 100k a year, does that mean 100k base salary or is it including all the benefits (including monetary value of the vacation)? <Q> Generally, pay packages break down into salary, stock options, bonuses, time off, and other benefits, so in a sense it is included. <S> The n dollars presumes you will use the 10 days of vacation time <S> and thus it isn't necessarily a bonus that one can get an extra $x dollars by not taking time off though some companies may allow an employee to cash out their vacation time. <S> When someone says they make a 100k a year that would likely be a combination of base salary, overtime and bonuses which could be cash or restricted stock, but not necessarily the monetary value of other benefits like health insurance or other things that may be covered by the company. <S> I've worked in Canada and the US, so there may be differences on location here. <A> Informally, it typically refers to just base pay - paid vacation is simply lumped in with the yearly total. <S> So, someone that earned 3k a month, but with no vacation, would say that he made 36k a year, but so would someone that made the same 3k a month, but with 4 weeks of paid vacation time. <S> A company should be speaking formally, and giving you hard numbers for the various components. <S> A prospective employer should be open about the nature of your compensation, how much salary/hourly, insurance coverage, retirement benefits, etc. <A> the short answer is <S> No - I would say your pay <S> is what your contract of employment says it is. <S> The question of annual leave entitlements is not important If you dont take any leave you dont get paid more than if you take 100% of it - thats what salary means your not paid by the hour you get x per year divided into 12 or 24 payments. <S> There may be other elements on top (Xmas bonus for example) <S> but they will probably not be contractual. <S> For example my previous employer matched up to 5% and allowed selling and buying of up to 3 days leave <S> but that was outwith the main contract I signed.
| Formally, everything that you get from your employer compromises your pay package - leave, stock, insurance, base pay, bonuses.
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When you change jobs, is it safe to reveal where you are going? I've noticed that many people don't reveal where they are going until their last day at work. Some of them don't reveal it until they actually join the new place. What is the reason people don't reveal their future employer before actually starting to work there? Is there a risk in revealing your next employer while you are still working at your previous employer for the notice period? <Q> Each person has their own reasons, but here are several that I've encountered for the "why some people are afraid to do this" part of your question <S> : They are afraid their current employer might try to sabotage their new offer, perhaps through some unknown (to them and their new hiring manager) <S> "no recruit" agreement between employers. <S> There were several articles about this a few years ago. <S> Here's one . <S> They are afraid they'll get questions like "hey, do they need any more people, because I'm looking for a job too" and be caught in a dilemma of: a) seeming cold/unhelpful to current coworker or b) running afoul themselves of a non-solicitation agreement from their current employer. <S> Once they're out the door they're less likely to get those questions. <S> They are in grey area of non-compete or non-solicitation agreement they don't want to give ammunition for a lawsuit. <S> Note that you asked the question in three slightly different ways <S> : Is it safe to reveal? : probably yes, but <S> since not revealing is a widespread practice, why risk it? <S> Why do other people not reveal? <S> : see above list, plus "pure superstition" as suggested by a commenter. <S> Is there a risk : typically not, but see above reasons for why some people consider it so. <S> Personal note: <S> Many years ago I encountered #1 and had an offer yanked. <S> Just because the 3rd party recruiter and the person who hired you don't know about the "no recruit" agreement doesn't mean the upper management of those companies don't have a back-room deal. <S> There's been a lot more legal fallout over this type of situation <S> so the risk is probably less these days. <A> Is there a Risk? <S> Yes. <S> I have personally witnessed a Boss calling an employee's new employer (who was a direct competitor) and complaining: <S> "Are you stealing my people! <S> You want to start a Talent war?" <S> In this case, the offer was rescinded. <S> How much of a risk is there? <S> I really don't know, but why risk it? <S> What do you gain? <S> One more point, with the use of LinkedIn <S> , I have on more than one occasion not applied to a job because hiring manger knew my current boss. <S> I had no idea what that relationship was, but I was not going to risk it. <A> For the vast majority of people there is no solid reason for not telling your current employer or coworkers. <S> If there were some sort of agreement between the new and the old organization to not poach employees, the new employer would have told you about it. <S> If they didn't they would soon realize that they were wasting their time and money interviewing employees from your company. <S> If the current boss calls the new company and tries to sabotage your new position, that tells you that your current employer is not somebody you want to keep working for. <S> Plus it opens the current company to a lawsuit. <S> It also a bad sign <S> if the new employer drops you based on a phone call from the one person has a conflict of interest regarding judging your ability to perform for the new company. <S> Now you have to evaluate your individual situation, you have to decide how to inform people and not sound like bragging. <S> You have to be sensitive to your current company and their workers when telling them you are leaving, and where you are going. <S> Also don't resign until the paperwork and background investigations have been completed. <S> Not telling your coworkers doesn't shield you from them trying to join you at the new company, unless you plan on dropping out of social media, and LinkedIn. <A> My experience has been that in most cases revealing your next employer is not going to be a problem, especially if both your new position and the resignation from your current one are secured in writing (that is, you have an offer and have formally accepted, and you have submitted a resignation and your current employer understands it is final). <S> But I know someone that is adamant about not revealing the new workplace until he is officially out of the old one, and the reason is that he doesn't want to compromise or "jinx" anything until the transition is official. <S> He probably doesn't want to open himself to any of the risks mentioned in the other posts. <A> In my industry it's pretty common for there to be a contractual obligation not to take other employees with you when you leave. <S> The easiest way to avoid accusations of this is to not tell anyone where you're going. <S> I've also heard of people being forbidden from telling others that they're on notice at all. <A> I know this is an old post but thought this reason might be helpful to someone else. <S> Some people are so nosy that they will try to research your new position to figure out how much you will be making. <S> This is typically not done out of affection for you but often because person is hoping you are not doing THAT much better than them. <S> If your new position is working for certain government jobs, salary is public information, and the employee might simply not want people to know his/her salary.
| They don't want to appear to be boasting about their new job and thus putting down their current employer and their old team mates who still work there. In some cases it may be to simply avoid any unneeded distractions until the transition is complete. As for the risks of violating contractual agreements, this depends entirely on the contract and on the jurisdiction.
