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My boss told me I'd have to pay him to quit. Can he do that? I'm negotiating my updated contract at work and my boss, in an attempt to get me to comply, told me I could owe him up to $20,000 if I were to quit. His argument was that he invested a lot of money in me to help build my skill set, like paying for me to take web development classes. He said that all the mistakes I've made that have cost the company money were learning experiences for me and therefore if I took the knowledge I gained elsewhere I would have to pay him back for those learning experiences. My argument is that he should have hired someone who knew what they were doing, like I recommended, as I never pretended to know anything I didn't know. I believe that even with the mistakes I have made + cost of education + salary I have still been less expensive than a proper web developer/project manager/manager. I don't think he can do that, as I don't even have a contract with the company I work for at the moment. Is that accurate? <Q> Is that accurate? <S> Unless it's in writing on your contract and you agreed to it, then he's just blowing hot air. <S> You don't owe him anything. <A> Typically any mistakes that you make are not considered paid learning opportunities - they are part of the work and the cost is absorbed by the employer. <S> There are types of piece work jobs where delivering a flawed item can result in lower payment, but that would happen during the delivery process. <S> Education can be trickier - many corporations DO have a clause in large cost education funding where the employee must pay back the employer for the cost of the education on a prorated basis if the employee leaves within a certain time frame. <S> This is usually for big stuff - like college credits and never (in my experience) for small stuff - like books, tools, or cheap courses. <S> OR time spent learning on the job. <S> Typically when the situation is one where the employee is obligated to stay employed by the company or they must pay back tuition, this is abundantly clear - you would have signed many forms to this effect and had to do some level of application to get the funding in the first place. <S> At least in the US, never underrate someone's litigiousness, but I would not think that this is normal. <S> When in doubt - check with a lawyer and HR. <A> Personally if someone did this to me, I would consult a lawyer to get him to review my old contract and the proposed new one. <S> If he agrees that you will not have to pay back money, I would ask him to write a letter stating that, in his legal opinion, you have no obligation to pay any money on resignation and then turn in a copy of that letter with my resignation rather than signing the new contract. <S> That money spent for legal advice will be some of the best money you ever spend. <S> He is relying on you to not know your legal rights or not be willing to pay to defend yourself or that the threat will scare you into staying. <S> If he knows you have consulted legal counsel, he is less likely to try anything when you quit. <S> Bullies look for easy targets. <S> They will push far harder on people without legal representation. <S> They don't actually want to spend a lot of money on a suit they will lose. <S> One thing I would not do is sign a new contract with this person unless I would starve to death without this job. <S> If someone descends to this level of threat, then there is no way I would consider continuing to work for him if I had the skill set to get another job. <A> Absolutely nothing. <S> It may be in your contract that you owe him two weeks notice, that's it. <S> You work, he pays, you're quits. <S> Did you learn things in your job? <S> Good for you. <S> Good for your boss, because you did a better job. <S> How DARE he complain about that. <S> Did you make mistakes? <S> Good for you if you learned from them. <S> Tough for your boss. <S> Not your problem, and after what he said to you, he deserved it. <S> I recommend looking for a new position at a company run by a sane person. <S> Obviously without telling anyone about it. <S> And when you found something better, you sign the contract with your new company, and give him your two weeks notice. <S> If at that point he tries to tell you that you owe him money, don't argue with him. <S> It's pointless. <S> If you put in your notice, you might say "we both know that this is nonsense. <S> But if you insist, write me an invoice <S> and I'll hand it to my lawyer".
| Check your contract or the terms of your employment agreement. If you are in the USA, which I am guessing due to the "$20,000", unless you signed a really stupid contract, you owe your boss nothing.
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How to handle boss giving task that might breach the law? I am a developer and I work for a start up. My boss assigned me a task of checking two career-related networking sites. I need to programmatically visit these sites, and check whether they have a link for each entity in our database or not. If yes, I need to save their link to our database. The task description he wrote contained some strange wording that raised my suspicion. I learned that the companies in question not only did not give their consent to be queried, but also they already turned our approach down. I am within my probationary period, generally I liked the job. I had some interesting and completely OK tasks in the recent months only this last assignment seems to be fishy. I am not a lawyer. I work and live in a foreign country and I have limited knowledge of the language. It would be extremely hard for me to research whether it is legally OK, or not. We -as a company- have no legal department (As a matter of fact I never worked for any company that had one.). What I do have is a general bad feeling. I believe in business relationships based on mutual consent (and mutual benefit) and the lack thereof compromises my moral compass and grossly reduces my enthusiasm. The bottom line: I do not want to do anything that may later fall back on me. Nor do I want to act unethically. How can I handle this situation? Update: So you're just scraping third-party sites? Is the scraped data just used internally, or is it incorporated into one of your products? Is the data private/behind a login screen? Yes, the scraped data will be incorporated into our product, and will be visible online. Is the data private/behind a login screen? I think available without logging in, but I am not sure. Update: I just had a conversation with my boss, and I politely refused the task. We agreed that I leave the company. <Q> Have you asked your employer's legal department? <S> This sort of question is exactly why they are there; they can look at all the details and give you an expert opinion, and if the answer is "don't" they are in a position to argue this with your boss. <S> We don't (and probsbly shouldn't) have all the details, can't give you legal advice, and have no sway with your boss. <A> I am not a lawyer, but I believe that scraping a website without permission will just get your company into legal trouble, and not you personally. <S> But you should consult a lawyer to make sure. <S> But even when the risk is only for your company, it's a bad idea. <S> Building a business based on scraping websites which don't want to be scraped is not going to work. <S> They will take both legal and technical actions to prevent your company from doing this, so your service will break any day. <S> When this is the main product of your company, then it will soon go bankrupt and be unable to pay your wage. <S> So no matter if you get fired for not obeying or get sacked for obeying, you will need a new job soon. <S> If you are insistent on keeping your job, your only option is to convince your boss to look for a more viable business model. <A> It is quite likely that scraping, and especially reusing the data in your product, breaks their terms of service, and therefore is illegal. <S> The question of whether you, personally, would be legally liable as an employee is one for a lawyer. <S> However, I would not be comfortable participating in something illegal in any case. <S> Here is how I would handle it: <S> Check the site terms of service to see if it is indeed a problem. <S> Even if the company has a legal department, I would probably check myself first to see if I think there is a real problem, before raising this as an issue. <S> Raise it as a concern with my boss. <S> Assume <S> good faith on everyone's part (assume that they just hadn't noticed they were breaking the TOS, rather than intentionally circumventing it). <S> If the boss's position doesn't change, raise it with your boss's boss if there is one. <S> If the company position does not change, refuse to work on the task. <S> Obviously this may have some serious consequences for you--but in my mind this is the right thing to do and will be worth it in the long run. <S> Also I would start looking for a new job as soon as I had established that something fishy was going on. <S> This is not the work environment I would want to be in, nor does it bode well for the startup.
| Raising the task the boss just asked me to do with the legal department would be perceived as rather hostile to my boss--I would not want to do this until I thought there was a problem and had discussed it with the boss first.
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Does it look bad if I leave early as an hourly employee? I'm an hourly employee who works 40 hour weeks at a small office. Yesterday I left early (About 40 minutes) because I just wasn't being productive anymore. As an hourly employee, I get paid based on exactly the time I worked. I do not have any expecially pressing tasks that I need to get done. If I work over 8 hours on another day to make up for this time, they will have to pay me overtime (time and a half). In addition, I start work later than everyone else because I have a 40 mile commute and I get to miss traffic that way. So I leave when no one else is still at work. I know I should have probably discussed this with someone, but since no one was there I just left - without feeling bad, as I'm not being paid for this time. Does this reflect badly upon my work ethic? <Q> Really depends on the environment and manager. <S> If you aren't charging for the time you weren't on the job <S> then I personally don't see a problem. <S> However, some managers don't like to see when people aren't filling out the full 40. <S> For example, if you work more than 40 hours in a given week. <S> You might want to investigate this a bit more to be sure that your overtime is paid based on per day hours vs per pay period hours. <A> That totally depends on how your work and workplace is organized, and what your contract says. <S> There are places where it is expected that you leave early (and forego some pay) <S> if there is no work to do, to save money to the employer. <S> There are places where you are supposed to do your 8 h (or whatever) anyway, and just find work for yourself (do busywork, help a colleague, sweep the floor, whatever). <S> You should talk to your manager at the earliest opportunity and ask how such situations should be handled. <S> Any of the practices above are possible, or something else entirely, and it's your manager's job to decide which (within the limits of your contract, of course). <S> IF you ask how to handle this in the future, the two of you agree on a solution, and you follow it <S> , I see no reason for the manager to dwell on earlier situations. <A> Short answer: <S> Reading your question, I get the impression that you are paid for a 40 hour week, on an hourly rate. <S> So according to your contract, you need to be working the full 40 hours as that is what you are paid to do. <S> I'm not sure if you have variations in your pay based on your hours, but <S> I'd suggest you talk to your manager and tell them what happened. <S> Perhaps they will agree to just sign off your timesheet and let you work it up in lieu without accruing the (unearned) overtime rate. <S> As someone who has spent most of her career working as an independent contractor, you need to ensure that you work the hours you charge. <S> And you need to flag your current incident with your manager rather than hiding or ignoring it. <S> That shows professionalism and an acknowledgement that you didn't meet your agreed conditions. <S> The bigger question is, where you not productive because you ran out of things to do, or because you didn't feel like doing the work you had allocated? <S> If it's the former, then you need to talk to your manager to see if you can have other tasks. <S> If it's the latter , then you should definitely talk about varying your chargeable hours based on actual time worked.
| So you should discuss this with your manager directly. Most overtime is paid when you exceed the hours for the time period and not on just a daily variance. As to "reflecting badly upon work ethic" - that also depends on the attitude of your manager, but for a single occurence, in a situation that is unclear, I don't think most managers would hold it against you. There are places where being present is part of the job (such as anything related to customer service), where obviously you don't leave just because there is nothing to do at the moment. Yes, it was a mistake and can reflect poorly on you unless you redress OR if you don't charge for that time.
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Offered raise with an increase in hours I'm currently working as a 40 hour salaried employee. The company I work for recently said that I'm one of their most efficient employees, and has offered me a 10% raise if I increase my hours to 50 hours a week. Now, I understand that this is a personal decision, but my math side is coming out here. If my hours goes up by 25%, shouldn't the pay go up by 25%? I understand that salaried positions don't have to stick to an hourly rate, but is this typical of companies and offers like this? If so, why? <Q> The only time that I could reasonably see this happen would be if a great employee but unproven manager was "groomed for command" by being moved into a management position that required those hours and with a promise of a further raise after a trial period. <S> That's still a bad practice and the employee should really get his full salary from the start <S> but it's been known to happen. <S> It is typical for some jobs to be 9-to-5 and others to require a 50+ hour work week. <S> It's also typical, if short-sighted, for such jobs to pay a higher salary that comes down to a lower per-hour pay. <S> Well-run companies that want to attract and retain high performing employees won't do this and employees who are expected to work such hours at those companies will have a much higher salary in both calculations. <S> Putting in more than the standard 40 hours should be compensated after all. <S> What certainly isn't typical is the arrangement they are proposing. <S> You are presumably doing a stellar job with your 40 hours a week and increasing that to 50 hours without a corresponding salary increase is a simple case of your management wanting to take advantage. <S> I would personally take offence at the mere suggestion of this insanely disrespectful proposal and my reaction in the moment would probably include a guffaw or two, followed by a painful silence and " Oh, you weren't joking ?" <S> While there are probably more professional ways to react, this is such an outlandish request that I'd have a hard time taking them seriously. <A> There is almost no work performance that can be sustained for more than a certain amount of time. <S> For programming for example, it has been shown that working more than <S> 40h/week, people tend to introduce more errors, actually reducing their overall productivity, as finding and removing the errors uses up more hours than the increase of work time. <S> For other jobs, longer working hours bring with it long term health problems. <S> Thus, increasing your weekly hours usually is not a good idea in the first place. <S> Especially not if the math does not add up. <S> Obviously, your company is very fond of your work. <S> At least they said so. <S> I would consider asking them for a raise without increasing the work hours based on their compliment and reasoning for the change. <S> As some pointed out, I do not answer the ops question. <S> I so far just added some other aspect to make the decision easier. <S> Let me add to this: <S> The math is easy. <S> Getting paid 110% for 125% of hours results in a pay of 88% of the former hourly rate. <S> Add in that, most probably, a 10% raise will result in higher taxes, taking you into a higher progression class (depending on your tax system), and sometimes the same happens with other deductions, you will actually not earn 10% more, but even less. <S> Another thing that can happen is that due to what I pointed out first, either you or your manager will actually notice the performance drop owned to the additional hours, and either one of you will feel less happy with it. <A> If my hours goes up by 25%, shouldn't the pay go up by 25%? <S> I understand that salaried positions don't have to stick to an hourly rate, but is this typical of companies and offers like this? <S> If so, why? <S> They are making an offer, and think that they will be able to get away with having you take what is effectively a ~12% pay cut. <S> Wether or not that is typical depends heavily on your company, and industry. <S> I have personally never encountered nor heard of such an offer in my circle. <S> They are presumably doing this because they want more work from you, and want to pay only nominally more for it, to make more profit, of course. <S> They also think they can get away with it by praising your performance first, in a weak attempt to mask the fact that they are basically "offering" you a pay cut. <A> As the comments have alluded to, by taking their offer, you are taking a pay cut. <S> Pair that with the fact that your hours are going up to 50 (on the high end of average hours per week) and you are looking at a terrible deal for yourself. <S> If my hours goes up by 25%, shouldn't the pay go up by 25%? <S> Is this typical of companies and offers like this? <S> If so, why? <S> Not in my experience, I was asked if I wanted to go from 37.5 to 40 hours per week and my pay increased in-line. <S> Sounds like they are trying to pull a fast one.
| Yes, a good company would compensate you accordingly if you were doing more time.
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Would a hack for a competitive video game look good on a resume, or would it call into question my ethics? I'm considering developing a hack for a competitive multiplayer game and putting it on my resume. Is this a good idea, or would it cause too many questions? Could I avoid this by not distributing or attempting to monetize the hack? Edit: to clarify, I am talking about something that's legal but against the rules of the game, that modifies and reads memory. Edit: I believe that this constitutes a different question because it's much more specific and raises other questions; is a game hack even grey or is it more black? Is it even impressive in the first place? In what contexts would this particular project be worth showing off? What is terminology one could use to reframe the ethics of the project? <Q> I'll tell you it depends on how ballsy you are and exactly what sort of job seeker you are. <S> I had a friend who for years had 'President of Humans <S> Vs. <S> Zombies Club' on his resume. <S> Most recruiters probably glanced straight over this, and I know of several times his resume was binned in front of him for it <S> (college career fairs can be brutal). <S> He was extremely stubborn, saying he didn't want to work some place that wouldn't look favorably on that. <S> He did wind up with a job about three weeks before graduation (my school had something like a 93% graduating employment rate), but definitely at a lower salary than both myself and many of his peers. <S> I've not spoken to him since, so I have no idea if it's still there, but I do know it objectively hurt his chances, but he was subjectively happier for it (last I heard). <S> I'd keep it off the resume and bring it up in an interview if I felt the interviewer would be receptive to this sort of this <S> and it were relevant. <S> TL;DR <S> : do this only if you are sure <S> you want to work in a place that will appreciate something like that, and be ready to lose out on other opportunities for that. <A> As a hiring manager, I'd bin your CV if I saw that in it. <S> Not even necessarily for ethic reasons (although that would possibly contribute, for the reason of hacking a commercial code base which could be a poor sign of character and a risk to my business), but because you place sufficient value within your own reportable experience on that achievement that you feel the need to include it. <S> All of that to me indicates a lack of any real, relevant experience <S> and I'd skip to the next CV. <A> Reverse-engineering is a great skill. <S> So, instead of phrasing it as "Game Aimbot", which might make it sound skeevy, phase it as "reverse-engineered Game". <S> I'd recommend releasing the exploit under an open-source license, and posting it on Github, Gitlab, or an equivalent service. <S> Write a good README , and make it accessible! <S> Add Travis CI , and unit tests. <S> All of these things make you look more competent, and they're uncommon in the sketchy for-profit "game exploit" world. <S> For example, Apple has hired numerous people because of their work in the iOS jailbreak community, an ecosystem that is based entirely on iOS exploits - they recognize that people who can do this work are incredibly talented, and many of them have knowledge of the iOS internals that approaches that of Apple employees. <A> I think you need to define what you mean by "hack". <S> I'm with @Jane S in that I'd bin the resume for the exact same reasons she mentioned, plus the ethical ones. <S> However, if by "hack" you are talking about something allowable by the ToS (exa: skinning a MMO client) <S> then I'd only mention it if that skill were relevant to the job you are seeking. <A> Personally, I wouldn't do this. <S> The strong negative reactions would be more important to any hiring decisions than the vaguely positive ones -- unless, of course, you were looking for a job writing hacks for networked games. <A> I think it depends on what job you are applying for. <S> There are jobs in the security sector where that kind of thing might be looked at favorably. <S> But if that isn't a field you want to get into, then leave it off your resume. <S> Your resume is what gets you in the door at a company, so design it for the widest appeal. <S> Once you get in, you can mention your hack in interviews if you want. <A> You should not put it in your CV, at least not without endorement. <S> By hacking a multiplayer game you're proving that the game has security flaws, and that you've discovered and managed to break into their (suposedly) secure code. <S> While that is impressive, it's also quite possibly that it will be frowned upon. <S> But there is one exception: <S> Contact the Company you hacked. <S> Seriously. <S> The game company would be more than interested in fixing the security flaw you found, and as such, you could quite easily help them fix it. <S> Aaaaaand, since you've helped find and fix a security flaw, you wouldn't need to say that you hacked someone , but that you correctly found and fixed a security flaw for Company X. <S> In the end, you get the experience of cracking a company, and you help that company become safer. <S> On top of that, you get to put on your CV that you have experience with Online Security, without it looking bad on your resume. <A> It highly depends. <S> I wrote my senior thesis on hacking a large MMO. <S> I contacted the company before hand about what I thought and they said it was okay since I had no interest in manipulating the system. <S> It had worked <S> and I wrote an amazing paper. <S> They had made a patch for it the next day to fix it. <S> About 2 years later I worked for that company. <S> It was a great experience. <S> However , for most other jobs, I wouldn't recommend taking pride if you arbitrarily hacked a game. <S> As a developer and designer, it is really upsetting when someone breaks my app "because they can" especially when it affects sales and other users' experience. <S> In most cases, I would probably also shelve the offender's CV.
| Some people might see this on your resume and react positively, while others would react very negatively. I'd say any hack that might result in a ban from that game world when detected would probably be something you kept to yourself.