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How to let clients know that they are being spied on In the past I have found out that clients were being spied on. This happened twice; in both times I told them. And in both times I got burned for it. I have no regrets and I got a clear conscience. However, I am about to go telling for the third time, so I just have to ask about this. First, some background. The first time, I pointed out to our liaison within the client company some spying devices we had found in their offices. We found those while mapping their wired infrastructure. They freaked out and told us to remove those devices immediately (they were afraid of industrial espionage). A couple days later someone higher ups in the client demanded compensation for stealing their equipment. Turns out one corporate level was being spied on by another level higher up, without the lower level knowing so. This led to a huge mess. They accused us of stealing the devices but we didn't keep them, we handed those to the police. Seems like a couple of those were illegal just to own. Lots of meetings to explain things to everybody, we almost didn't get paid, and we never got a contract with that client again. The second time was worse. We were changing the whole wiring of a client's apartment (data, power and phone lines), when we found lots of spying devices of such sophisfication as we had not seen before. The client was away from home, traveling. I emailed him pictures of some of the devices, and he replied telling us to destroy them. Emphasis on destroy . When we stepped out of the apartment we were all arrested. The client was being spied on by the federal police (who had men watching outside the apartment for any suspicious activity). We don't have terrorist threats in Brazil, this guy was most probably being watched on due to involvement with white collar crime (he's a polictician). Still, it was a hellish situation, which took a lot of time, red tape and lawyers to get out of. Back to present, and in another client's apartment. There was an AC socket which we thought was on a line completely disconnected from the main electric bus, yet we could read the signal from the device we use to map wires coming out of there. Usually this means the wires are not properly connected to the socket. When we opened it, there was a really small camera there. We just left it there this time. I'd like to tell the client. I neither can nor want to imagine why someone would want to spy on her. I'd really like to dismiss it as just a case of a suspicious husband, which is common around here. If it is the federal police again, me and the staff can get into some real trouble - but I have talked to them, and we all feel our conscience weighting on us. Is there some sensible approach for these kinds of situations? What are the ethics involved in such cases? <Q> Wow, that's some story. <S> While I've never encountered anything remotely that extreme, I've been on both sides of conversations that go like this: <S> Consultant: Are you aware of $dangerous_thing ? <S> Customer: Ack, no! <S> Kill it! <S> Consultant: I'm not authorized to do that right now. <S> Here's what I need you to do... <S> In the corporate-spying case, the issue seems to have been that the person telling you to remove the devices didn't have the authority to have you do that. <S> And it sounds like a case of he-said/she-said; there's no paper trail and you're being accused of things you didn't do as a result. <S> Any time you encounter this kind of scope creep, it's wise to step back and make sure that the new work is authorized, that you'll get paid for it, and so on. <S> A common way to do this is to write up a work order and have the client sign off on it before you do the work. <S> (You can include a statement about the signer being authorized to represent the client, if it's a company.) <S> It needs to be the client's problem, not yours , if the work isn't actually authorized. <S> You can meet your ethical obligation to inform your client without immediately moving on to taking action . <S> I don't know what you could have done to anticipate the police case, though. <A> This should be covered under your contract really, but in general, yes, you do ethically, and probably legally have a obligation to let your client know. <S> There's no way, without being told, that you're going to know whether $nefarious_device is something that the client's organisation, law enforcement (who in turn might not be entirely honest in many jurisdictions) or industrial espionage. <S> On the other hand, unless you're explicitly hired to sweep for, and remove such devices, its not really your job, its no different from finding porn on a system - there's graduated response, and in general, its best to leave authorised folks to deal with it. <S> Firstly, as always, cover thine ass. <S> If its not specifically part of your job scope, removing such devices need not be your responsibility. <S> Let the client handle it. <S> Removing it is a jar of angry snakes as you have found (granted, this is significantly worse than anything I have heard of). <S> That said, considering <S> surveillance of that sort is illegal, why not ask the client to call the police and tell them? <S> If its theirs, they know they've been caught with their hand in a cookie jar (or better yet, they'll be stepping on each others toes). <S> If its not the police, its no longer your problem. <A> First of all, the 'spy device' might be there because the legal resident/owner/business wants to see who's breaking into her place. <S> Of course, maybe they are spying on you, to see if you're doing your job. <S> Parents with young children also have 'nanny-cams'. <S> These are all devices they know they have and want to have. <S> So the opening gambit in this situation might be to ask the owner, "Is there anything I should watch for while I work? <S> Any past issues? <S> Any odd wiring that you know about? <S> " This is non-confrontational and covers everything from shoddy wiring to a known security device. <S> In future situations you might point out to potential clients, whether personal or corporate, that you have run into situations where spying equipment was encountered, and you had to deal with suits and cops as a result. <S> If you put a piece of tape over the socket, if the lady knows she'll just remove it. <S> If she asks you why it's there, you can say you found a problem with it. <S> If she asks you 'what kind of problem?' <S> - simply show here the camera without saying anything or otherwise disturbing it (perhaps other than pulling it out of the junction box). <S> She might want to discuss whatever you've found 'out of earshot', since there may well be audio plants. <S> What it sounds like is you've made a presumption that the spying was criminal and acted first and asked questions later. <S> It's better to get potential context first, then figure out who to inform and what to modify.
| Telling your client that you found spying devices however is a responsible action. Get your legal folks to work out what's the best way of dealing with such a situation, and have it on your contract . Rather than dealing with this question after you've found something out, you can get advice from the client on what approach you should take.