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Maintaining a paper trail after leaving a company Over the course of my two years with my current employer, I've collected a small but not insignificant amount of company data on my personal machine(s). Most of these are in the form of old config files I keep as a back up or emails with information I like to reference. SOME files contain more potentially dangerous information from user ids to private VPN configurations. I know that most of this information resides elsewhere, I keep it there now for easy access. I'm leaving in roughly a month (my boss already knows), what I suspect he doesn't know, or chooses to ignore, is that some of the things both he and a client told me to do are, while not illegal , wrong. By this I mean that there has been a continuous pattern of choosing speed or cost over system reliability, security, etc. I anticipate a lawsuit one day, and being the only person in the company who actually dealt with these things, I don't see how I could not be at least contacted by either party. My question: I've been obsessive about documenting everything : who wanted what done when, why, what phase the moon was in, and the color of my underwear. The documentation will live on without me, but I have a personal paper trail of config file snippets, emails, and other records. I'd like to hold onto this personal documentation. Do I open myself up to any ethical or legal implications in doing so? The information is certainly confidential, but doesn't contain things like passwords or user logs. <Q> Short answer: Don't. <S> Make sure you do a good handover <S> , ensure they know where the information is, and enjoy your new job. <S> It's not your problem any more. <S> Unless they are going to pay you for the privilege, it's there prerogative to make sure all the information in your head is available. <S> [Edit] <S> The original question asked "Should I take confidential data with me once I leave a company to make it easier to help them when called?" . <S> The last edit changed the question to "How can I keep a confidential paper trail when leaving a company in case of potential legal action?" <S> The below answer addresses the new question, while the above the original question I would strongly encourage you to talk to a lawyer before you leave the organisation. <S> That way if they recommend keeping information that may protect you, then you still have access to it. <S> But only a lawyer can give you the legalities of doing so. <S> The "how" then becomes simple. <A> In theory you should hand over everything related belonging to the company, to the company. <S> In reality that doesn't always work out. <S> But, if you were to hold on to such information because in your opinion it might save you some grief, here's some advice. <S> Don't go on the internet and advertise the fact. <S> An example would be a series of emails covering your back if anyone tried to implicate you for doing something that shouldn't have been done. <S> Because the emails clearly show you refusing to get involved, things like that. <A> In the case of emails, etc, those belong to the company and it's up to them to retain them (given applicable laws). <S> By extension, once handed over, you should remove any, and all, company emails, source code, config files, passwords, etc from your devices. <S> If the company is sued that is their problem; not yours. <S> Well, not yours unless you engaged in illegal behavior. <S> If you did engage in illegal behavior I highly doubt you'd want a record of that anyway. <S> So absolutely get rid of it.
| Generally speaking - when exiting a company you are to turn over all property that belongs to them.
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How can I ask for a different brand of hardware offered by my employer? The employment perks state I get my own MacBook Pro (to work with) and iPhone, but I really dislike Apple hardware (not going to discuss Apple vs Brand X) and I simply work way better and much more efficient on a Linux machine. How can I politely turn down the Apple hardware and ask for an Android phone and (preferably a custom-build by myself) Linux PC instead (for "the same cost")? <Q> You can always ask whether it would be ok for you to receive an android phone instead. <S> However expect to have this request be denied. <S> It's not impolite to ask. <S> However some companies will try to give their employees the same hardware so that whenever there are complications with their phones, they only need to take a single brand/phone into account. <S> Nevertheless, not asking at all gives you a no, asking could turn this into a yes. <S> I don't think they would care much about the costs of the phone if they took an apple phone as the default phone. <A> They may have very good reasons for selecting apple as their main affiliate for fringe benefits (often apple give good price breaks and their products are in demand). <S> If the job is more important than the fringe benefits it offers, I would not mention this in the interview. <S> However you could ask about the benefit during the interview. <S> You might end up understanding why they chose apple. <S> Something along the lines of: <S> "I really appreciate the offer of a MacBook and iPhone <S> but I prefer to work on Linux and Android. <S> Would it be possible to give me equivalent vouchers for a Linux PC and Android phone?" <S> However, based on your comments that the offer is not true "fringe benefit", you are likely to have your request turned down. <A> (See my comment on these questions in the comments below.) <S> ... <S> (preferably a custom-build by myself) <S> Linux PC instead (for "the same cost")? <S> The price of the hardware may be the same, but you can't make the assumption that the costs will be as well, because price and cost aren't the same thing. <S> You're going to have to spend time building and administering your system, and if the rest of the company isn't using the same tools you are, there will be time spent dealing with compatibility issues. <S> If you stand on it too much, I can almost guarantee that the phrase prima donna will be uttered at some point when everyone sits down to discuss whether or not to extend an offer. <S> If I can relate a personal story: Last year, I received an offer from a shop where the standard desktop/laptop is a MacBook. <S> My primary working environment has been some non-Mac form of Unix for close to 30 years (20 <S> + of those with Linux). <S> Like you, I've got everything customized in a way that I find productive and didn't figure it was going to be particularly pleasant having to give all of it up. <S> The job was attractive enough that I decided to take the plunge, and one week before my start date, a MacBook arrived at my door which was fully configured with all of the company's applications, remote backup software, VPN credentials, etc. <S> It was a bit awkward at first, but within a couple of weeks, I had my MacBook doing 95% of what I have Linux set up to do right down to the keystrokes. <S> The other 5% has been chalked up to broadening my horizons. <S> What I learned from the experience is that pretty much every desktop feature you can find on one platform can be found on the others if you look around a bit. <S> That includes tiling window managers. <A> You can ask for anything. <S> In this case, you probably shouldn't expect a "yes", unless you are the "rockstar employee" who has demonstrated performance that so far exceeds that of their peers and management's expectations that your work is critical to the success of the company. <S> What's more likely is that your plea for special equipment will be seen as whining or evidence that you can't do the job with the equipment provided unlike everyone else working there. <A> Use VMWare, VirtualBox, or equivalent to install Linux on top of OS X, then fullscreen it and work as usual. <S> Performance will be fine (especially since you're using a tiling window manager, you won't even need good GPU support), and you'll have a Linux environment to work in. <S> If you need OS X software for a unforeseen job role, you'll be able to switch to a different workspace with a four-finger swipe and use OS X instantly. <S> When you leave the company, they'll want to reuse your laptop for a new employee. <S> It'll be easier to reuse "yet another RMBP" than to reuse "some PC".
| Just ask and be nice about it. Unless you're so good at what you do that the company thinks the value of your work eclipses the costs of having one oddball system in the office, they may simply say "no thanks" and move on to the next candidate. Instead, when you get the job, ask the IT department if it would be possible to get a PC/Android instead of a Mac.
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In an interview when answering a question, should you say if you're not sure? This was embarrassing but in an interview I was asked if I what the current version of Java was and I wasn't sure but had an idea. I said 7 (and the correct answer is 8). In situations like this is it better not to guess and admit you'd have to look it up, or would you guess and say your not sure? I actually do know features new in Java 8 (such as lambda expressions) but the number slipped my mind. I could've answered "I forget the number but I am familiar with the newest version and features such as x y z". I know, rookie mistake. <Q> I always answer with the truth. <S> That's my "prime directive" in an interview. <S> I would much rather have them see that I'm willing to admit that I don't know something than to have them discover through a wrong answer that I'm trying to put something past them. <S> When I've interviewed people, I've sometimes asked them questions <S> I was nearly certain <S> they wouldn't know the answer to in order to see how they would respond. <S> That tells the interviewer something about the candidate and how they react under a stress situation as well. <S> I was applying for a Delphi position about 25 years ago and the interviewer asked several questions about C++. <S> I answered him honestly that I didn't know. <S> He later told me that he was specifically trying to see whether I'd try to BS my way through or not and also how I would react to the stress of seemingly being asked something for which I was not the least bit prepared. <S> I'm not suggesting that you should just say "I don't know." and leave it at that. <S> I think your explanation about the features is the kind of elaboration mixed with forthrightness that would be the most helpful. <A> You should be open about you not knowing or not being sure about something. <S> And here is the main reason, in my opinion, for that: If you say " I don't know " when you don't know, they will trust you when you say " I know ". <S> Now that might look stupid, but it is not! <S> I like a lot working with people who are open about not knowing. <S> Actually, I find it a quality: to be aware of your limitations and to be transparent about it. <S> In the other hand, I don't trust people who never say " I don't know ". <S> I know as a fact that nobody knows everything, so if someone never expresses doubt I will never be sure if they really know what they area talking about, as they never " don't know ". <S> Besides this, as my own interview strategy I try to build a connection by being human: I make mistakes, I don't always know everything, but at least I am an honest person who will not lie about what I can do. <A> I once interviewed a man where his answer to every question I threw at him was " <S> I don't know, I would have to check the help files". <S> I recommended that we hire him <S> and we did. <S> I saw his resume, I knew he could do the job, but the work was for a newspaper. <S> I deliberately asked him questions he could not possibly know because I wanted to know if I was dealing with someone who would try to hide his mistakes, or who was overconfident. <S> His honesty got him the job.
| If the truth is that I don't know something, I tell them.
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If I forget to invoice a customer, who pays? I am a freelancer. Last year I did a large project for a client. The job went very well. However at the end of the project things were quite hectic with me wrapping up the project and starting a new job for a different customer at the same time. The client was very happy with the work I did. This year they have brought me back in to work on a new project. However while I was preparing the invoice for the new work, I discovered I had made a big mistake. I never invoiced them for the final block of work last year! It's not a few hours either - its almost 3 weeks of work that I never billed them for! As far as I can see there are 3 options for how this could work: They should pay the full amount. The fact that I was almost 12 months late in sending them an invoice is irrelevant. They should pay, but perhaps only partially, or at a steep discount. Perhaps paying 50% of the original amount. Failing to invoice them was absolutely my mistake and I should just write this up as a painful lesson in keeping on top of my paperwork and move on. What do people think the right thing is to do? To provide some more details: The original project went well! Everyone was happy with the outcome and there is no dispute that the work was done and done well. The amount of work I forgot to invoice for was almost a 3rd of the total project. This would obviously have an impact on their financial metrics for how the project went. The company is a fairly small one. They should be able to pay, but its definitely going to have an impact on their financial planning, etc. They never warned me that I hadn't sent an invoice. I'm sure this was not deliberate on their part. I have a very good relationship with the customer and they show every sign of being decent human beings. Its very likely that I would continue to pick up future work from them, be introduced to new clients by them, etc. <Q> I agree with other answers that you should invoice the full amount . <S> In order to maintain your good relationship with the company, I think it would be best to send a brief apology/explanation along with the invoice, so it doesn't come out of the blue. <S> For example: I was reviewing my records and noticed that I had neglected to send you the final invoice for project XYZ. <S> My apologies for the delay with this. <S> The late invoice should not create a problem for the company. <S> Indeed, not having to pay for a year is a benefit for them from a cash flow perspective (usually). <S> You state that it is "going to have an impact on their financial planning", but it really will not, unless your contract with them was completely inadequate. <S> The contract should indicate that there was a final billing milestone at the completion of the project. <S> They wouldn't remove this from their budget simply because they hadn't been charged yet. <S> The bottom line is that you have made a minor paperwork mistake . <S> This doesn't have change your client's obligation to pay. <S> It hasn't caused them any harm, and it is unlikely to make any difference to your reputation or relationship with the client (assuming that it is an isolated incident--of course you should take steps to ensure that you are more organized in the future, and it doesn't happen again). <A> My position would be that you did the work and therefore you should be paid for it in full. <S> The fact that you forgot to invoice them doesn't change that. <S> Given the circumstances, you probably don't want to be sending out an invoice saying "Payment due in 30 days", but I'd hope that if you talk to them, they'd be able to come up with a means of paying you in the end. <A> Have a discussion, apologise, invoice and move on <S> However, invoicing so late may cause your client some issues with cash flow. <S> You should send a polite email to your contact there, explaining that you were busy and forgot to invoice. <S> If they are decent, they will ask you to invoice straight away. <S> They may even pay immediately. <S> It's not their job to check that you have invoiced, or to run your business for you, but definitely, you should get paid for satisfactory work. <S> To maintain the relationship though you will need to do a little bit of apologising. <A> As a freelancer a reputation for no nonsense and honesty are your biggest asset. <S> Messing around gets you nowhere and makes you look unprofessional at best. <S> Come straight out and tell them you're invoicing them for XX work on YY project, and invoice them for the full amount. <S> Make sure you provide all the details of the work <S> so they know exactly what they're paying for. <S> I'd actually just invoice them as a normal invoice and leave it to them if they want to dispute the matter or have any concerns at all. <S> If they need to work out payments or have any queries, then that's a separate negotiation, (I'd go easy with them on this bit). <S> But get the invoice out there asap so everyone is clear that you're expecting to get paid. <A> There is a legal question in here (I think "statute of limitations" is the correct English phrase, the time after which you forfeit your claims), but unless your country has very harsh laws any invoice sent a year after the fact should still be valid. <S> They haven't warned you that you have not invoiced them because it's not their job to to run after people to offer them unsolicited money. <S> But then this means they haven't been extra-nice to you, <S> so I don't see why you should be extra-nice to them, and I suggest you invoice the full amount. <S> Since you haven't missed the money so far you may offer them to pay in installements if they are strapped for cash - but this might cause more trouble in their book-keeping that it's worth for them (again, I do not really know accounting laws in your country), so send them an invoice and start to negotiate terms only after they complain (if they do at all). <A> I had a similar situation last year where, for various reasons, the invoice for some work I did for a company was delayed going out for over a year. <S> After speaking with the company involved, they understood the cause of the delay and I was paid, about 15 months after I had done the work. <S> So I see no reason for you not to invoice them for the full amount but perhaps call them first to explain they will be receiving the invoice belatedly. <A> Cash in hand is better than the promise of cash in the future. <S> You did the work, you should get paid. <S> However, be gracious in your request. <S> Your goof will cause them to revisit their budget, so be patient if it takes them a little while to pay you. <A> Failing to invoice them was absolutely your mistake. <S> The fact that you aren't very good at the business part of freelancing is not at all irrelevant, it's going to make things difficult for the company to cut you a check so far removed from their payable event. <S> That said, you did the work and didn't get paid. <S> Most companies I work with would pay you. <S> You should create an invoice now, and send it with an apology. <S> I suspect you'll get paid without any push back. <S> But if they do resist, be prepared to negotiate, particularly if you want further business from them. <S> And it goes without saying that you want to tighten up your accounting practices as a freelancer.
| You did the work, so you should get paid in full. Making invoicing mistakes can project a lack of professionalism, and that's never a good thing.
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Should I tell my supervisor if one of my direct reports is pursuing another job? I supervise 5 people and one them confided to me she is pursuing another job possibly. She was very emotional and cried a lot. She has not made a final decision yet. Am I obligated to tell my immediate supervisor? <Q> Short answer: <S> Absolutely no. <S> Long answer: <S> We always advice people: <S> When you signed for the new job, hand in your notice. <S> Don't tell anyone any earlier. <S> Your post demonstrates one of the reasons why. <S> The lady in question made a mistake. <S> The best thing you can do for everyone involved is to act as if she never had made that mistake, and perhaps spend some thought on what you would do if she left. <S> There are four other people, each of which could hand in their notice right this morning. <S> You should be prepared for that kind of situation. <S> Be glad that you got some warning. <S> Don't spoil it. <S> Consider that for all you know she may still be working at your place twenty years from now. <S> Now if you go to your manager and tell him or her, and it gets back to that employee who suddenly has no intention of leaving, one possibility is that to avoid any damage to her career, she will deny very loudly that she ever thought about resignation and damage your reputation badly. <S> And that's what a reasonable person would do, because clearly you showed that you would deserve nothing else. <S> You were willing to throw her under the boss; there's no reason why she wouldn't do the same with you. <S> Even if that doesn't happen, you would have destroyed your relationship with that employee. <S> And for what? <S> What good does it do to anyone if you tell your management? <S> And if she does leave, chances are good that word gets out what you did, which damages your relationship with all the other employees, and there may be more resignations, but this time without any warning. <A> Generally not a good idea to pass on information <S> you're unsure about <S> , it's just hearsay, particularly if it was given to you in confidence. <S> Until she makes up her mind for sure (which means handing in an actual resignation), then there is no need to report anything and even then <S> unless she's giving it to you, it's not your responsibility. <S> In the same way that you're under no obligation to repeat every piece of gossip that you hear. <S> If there is a clear reason for doing so then that is another matter, such as wanting her to be talked out of it and helped in some way. <S> But be very careful of getting involved in other people's dramas, best practice in my opinion is not to get involved at all. <A> Two things: <S> First, why is this person considering resigning? <S> Is it the work environment? <S> Is it the work? <S> Is there something you can do to handle this and convince her to stay. <S> Secondly, Don't tell, but start to make plans for how to handle this departure. <S> Has this person some unique knowledge or responsibility? <S> Then start to schedule work rotatations. <S> Perhaps start to get active on job sites and see if there are replacements available. <S> If a recruitment requires your bosses approval and could take time, then start to prepare for it now. <S> With this information, you have the possibility to have a complete plan ready if/when the resignation happens. <S> Take advantage of this.
| Don't tell anyone that you want to leave.
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What kind of objectives we could set for a team working on different projects? I'm a team leader for a software development team, who is working in the same location, but for several customer. No more than 2 people working together. As you can imagine, it is difficult to build as a team.One of my ideas was to have some objectives in common, so this will create some sinergies to grow as a team.Any idea about this kind of objectives? Thanks a lot. <Q> What kind of team is an important aspect. <S> Software development? <S> Recruiting? <S> Customer care? <S> Different knowledge spaces have different core values/aspects/objectives. <S> Your idea of finding common objectives is smart. <S> I would typically have customer/client/user satisfaction and issue resolved time as performance indicators. <S> You can even ask your team "Who are we?", and "What do we have in common?". <S> Start the dialogue within your team, this way you cat get them to highlight areas of improvement in your team. <A> I love to hear team leads wanting the people they are supporting to grow. <S> Investing in singular individuals will make the team stronger, but I'm feeling that you are wanting to nurture a overall team rapport. <S> Some ideas in no particular order: 1) Organize a social outing after hours. <S> Getting the team together away from work is a good way to build rapport. <S> You can not control interest and attendance, but if most of the team turns up you'll see results. <S> 2) Order lunch in for everyone and take an hour in a meeting room. <S> Sharing a meal is a good icebreaker and allows the team to socialize away from their desks and workload. <S> You can control the attendance here. <S> Who doesn't like a free lunch? <S> I've always enjoyed learning about coworkers over pizza. <S> 3A) <S> If possible, shuffle the pairs of individuals who are working together. <S> An added benefit to this is the strengths and weaknesses of the team/pairs will bubble to the surface <S> and you can begin to tailor improvement & reward strategies. <S> 3B) <S> If you cannot shuffle the pairs, Is there another way you can get them working together? <S> Smaller side projects, initiatives? <S> These could fall under group objectives also. <S> 4) Have them brainstorm the team values/mantra/name/logo/team colours. <S> This can be done via google sheet and then discussed over a short meeting. <S> Having all of them agree on what the team represents will increase team pride and provide a banner to unite under. <S> For example, I have an acquaintance who works in an animation studio (animators are a little different but..) <S> each team was able to decorate their cubicles in elaborate themes, and people in the office would say that they are going to the jungle or the space station. <S> The team very much enjoyed choosing which theme their area would be, and the decoration accumulated so slowly that little working time was lost. <S> 5) <S> Simply say hello to everyone. <S> More then just a passing "hello", stop and genuinely ask how they are doing. <S> If you cycle through everyone on your team, it will be a good reminder to them who are your direct reports. <S> 6) <S> More food: A box or two of doughnuts can go a long way. <S> Best of luck! <A> I usually organized after hours gatherings paid by the company and, most importantly, I did bi-weekly coffee reunions at the company, talked about the projects in general, and let each team spend some 15 minutes talking about theirs last 2 weeks in the projects, targets they achieved, you know, things in general about the project so everyone was up to speed in every project and feeling part of a whole big project. <A> In addition to the previously mentioned good ideas Use teams to do code reviews on the other teams (you are doing code reviews aren't you?). <S> You don't have to work on a project <S> review the quality of code, and even if you don't work on the same technologies there is benefit in having to explain what you are doing. <S> These will stretch your individual teams as well as create some general awareness as to what the other teams are doing - thus adding redundancy in your department.
| Have each team regularly give brief presentations (over lunch) to the other teams as to what they are doing, what challenges there and what novel things they are doing to get around them.
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How to suggest more strict deadlines? A friend of mine (let's call him Jim), asked me for advice on an tricky situation where I'm not sure how to handle it either. So maybe one of you can help how to approach it. Jim actually is working in a young company. The product is still in development so it is important for them to finalize the product as soon as possible. They make team meetings on daily base (he was saying something about scrum but that it is anyway totally diferent... what ever...), but "recently" he got asigned a project (a standalone application) where his progress isn't that easy to track. After he noticed that, his motivation to focus on work got lost over time. He feels uncomfortable with that situation but is lacking of self-discipline to force himself to make his job as long their is enough time left 1 . The 2 main problems for Jim, he told me and I was aggreeing are: No given milestones, just a requirement, and when it has to be accomplished. No consequences of missing the deadline. Also he told me about his previous 2 week deadline which he missed, that when he had the timepressure he felt like beeing very productive and focused. But his boss rarely gives strict deadlines, and even if he does, his boss handles the deadline more like asking for a favour, than ordering it. So now to the question he came up with: Since he really likes working for the company and the working conditions are verry enjoyable, he neither wants to risk loosing his job nor intends to passively damage the company as he actually does. He wants to bring this up to his boss, and ask him for more modular assignments connected with tighter(at least any) deadlines and asked me how to approach this. I couldn't help him out, since I wasn't even sure this is something he should bring up, but try to find a way to handle it himself (what he explained is hard for him). So, should Jim bring this up to his boss? And if so, how he'd best approach it, that it doesn't sound like "Now I want to start doing my job, can you help me boss?" ? 1 He told me, the last assignment before this big project he had 2 weeks to finish a assignment but made it within less then 2 days (while just 1 day was left; deadline was missed, but this had no consequences at all) <Q> Why not just propose his own deadlines? <S> If there's no pressure to hit them that's even better, but if he can say <S> Hey boss, you've asked me to do X. <S> I think sensible milestones to achieve it are A, B, C <S> and I think I can deliver them on these dates. <S> and then he can practice hitting his own deadlines. <S> This also gives him opportunities to practice estimation and communication: the really important thing about missing deadlines is that you identify you're going to miss it as early as possible and communicate that upwards, so that between you you can work out steps to either correct what's going on and hit the deadline or mitigate the impact of missing it. <S> So worst case he gets to learn all of this in a pressure-free environment, and best case he gets a reputation for being reliable and easy to manage (which bosses like). <S> The issue is if this isn't enough of an external stick to overcome his self-discipline problems, but it seems safer to try and tackle that himself without deliberately risking his own job in the process. <S> And there are better ways to solve self-motivation problems! <A> So basically he wants deadlines enforced to motivate him to work? <S> In the daily meetings, he could say to his manager, "I'll have such and such module / functionality / <S> whatever done by Friday" (Setting realistic time-frames of course). <S> Even if the boss isn't too put out by him missing this, the risk of embarrassment of having to admit he didn't do what he said he'd do might motivate him to treat it as a proper deadline. <S> Never underestimate the psychogical power of having tasks highlighted in Green and not Red on a spreadsheet! <S> ;) <A> This has nothing to do with his tasks <S> and it's not something he should expect his boss to fix for him. <S> He has identified a personal weakness, now he needs to strengthen himself in that area. <S> No one can hold his hand to do this or he will just lapse back in to apathy as soon as they let go. <S> There's many many ways he can do it, but mostly boils down to how he manages his time. <S> One way is just make a short list of mini deadlines for himself Accomplish XX by TuesdayAccomplish YY by Friday and hold himself accountable if he doesn't produce. <S> Anything like this takes time to rectify but is easy enough. <S> Find whatever works, <S> Consciously adhere to it and soon enough it becomes second nature, like doing scales on a guitar.
| Also, use a spreadsheet - divide the project into tasks and assign his own deadlines.
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how to avoid being a point of reference for functional and technical issues without getting a financial reward? It is quite a long time now that in my company I am a point of reference both for functional and technical problems, I mean that I sometimes work as a business analyst as to say I get the customer question and translate it in a solution, sometimes I work as an It architect. My role by the way is neither of these two but I should be only a software developer or engineer.In my company there are others who are entitled for functional analisys or for software architect, and obviously they are getting more money than me. Sometimes I have been asked this because one is missing, or because one tries to avoid work, or because one tries not to get a responsability, or because he knows I will be the next and knows I'll accept to solve Now I am bouncing back the emails I get if I understand someone should solve it... but I mean I want to solve it different, I want my company to recognize my value and I want an up shift in my salary. Would it be a good strategy to underline all these reasons to my current manager ? <Q> Sounds like standard responsibilities of a non-junior developer/engineer, sharing expertise to improve the skills of the group as a whole. <S> Refusing to do so could have career limiting consequences and have negative impact on your salary. <S> Talk to your manager -- non-confrontationally! -- <S> about how to prioritize these requests relative to your other work. <S> I think you will find that at least some of this is required if you want to continue to advance in the company. <S> But there may be ways to limit how much of a distraction it becomes, eg by having requests come through your manager so they can be filtered/prioritized properly. <S> And remember that in most cases you get a promotion only after proving you can work at that level. <A> Would it be a good strategy to underline all these reasons to my current manager ? <S> Of course it would be a good strategy to talk about that with your direct manager. <S> If he or she does not know, he cannot do anything to improve the situation. <S> Tell them that you do more things than noted in your job description. <S> And tell them that you like your additional tasks. <S> You should definetly raise the visibility of that. <S> If your manager does not get the hint, you can be proactive and ask them directly about the possibility to change your job description (and compensation, of course). <S> After that it is in his hand and they will tell you <S> yes <S> or no <S> (hopefully). <A> Second, if you find these requests are outside of what your manager expects, ask the manager what you should do if you get these requests. <S> Have examples ready if he is not sure what you mean. <S> You may discover this is your job or you need to be denying these requests. <S> Other people may become advocates for you if you're as good as you say you are. <S> If that is the case, it may lead to a promotion. <S> Know what is expected of you <S> and then when you can show you exceed it, use that as a basis when asking for a raise.
| Don't go to your boss and ask for a raise because you're doing all this work he doesn't think you should be doing. You need your manager to set some guidelines for what your responsibilities are.
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How do you convince a colleague clean up workspace without being his boss? I have a colleague who works with his hands on our product testing; however, his lack of workspace organization and a clean up protocol leaves much to be desired. Most of what I'm talking about is tools not being put back, wires all over the place, etc. Both of these are within view of the meeting table where we have important guests and shareholders. Our boss comes by every once in awhile and complains about the mess this colleague leaves behind - I'm assuming because it doesn't give off the impression he wants to make to our guests. Our boss told me to take care of it. I have no intention of following my colleague around and telling him to clean up, because: A. That's not my job (or apparently it is now?) B. He's an adult and should take care of it himself I talked to him about it today with the perspective of trying not blame him and have him come up with his own solution: "Look, our boss is embarrassed about the state of our workspace, and he told me that he wants us to figure something out. What would work best for you?" We talked about getting some extra shelving and drawers, but he didn't seem too enthused - his first remark was "what mess?" I'm not his boss and can't tell him what to do, but if he doesn't do it, then it will become my problem. How can I convince my colleague that he needs to step up his game in terms of his organization/cleanliness without the superiority dynamic of a boss/employee? <Q> Personally as a messy person, I would move him out of sight of the conference table if possible. <S> You cannot change a naturally messy person, they literally do not see the mess that clean freaks see and find them really weird for caring about something so ridiculous. <S> It is nonexistent to them <S> so they can't clean it up. <S> I feel uncomfortable working or being in a straightened up space, it make me far less productive because I can't find things and it depresses me to not be surrounded by my stuff, so if you continue to try to get this guy to meet your standards, then you may lose a lot of productivity from him or he may quit because you are making his work life hell when you do this. <S> I file visually, <S> Once something is no longer in sight, I can't find it again. <S> Your coworker may be the same way. <S> I am telling this because you need to understand his perspective and he likely won't tell you. <S> But his first comment of "What mess?" should be a clue that he doesn't see the mess! <S> Clean is not the only way or the best way. <S> It has been proven to reduce creativity. <S> You didn't seem to think there was a problem with his work, just the way he organizes his workspace. <S> Well what works best for you will not ever work well for him. <S> So the best choice is to make everyone happy and move him to somewhere that guests won't see him. <S> Have a cabinet where he can put his stuff and then bring it out after they are gone. <S> This will reduce his productively as well but not as much as making him keep his workplace cleaned up to your standards. <S> Since you don't supervise him, I am not sure how you are going to get his cooperation. <S> Your boss can tell him he will get fired if he doesn't change, but you can't <S> and, really, there is no way any messy person is going to change over the long run. <S> Their brains simply don't operate that way. <S> You could of course clean up his space daily, but that will annoy both of you. <A> You started on a good trajectory in talking about needing a solution to a shared problem. <S> The problem is the boss is going to be upset if cleanliness standards don't improve in that area. <S> Sell him on the idea that a problem exists as you will get no buy in for a solution if he doesn't agree there is a problem. <S> Once he is on board look at workstation design to make clean up an intuitive step. <S> Things that help are peg boards with tool outlines drawn on and a garbage can at the edge of the surface <S> so wire bits can be swept away in one step. <A> Your boss gave you authority to take care of it. <S> At the end of the day, you still have a job <S> and you don't have to kiss this irresponsible person's behind by behaving as his mother would. <S> Toss it in a box and keep it moving. <S> I'm not at all suggesting you become an enabler by accommodating him. <S> When I said throw it in a box, I meant that - literally. <S> If you do all this organizing, and make it easy for him to find his stuff in a drawer, then you take on a role you don't want long-term. <S> Throw it in a box and let him figure out it. <S> This is not about being "nice", because if your boss was "nice", the boss would have done the cleanup personally. <S> Stand your ground. <S> Set good boundaries. <A> The two best options appear to be to move him to a new location, or to give him a specific set of requirements, perhaps in checklist format, that provide exactly what the space has to look like when clients come over. <S> Such a list won't be easy to put together, though, given his particular style of workspace management. <S> Perhaps something similar to: <S> When the conference room is in use with attendees you do not recognize, or when notified prior to such a meeting, the following steps must be taken for this customer-facing work area: <S> Worktop must be clear of everything except for one workpiece being worked on at the time, and up to 5 tools. <S> Cabinets, toolboxes, drawers and other containers must be closed. <S> No other boxes or storage items may be in, on, under, or around the work area. <S> (use the storage closet or [specific] workspace. <S> Add any other items as needed - test equipment, trash, wire, parts & materials, etc may need special attention depending on the tasks this person is tackling. <S> Honestly moving them seems to be the better option - or moving the conference room - but if that's not possible and the work area must be clean, this type of system might communicate the objective requirements well enough that "Please clean this work area" has real meaning, vs the current situation where it doesn't translate for him.
| Inform your colleague that when it happens and a client visit is to occur, then your colleague can expect all of the stray belongings on his desk to be tossed into a box and tucked away on a shelf someplace. At some point, he'll become frustrated at not finding his materials and at that point either he'll shape up or ship out. All other tools must be out of sight - in drawers, toolboxes, cabinets, etc. Alternatively, you could ask him to clean up when a guest is coming.