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Should I dress up for an internal interview? I'm a contractor at a company, and they have a permanent position opening up in a slightly different department that I've been encouraged to interview for. The dress code is business casual, and I see many of the people who will be interviewing me every day. Should I dress any different for the interview than I do for work? <Q> If you're 100% certain that the people interviewing you will be people who already know you, then the first impressions were made long ago, and you'll all have the advantage of knowing each other, their personalities, and everyone will have a good understanding of what everyone else is capable of. <S> Thus, the types of things you'd normally do for that first impression may not be as critical as if you were walking through the door for the first time. <S> However, you may find that someone wants to interview you who doesn't know you. <S> Perhaps a senior level executive or someone else with a stake in the hiring decision. <S> In this case, being prepared to make a good first impression will be helpful to not only you feeling comfortable but for everyone else to feel comfortable knowing you have good judgement. <S> My suggestion isn't to overdo it though. <S> I wouldn't suggest treating the interview like casual Fridays, but perhaps being too overly formal might be too much. <S> Since this is a larger company, you may know of other former contractors who have interviewed for a permanent position. <S> You might consider asking them what they did so that you can determine what the company norms are, as they may differ from company to company. <S> This may help you decide what level of formality would be right in terms of what's expected and what you're comfortable with. <S> In the end, the answer likely sits somewhere between your normal, everyday attire and your first interview formal outfit. <A> I would say yes. <S> Yes, you should dress differently than for every-day work. <S> But not too formally if business casual is the usual dress code. <A> It absolutely will not hurt. <S> It may be a little funny or embarrassing as people <S> you know will probably see the clear ulterior motives behind your better than usual dress, but at the end of the day the decision will never come down to "what a try-hard, let's give the job to someone else". <S> What I would do: <S> Dress up slightly better, barely more noticeable. <S> Maybe a nicer watch or tie (or the female equivalent). <S> Again, it definitely won't go against you, while on the other hand, not meeting expectations by not dressing a little nicer may hurt your chances. <A> I would dress as if I were a new candidate interviewing for the first time. <S> You are trying to transition from contracting to a permanent employee, and to transition into a new department. <S> Dressing for the interview can set a mood and demonstrate that you are not making assumptions about your prospects based on personal familiarity. <S> You know the office, so you know what everyone normally wears. <S> I would dress at least as well as the normal office dress of the person who will be conducting the interview, probably a notch above. <S> If they are interviewing outside candidates, they may change their normal dress for interview days.
| The key is to dress how you would feel comfortable if that senior level executive were to meet you in her office while at the same time not making yourself uncomfortable around your colleagues who might not normally see you in your formal attire. Just enough to show appreciation for the situation and the chance you're getting.
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Should I dress sloppy for an interview to see if they really mean it? Today on http://careers.stackoverflow.com I saw a job add for a position in Berlin, which listed one of benefits : casual dress: shorts, flip-flops, tshirts, you name it! I know that such dressing is a big no-no for a job, and less for an interview, in conservative areas (and Germany is very conservative, considering there are people to advise how to dress up, and prepare people for an interview). But would it be ok to show up badly dressed (for example in flip-flops) to test if they said it is ok? <Q> No. <S> Here's why: <S> At that interview, you will be selling the hiring company on your own personal brand. <S> At that interview, your apparel, personal grooming, body language, swagger (or lack thereof), mannerisms, and vocabulary will all be evaluated. <S> They will "say" much more than your resume ever could. <S> Therefore, you should always be inclined to "overdress" for an interview rather than "underdress". <S> If you earn a position at the hiring company, there will be plenty of time later to wear shorts and flip-flops. <A> My guideline for this is to always dress "a notch" better than what I would wear everyday on that job so that would be "no" to your question. <S> You will have the occasion to see if they "mean" their policy of loose dress code when you actually go for the interview and see the other employees and how they are dressed. <A> If you hang around with the employees of that company and you're all dressed like tramps then it could hardly matter what you do at an interview - your 'real' interview occurred in the beer joint (-hall, -garten, or whatever they call it in Berlin). <S> However, I wouldn't wear a suit or even a tie, either. <S> If you have any way of meeting some of the people before you do the interview do this first. <S> If not, dress in reasonable street clothes. <S> Your interviewer is probably not going to be running around with a shirt tail hanging out, but it is likely you'll be given a tour <S> and you'll see the 'real people'. <S> Most likely you'll find a few that are 'out there', but most will look at home in a college classroom. <S> Very often programming groups dress in scraggly clothes to drive off certain people they don't want around - usually 'corporate types'. <S> Focus on the technical side and ignore the clothes - this may be the message they want everyone to get. <S> "Clerk needed for mail order stockroom in nudist camp. <S> All interviews are in person." <A> No. <S> You don't have to wear a suit since they are so casual. <S> But you shouldn't wear flip flops or shorts. <A> That depends upon what you want to get out of the interview. <S> There are many reason why you might go to an interview and you can get multiple things out of an interview. <S> That said, if you are not offered the position, you may not be able to determine whether your dress was a factor in their decision. <S> So, if that is what you seek to learn, it may not be possible. <S> If what you are interested in is working at a place where showing up in flip flops is acceptable, I would suggest dressing as you would like to work - if that is in flipflops then, yes, if it's in tennis shoes and a T-shirt, then that. <S> The real challenge is what to do if you like wearing three piece power suits, and to that I'd say -- wear the suit, but be start off the interview by saying you hope they don't hold it against, but you really like suits and hope they can accept that. <A> I would dress casually to the level I felt comfortable. <S> Being too dressed-up may be a sign you wouldn't fit in the company culture. <S> Hopefully, they posted this in the spirit of being transparent about the company and not as playing some type of game to see who falls for this trap and chooses not to dress professionally. <S> If they're going something evil, they'll be doing you a favor by not hiring you. <S> If possible, post this nonsense and let everyone know to watch out.