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Turned down a client after accepting dinner, how could I have handled this better? I was approached by a guy recently who wanted me to be involved in his startup. He asked me to meet him, he bought me dinner, talked about funding and market potential, etc, then invited me to see the technology. I told him my rate and he laughed and said it was more than his lead developer, but we moved along happily. At this stage, I knew he wouldn't be able to afford my rate, but I'm happy to drop a little for an interesting project. At his invitation I came round the next week. He had some pretty interesting tech, and I went away thinking it might potentially be a thing. We agreed to discuss rates by email. He emailed the next day offering a package that was very significantly below what I could accept. I emailed back with a counter offer. He emailed me back, angrily accusing me of wasting his time. I'm curious if I handled this poorly. Should we have been more upfront about rates from the start? Or should I have otherwise done something different? <Q> The client acted poorly. <S> You did what any potential hire is expected to do. <S> In business, taking candidates out to lunch or dinner is common, and acts as an incentive that gives the employer an opportunity to pitch the employer's idea. <S> It's a cost of doing business, and an investment in eventually making a good hire. <S> The fact that the client does not appear to understand this, and is running a startup, signals that the client has not done a lot of this before. <S> You acted correctly by giving a counter offer. <S> If rate was a deal-breaker for the client, then the client is remiss in not mentioning that sooner. <S> Your goal in an interview is to put off rate/salary discussions until the last possible moment, so that you can increase your perceived worth to the client. <S> I agree that you dodged a bullet, and more importantly that you did not do anything wrong in this scenario. <S> Update based on the edit: At this stage, I knew he wouldn't be able to afford my rate, but I'm happy to drop a little for an interesting project. <S> And this is exactly why you take candidates to dinner -- <S> if they have an incentive to listen to your idea, you may be able to get talent at a discount. <A> The problem is with the other party's perception of what "Dinner" entails. <S> It appears that to him, dinner is more of an orientation than a presentation. <S> You had no obligation (or expectation) to provide him with a range ahead of time. <S> Had it been a concern for him, he should have inquired himself. <S> It appears to me that he may have undervalued your skills as well as felt that for whatever reason, you'd leap at whatever offer he made. <S> I've known people like that <S> and it's not your responsibility to educate him how to present and negotiate. <A> He wasted as much of your time as you did of his. <S> Call it break-even. <S> His disappointment at not getting you to work below your normal billing rates is his problem. <A> The fact that he laughed at your initial offer was clue #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 to make for the exit. <S> Very unprofessional and I feel for his lead who is obviously being undervalued. <S> I've been on a formal interview where I was interrupted by the potential employer and told "coders are a dime a dozen". <S> I kindly stood up and walked out of the interview immediately. <S> Mind you this was the 2nd time in a year the company pursued me. <S> So since I was expendable before I was even hired let me relieve myself for you. <S> You got a quick glimpse into what could of been a horrible working relationship. <S> You did right by yourself. <A> I feel the question in the title is a bit misleading -- dinner doesn't equate to hired or nearly committed or anything else. <S> Dinner is a cultural fit interview. <S> One that is almost explicitly going both ways (i.e. without the usual implication that the company chooses and the employee accepts whatever they decide). <S> So, to answer that question, no, you didn't do anything wrong. <S> He failed to offer sufficient incentives (tangible or intangible) to get you to accept, so be it. <S> As for the whether you did anything else wrong -- not as described. <S> Any failed negotiation can be viewed as a waste of time, but neither people or jobs are a commodity product. <S> You have to talk to people to find out just how they fit. <A> To me this comes off more as a dinner with a potential employer and not a potential client. <S> In such a case if that employer wants talent they are going to have to try and entice that talent as well as meet with the talent to see if they're a fit. <S> This dinner appears to tackle both of those objectives. <S> At the end of the day this was a meeting and informal interview, not an obligation. <A> Apparently, the offer of dinner was to fatten you up for the kill. <S> You did just fine. <S> Maybe you should decline the dinner offers in the future to not give these kinds of people the idea the idea that you might be impressionable. <A> I agree with the consensus here that the client acted poorly. <S> However, one additional detail that I latched on to in your story ...involved in his startup... <S> It's possible this guy was offering a low number because he doesn't value your type of work, but it could also be because he doesn't have the funding to do otherwise. <S> Of course, if he's not offering any sort of equity then it's still a shitty deal <S> (since one day he might sell this thing and cash out for millions <S> and you'll still have your lowballed salary). <S> But to echo the others no you didn't do anything wrong. <S> Some people can't afford a pay cut or don't want to. <S> Some people will take a pay cut in exchange for stock options or something. <S> You don't sound like you want to <S> either so be glad you dodged a bullet because if this is how he handles simple hiring practices then I can't imagine he'll stay in business long.
| It appears that you did everything that one would expect in your situation. Quote him a fair price at your rates, invite him to price-shop if he is so inclined, thank him for the opportunity to bid, and you're done until he makes an acceptable offer. Accepting an invitation to dinner does not obligate you to any commitment. At least wait until you have an established business relationship.
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What are the odds of software companies contacting references at the time of job offer? I am interviewing at some major software companies for senior engineer/scientist roles. My current boss is a very hands off kind of a guy, and is not very familiar with my precise roles and contributions to various projects, and may in fact even have a slightly negative view of me. I am very wary about listing him as a referee for my upcoming job interviews. But on the other hand it might look odd if I don't list him as a reference. How often do software companies in general, and the big ones in particular (say for ex.Microsoft or Amazon), contact references for a reference letter? What information do they typically ask for? <Q> How often do software companies in general, and the big ones in particular (say for ex. <S> Microsoft or Amazon), contact references for a reference letter? <S> What information do they typically ask for? <S> Very often. <S> I have both checked references when I was the hiring manager, and been called for a reference for others when they worked for me previously. <S> Things <S> I am often asked: <S> When did [candidate] work for you? <S> What was your role with respect to [candidate]? <S> What would you say are [candidate]'s strengths? <S> What would you say are [candidate]'s weaknesses? <S> I am considering [candidate] for a position as a [title]. <S> Do you think [she/he] would fit that role? <S> Why did [candidate] leave? <S> Would you hire [candidate] again? <S> As [candidate]'s new manager, is there anything I should know about [him/her] to manage [him/her] effectively? <S> If HR checks references, they often ask different questions. <S> They often ask: Specific dates of employment Specific title Specific salary when leaving Specific reason for leaving Occasionally, I get questions regarding something that was said during the interview, that the hiring manager wanted clarified. <S> [candidate] said that [she/he] didn't feel challenged at work. <S> How do you feel about that? <S> [candidate] said that nobody was being promoted from within. <S> Do you agree that was happening? <S> and other specifics <S> I never use a person as a reference who wouldn't give me a stellar review. <S> And I always talk to my potential references ahead of time, tell them what I am doing, where I have interviewed, and ask if they would be a reference for me. <S> And if there is any question in my mind at all, I always ask "Would you say good things about me?" <S> I seldom have to ask that question, but I'd never want to lose a great job due to a weak reference. <S> And I never want to put people on the spot if they would prefer not to be a reference for me. <S> I would almost never use my current boss as a reference, since I'd seldom want my current company to know I was planning to leave. <S> Most potential employers will allow you to get by without a current reference, if you have sufficient prior references. <S> If absolutely necessary, I use a trusted colleague aside from the boss at the current company. <A> In my current position they took close to a month to get all of that done because they went back 10 years. <S> In rare cases, references weren't actually checked. <S> Usually it's done to make sure you are who you say you are and that you're not a pathological liar in your interview and on your resume. <S> My experience has been the roughly the same across industries. <S> However, what companies (software and other) ask for in my experience <S> is the basics of "how long did you know? <S> " and "did they work for you?" and other questions relating to "was it a positive experience, would you hire again?". <S> Lastly, I've never had a company check with my current employer because it's understood that you don't want to let your current employer know you're seeking work elsewhere. <S> I have had a few ask that I provide some sort of proof that I indeed work there and a partial copy of my offer letter <S> and (if I have one) <S> a pic of my company ID (or an email from my internal email address) suffices. <A> If it is a big company there is a high probability of the references being called by someone in HR. <S> In many cases the HR person will have a laundry list of standard questions to ask the reference. <S> Things like: <S> Why did the candidate leave your company? <S> Would you hire this person again? <S> Did they work well with others? <S> Things like that. <S> A smaller company <S> it is more of a crap shoot, but there is probably at least a 50-50 chance. <A> Most of the time when recruiters ask for references, they'll call listing contacts in order to have an overview of how previous managers/colleagues might see you and how they consider your work. <S> Otherwise, if this current experience may really be in your favour and as you explained that your boss didn't even understand what you are doing, you could submit the contact of another manager/colleague who is well aware of your value in this job.
| It will not seem odd not to list you current boss in the reference list you'll submit as recruiters are well aware that when candidates are searching passively for new job position, your current company may not be aware of you wanting to leave. In almost every case in my career (which is long), references are checked after the offer is made and the offer is made "pending background check" which includes the references.
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Can my employer own any code I write? United States Software Engineer here. Can my employer legally make me sign something that says they own any code I may write(including at home)? I know they can terminate me at anytime for any reason. My question is: is such a agreement even valid? They allow you do to stuff in the side but it all has to be pre approved by management. To me, best case is that it is legal but really annoying. <Q> From http://www.brightjourney.com/q/working-company-intellectual-property-rights-stuff-spare-time <S> There are a number of other states with similar laws. <S> I've compiled a list of states that have laws restricting what IP employers can claim ownership of: California <S> * - Cal. <S> Lab. <S> Code 2870-72 <S> Delaware - Del. Code Ann. <S> tit. <S> 19 805 Illinois - 765 Ill. Comp. <S> Stat 1060/2 Kansas - Kan. Stat. <S> Ann. 44-130 Minnesota - Minn. Stat. <S> 181.78 <S> North Carolina - N.C. Gen. Stat. <S> 66-57.1-.2 <S> Washington - <S> Wash. Rev. Code Ann. <S> 49.44.140, <S> .150 <S> Utah - Utah Code Title 34 Chapter 39 <S> The California statute also requires an employer to inform employees about the law. <S> Note that the laws that govern your employment contract are usually based on the state in which you work, not the state the company is incorporated in. <S> And, as always, if you have questions about your employment contract, have a lawyer help you understand it <S> and how it applies to state law. <S> Also, this list may not be comprehensive. <S> If you know of any other states, please add a comment <S> and I'll update the answer. <A> They can't 'make' you sign anything, but they could make your continued employment contingent on it. <S> Joel Splosky originally answered a question like this, but links to the answer seem dead. <S> The tl;dr; is that you are being paid for your intellectual output. <S> They are essentially paying you a salary to create things for them. <S> This is not constrained to just the time you are in the office. <S> So yes, they can make this claim. <S> They are however, giving you an out. <S> So if you work for a gaming company and you are being paid to create games, then creating one on the side is likely within the bounds of something they would expect you to be creating for them. <S> However, if you are working say in the financial industry and you create a game, you might be more likely to get approval to proceed. <S> So unless you are creating something very similar to what you do for the company this arrangement should not be too much of an issue. <S> I should note that I had a coworker that creating something that was completely within his normal job requirements and tried to leave the company and run with his idea. <S> He was asked by the company to turn over all his work. <S> I don't recall anyone saying he got screwed either. <S> The general consensus was 'what was he thinking' <A> This becomes even more complicated if you are writing code that extends or changes an existing platform that has it's own copyright information. <S> If you do work at home that is not in any way related to a work project and you are off the company clock, then that code is yours. <S> However there is a caveat, and that is the fact that they are requiring you to bring outside projects in to management for approval. <S> Depending on your contract, they could claim ownership of those jobs and simply award you the work hours to do it under their name. <S> If that is the case (and it sounds like it might be), then all of that code is also theirs. <S> Section 101 of the Copyright Act (title 17 of the U.S. Code) defines a “work made for hire” in two parts: a) <S> a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment b) <S> a work specially ordered or commissioned for use 1. <S> as a contribution to a collective work, 2. <S> as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, 3. <S> as a translation, 4. <S> as a supplementary work, 5. <S> as a compilation, 6. <S> as an instructional text, 7. <S> as a test, 8. <S> as answer material for a test, or 9. <S> as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. <S> source <S> If you are an independent contractor you have an entirely different scenario. <S> Typically the only work that is inherently "work for hire" for a contractor is listed in section (b) above. <S> This means that the company can only own your code if they expressly state so in your employment contract. <S> I don't think much more can be said on this without seeing the actual contract <S> and it's wording.
| If you are a w-2 employee who is not an independent contractor then all of the work you do while being paid for them or on their projects is inherently owned by them unless you have a special contract stating that you will retain copyright of code you write.
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Asking a new employer to buy me out of a "training costs must be paid back" clause I've signed an agreement to repay the costs of training (a few thousand $$) in the event I leave the company within X period of time. The training is for an industry specific certificate which I've just completed. Is it reasonable to ask a new employer to "buy me out" of the obligation (i.e. pay the money back on my behalf) in order to start work with them within that period, if they will be benefiting from that training? Does it make a difference whether I applied for the job, or was "poached"? <Q> I think it's very reasonable and can be used as a substitution for a signing bonus. <S> It won't hurt you if you ask. <S> The worst thing that can happen is that they'll refuse. <S> However I would only do it when you get to the "offer" stage <S> and you know for sure they're interested in hiring you. <A> Is it reasonable to ask a new employer to "buy me out" of the obligation (i.e. pay the money back on my behalf) in order to start work with them within that period, if they will be benefiting from that training? <S> It's perfectly reasonable to discuss your buyout situation. <S> Motivated companies will sometimes pay the buyout amount to acquire your services sooner. <S> Part of the decision may hinge on the cost and the time duration. <S> Ask about it, and be prepared with your response to either a "Yes" or "No" answer. <S> Does it make a difference whether I applied for the job, or was "poached"? <S> Sometimes. <S> Being approached by the hiring company might indicate that they are very motivated and willing to pay the buyout. <A> Let's say you made $X per year. <S> The training cost $Y. After the training your value for the company increased (by more than $Y obviously). <S> The company quite obviously doesn't want to pay for the training and then not get the benefits. <S> If the new company benefits from the training, they have the choice of hiring you, or hiring someone without the training and paying $Y for training. <S> In that case you would expect either a higher salary than the other guy, or for the new company to pay some of the cost. <S> So it's reasonable that you ask, and reasonable to expect either help for the repayment or a higher salary. <S> If the new company doesn't benefit from the training, it should be obvious to them that you don't like leaving your old company if it means you have to pay back this money. <S> They either want you so much that they help with your decision, or they don't. <S> It's still reasonable to ask. <S> It's reasonable for them to decide what they offer you. <S> They might offer you nothing, half the money, all of it, depending on their situation and how much they want you.
| Some companies will factor that buyout cost into their offer to you. It's obviously Ok to ask them. (It may very well be "No", since this is your problem not theirs, and they may not want to be the solution.)
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Hygiene Etiquette for Riding a Bike to Work I have an internship that is close enough to my apartment that I could ride my bike to work. Obviously, that will cause me to sweat on the way to work, especially during summer, so even though I would do proper hygiene and shower before heading to work, I could smell bad by the time I arrive. What is the etiquette for such a situation? And what things could I do to reduce the smell? Or should I simply not ride my bike to work? <Q> Ride slowly I've worked with people getting away with this just fine. <S> Works best if it's a job with a relaxed dress code (eg. <S> can wear t-shirts). <S> Probably not a good idea if you tend to sweat from light exercise (like me), or have a long or hilly ride to do. <S> Cotton and merino wool t-shirts are ideal if you don't plan to change clothes - avoid synthetic clothes that tend to promote smells. <S> Change in the bathroom <S> I've done this for an entire summer. <S> I took a shower before leaving to work, eased my stance in the morning, carried clean clothes in my pannier, briefly cleaned up my underarms with a small towel and always felt clean. <S> In fact, I usually felt cleaner and more comfortable than walking or taking the bus in my work clothes under the crushing heat, without the nice head wind of riding a bike. <S> Can be problematic if you don't have a bathroom with a bit of space. <S> Get a membership from a nearby gym Gyms usually provide showers as part of the package. <S> Some might give you a discount for shower access only. <S> Pick workplaces that offer showers Best bang for the buck. <S> I always ask if they have showers at the open questions part of interviews. <S> To me it's part of the benefit package to be considered when accepting a job offer, and it's also a good discussion starter <S> : I've had managers telling me they also bike to work, etc. <A> I ride to work, and ride around clients all day so minimum 1 hour each way on the commute, anything up to another 4 hours going around although that's rare. <S> The only way to remedy the sweating is showering, so I probably have 5 showers a day <S> (I have a shower at my office and several of my clients have showers). <S> Take a change of clothes with you to work every day, arrive early, and have a wash. <S> Be courteous, buy your own soap and bring your own towel (I used to leave a towel at work before we put in the shower.). <S> Many places such as engineering workshop or even gyms have showers. <S> I used to go to the mechanics next door to my office and use theirs. <S> Always try and make sure you are fresh after a bike ride, finish your shower with cold water, and take your time under it, this cools down your muscles, because if you just got off a bike and have a shower, your internal heat can easily start you sweating again if you don't do this. <S> I have never found it impossible to find a shower nearby. <S> Admittedly I'm in the tropics and being third world <S> no one would bat an eyelid if I jumped in a river with a bar of soap, (I have one client a two hour ride away with no shower, but there's a stream nearby) but even when I was in NZ <S> I used to make sure to have a shower, just because you can't smell it doesn't mean everyone else can't. <S> The key thing is it's your decision to bike... <S> don't make it someone else's problem. <A> It depends on the person. <S> I can take a soap (kills bacteria) shower, ride 20 miles, and not smell for several hours. <S> Put on dry clean clothes when you get to work. <S> It takes the smelly bacteria a while to grow. <S> You also have people at work that sweat going up a flight of stairs. <S> You have people that don't bath before going to work. <A> I would like to add two more things: Sports clothing . <S> Most sport companies have products designed to keep you cool (or warm, or both). <S> You don't need to buy an entire set, just a couple of basic t-shirts and maybe a jacket. <S> Depending on the locale, they may seem expensive, but they are worth it. <S> Clinical deodorant. <S> Again, they're not cheap, but if you use it only when riding your bike one bottle will last for months. <S> Just check with a dermatologist in case <S> you're allergic to one of its components. <A> I usually keep a change of clothes at work (not because I bike, in the summer 50C is a cold day) but simply because it may get uncomfortable in the summer if I have to step out for a meeting or to run an errand. <S> The ac can only do so much. <S> So, consider keeping a change of clothes are work; you can come in, refresh yourself in the bathroom and then change into your work clothes. <S> Of course nothing beats a shower <S> so see if you can find a gym or similar nearby that you can utilize. <A> First, why not 'phone them up and find out if they have a shower. <S> Most companies do these days - promoting healthy life and carbon footprint. <S> If this is not possible I would walk in for the first day and find this out. <S> If they do not have a shower then I would suggest what the other posters do. <S> If they do have a shower also find out if they have a locker - better that carting change of clothes around, towel etc. <S> As for the shirt - to make it wrinkle free after being ironed and put into the rucksack, bung the shower on as hot as possible for a few minutes with the shirt hung up in the steam. <S> This works a treat.
| If you don't have a shower, find somewhere nearby that does have one and will allow you to use it. If the standard roll-on or spray deodorant doesn't work, you might consider trying long-duration (clinical) deodorants, which in most cases get rid of the smell.
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How to go on leave just after joining a company? I have just been accepted in a new company however, I have a pre-planned trip 1 week after my official start date. This has been planned months earlier and everything has been booked. How do I tell them (new company) that I need to go on this trip without giving a bad impression? I am thinking of 2 options: Tell them about the trip and that I can start with my new position after this trip (means, I am able to start only 2 weeks after the start date that they've set). Tell them about the trip and that I can start on the start date but I would need to go on a trip 1 week after. I'm willing to be unpaid during that 1 week duration since I just started. Do you think these two options are fair enough? And generally, will it give them a bad impression? <Q> At this point it's just a job offer you can still negotiate starting day, you haven't actually accepted the offer. <S> That's understandable and does happen, although they might not like it. <S> You need to let them know as soon as possible that you're excited to have the offer, but taking the job is contingent on you being able to fulfill preplanned obligations. <S> Then give them your two options. <S> Personally I would just say I can't start for 2 weeks. <A> I would call them on the phone and follow up with an email so that they know the exact dates you will be unavailable. <S> You might have to talk to your new manager, and the hiring manager, and to HR. <S> Normally I discuss this type of situation during the interview. <S> I will let them know about things that could cause me to be unavailable during the next few months. <S> I don't mention a dentist appointment, but If I had a wedding to attend that would make be unavailable to travel or attend all-day training I would let them know. <S> As to which option they would accept. <S> It is up to them. <S> Some would delay the start date, others would let you work that first week then go on leave. <S> It would depend on what the job was, and what their current staffing was, and how disruptive to training would be if you weren't there the second week. <S> The worst case would be if not being there there the day the specified makes you ineligible for the position. <S> But in that case delaying telling them doesn't help your situation. <A> Some years ago I applied to a new job when my wife was pregnant. <S> During the interview I told my employer-to-be that I would want to take a three months parental leave later that year. <S> Of course they weren't happy but <S> this way the could plan for my absence early on. <S> Also it clearly demonstrated that I was an open guy and not going to give them nasty surprises. <S> I got the job. :-) <S> Keeping it a secret until right after you are hired is not an option and will probably get you fired. <S> Canceling the trip will make you unhappy and might poison the relationship with you employer.
| Based on where you are in the hiring process I would tell them right away. So I strongly recommend to be upfront about this.
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I've learned one my family members is terminally ill, when should I inform my employer? I've recently been informed that one my family members is terminally ill, and is only expected to survive 12-36 months depending on treatment. When should I inform my employer? What are my risks? <Q> If it might affect your work performance, out if you might need to take time off with little advance notice, or if there is any other reason they should know... <S> Why would you not tell your manager? <A> When should I inform my employer? <S> Right now. <S> Even if it doesn't affect your work at the moment give them some head start so they can plan accordingly. <S> What are my risks? <S> You might find out that your employer thinks that the work you do for him is more important than family and your wellbeing. <S> In which case you might want to reconsider working for them anyway. <S> A reasonable employer will be understanding and cut you some slack until things are resolved. <S> All the best to you and your family! <A> As soon as you can. <S> There are no drawbacks, you may need to take leave suddenly with little notice, and the sooner your employer is aware of this the better. <S> Everything else is secondary to that. <S> because they had no idea you had urgent personal business to attend to <S> so they had no time to make a fallback plan. <A> I'm very sorry for your situation <S> , that is a tough thing to go through. <S> Before your engage your employer, please spend some time thinking through the situation: <S> How it will likely develop and how it will affect you personally and professionally? <S> How will it affect your ability to work (both mentally and physically) and what's the best way to structure your work environment so your needs can be accommodated. <S> A few examples: If you expect to be a primary or secondary caregiver, you may wantto ask for a family leave of absence (US) or equivalent <S> If this happens in a different part of the country and you expect frequent travel, you can inquire about extra unpaid vacation If you have significant time critical responsibilities at work <S> and you don't think you will be able to handle them, <S> ask for a different assignment with some sort of transition plan, or ask for help <S> Do you want your co-workers at work to know or not? <S> This is really just a personal preference: some people feel better when they can openly talk about it, some other people are more private and are worried about awkwardness. <S> While this is very painful, it's unfortunately not that unusual. <S> Many employers have experienced this before and will be try to accommodate you within reason. <S> However it's up to you to determine what accommodation you want and need. <S> This is very personal and every person and situation is different. <S> You shouldn't expect your employer to figure this out. <S> So the recommended action would be: figure out what you want your employer to do and then go and ask for it as soon as you know. <S> As long as you ask respectfully and don't demand, there is no risk at all, unless you have a terrible employer. <S> One final advice (from personal experiences and both sides): This time frame is long enough that it's important to establish some "Life goes on" attitude. <S> While this may sound unfeeling, it's vital for all people involved. <S> Putting your life (personal, professional, family) on hold and just waiting for the inevitable just drags everyone done, including the person that's dying. <S> It's okay to go on vacations, it's okay to go to parties, it's okay to start planning that wedding, etc. <S> Have a good time, tell your loved one about and he/she will have a little bit of a good time too.
| There are drawbacks to telling them later, such as leaving them in a bad situation workwise. The sooner they know the better.
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Attending a Strip Club after hours on a business trip Is it appropriate to attend a strip club after hours during a business trip? My employer and/or our client has paid my travel and lodging expenses however I also feel what I do after work is my own business. Thoughts? <Q> What you do outside of your working hours is up to you. <S> It doesn't matter what or how you do it. <S> The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you have an obligation to arrive appropriately at work in the morning. <S> Having that been said, I would also advise against having an escort inside your lodging over the night. <S> Your lodging could also be considered your working environment. <S> You know, mentioning this just in case. <A> seeing you, you are representing your company. <S> If something was to happen at that club, a drug bust or anything else, word would eventually get out that you were there. <S> Bad enough in your own locale, but much worse if clients and rivals hear about it. <S> My policy is to treat the whole trip as a time to be on my best behaviour. <S> Imagine someone took a picture of you putting money in a gyrating strippers panties, and then imagine them thinking it would be funny to put it on social media <S> captioned <S> "Isn't this the chap we met from XYX Company!", and then imagine how funny your mum, boss, girlfriend, coworkers etc,. would find it. <A> It would be wise to discreetly clarify exactly what the expectations are of you on this trip and what time is truly "your own", eg: <S> whether the client is providing any hospitality you would be expected to attend, or would be rude to decline, whether there is preparatory work that you would be expected to do in your hotel <S> It should go without saying that it would be highly unwise to do anything out of hours that might jeopardise you behaving professionally the following day, including strangers having access to your room (and therefore company property), and that you keep business and personal expenses strictly separate. <A> Under the conditions that: You are in a location where visiting strip clubs is legal Your company is based in a location where visiting strip clubs is socially tolerable <S> You aren't working for a religious organization or similar where employees are held to a higher moral standard than other members of society. <S> It's a strictly private endeavour ( <S> Which means you are going alone, not with any co-workers or business associates) <S> You do not cancel any other obligations for the visit <S> You do not try to bill any expenses for the visit onto the company <S> You are fit for work the next day <S> I couldn't think of any reason why it should not be OK.
| No, you're on a Business Trip after hours or not, in terms of clients etc,.
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My coworker is lying about the current state of his work One of my co-workers stated that he has done a test of the application he's working on, and that it's currently running on ten PCs. But I've found that it's running on a single PC only, and the tests on this PC failed, a fact that can be deduced from the log files quite easily. My projects are dependent on this project, that he's currently responsible for. The same guy made quite a few problems for me recently, and I have no idea how far he can go (e.g. sabotage my work). How can I resolve this situation? Just report this to the PM? <Q> Don't tell him straight out that he is lying. <S> As a starting point run the test on your own equipment, then ask him what you did wrong when it fails. <S> If he doesn't fix things after that, then you can escalate. <S> But no sane(ish) person would reiterate a lie when it's been shown to be one. <S> This way he has leeway to get the job done which is all you really should care about. <S> On the offchance that he insists on not correcting the issue, then take it to your manager because it will impact on your portion of the project. <S> Run the test and fail again with your manager and the rest is up to him/her. <A> Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. <S> Maybe he thinks it's running on 10 machines but doesn't know yet? <S> Maybe you two misunderstood each other? <S> Just defaulting to assumption that it's a lie isn't a great way to go. <S> Just talk to him and try to find ways how to fix issues that cause issues with the tests. <A> This won't be something new in our world :) <S> However, I don't see that you talked to him about this. <S> To you, it looks like inferior work ethics: It looks like he's trying to do nothing and still get paid. <S> To him, it's a last ditch attempt to keep his job: he's way over his head in this task. <S> If he actually didn't care about this, he'd have admitted this is beyond his current skills and let the managers asses if he's salvageable as an employee or needs to find another job. <S> I actually think he cares about this job and this task very much. <S> Maybe too much, that he's willing to make moral compromises and put himself in a "double or nothing" situation. <S> Why don't you bring this up to him <S> , don't judge or patronize - just help him get it running and once everyone's happy <S> , let him know you'll be there for him next time too <S> (of course, that's just to encourage him to raise his hand nice and early, instead of "buying time" and risking a big disappointment). <S> To be honest, people who will bite more than they can chew and lie about it, tend to be a liability. <S> However, if they are taught to be more open and cooperative, their willingness to take charge pays off!
| I believe your assumption that he's lying.
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Is it bad news when an interview is postponed? So I have been in the process of interviewing at a company in town. I have some experience with jobs of this nature and I apparently passed their assessment test with flying colors, and a formal online interview was scheduled for today. I got a call today saying they would like to postpone the interview until Tuesday or Wednesday. I also asked them to send me the job application to complete it today, they replied that there was "no application needed". My initial thoughts are that it is bad news. I have never had an online interview postponed. My girlfriend says that if they had found somebody else they would probably have canceled the interview. What are some thoughts on this? Bad news like I dread, or just suddenly overwhelmed at the HR or the hiring committee? Personally to me I'm afraid they hired somebody, and are foreseeing another similar position come up, or they already hired somebody and don't want to just cancel it, though I have no idea why. <Q> It's neither bad news nor good news. <S> The most likely scenario is that something came up, and one of the people involved in the interview has to be somewhere else at that time. <S> Or they decided that another person should be involved in the interview, and that person has a schedule conflict. <S> In other words, the change probably has nothing to do with you. <A> As well as scheduling conflicts, it could quite well be that one of the people who will interview you is ill, especially if it is short-notice. <S> Had it happen a couple of times. <S> You're in the middle of the application process already, so <S> I doubt an application would be necessary, unless their internal process requires it. <S> If they've had someone accept the job offer, it'd be a waste of everyone's time to postpone, and they would cancel. <A> Them not being able to have the interview at the scheduled time can have a million of internal reasons which have nothing to do with you. <S> When they wouldn't care about you at all they would just have cancelled it altogether. <S> So it's a minor good sign. <A> My initial thoughts are that it is bad news. <S> I have never had an online interview postponed. <S> My girlfriend says that if they had found somebody else they would probably have canceled the interview. <S> What are some thoughts on this? <S> I think your girlfriend is right, and that you should listen to her more. <S> If they no longer wanted you, they would not have postponed the interview - they would have just canceled it. <S> Just be more patient. <A> Keep in mind that the hiring process is a major time commitment (and hassle) for managers who, in addition to having their regular responsibilities, are also short-handed. <S> If they filled the position they likely would have told you that. <S> The more likely scenario is that there was simply a scheduling conflict.
| If they had an offer out to a potential, still would make more sense to keep the interview on time, as rescheduling generally doesn't look good (and the times I've been rescheduled on, the interviewer has apologised). Most likely you will find that there is nothing bad about this delay.
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What do employers do with the money they withhold for your income tax? As per the rules, every employer withholds money from your paycheck for your income tax. These taxes are only paid once a year. What do employers do with the money they've withheld from you in the meantime? Where do they deposit it? <Q> In the US, amounts withheld from income for taxes must be passed to the IRS on either a monthly or semi-weekly basis . <A> While I suppose this may vary from country to country, everywhere I know of that employers withhold tax, they send it regularly to the government. <S> For example here in Canada, I pay my staff twice a month. <S> Once a month I must send these "withholdings" - tax, employment insurance, government pension - to the government. <S> (I can "kite" a little by paying someone their net pay on the 15th and not having to send the withholding to the government for a few more weeks, but that's all.) <S> I have other "withholdings" that are not tax, such as paying premiums on private health insurance, and I use these to pay those bills each month. <S> I'm sure it's the same for your employer. <S> Also, here, if I withhold $1000 from you for the government and don't send it to them, that doesn't matter to you. <S> Once I've told them (on your T4 tax slip that summarizes your income) that I withheld it for you, you get credit for it even if I fail to ever send it in. <S> As a result, you don't really need <S> o know what your employer does with it. <A> In the U.S. -- they don't "deposit" it. <S> Some do this after each payroll period, and it's a very large amount of money <S> if the company's big. <S> A similar approach applies for the state taxes. <S> Both IRS and the states really avoid the occurrence of employers making a lump-sum payment at the end of the year, because the employer's less likely to have the money after sitting on it for so long.
| They make payments to the IRS, either through their bank (all business banks have this facility) or by having the IRS debit their accounts.
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What is a professional way to request my CTO and project manager to end my night shift I have been working night shift for the past 6 months and I'd like to request that this changes. I was initially promised that I would only be working these shifts for 3 months. However, I cannot continue doing this as I am facing health issues. What is a professional way to mail my CTO/PM regarding this? <Q> Make this by whatever communication channel is standard. <S> I would assume e-mail, but someplaces it might be written. <S> Either way it needs to be something you can record and look back to. <S> Dear Manager <S> I have been working night shift for 6 months now and would like to respectfully request a shift change to mornings(days whatever you call it). <S> If you get rebuffed, then you can politely bring up that you were promised 3 months <S> and it's starting to affect your health and you would like a change. <S> You did not indicate what the need for night shift is and who if anyone would take over. <S> This may be a factor in shifting you or not. <A> What is a professional way to mail my CTO/PM regarding this? <S> You would be better off talking with your manager in person about this. <S> You could far more easily convey your desire and your pain that way. <S> As a long-time manager, I far prefer to discuss these sorts of things face-to-face. <S> That way, I can ask questions that help me understand. <S> Just schedule a meeting and ask something like "I'm starting to wear down do to this night shift work, and I really need to get back to my day shift quickly. <S> How can we make that happen?" <S> Then listen. <A> You want to be careful how you bring up this issue. <S> Throwing it in their faces that you were promised only 3 months of night-shifts, but have been working them for 6 is a pretty bad idea. <S> (aka don't be aggressive about it when you first bring it up) <S> If they try to blow you off, or renew this arrangement then you will have to push back more aggressively, and state that you are simply unable to continue working night shifts. <S> Be prepared that they may not like that, and that you may have to start looking for a new job.
| Be straight up and professional in your first request. I would set up a meeting with the manager and tell him that it was your understanding that working night shifts was a temporary arrangement, and that it is simply not something which you can continue doing due to health issues, life-work balance, or whatever your reasons might be.