| At an interview you are generally expected to dress better than the people do who are working there every day. Dress the way you're most comfortable.
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What do I have to consider when working with Muslim colleagues? We have a new colleague in our team and she's Muslim. Technically she's my subordinate, so I want to avoid as many pitfalls as possible. What are things one needs to know in this context? Prayer-related details, food/drink choices we should/shouldn't offer, even behaviour-related things? Please assume I have no idea whatsoever about the topic. <Q> Yet, a couple of points may be worth considering: <S> Note - <S> this isn't intended to be a comprehensive list, and I don't think one is needed. <S> you're not expected to be an Islam expert in order to work with Muslims. <S> If you take the team out for lunch, avoid places which are centered around either of these. <S> A place that serves them is perfectly OK, as long as it offers alternatives. <S> Once a year, during the month of Ramadan, muslims don't eat during the day. <S> Avoid too much physical contact, such as hugs. <S> I think it's a good advice for anyone you don't know really well, Muslim or not, but religion may make it worse. <S> Let her take time off during Muslim holidays. <A> They are the people most likely to know what they find offensive. <S> If, like most people, they are reasonable human beings, they will be able to tell you. <S> You can also ask them to tell you if you do indeed end up doing something like that inadvertently - this way they can feel OK to tell you what you did wrong and why. <S> Not all Muslims are religious (meaning, devout) or follow their religious precepts (or do so to different degrees), so the answers will differ for each person. <A> Although I'm not Muslim, I grew up in a Muslim family in a largely Muslim country, so I think I can offer some insight. <S> First of all, let's clear two things: Keep the relationship professional and treat them the way you treat any other colleague. <S> In most cases, that's enough. <S> Now, the most important thing to keep in mind when working with any religious person (Muslim or not): Avoid topics regarding their religion and don't stir up any conversation regarding their religion vs. other religions. <S> If they're moderately religious to highly religious, then here are some things you need to be careful about <S> (I'll edit the post and more if I remember): <S> Food: <S> The vast majority of Muslims (even ones who drink alcohol) do not eat pork. <S> So, at company parties; lunches; or dinners, make sure you offer an alternative. <S> (Extra religious: Won't be comfortable looking at it or smelling it) <S> Alcohol: <S> Most Muslims don't drink alcohol. <S> (Extra religious: Will try to avoid tables where alcohol is present) <S> Prayer: A lot of Muslims pray 5 times a day. <S> In a normal working day, there will be two prayer times (noon prayer, and afternoon prayer), so she might be go <S> spend 5-10 minutes in an empty room in those times. <S> On Friday, Muslims have the Friday Prayer where men are encouraged to attend it in a mosque. <S> Ramadan: <S> Most Muslims fast in the month of Ramadan. <S> The vast majority don't expect you to cease eating in front of them, but try not to offer them food or drinks in Ramadan. <S> Pigs: When giving greeting cards, calenders, gifts, etc, make sure you don't use pictures or wrapping that has photos of pigs on it. <S> Even if cute cartoons. <S> Most Muslims are repulsed by the sighting of pigs. <S> Physical contact: Since she's a, well, she, you need to be extra careful here. <S> A lot religious Muslim women don't even shake hands with a man. <A> The best approach is to ask them. <S> Even if there was a simple answer "if new employee is of X religion therefore you do y", there are variations in the branches for each religion. <S> Not to mention the level of devoutness for the individual. <S> Food & holy days may be able to be addressed in a few simple adjustments, but they might be more complex.
| The majority of modern-day Muslims (like the majority of modern-day people of all religions) don't really expect too much from you regarding their religion. Muslims (most of them) don't eat pork or drink alcohol. As others have said - ask her, she knows what offends her. Whenever alcohol is around, make sure an alternative is offered. Try not to make it extra hard for them. Talk to them and ask them.
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Is there an industry approach to organizing places where people can have private phone calls without disturbing others? Here's a problem: There is a cubicle farm office where most people don't need to use a telephone much during their workday and silence would be great for productivity. Yet sometimes people will have private calls, often unplanned, and there's a need for some place they could have such calls without disturbing others. There are currently the following options: Staircases - good, but there're not so many staircases in the building and they are not close to every person and also sound spreads there pretty well, so once there's more that one person on a given staircase they start putting sound pressure on each other and so the call becomes not very private. Meeting rooms - good, but again there are not so many meeting rooms in the office and they are often used for meetings (so unusable for calls at that time). I gave it some a thought and it looks like the extreme perfect solution would be some kind of telephone booth with increased level of sound insulation - it takes little space, it can be planted anywhere and it makes long calls not very convenient (because there's nothing to sit on inside) and it looks like it solves the problem. How is this problem typically addressed? Are there commonly known solutions such as a telephone booth I describe? <Q> In cases where extreme quiet is truly desirable in the "cubicle farm", I've typically seen two solutions. <S> The less desirable of the two seems to be the most common. <S> The company provides nothing special, and folks simply wander out into the common hallways to conduct their personal calls. <S> While it isn't completely private, most people don't pay attention to the random hallway conversations between workers, or when workers are on their phones. <S> The more desirable of the two is when the company provides sufficient small conference rooms. <S> Because they understand that privacy is occasionally necessary in a "cubicle farm" scenario, these companies dedicate a number of 1-2 person conference rooms to small, private needs. <S> (Often they are called "apartment offices", and are used for folks visiting from other divisions who need an office, chair, desk, and phone). <S> Good companies have enough of these scattered throughout the buildings such that at least one is usually unoccupied at any given time. <S> (I hate cubicles. <S> A misguided, terrible invention, in my opinion. <S> But that's another topic for another time.) <A> At least one Microsoft building has small rooms tucked into hallways for this purpose. <S> They have soundproof doors, comfy chairs, a landline for you to make local calls, and power. <S> I have used one for a longish call when I was working in a team room and it was perfect. <S> It was not near the kitchen or the bathroom, so people were unlikely to be nearby, but the walls and door did a good job of keeping other sounds out anyway. <S> Much better than a staircase, a break room, or taking up a whole meeting room. <A> If the goal is a quiet workplace open plan offices are the wrong design. <S> They are to provide ease of communications, and to provide the exact opposite of quiet. <S> If normal communication creates a bad working environment, then the office space needs to be reconfigured. <S> But what you are asking about are small rooms provided to allow privacy for certain phone calls. <S> They should be sparsely furnished so as not to invite use as meeting rooms or visitor spaces. <S> They typically have a phone, chair, and a shelf that serves as a writing surface. <S> Yes a chair is required so that they don't have to juggle everything while taking notes during the call. <S> They do require a light, but no plugs to discourage people from setting up shop in the space. <S> They door should lock from the inside so that others realize the room is occupied. <S> The walls shouldn't be completely transparent, so they do provide some privacy. <S> If the doors open out into the hall, the rooms can be smaller, but that can be a hazard to those walking by. <S> They can either be centrally located on each floor, or scattered throughout the building. <S> Both arrangements have pluses and minuses. <S> Central location means everybody walks, but increases the likelihood that when you need a room one will be available. <S> Spread out locations may minimize walking for many people, but does mean that if the closest one is occupied, you will have to keep looking. <A> I feel this has a lot to do with the local custom/culture of your geographic location. <S> Apart from all other suggested answers, the best solution I have seen in the USA is a few paper pin ups on hallways saying "private phone calls in elevator banks only". <S> I have seen a few people ask other people who are on their personal calls 'can you take this conversation to the elevator bay ?'. <S> If your building doesn't have elevators may be a break out area on the floor ? <S> If there are other cubes adjoining the break out area, and it disturbs other employees then the only other way I see is to let everyone know that 'private phone calls outside the building only'.
| In cases where such extreme cubicle quiet isn't truly necessary (the majority of companies I have seen), people simply conduct personal calls in their cube, and try to be relatively quiet about it. The walls should be real (not made of the same material as the cubes) and go all the way to the ceiling.
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Asking/requiring Employees to promote the company using their social media What pitfalls are there to avoid when considering a corporate strategy to disseminate information and drive traffic using employees social media.(e.g. require employees to use thunderclap to help promote new product releases)? Can it be made opt-in/commission rewarded ($1.00 for every view generated by your link)? <Q> Are there any pitfalls to be wary of when asking employees to disseminate information and drive traffic using personal social media accounts? <S> Yes, there are two primary ones: <S> An employee might insert social commentary, engage in horseplay, or participate in silly banter. <S> Any of this could drive a wedge into your branding strategy. <S> Consider what happened when a Chrysler employee opined on Detroit drivers. <S> Consider what happened when a Dr. Phil staffer tried to raise interest in an episode about teenage sexual assaults. <S> Note that both of the cited examples happened on branded Twitter accounts. <A> What you are suggesting is called Astroturfing . <S> It is normally seen in a negative light. <S> It can also cause resentment with your employees if they feel you are forcing your way onto their social presence. <S> The other issue you need to look at is, do you actually need every employee to post, and do they know how to react to possible responses. <S> So you focus on the branding of that employee to present your message. <S> For the rest of the employees set up guidelines that if they write about the product on their personal blog/etc, that it is their personal opinion. <S> IBM actually did a study on this and created their IBM Social Computing Guidelines from it. <S> The book "Opting In: Lessons in Social Business from a Fortune 500 Product Manager" by Ed Brill goes into detail on how this was set up and lessons learnt. <S> Chapter three, section "Representing the company" covers what you mention. <A> The pitfalls are numerous and most company go out of there way to avoid this and keep professional and private life separate. <S> Most companies that I've work for spend a lot of time and effort to groom their public image towards the customer, media, press, scientific community, community etc. <S> They have specific policies that forbid employees to act on "behalf or as a representative of the company" in social media unless specific authorization and training is provided. <S> This is just a perfectly normal and prudent precaution. <S> For example saying something harmless like "I like model A better than model B" can easily tailspin into a Cnet report that claims "company XXX employees clearly prefer model A" and no one buys model B anymore even if that's what's better for the customer. <S> You also want ONE consistent story out there <S> and not 1000s <S> losely related story that are probably partially contradicting. <A> If an employee does not use social media (they don't have a facebook account, don't use twitter), you can't really require them to use their own social media accounts to promote the company. <S> If they are required to create a new account, it probably won't do much good since it will have only been created just to promote the company and will exist in a very small social network. <S> If an employee has a social media account and they use it to promote your company, consider that there may be cases where you don't want to have your company associated with their social media account and the image it presents as it may reflect negatively on your company. <S> If an employee is required by corporate policy to promote their employer through their personal social media account, there's a good chance they may resent it and feel like they're being used as a cheap/free PR tool. <S> This could backfire if they decided to subtly (or not so subtly) sabotage the promotional campaign. <S> Or they might flat out refuse. <S> This could cause bad feelings throughout the office if people are required to do this even if they don't want to. <S> Providing optional incentives for people might work, but you'd probably first want to make sure the employees are actually interested in this before starting up such a program. <S> Otherwise, don't do it. <S> Hire a proper PR/marketing team. <A> If your customers/clients/fans/etc are all following Joe Blow's personal social media account for your corporate cheer leading, you've made it almost impossible to fire Joe because when he leaves he'll take all the followers with him. <S> If Joe leaves on acrimonious terms the situation could be even worse; with his bad mouthing of your company being sent to all of your customers. <S> This has resulted in at least one lawsuit , with an ex-employer suing someone to take ownership of a Twitter account.