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Does my employer have the right to phishing a personal account for security purposes? A few days ago I received a LinkedIn invitation email from some other employee of the company. I clicked the email link to check this person LinkedIn profile, I logged in with my personal account into LinkedIn and, voilà, it turned out it was a phishing test from my company to test how prone employees were to phishing attacks. I did not check the URL domain of the link, thing that I do most of the time, but that email totally caught me by surprise. There are several things that should be changed on this test: My employer -that hired the services of a 3rd party company similar to PishMe- effectively hacked a personal account that had nothing to do with the company account. They extracted me the email address and password associated with my LinkedIn account. Both my employer and the 3rd party company store the email and password typed in the fake LinkedIn log in form. The form does not send the information anywhere. However this is not written and I only found out after inspecting the HTML form and JavaScript. At no moment of this test the victim is advised to immediately reset the password (in case credentials are stolen). They do not tell you either that the credentials captured are actually not sent and the form does not work. Other basic security prevention measures like checking the domain in URL link are never suggested. This puts in doubt the educational and awareness raise purpose of these tests. The fake LinkedIn form did not use HTTPS connection. Credentials were sent to the outsourced phishing test company in bare plain text. See bulletpoint 2. Does LinkedIn authorise the use of its image and trust for such kind of tests? This test is a factual successful phishing attack were personal credentials not related with the company are leaked to 3rd parties. Is this legal even when it has a paradoxical security purpose? Edit: my LinkedIn account had an unique password (different to other personal accounts) and was not associated with any other external service or account. I changed LinkedIn password straight away once the phishing message was shown. Edit 2: (1) my concern is not about the test itself but about the liberties they have taken to carry it out. I do not want a company to test CORPORATE phishing awareness with PERSONAL accounts to the point they effectively stole my credentials. (2) They do store email and password typed. The phishing company sells this fact as an amazing feature of its phishing platform. See bulletpoint 2. The phishing company only stores the times and the corporate user who accessed the form. <Q> Whether it's legal or not (contact a lawyer in your area to verify this), I think it constitutes a gross breach of trust, as well as a breach of privacy. <S> The only mitigating factor might be if the email arrived via your work e-mail, in which case: They will argue that a real attack might follow a similar pattern, and took place on their machines/email system <S> They will turn this situation around and say that you shouldn't have been on a networking site while at work in the first place <S> In any case, as you yourself stated, since you were not notified of the test's occurrence, or otherwise advised to improve your practices <S> the overall result is simply that you feel betrayed <S> - it did not actually help you, except in exposing your employer's duplicity. <S> I want to underline that the problem is not that the test took place, it's that this third party "stole" personal information, sent it out over the web in the clear, and stored it in their databases. <S> I believe that employees should have been advised that this happened, and reassured that their information will be deleted, or otherwise contained. <S> You could go complain to your manager, but realistically the chances that he's going to do anything about it are quite low. <S> Keep in mind, I'm not saying that you shouldn't talk to him, just that he will most likely not have a say in how the company handles these things in the future. <S> Now that your eyes will have been opened to this company's treatment of your personal data you may wish to seek employment with a firm which treats its employees more honorably. <A> Yes my previous employer would do this. <S> They would send out phishing emails and test how many people logged in. <S> What is unusual about your case is they tested it with a private linkedin account that isn't part of the company. <S> I would consult with a lawyer on this one. <S> I do know they have a right to test their own systems and <S> unless the linkedin account was theirs <S> then I see no reason why they would do this. <S> I hope you don't blame your company with this. <S> I would simply change the password and just accept you made an embarrassing error. <S> In the future I hope you don't click on links in some email <S> no matter how tempting it is. <A> If you are concerned about your employer having personal information/credentials, then use your own time, devices, and internet connection while conducting personal business. <S> Now, if this DID happen using your personal device, email address, and internet connection, I might consider contacting an attorney.
| Most employers have a policy stating that they own any and all information sent from within their network and/or devices and that you have zero expectation of privacy, so if you were using personal credentials to log into a personal account from a company network and/or computer, you've given them the right to "own" that information.
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Something to improve in the office and the only one with the feeling As always, I have something to improve in the office and the only one with the feeling.This time is that the AC machine is a bit old and noisy and would like to suggest my boss to change it.In fact, AC is not necessary for me at all but my collegues insist on get the AC always on. I don't know what to do. Convince my colleagues to join me? Tell my boss? skip? A good alternative may be to skip saying this to colleagues and wait for one month to move to another (new) office that I've been offered. <Q> Ask yourself if the AC is 'worth' changing. <S> Since you are the only one that has a problem with it, and you are moving to a new office in a month, I would not bother. <A> my collegues insist on get the AC always on <S> This mean you will be unlikely to convince them to turn it off. <S> However, if you do wish for that to happen, you'd need to take it up with your manager/boss. <S> Expect to have your request denied though. <S> If you still think you can somehow convince your co-workers you'd need to talk to them separately. <S> Asking your boss/manager to turn off the AC to save money or resources is not going to sit well with your co-workers, so don't do that unless you don't mint a hostile environment to work in. <S> Instead, try to find common ground where both you and your co-workers can be happy with. <S> Possibly set the AC lower. <S> I would say that it would be much more likely that you would need to find other options to cancel out the noise instead. <S> For example earplugs, headphones, etc. <S> And moving to the other location could also work obviously. <S> But these would be your options in case that new location has the same issues. <A> This improvement costs a nontrivial amount of money. <S> Unless the improvement can be shown to save the company more money, it is unlikely to happen. <S> The fact that you are the only one objecting means the benefit gained is unlikely to be worth the investment. <S> The fact that it is a short-term problem makes that a hugely stronger counter-argument. <S> Let it go. <S> And next time you are tempted to offer a suggestion, remember that it has to be for the company's benefit, not just for your own, unless it is something that can be done for near zero additional cost.
| Replacing an AC would be a company expense that the company is very unlikely willing to pay for.
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Should I leave my company when I'm the only developer? So, I'm currently a intern at the company I work. I've been here for a year. However, I feel like the management doesn't give much value the development team. Currently, I'm the only developer that comes here everyday. There is a senior that sometimes comes during the day, but usually comes to work really late (he works on another company during day), so no ones has much contact with him. So, basically I code all the back-end and most of the front-end of the company's products (there is a designer too). When I got in the company, I was told each 3 or 4 months they would evaluate my development, to tell me how I could improve and possibly give me a raise. That, however, didn't happen. I only got a raise when I asked to, even then, my manager talked to the other managers and they said "We don't know what he does here". They did give a raise, but smaller then what I asked for. We have a development team (basically, me and the designer) and a BI(Business Inteligence) team. My manager basically works only with the BI team. She is always talking and working with the BI team because that's where she has more technical knowlegde. We talked about this when I asked for the raise. She said since the has so much to do she's usually there. She only really comes to the development team when it's really needed or when I ask her to. A friend of mine also worked here, but he was already upset with the situation and decided to leave. He has just found a great job at a small company. Depending on how much work needs to be done, he can work at home. He could introduce me to his boss and there is a good chance I would be hired (as a intern as well) and the salary is just a bit smaller than what I get here. I'm really interested in this offer, specially about the working at home part. I'm almost ending university so that would give me more time to focus on it. However, since I'm the only developer here, I feel like I would cause a great deal of problems since they would not have anyone to develop their products. This really bugs me because they have hired a lot of interns for BI and other areas but none for development, ever since I started here. I've seen the BI team be completely renewed since I got here. The situation has been like this way for sometime and only recently they started looking for more people for the development team. My manager even said they would depend on me to help these new people. So, should I go to work with this friend of mine or stay here? <Q> Whether or not moving jobs is a good move for you, I don't know. <S> What I can tell you is that it's not your fault, or problem is your current employer is left in a lurch if you quit. <S> It is the management's job to make sure that they have a plan in place for that sort of situation (developer quits). <S> Furthermore, you're only an intern there <S> - you are not expected to stick around for a very long time anyway. <S> What you should be focusing on is finding the opportunity which allows you to gain the most relevant knowledge, and fits best with your school schedule. <S> Don't let any sort of "guilt" hold you down. <A> If the company wanted to fire you, it would. <S> No matter what you said, no matter how much you cried. <S> That said, leave whenever you want. <S> Specially if management doesn't give a crap about what you think, as this seems to be the case. <S> This is bussiness. <A> As an employee you have no reason to provide "loyalty" to an employer as employment is at-will. <S> They could terminate you for just about any reason at any moment, so the thought that leaving them high & dry shouldn't be your concern. <S> Evaluate the pros & cons of leaving and go from there. <S> Sometimes the grass is greener, sometimes it isn't.
| Make the move that's best for you.
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How to handle an intoxicated on-the-job coworker I have a coworker who comes back from lunch high frequently. I know for a fact this is the case, because he has outright said that he got high during lunch. While I am in a state where it is illegal, it basically has the same penalty as a parking ticket. However, it certainly impairs my coworker, slowing down their ability to work. How do I handle this? Should I talk to them, or HR, or management? <Q> Talking with a co-worker who feels it appropriate to use mind-altering substances at work will, most likely, result in being ignored (at best), and, when the conversation has no impact and you take it up the chain, they will know exactly who took issue with their behavior. <S> Then I would choose one of two paths. <S> If the behavior did not create a safety issue and simply impacted the individual's personal performance, I would mind my own business and, if they were leaving the premises driving a vehicle under the influence, potentially report it to law enforcement when I witness it off company property (many companies require that you go through them before reporting something to law-enforcement, legal or not). <S> Aside from that, if they do a poor job that doesn't impact me, it is not much of my concern. <S> If you do feel it creates a safety issue (the co-worker is driving equipment or operating dangerous tools or machinery), then I would report it immediately, and if the company fails to act on the information, would go as far as reporting it to OSHA (or your country's counterpart). <S> Most occupational safety offices have laws in place that protect workers who report unsafe working condition, and I think it would be at least arguable that knowingly allowing impaired employees to operate dangerous equipment creates unsafe working conditions. <A> I'm presuming that this is a problem for you because you are unable to complete your tasks because your colleague is unreliable. <S> In that case you should report only the business impact "I was expecting MJ to complete the setup by 2 <S> but it wasn't done until 4:20" <S> There is no need for you to speculate on the cause of your colleague's poor performance. <S> Let her manager and HR sort that out. <S> Of course, if there's a safety issue, you have to report that right away to prevent injury or property damage. <A> If he is that open about it, chances are management already knows about it and is giving him enough rope to hang himself or doesn't care. <S> I see no need for you to get involved unless there is a safety issue. <S> Ask yourself what you would achieve by doing so apart from making an enemy and making your other coworkers reluctant to say anything to you. <S> I once worked with a graphics guy who did his best work stoned. <A> I would sit down with your manager and inform him of this person's behavior. <S> Him and the HR department will take it from there.
| Unless I wasn't confident that my manager would handle the situation, I would discuss it with them first, and if it continues, talk with HR. I don't think it's your job/place to confront this person.
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HR asked me to send references. Are they going to call them? The HR sent me an email telling me that the interview went well. As a follow up to the interview she asked me to send her three professional references (names, professional relationship and contact information - phone and email). As a fresh graduate (I graduated last year), I looked for every professional contact I could find. One of them is a CEO of a media startup, the other was a coordinator at a research center, and the last one was the director of my scholarship. I sent all of them to her. The job I'm applying for is related to digital journalism. I realized my contacts weren't strong enough, and I asked myself if they would satisfy what they were actually looking for in terms of " relevant professional references", and then I asked myself if they would actually call them. So, my questions are: 1) How are they going to assess my references? Should I stress over the quality of my references? 2) Is it common that employers call the provided references and ask them about potential candidates? <Q> Since you're also a recent graduate, it could be stretched to a professor, especially one that you had multiple courses with in your field of study. <S> Anyone who can answer questions about your academic or work history and work ethic after working with you in an academic or professional environment would make a good professional reference. <S> I don't think there's that much to speak of in terms of "quality" of a reference. <S> People who have worked with you more recently are better than people you have worked with longer ago, but both would likely still be OK. <S> Companies may or may not call your references. <S> They may be OK with you giving them the names of people who could vouch for you if they were called. <S> I do think you made one mistake, especially if the company calls references. <S> Typically, you ask permission of the people you want to be references before you submit their names and contact information. <S> At this time, you will tell them about <S> the position(s) and company(s) that you are applying to and ask if they would be willing to be a reference. <S> Only after they accept would you provide their names and contact information. <A> Should I stress over the quality of my references? <S> I can't see how "stressing" over the quality of your references helps you now. <S> Try not to worry about it until something actually happens. <S> The fact that you were even asked for references is a good sign that you are close to getting an offer. <S> Is it common that employers call the provided references and ask them about potential candidates? <S> In every company where I have worked, we have called at least 2-3 references before hiring a candidate. <S> At least in my part of the world, that is very common. <S> That's what references are for. <S> Unless the reference directly contradicts something the candidate said (and that doesn't happen very often), these calls aren't a big factor in the hiring decision. <S> They are often just due diligence, pretty much after the hiring decision has already been made. <S> As a new graduate, nobody would expect you to have references that would equal someone with many years of experience. <S> Don't worry about it so much. <A> It really depends on the person/people conducting the interview. <S> Some places will call references and take them greatly into account, other places just wanna see if you have references or not. <S> And if your reference is someone well known in the field, that goes pretty far. <S> But ultimately, you want someone who will speak highly of you.
| As far as quality goes, what's most important is that they're positive references, beyond that, if someone who is interviewing you knows your reference, that goes pretty far. A professional reference is simply someone that you worked with, typically a supervisor, a colleague, or a direct report.
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How can I encourage a reluctant colleague to conform to new processes? I'm going to make this question as general as possible, as I've encountered similar problems elsewhere, those curious about the specific conditions can read below the break. In ~2 months time, I'll be leaving my current position. My manager is aware and asked me to "clean house" and optimize where I saw opportunities. I leapt at the chance to have some free time to implement a new procedure I have been attempting to improve for almost a year. The new procedure is radically different, though I'd argue easier. It is also ~6 times faster than the previous process and requires less 'work' (there are fewer and less complicated steps). I ordered the supplies necessary for the change to take place, and wrote what I'd call excellent documentation for my coworker to look at and then attempt. The supplies arrived today, and my colleague emailed me to let me know and then ask if I could walk him through the very specific, baby-sized steps. I responded that I'm busy and working on other, more immediate projects. I told him that he should attempt the new process but that I could make myself available at the end of the week to walk him through, if he desired. I copied my manager on this exchange so he would be aware. I understand my colleague's reticence, as there is some potential for him to undo some significant back-end work I'd done. I told him he should not worry about this, it would be extremely simple to recover from and he should give it a shot as soon as he has the time to do so. Now I've had radio silence, and my hunch is that he expects me to show up at the end of the week and do this with him. My current inclination is to not do so unless he asks me outright, and let my manager decide who needs to give on this one. Is this the best course of action? I'd like to see my new process in swing before I leave. Specifics I'm a sysadmin at a small firm. We're something of a managed service provider for several clients, we build Linux laptops for them by purchasing what you could charitably call consumer-grade laptops and installing a standard Linux image (with some customized applications and windows-ish DE). Since I've joined, we've followed my predecessor's process which consists of installing a vanilla Ubuntu install from a network image via PXE boot, then we run some nasty config scripts, troubleshoot drivers, and pray (repeat ad nauseam ). Not only does this take hours (1.5/laptop, more if we need to more than one at once as we begin to choke out the network), but we wind up with every laptop built slightly differently as things are run in different orders, or one built gets interrupted and we forget where we were. My solution was to purchase a cheap hard drive cloner ( this one ), and two SSDs to build master images on. The new procedure is to clone a master drive, drop it in a laptop to be built out, and change the hostname and mailname, rather than the tedious config scripts and little hacks we used to run. My colleague is reluctant to clone the master image I built, after I assured him I had a backup and gave him the same link, which contains the instructions in very plain english in the product description. UPDATE Two days after I asked this question, my coworker emailed me to let me know that the new process went very smoothly, and the new laptops are out for testing with the users, so far no complaints. <Q> Sorry if this is a little confrontational. <S> I'm just going to be honest. <S> my hunch is that he expects me to show up at the end of the week and do this with him. <S> I would have the same inclination. <S> This scheme is your baby. <S> You thought about this for a year, researched it, learned enough about it to create documentation, and just dumped it in his lap. <S> My current inclination is to not do so unless he asks me outright, and let my manager decide who needs to give on this one. <S> I don't understand this power-struggle. <S> You are proposing a large change to the workflow of your organization, but for some reason you are adopting this strange passive-aggressive stance where you refuse to help your colleague, and want your manager to brow-beat him into doing it your way, without any assistance from you, before you have even tried it . <S> Sorry, I don't get this. <S> Is this the best course of action? <S> No. <S> I'd like to see my new process in swing before I leave. <S> Your ship is sailing. <S> Your colleague doesn't share your vision, but is willing to to try it (with your guidance). <S> So, if you want this to happen, then drive the extra hour and try it out. <S> Buy some snacks and sodas or something that you guys can share as you bring all the pieces together and help him through the process. <S> Then watch the magic happen, and his eyes sparkle as he begins to catch the vision of the future. <S> Then leave on a good note. <S> (I wouldn't be surprised if the process is a little harder than you assumed, and there is some unanticipated "gotcha" midstream, and he is going to need your help anyway) <A> I suspect your colleague is hoping that if he can ignore you for two months, you'll go away, and he can carry on doing things the way he always has. <S> It's got to be easier than fathoming out some wonderful new process that he doesn't know, and which you refused to explain to him. <S> If it's so quick, can you really not find the time to show him how it works? <A> I suspect that your colleague is reluctant to try out the new process the first time alone. <S> For all of your assurances that it is safe, he may be concerned that if the process fails, he may be stuck with the job of cleaning up. <S> While you are saying "conform to the process", he may be hearing "be a guinea pig for the process". <S> Is there any reason this can't wait until Friday when you are available? <S> Remember, the documentation may be excellent to you because you designed the process and understand fully what the steps entail, to your colleague it is an unknown and that may be leading to the hesitance. <A> Everybody thinks their instructions are perfect, but until you test them on someone who isn't as familiar as you are and preferably is at the lowest end of the ability scale for your typical users, you'll never know for sure. <S> Go through it with someone. <S> I go out of my way, to watch a user go through a set of instructions I've created and try to prompt them to "think out loud" <S> so I can get as much feedback as possible. <S> Otherwise, you could miss something and the failure of this project is going to fall on you. <S> I realize you have ways to redo any failures, but your colleague values his time as well. <S> If you're not willing to take the time, why should he?
| I don't think it is unreasonable for your colleague to want the author of the new process to be around the first time it is tried.