| The problem could be exacerbated if a company asked/expected employees to post on its behalf because the content would not be vetted by the public relations department. An employee might fumble the verbiage and confuse the message. It would be better to have a product evangelist who can promote your product and address issues raised.
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Is there any value in including extracurricular activities on my resume? I was wondering if extracurricular activities really mattered when attempting to get a job in the corporate sector. My motivation for asking the question simply stems from the reality that I see around me at university, where even leaders of extra curricular clubs/teams don't seem to do very much, but at the same time, many feel that recruits want to see leadership roles on a resume. Does this in fact matter in the corporate sector, assuming my GPA and course of study are compatible with the position I am applying for? <Q> It's up to you to show that your interests outside of work and school make you a better hire. <S> A single line on the resume: <S> Other interests: hiking, canoeing, chess doesn't tell me very much. <S> A sentence in the cover letter that expresses how attractive you find the company's location because you hike or canoe every weekend might get someone's attention. <S> A student I know spent a year working as a musician and continues to perform while he is an undergrad. <S> His resume lists that year as experience (self managed solo musical performer) and lists tasks like negotiating and booking tours, marketing etc as well as performing. <S> That makes it clear why that interest might make him a better hire. <S> (Anecdotal evidence: he is the only person in his program he knows that even got any interviews: he got three and was hired.) <S> The new advice is to leave them off unless you can show that they make you more attractive to the company, or make the company more attractive to you (which are really the same thing in the end.) <A> Sometimes. <S> It can also be an indicator whether you are active and in charge of you life or a couch potato, or what your personal value systems are. <S> However, there is nothing wrong with have one well crafted sentence around your non-work life. <S> If you are a recent college grad with no work experience, than it may warrant a full paragraph, if it's good. " <S> Good" means showing active interests, passion, measurable results, and commitment and engagement. <S> If the activity is potentially controversial (political, religious, etc.) <S> some tailoring may be required. <A> It depends on what they are. <S> MIT has a model railroad club. <S> If you were seeking work with companies in the transportation business, this would be interesting. <S> If you were trying to get a job in a consumer products company, they would look at you with a fish-eyed stare. <S> Banks have a big issue with 'community perception', so they like people that go out and mix on charitable and community services projects. <S> This means that if some 'nobody' shows up to borrow money, you might be able to figure out that stonemasons actually make good money and their credit is good, even though the individual in question is filthy, sweaty, driving an old pickup truck, and dressed in rags. <S> If you were in a Latin club, book publishers and media people could see some follow-on utility. <S> Property management firms might wonder what it is exactly that you do.
| Depending on job or hiring manager these things may or may not matter. I work in the audio field: spending a lot time listening to music, going to concert or, even better, being a proficient musician yourself actually gives you a leg up. If you rose to president of the chess club and organized the annual tournaments, that might make you a better hire in a way that just liking to play chess will not. The old advice for interests was that they made you human and opened the possibility for a hiring person to see themselves in you and form a connection.
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Can we talk about our personality in an interview? When an interviewer asks me to "talk about myself", can I talk about my personality? Can I, for example, say something along the lines of "I am a completely honest man, and I do not believe in telling lies, because they only lead to trouble". Or maybe "I am a man that is very organized and neat, and I pay attention to detail". Can it be that straight forward? Is it okay to say it like that? If not, then how can I convey this to the interviewer? I believe that these "personality" features of mine help me in performing well at my job, and I want the interviewer to know that. <Q> When an interviewer asks a question like this, they are wanting to gauge how well you will fit in the workplace or the team; <S> being suitable for a job isn't just about your technical ability, but your ability to get along with others and contribute positively to the workplace environment. <S> So you want to answer this question <S> is a way that convinces the interviewer that you are going to fit well into the workplace. <S> What makes you normal and able to get along with? <S> Talk about what you do on the weekends, your interests and your passions. <S> This gives the interviewer and impression of what you'll be like day to day, and not just the picture of a person who is putting their best foot forward to secure a job. <S> This is also an appropriate time to talk about your work ethic, so if honesty and organisation are a big part of who you are, then do mention it. <S> However you want to do this in a manner <S> doesn't make you sound full of yourself, or like you're making things up. <S> A good way to mention honesty and organisation would be, 'In terms of work ethic, honesty and organisation are important to me, for example.... <S> [give specific example of a work habit that reflect this]'. <S> Summary: <S> This question is the interviewing gauging how well a fit you are for the team. <S> While it's a good opportunity to talk about your work ethic, the primary purpose of the question is convincing them that you're genuine and going to be a good fit. <A> Your personality traits may help with providing some information as to what your work ethic "can be" but it doesn't tell them what your work ethic "is". <S> Some people like to say "I'm x, y, z" when really "I'm d, $, ~", saying what they think the interviewer wants to hear instead of the truth. <S> Interviewers know this as well. <S> It's also hard not to sound too "into yourself" when you're trying to talk about your own personality. <S> It can come off as egotistical/self-centered if you use the wrong wording. <S> This is a definite turn-off to most employment opportunities, so if you choose to do this, come up with some things you would say in said interviews, and say them to friends and family and get their opinion on how you sound to them. <S> Side Note Understand that this question is a psychological question. <S> It's there to gauge your personality and attitude, and you should understand that point before approaching this question in an interview. <A> Absolutely. <S> Do talk about the positive aspects of your work style and personality that make you a good person to have on a team or as a subordinate. <S> You can even "sell" bad things as good - for example, I'm not a person who can readily disguise her feelings, so I often say "I have no poker face- <S> and I use that to my advantage <S> - I won't ever lie, and I actively look for the best in a situation, so I can continue to broadcast a good attitude to the teams that work for me. <S> " <S> Keep it short and sweet. <S> Interview time is limited, so keep it short and to the point. <S> And pick 1 or 2 thoughts, you'll never be able to describe all of what you are to an interviewer, so stick with the things you see as most important both to you and to the job. <S> Almost anything can be a negative to someone, so don't freak out if you state a strong example of your personality and then get turned down because of it. <S> For example, if you're a really honest person with a strong sense of ethics, you may not fit well in a corporation where the culture frequently bends the rules and works on not getting caught. <S> Figure that if they turn you down for being honest, you probably didn't want to work there anyway! <S> Lastly, actions do speak louder than words. <S> And inconsistencies look worse than omissions. <S> Don't draw attention to anything you just messed up. <S> For example: Don't claim you pay attention to detail and have a typo on your resume. <S> Don't claim you are always punctual and be late to the interview. <S> Don't claim you are very focused and then be continuously distracted and sidetracked in the course of answering questions. <S> In essence, saying a trait adds emphasis and attention, so make sure that you draw attention to your good behaviors rather than raising questions on whether you are clued in. <A> When people volunteer such glowing praise of themselves, I tend to think they're covering up. <S> I may take this as a challenge and ask you to give examples. <S> Your words are going to get put undere close scrutiny. <S> You don't "believe" in telling lies, but does that mean you've never told a lie. <S> Virtues like honesty and integrity are hard to convince someone in a short amount of time. <S> This is something that must be earned by proving yourself day after day. <S> Focus on more work-related traits. <S> Your work habits should reflect that you consistently display these skills. <S> How do you take on new projects? <S> Do you go through a meticulous task analysis or just keep waiting for the next fire to put out? <S> I've been in interviews where the interviewer proclaimed how hyper-organized they were, but showed up late (Maybe their car was parked in a neat and orderly fashion?). <S> It would have been better to show up on time and leave a little doubt instead of making such a statement and removing all of it.
| A facet of your personality, a sentence on why it's great, and maybe a very short example of it is about all you need.
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Opportunity to change salary I'm asking for? I was recently speaking to a recruiter on the phone about a job. They asked me what I make at my current position and I gave them a number (rounded up a bit). After that they asked me what it would take to make a move, and I gave them a rough range. I panicked a bit being on the spot, and gave them a lower range than I could have probably asked for. While it would still be a raise, they immediately said that was well within the range they were willing to pay, which makes me think they have more to offer. I'm meeting with the hiring manager later this week to have an actual face to face interview. I'm perfectly happy with my current job and salary, so I really don't need to leave it if they don't have a pretty convincing reason. Did a just low ball myself and ruin any chance of making more? Do I have any opportunity here to give them a new, higher number? <Q> Did a just low ball myself and ruin any chance of making more? <S> If by "making more" you mean "getting more for this particular position", then the answer is a definite maybe . <S> Remember there are other jobs out there, and other hiring companies. <S> You decision isn't set in stone, nor is it fatal. <S> Do I have any opportunity here to give them a new, higher number? <S> Certainly. <S> Now that you have had a chance to think about it, you realize that the range you would require is "x <S> ... y". <S> Be prepared to answer why you think this is the appropriate range (and not just because you are trying to squeeze out every last dollar). <S> And be prepared to counter the feeling the recruiter might get that you aren't good under pressure. <S> Conversely, you could just leave your answer as is. <S> Then, assuming the interviews go well and an offer actually comes your way, you can decide that it isn't enough at that point in time. <S> You might be able to point out that the requirements of the job are clearer now, and that based on those now-fully-understood requirements, you think you should get more. <S> Again, be prepared to fully discuss your reasoning. <S> The risk you run is that you are considered flighty, not good under pressure, or overly cash-driven. <S> You might also run the risk of pricing yourself out of the budgeted salary range. <S> In either case, the best that happens is that you land a job you want at a range you like. <S> The worst case is that you don't get the job at all, and are considered untrustworthy by people within the hiring company. <A> I find that most companies appreciate honesty when they find it, so if you've really changed your mind about what it would take to make a move, go ahead and let them know this. <S> I would not recommend a ruse or a lie, but if you can point to salary survey (or similar) to justify your new number <S> then I think that's reasonable. <S> After all, you can honestly say that you've just started thinking about it and didn't have a chance to fully consider things during that initial conversation. <S> However, I think the larger problem you're going to have here is answering the "what are you looking for in your next position?", or "what kind of company attributes would convince you to make a move?". <S> If your only answer is "piles of money", then that's a larger red flag than changing your desired salary number. <A> A week ago , and i was in the exact same spot as you . <S> Well i was fortunate enough that i received an HR form again to fill up at the time of interview which had an Expected CTC column . <S> The number i quoted there was much higher than what i had mentioned earlier . <S> As would be the case , the HR asked back why was the CTC so different than what i had mentioned over the call . <S> I replied by saying that between when we had talked and when i came over for the interview , i had received a couple of more offers in that range . <S> Hence, i was asking more as it would be only fair on my part to ask that pay as i already have an offer on the same lines . <S> A week later and i am working with them , hope this helps :)
| You could get back to this recruiter immediately, and indicate that after thinking it over you may have been too hasty with your answer.