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should i tell a company what i expect in salary? I'm applying for my boss's job this week, since she's leaving the company. The application process has a field for salary expectation to see if, "... our expectations are in line." Should I put anything in this field? I'd rather try and get them to give me a number first, and go from there. Is that bad form? <Q> The application process has a field for salary expectation to see if "our expectations are in line". <S> Should I put anything in this field? <S> Unless this is a required field, you should skip it. <S> The intent is to see if the expectations are in line. <S> But that really only applies to unknown applicants. <S> This company already knows you and already knows what you are currently making, so you don't need to provide your salary expectation, since the implied amount would be "more than I am making now, and closer to my former bosses salary". <S> They already know both numbers. <A> I've never seen that on a job form and probably would decide it's a survey. <S> If they specifically ask it's probably best to put in a number. <S> In your case it's a known position up for grabs, and you probably don't know your bosses pay. <S> So if you don't want to give them a range, then just fill it in with 'Negotiable' <A> If the company/manager/hiring person is not going to mention a salary, the candidate will eventually almost always be forced to mention one, or risk not getting an offer. <S> So, my advice on this matter is to not fight it, and always be ready with a good number. <S> You can make the range a bit broader if you like, but try making it too broad like 50-100K a year, and you will be spotted right away as trying to be too smart. <S> Just because you mention a range like 60-70 <S> K doesn't mean that you will be given the shorter end of it, and plenty of times, employers will even exceed your upper range because that is where their typical salaries are. <S> Then, there are other kinds of employers who never ask what your expectation is, what range you want, etc, etc, and simply give a hard offer with a number in it, take it or leave it. <S> [Making this as a community wiki <S> so people can chime in as well.] <A> Leaving a blank does not leave a good impression. <S> (It makes the employer thinks that you can't make up a decision) <S> However, it is expected of you to at least research the norm salary the job offers currently and deduct a few hundreds from it before filling in. <S> Of course, depending on the company, such as MNCs, you can increase the number but please match it with the confidence you displayed in interviews.
| Whether it is a required field on the form or not, I have never seen a candidate who had no idea of what salary to expect. Required or not, you should at least put a number there.
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I broke an appliance at a company-supplied house -- should I turn myself in? The company I currently work at offers accommodation to interns, a position I currently have. This accommodation is shared among other interns. It so happens that I broke an appliance at the house. Obviously I did not do this on purpose but it turned out to be a consequence of a probably dumb action. The management sent the appliance for repair or possible replacement, so they obviously know it's broken. However, they did not ask who broke it. As I understand it, they are trying to play a fair role and not to trying to find out who is the culprit and I guess the reason is that it would be beneficial to no one. (How) Should I convey to them that I was the responsible for this? <Q> Yes, you should. <S> It's simple enough: "hi XXX, I'm really sorry <S> but I think I broke the appliance in the intern place by accident. <S> I'm taking full responsibility and please let me know what to do next" <S> If you are lucky they'll say "stuff happens, cost of doing business". <S> Worst case you have to pay for it. <S> In any case you will build trust and credibility as an honest and trustworthy person. <A> To provide an alternate opinion, no, you shouldn't "turn yourself in" at this point. <S> It might have made sense before <S> they had it repaired, but after the fact, it doesn't. <S> If they're not trying to find out who broke it, they don't care. <S> If they want to know, they'll ask, and you should tell the truth, but I see no reason or sense in volunteering the information that you did something stupid and broke a piece of company property. <S> It happens <S> , it's not a big deal, and companies carry insurance and have contracts/retainers for this very reason. <S> Cost of doing business/part of life. <S> You should probably be asking yourself why you're so concerned about this, when it seems that no one else is. <A> Yes, and you should be honest as to what happened and do it as soon as possible. <S> If you come clean right away and explain that it was a honest mistake, you will easily be forgiven. <S> If they find out later that you did it but didn't admit to it, you'll most likely be fired. <S> The reason I'm so alarmist about this is that even though your company might not fire you for something like this, in many countrys (most of the US included) they would be well within their rights to do so. <S> Generally speaking (and that counts for non-legal reasons too) it is within your duty of care that when you break or damage someone else's property that you notify them of it. <A> I do not feel you are obligated to tell your employer, and not just because they don't seem to care: all people deserve privacy in their living space, regardless of whether the space is rented, owned, or provided. <S> This is respected by a variety of laws governing landlord/tenant relationships. <S> In the extreme case that a tenant is routinely breaking appliances, it is up to the landlord to create a new agreement that shifts responsibility to the tenant. <S> If you are already in such an arrangement then you should tell your employer what happened. <A> As I am understanding it they are trying to play a fair role and not to try to find out who is the culprit <S> and I guess the reason is that wouldn't be beneficial for no one. <S> How did you figure this? <S> Also what do you mean you broke it at the house? <S> You mean you live at a place they offer or do you mean you broke it at the office? <S> In any event, if they offer appliances I would hope they'd expect to repair said items periodically. <S> Most companies have "repair contracts" for items in the shop and expect to repair them through the course of usage. <S> It would be very noble of you to admit to your error <S> but I wouldn't really stress it. <S> However, don't be surprised to not hear anything about it because again they set aside funds to maintain items, at least any good company. <S> Edit: I should also add once I broke a electronic device by accident. <S> I cracked the screen and wrote a email to admit it and prepared for whatever would happen. <S> I never heard anything about it again. <S> Said device was just fixed. <S> Turns out they have a deal with a company that just hands out these devices so long as they pay the contract. <A> To start off with; chances are that the apartment is insured (along with the appliances) or it is under a maintenance contract so that the appliances are covered as well. <S> In short, the business will most likely not be coming after you to pay for the replacement out of pocket. <S> This is how we do it at my workplace, where we provide housing for staff visiting from remote locations in a company furnished apartment. <S> Now - should you own up to it? <S> Yes you absolutely should. <S> This shows integrity on your part. <S> A simple email to your mentor / manager detailing the incident should suffice. <S> If there is anything else that is required (for example, a form that needs to be filled in) your direct supervisor/manager will let you know. <S> Other than a chance of demonstrating your integrity and honesty <S> , I do not see how this could backfire on to you - of course <S> , I assume you are acting quickly and not 6 months down the line in a sudden attack of guilt :-) <A> If they are not looking for the person who broke this appliance we could assume they are smart and fair as you say. <S> Asking this question to yourself shows your honesty and integrity, they cannot blame you for an accident. <S> I deeply think that you should tell them and explain the situation. <S> For the next time (hopping that it will not happen again to you) I would advice to turn yourself in before they notice the damage by themselves, especially now <S> you know they are fair and do not look for blaming someone. <S> Do not worry ;)
| Making mistakes is a part of professional life and the right way to deal with it is to own up to it, learn from it and deal with the consequences. You should generally never feel compelled to share anything that you do privately in your living space, with anyone. I would just write a email to whoever maintains the equipment and simply state that you broke it.
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If I refuse an offer does that place me at a disadvantage if I apply to that company again? I am slightly concerned about applying to multiple companies at one time, not only because of the time consuming process, having to take leave for interviews etc., but also for the impact it may have down the line. Specifically, if I was offered a position at two different companies, I accept one of the offers and a year or two down the line I decide I want to apply to the other company again, will I be at a disadvantage? Would they consider me a time waster considering I didn't accept their offer previously? <Q> Specifically, if I was offered a position at two different companies, I accept one of the offers and a year or two down the line I decide I want to apply to the other company again, will I be at a disadvantage? <S> It might not matter for a big company where you might be applying for positions in different groups, and where your file isn't shared. <S> Would they consider me a time waster considering <S> I didn't accept their offer previously? <S> It's not so much about being considered a time waster. <S> When I've been a hiring manager, and I see the resume from someone who rejected an offer before, I think "We couldn't come to an agreement before - why would this time be any different?" <S> And I typically put the resume at the bottom of the pile while I look for other qualified candidates. <S> Your cover letter might explain that you had applied before, and might explain why you are more amenable this time. <S> That might help. <S> But you might still be at a disadvantage. <A> I would much rather be trying to get a job at a company that already interviewed me and gave me an offer than starting from scratch. <S> In other words, try to cultivate as many opportunities as possible. <S> If you turn someone down and later want to work for them just call or email whoever you have a contact for and start a conversation. <S> I have some experience with this, but the story is a bit complex. <S> I was working for a startup which started to fail (call them Co1) <S> When failure became apparent I started sending out applications. <S> I interviewed and received an offer from a very interesting company (Co2) <S> I ended up turning it down because I was going to stick it out with Co1. <S> Co1 failed and I got a contracting job with someone else (Co3) <S> so I could stay where I was (Co2 wasn't in my ideal location) <S> My lease expired and I don't want to contract with Co3 anymore <S> (gotta buy a house) <S> I called back up Co2 and <S> they gave me another offer, which I signed. <S> While I was turning in my 2 week notice to Co3, they gave me a much better offer and opportunity to stay where I was. <S> I retracted my acceptance of the offer from Co2 and stay with Co3 <S> I wrote an honest apology note to Co2 (I felt pretty crappy), but if I decide I want to relocate, I will definitely give them another call and convince them that I will really move this time. <S> You've just gotta be able to answer the big question, <S> whats different this time. <S> Finding a job is pretty complicated and uncomfortable at times, but when you're looking you've just gotta bear with being rejected and sometimes giving a rejection. <S> If you go after opportunities one at a time it will take forever. <S> I think almost all business men that develop prospects for a living would advise you to apply for as many jobs as you think are a good fit. <A> A couple examples from my experiences follow. <S> During my last couple years of college I had a night job as a computer operator at the local branch of a banking chain. <S> After graduation, I took another job. <S> About a year later the bank had me in to their headquarters for an interview to be the lead operator at headquarters, and I was offered the job. <S> Unfortunately, the hourly rate was a big step down from what I was making (although I'd have gotten about the same pay, due to expected overtime, but working nearly 2/3 more for the same income wasn't my idea of smart). <S> Also, I would have needed to re-locate, but no re-location expenses were going to be paid. <S> So, I turned down the job. <S> A few weeks later I heard that a programming job had opened up, which would have been much more inline with my career goals, paid better, and worth re-locating. <S> However, when I applied they just turned me down without consideration, telling me that since I was not interested in the operator's job, they didn't think I'd fit for the programming job. <S> A later example isn't quite an exact match to your situation, but may help illustrate how some companies think. <S> I had a job I left and after a while at another company, I decided to try to get back in with the earlier organization. <S> The person who would have been my direct supervisor was willing to have me back, but the management above her had no interest, saying that they thought that since I'd been unhappy enough to leave previously, then I probably wouldn't like it a second time around. <S> Of course, other companies may not operate this way, especially larger ones, as Joe Strazzere's answer mentions.
| In my experience, you would indeed be at a disadvantage with a company you rejected, particularly if you apply for the same job or a job in the same group later. There's no way to know for sure, but it certainly could affect whether they consider you or not.
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How to explain to future employers that I left my previous company because of ethical reasons without tarnishing my previous employer? As a follow up question of this I need to figure out a clever way to describe my situation during future job interviews. The summary of the situation: I was working for a start-up as a software developer and one day I got a task that I found unethical. I rejected the task and asked for a new one. That triggered a conversation with my boss and during this conversation I learned that the company relies on similar practices and if I want to keep the job, I need to accept them. I decided to say no so my employment will soon be history. My question is how to present this situation to my prospective employers without revealing too much about my former employer? (On personal level we agreed to part as friends, I believe it is not my task to morally judge them, I just don't want to be part of it.) One more important thing: the whole thing happened during my probationary period and I spent 4.5 months working for this start-up. (Probationary periods are ridiculously long in this country.) Update: please see my own answer below. <Q> This puts no blame on the employer and is completely accurate. <S> Edit: On the off chance that they press, I would advise against saying you disagreed with some of their decisions as this may paint you as a "my way or the highway" kind of person. <S> If they press I would advise to say "The corporate culture was quite different from my expectations." <S> Again this is accurate and fairly neutral. <S> If they press again I would give them the unabashed truth since this would show they are unwilling to take a neutral, generic answer <S> but it's unlikely that it would get this far. <A> I'm a Recruiter and HR Director and always appreciate when candidates diplomatically phrase their answers in terms of what they are looking for in a culture, so you could try something like " <S> While I appreciated the opportunity learn X skills, I quickly realized that I'm looking for an employer whose business decisions I could fully support and whose values are aligned with my own. <S> I believe the opportunity as [new employer] will be a much better fit in this regard because of [elaborate on why you're interested in the new opportunity]. <S> " Keeps things really positive and places no real blame on the previous employer. <S> However, I agree that, if pressed, you should be honest about the ethical differences. <A> Been there. <S> You could tell, if asked, that you were searching for a better opportunity. <S> Still this won't justify that you're leaving and many people will see this as a red flag but there is not much you can do about it. <S> However, if you use your unemployment time (worst case scenario) for messing with projects of your own or for getting proficient in a particular skill, you can tell about it and lean the scale for your benefit. <S> Sometimes we deal with assholes asking us to do things which are really nasty, yet you should not speak bad about your previous employer, boss, or tell more than you're asked to. <S> If the interviewer is smart enough he will realize that you have integrity and that is appreciated by most companies. <S> -Edited: I was talking in past tense <S> and you're still employed, Best of lucks there!-
| The phrase you are looking for is "It wasn't a good fit."
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Company offering an interview slot either tomorrow or the next working day - no exception. Is this a red flag? I've just passed a phone interview with a company in London. For the next round, they offer me 2 choices - either tomorrow at a set time, or on Tuesday at a set time as Monday is a bank holiday in the UK. I replied saying that I do still have commitments to my current job and can't do such short notice. Their reply was simply no, and "please let us know how you’d like to proceed with your application". In my interviewing experience, I've never had a company be so curt or unaccommodating to a prospective hire before. Should I take this as a red flag as to how the company treats their employees, or am I just over thinking a normal industry practice which I was just fortunate to have not encountered yet? <Q> They probably have a number of interviews lined up, and don't feel they are missing out if you decide not to show up. <S> Is this a red flag? <S> Not really, although your chances might not be too great. <A> I'd say this is normal for a wide spectrum of employers that want to fill a position quickly and they have a relatively large number of applicants to go through. <S> This is not necessarily a "red flag", as this terse and incisive manner could possibly be contained to their initial recruiting environment. <S> A few years ago I was given 3 hours notice to travel 50 miles through peak traffic to take two tests at an examination center, but the interview itself was a chill all-day affair. <A> You haven't specified your field, but if you're a skilled employee (e.g. software engineer), this should definitely be a red flag. <S> While this might be acceptable for positions in which employees are relatively fungible (e.g. cashiers), if you're not, you should run, quickly! <S> "Red flags" are all about optimizing your time and your chances, they're usually not absolutes . <S> Although it's possible <S> that a company that is harsh towards candidates isn't terrible to work for, it makes it less likely to be the case. <S> If you have a large number of recruiters or potential companies to work with, feel free to cross this one off of the list.
| Also consider that a very busy manager might be taking part in the interview, and his/her schedule might be very inflexible. Companies don't have to accommodate your preferences - they simply try out of politeness, or because they think you're an especially valuable applicant.