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Capitalizing on a desperate employer during turnover I work for a company that is not in any financial trouble and actually does quite well. The company is experiencing a lot of turnover and struggling to keep good employees and hire other ones. Most of the cases of people leaving have been for more money, although the company is at or above the average in the area. Is this a good time to push your employer for extra benefits/pay? I realize this would come across as rude, but are there tactful ways to say, 'These people are leaving, what can you do to make sure I don't follow?' <Q> Well, like comedy, timing is everything. <S> HOWEVER, it is never good form to let them know you are capitalizing on their desperation. <S> How you present this can make or break you for the next 10 years at this company. <S> If you come off as, "Pay me, pay me, pay me. <S> You don't have any choice, now!" <S> then guess who the first person gone will be when things stabilize? <S> If you can present it as, "Boss, we're bringing a lot of greenhorns on board, these days. <S> I know you're working hard on recruiting, and I'd like to help with that by taking on as much as I can in on-boarding the new hires. <S> Would you like to have lunch and let me bounce an idea off you?" <S> Then follow it up with the new responsibilities you would like to take on and maybe even a job title change, and of course, a commensurate increase in pay. <S> That way you present yourself as a leader and a problem-solver whose value is higher than previously thought, rather than an opportunist looking to kick them while they're down. <A> If you try the approach of "Lots of people are leaving, please give me more money <S> so i don't follow <S> " you are going to come across as the kind of person that kicks the company when it's down. <S> You may get what you want, but you'll be marked as disloyal. <S> However, you can approach this differently. <S> There must be some kind of reasons why people are leaving. <S> Does it affect you? <S> If so then its reasonable to say "I'm dissatisfied with my job because..." and ask for something else then. <S> Could you reasonably find a higher paying job elsewhere? <S> That's also a reason to ask. <S> If you have had to take on extra responsibility due to the losses you can mention that too. <S> No need to mention the other people. <S> Your company will get the message. <A> Is this a good time to push your employer for extra benefits/pay? <S> I realize this would come across as rude, but are there tactful ways to say, 'These people are leaving, what can you do to make sure I don't follow?' <S> It is unlikely to work. <S> If your company was willing to pay more to retain people then it would not have a mass exodus going on in the first place. <S> So unless you have another position lined up and you are ready and willing to move on it you are not really in a position to bargain. <S> I have seen several decent companies fall because they had a mass exodus of the people who knew the business. <S> It is not something that is specific to software either. <S> It happens with financial firms, engineering firms, even major manufacturing companies. <S> A major construction manufacturer went from top of the hill to licencing their brand to another company because it let the key people who made the product successful leave and it was unable to maintain the quality expected by its customers. <S> Many businesses do what they can to mitigate these risks but in the end most businesses fail to take business continuity seriously enough to completely avoid these types of situations. <S> The other issue is that many people over estimate their importance to a company. <S> In most cases the company will be able to stumble through despite the belief by the people exiting that it fail in short order. <S> The truth is there are many dysfunctional companies that manage to make a profit. <S> This fact reinforces the mistaken belief that the business can afford to let its best people leave. <S> So even if your actual importance to the company is close to YOUR perceived importance the business may not view your importance so highly. <A> How many people have to leave before they consider this a problem worth fixing? <S> Do managers complain? <S> Are projects falling behind? <S> Loss of customers and revenue? <S> You may just end up negotiating with an idiot. <S> Beware of what you ask for. <S> If there is so much opportunity to make more money elsewhere, why haven't you left? <S> Lack of credentials & qualifications Reluctant to change jobs/go through interview process Loyalty <S> Since you want to ask for more money/benefits, being satisfied with your current salary isn't a reason. <S> The company hasn't made any effort yet to try and retain employees <S> so don't be so certain they want to keep you. <S> Determine if they understand the value you bring to the company. <S> You never know, you could ask for flex-time <S> and they may just offer more money. <S> Hard to determine if logical thinking is occuring at your company.
| They may have decided not to get into a salary war, so I would suggest asking for other benefits. You should also talk about the benefits you bring to the company, in terms of skills or experience or ability.
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