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Can I refuse a promotion without penalty? This is my first question ever on here so bear with me if it's not 100% correct... I'm in a position at work where I may be offered a promotion in the next few weeks. If I take it my workload will almost certainly double, I'll be on call 24/7 (now it's one week a month). There'll be hardly any pay increase plus any kind of failures or system issues will be put at my feet, whether it's mine (or the team) fault or not. We're understaffed and totally demotivated. The team are computer engineers. My first thought was to ask for a pay rise so ridiculous they'd just discard the offer. On the off-chance they'd accept it I'd be $$$ loaded, save up for a few months while I look for something else. But I'd rather not have it. If it were offered to me and I politely declined, can my boss call me up on any kind of policy or protocol breach? There's no obligation to accept a promotion, correct? For reference, this is in the US. The main company is in California, I work in a division based out of Nebraska. Edit - due to people thinking I'm asking about how to decline a promotion, I'm not. I'm interested in "does my company have recourse to take HR action against me". I'm not worried about boss vindication or how I'd go about saying no. It's can they take me to HR for saying no (politely, of course). 2nd edit - "Can they take me to HR for refusing a promotion" is the question. It is not a duplicate. <Q> They can't force you to accept the promotion, but they may certainly force you to do the work, and fire you if you refuse. <S> The company has certain needs, and has decided that you are the person to fulfill them. <S> They offered you a "promotion". <S> If you accept, you're fulfilling their needs, and they like you for it (or at least they have who to blame if you don't). <S> By refusing, however, what you're telling them is that you are not able, or willing to do what they need done. <S> At that point you're painting a target on your back. <S> They may not want to keep paying you to do what you're doing, because they feel that it's not what they need. <S> Keep in mind that your boss can always assign you new responsibilities anyway <S> , so there's no way to know if they might not pile all the work on your regardless of whether you accept the promotion or not. <S> However this is an opportunity for you to negotiate a better paycheck. <S> You might then leverage the new title and salary to get a better offer from another company. <S> Realistically, however, if you're going to refuse the promotion <S> it's probably time to start looking for a new job. <A> I'm interested in "does my company have recourse to take HR action against me". <S> Technically speaking, yes, most likely. <S> Unless you have some form of employment contract in place that specifies your duties and the terms under which they can be modified, your employer can technically move you anyplace they want. <S> In most states, your employment is "at will." <S> The only thing really impacted is whether or not you'd be able to collect unemployment benefits when you left (unemployment offices tend to look unfavorably on folks that voluntarily terminate their employment unless there are extenuating circumstances). <S> They can certainly tell you to take on other duties and let you go if you refuse. <S> They can let you go just because they don't like you. <S> As long as they aren't discriminating against a protected class (eg. <S> terminating you or treating you differently due to race, gender, sexual preference, etc.) <S> or asking you to do something illegal, they can demand whatever they want. <S> There is generally nothing that prevents your employer from saying, " <S> Tomorrow when you get here, get a broom. <S> You've been transferred to the maintenance staff," or, conversely, "Please wear a suit. <S> You are now in charge of the department. <S> Your new title is X, and your pay is Y. Make sure you are here on time. <S> " <S> If business needs dictate that you be moved, you are up a creek. <S> Most job descriptions also include an "Other duties as assigned..." clause in them. <S> Just because you turn the promotion down doesn't mean they can't assign you the work. <S> That all being said, most employers will respect an individual that turns down a promotion because the employee feels it is not the right fit. <S> Employees that are unhappy in their positions are neither productive nor loyal. <S> If your employer forces you into a role you aren't comfortable with and don't want, then they really aren't concerned with retaining you - especially if they aren't willing to make it worth your while financially. <A> If you refuse the position then likely they will never offer you another one later. <S> People in your organization are going to slot you into a box of someone who is not interested in management. <S> They may even see you as less than serious about your current role. <S> This isn't really a huge downside if you have already decided to move on, but could be if you wanted to stay. <S> Most bosses would be fine with it, but there are some vindictive types out there who would take it personally. <S> This could be a bigger problem in the short term while you look for another role and definitely a possible problem if you stay. <S> Taking the promotion on the other hand, may give you more flexibility to fix currently existing problems and it may give you more money and a better title that could reflect in your ability to get a better job elsewhere. <S> I have found in life though that only you can determine if those factors outweigh the extra responsibility. <S> If you turn it down, the other thing that could happen is it will be offered to someone one else. <S> You might not like who gets the job and you will have no basis for complaint since you said no. <S> Or they may be unable to find anyone to take the job under the current conditions, so the job duties will be split among the current staff with no pay raise. <S> Just some things to think about. <S> If you truly don't want the job, I would suggest telling your boss to take you out of consideration for the promotion before they make an official offer. <S> At least that way you save them the effort of trying to convince you to take their offer.
| Your Boss may be annoyed with you for turning down the promotion and that could reflect in your future pay raises, task assignments and performance evaluations. You can be terminated for any reason, or no reason at all.
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Negotiating office location with business partner My co-founder 'Bob', and myself have been working out of separate locations for about 2 years. Bob and I built the business together and we both own an equal share. We are looking to get an office together in order to more efficiently handle an increased workload. Bob strongly insists on me using his office full-time. However, a one way trip takes ~1 hour of my day and less than 10 minutes of his. In addition, the office itself is shared with other people, whom have nothing to do with the business. Bob has good relationships with them. I feel like this makes him reluctant to leave, although he won't admit to it. I've argued these points and I've suggested that with increased supply for office space, we could easily find an affordable location which works for the both of us. Unfortunately, Bob is very persistent and I am not willing to give in to this. I would like to avoid a power-struggle situation as this could really put a strain on our relationship. Thank you for your input :) <Q> Very respectfully insist that wasting 2 hours of your day commuting is off the table. <S> Offer to find an office mid-way between you, such that you guys have a similar commute. <S> Be polite, and reasonable, but don't back down, and don't give in. <S> Don't be afraid to say that you feel like he is not valuing your time if he gets really pushy and unreasonable. <S> If he doesn't compromise you may wish to reassess your business relationship. <A> Focus on negotiating based on the business points that make you both successful. <S> What do you both need, together, that one office or the other does not have? <S> Good connectivity? <S> A private space? <S> Is there a new idea that makes something more important than many other considerations? <S> "Hey bob, I saw this place at X <S> that can help us [do the thing with more awesome and less suck, however that is defined for you] because [reason]. <S> Would you at least look at it with me?" <S> If you can get Bob that far, have a game plan going into showing the space. <S> Focus less on what YOU like about it, why does BOB care? <S> What is in it for Bob? <S> You already know your stuff, but your objective is to make this new and exciting for bob. <S> Draw bob in: " <S> hey bob, I was hoping for your advice, what is the best way to [put in your desk|get common ideas|add a whiteboard|bring in customers]. <S> " Don't be afraid to "go to the balcony" if the discussion is getting uncomfortable or personal. <S> Take the time to cool <S> so bob can think about whats important and you can too. <S> This can mean you find reasons to go for coffee or otherwise take a "natural" break that can help you control the pace without being completely transparent in what you are trying to do and why. <S> Consider showing Bob a couple places you do <S> nt like <S> and then one he really will, the more that you can get bob to take ownership of selling YOU on something because he thinks you are tied to place 1 or place 2 <S> , the better chance you have getting him off his original position of "I dont care about any of these, Im not going". <S> The key here is to draw out what the objective things are that Bob needs and that you need, find opportunities for a shared win, and the more of it that bob can participate in taking ownership in the win, the better for you both. <A> Only go a few days a week. <S> Use some of the time you're together to work on things like Skype or chat to be able to work when remote. <S> There could be a cafe that is closer to your that could be used a day or two. <S> That may be enough leverage to make him consider a compromise.
| He doesn't want to give up his office, but it is not reasonable for you to be burdened with unnecessary commute. If the company is paying for his space, you may want to look for less expensive spaces closer to you. You need to make some type of compromise.
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How do I describe a role where I study different software solutions in my CV? As an intern, my current role is to study different stream processing frameworks, in order to integrate them later (by me) into a platform created by the company. By studying a framework, I mean reading its documentation, understanding its architecture & concepts, installing it to a cluster, and learning to use its API to develop and deploy an example application. How do I describe such a task in my CV? Working on stream processing frameworks? Doing a state-of-the-art of stream processing frameworks and integrating them? I feel like these descriptions are not specific enough and do not emphasis the fact that I took time to understand and become familiar with using each framework. <Q> What you are doing is typically called developing a " Proof of Concept ". <S> [X, Y, Z / <S> # frameworks] into [platform] analysed frameworks to determine best-in-class solution / fitness for purpose <S> Note that the latter probably doesn't apply to you if you're using them all <S> but it's typically why a project like this is done. <A> "Research and integration of stream processing frameworks". <S> On the assumption, of course, that this phrase would make sense to a prospective employer. <S> If the CV is going to a recruiter, you may need to dumb it down a bit; perhaps add " such as xxx, yyy and zzzz." so that it has the buzzwords that an automatic CV system would search for. <A> I guess state-of-the-art can be used if you are working in a structure/department oriented towards R&D, even more if the roles you are targeting with your CV involve research to some extent, as this term is commonly used and totally makes sense in that context. <S> If you are not actually producing something (that could be production code, or documentation on the frameworks), you will have a hard time emphasizing what you've done for your company, so maybe it's better to stress the "R&D experimenting" aspect in your description.
| While your CV should obviously keep the job title you currently have ( add something like Software Developer in brackets if you don't have a title as an intern), you can describe it with one or all of the following: proof of concept implementations of [frameworks X, Y, Z / # stream processing frameworks] deployed and developed for cluster frameworks integrated
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Is it really inappropriate to ask someone out in the workplace? A bit silly but I may have a small crush for an HR advisor in my company. The company is large and the culture is quite formal. Ideally I'd like to meet her outside work and talk to her normally but there are no occasions to do so. Is it really inappropriate in a workplace if I ask someone out? <Q> It's inadvisable to do more than the piece of cake. <S> Especially if she is in HR, but even if she wasn't. <S> But really that is the safest way. <S> Office romances are not a great idea and rarely end well unless one of the pair leaves the company. <A> Im going to take a different tone to the existing answers. <S> Go for it. <S> Seriously, you stated that your company policy doesn't explicitly forbid it, so there is no real company-side risk for this. <S> Be sensible about it too, don't get stalker-ish, but expressing interest is worth it. <S> Jobs change and percieved unprofessional behavior is forgotten, your life however is important. <S> Other answers state <S> that office romances seldomly end well, and that may very well be the case. <S> But ask yourself this: Are you willing to take the risk that it might not go so well? <S> If yes, you should definately go for it. <S> Especially since your company policy explicitly does not forbid this. <A> Ask HR... <S> seriously <S> This is a pretty unique thing, and the best risk free way to do this is to approach her as a colleague in a formal context and ask what the policy is without letting on who specifically you are interested in . <S> As an employee you are entitled to know what the company stance is on office relationships is, and she will be the best person to ask about it. <S> On the plus side, if she has similar intentions she may understand on to what you are really asking, giving you an opening to ask her out - just follow what ever company guidelines she gives you.
| Best if you met her outside work, but of course that would imply finding out where she goes outside work, which might be thought to be stalking. But either way, follow her directions on whats appropriate and if she says no then leave it at that.
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Meet for coffee about a potential job when I am not interested in a new job I received an email from the founder of a tech startup about meeting for coffee and discussing some openings at his company. He is experienced, the company sounds interesting, but I am 99% certain that I won't leave my job situation at this time. I would like to meet him, however, because I'd like to exercise my networking and interviewing skills. I am currently working as a freelance software contractor, and I run a small software company with a business partner. I am planning to spend at least another ~6 months building my small business before considering a job change. I would be open, however, to working on a part-time or contract basis, without committing to a full-time permanent position. Should I mention to this startup founder that I am not interested in a job, or only interested in contract work? How far should I go with the interview? Should I give him a resume at the meeting? I am curious to apply just to see the offer I would get (if any), and to improve my interviewing/networking skills. But I don't want to waste his time or burn bridges. <Q> You can reply to his email and tell him what you said here. <S> Something like Thanks for reaching out. <S> The company and position you describe sound interesting. <S> However, I cannot commit to a full-time position. <S> I'm open to working part-time or on a contract basis. <S> If this is something you are interested in exploring let me know. <S> This way you don't waste his time (or yours) and no bridges are burned. <A> If you say No upfront , he will either cancel it or cut it short. <S> You want to be diplomatic and tactful. <S> Let him know your skills. <S> If he is impressed , he will press you as to what you are looking for . <S> Be vague e.g Looking for challenges/good salary etc. <S> Always say " I will think it over and get back to you" if pressed against the wall. <S> Never commit. <S> You can ask him as to what his co offers for a guy of your experience ( general ballpark) and say it can help you in making decisions. <A> As a freelancer it is really important that you develop you network, moreover if you might consider changing job in a few months.
| As you interested and might consider working with him now or in few months, I would advice you to meet with him and discuss your situation during the coffee meeting, being perfectly honest with your current situation and your expectations.
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Can people complain about my grammar when I was not employed to use perfect English? My company head hunted me for my abilities of a warehouse manager and people management skills. My English however has never been my strongest ability and they are now complaining about my grammar in emails. As they never employed me on that skill, do they have any right to give me a verbal warning and also the threat of 'if it happens again, it shall be more serious' because of this? <Q> Are you in an English speaking country? <S> If not, were you informed in the interview that you'd need to communicate mostly in English? <S> Either way, did you communicate that English isn't your strong point and something you'd need help with? <S> If you conducted the whole interview process in English, have English literacy on your resume, and/or were told that English is a skill that is required for the job, then yes, it is reasonable for them to say that your written English isn't at a level they need to conduct business. <S> If you show you're willing to work on it, and actually show improvement in that area, it shouldn't be as big of an issue. <S> If you are coming off as 'I wasn't hired on this skill' and being confrontation, then I can understand why you were told it could escalate to more than a verbal warning in the future. <S> It's not the skill that's the issue, it's your attitude of "I wasn't hired for that" that is the issue. <A> As usual, this kind of thing depend on your location, as laws depend on country or even state in some cases. <S> Morally they should not fire you for poor use of English, but morally you should do your best to write and speak in the best English you can use. <S> I have had prints of mails from my factory-floor manager where I could not make sense of several of the lines. <S> That is very frustrating. <S> What he should have done was make a rough version, give it to one of the people and ask whether changes were needed before it was spread to everybody. <S> You could do something like that. <S> Do your best to use understandable English at all times but not worry about fine details in day to day conversations. <S> But when you send something, or when it is an official document in any way, have someone check your language. <S> (Start with using the spell checker/grammar checker on your text program, that will point out the worst mistakes.) <A> There are two unknowns about your question that make this difficult to answer well: <S> Your native language. <S> Which forms of e-mails they are complaining about. <S> (To customers? <S> Vendors? <S> Internal emails? <S> Others?) <S> With that being said: It is reasonable for an employer to request professionalism in written communications. <S> It is reasonable for an employer to request their employees practice good spelling and grammar. <S> As a side-note, if management is your "skill", then good communication is one of your primary tools. <S> It seems it would be useful to improve your communication skills as well to become an even better manager. <S> If English grammar is a known weakness, then you would be well served to become a student of English grammar and spelling, and to request help from your employer. <S> It is in both of your best-interest to be a good communicator, and they should be happy to offer help and resources to aid you in becoming a better communicator. <S> There are several options available to you, which include: <S> You could have a coworker review your written communications. <S> Many e-mail clients have built-in grammar checking tools. <S> Be warned that relying on these is not usually the best idea, but they can help. <S> There are free online grammar checking tools that you could use. <S> (With the same warning as above!) <S> Your employer may have other resources available that could help. <A> I can understand the employers viewpoint, and it is a serious issue. <S> If when interviewing they asked for fluent English speakers, the implication is that you can write in English competently. <S> If you're a native English speaker it just makes it worse. <S> For any sort of management position this is par for the course. <S> Communication is one of the MAJOR skills expected from a position like that. <S> In answer to the question, they have every right to reprimand you for this, and in many countries they can sack you for anything they want.
| If it is an issue, I'd approach your manager/boss and say you know it's not your strongest point and say you'd be willing to take some business English classes if need be.
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What are the legal advantages of employee over contract status I've been on a rolling contract for a little over a year now out of school, and prior to that the work I did was in and out of internships. I've heard that employee status is much more preferable than contract status, and I'd like to better understand why. I understand that employee status often comes with better benefits, like health-care, vacation, and salary, but one thing I'm especially curious about is if being an employee confers more job security than being on contract, and why ? <Q> In most countries, as a permanent employee you would have protection against unfair dismissal. <S> Exactly what constitutes "unfair" will vary - but things like discrimination on race or religion would be examples. <S> If you're on a rolling contract, the employer can just decide not to renew the contract without ever giving a reason. <S> These may include a statutory consultation process, and a minimum amount of redundancy pay. <A> employee confers more job security than being on contract <S> In theory the benefits are about job security, but in reality there is little difference. <S> In practice if an employer wants to fire someone, they will, finding a reason is not the hard part. <S> The legal minded people will probably disagree, but this is what I have seen. <S> I have seen people on rolling contracts for 30 years, and permanent employees who have lasted weeks. <A> In my experience, when a company wants to make sure they can keep a contractor, they'll offer a permanent position. <S> There is a feeling there is less control or a better way of looking at it, better offers that can be made to employees that are contingent on staying with the company: promotions, bonuses, stock options, retirement plans, etc. <S> Too many companies don't treat contractors as a member of the team and create situations where contractors don't build relations with other employees. <S> This can happen when you have a contractor paid by the billable hour. <S> Some won't invite you to the office party or even give you a slice of cake. <S> They don't mind it as much with salaried employees. <S> If you want to keep doing what you're doing, it shouldn't matter. <S> However, if you want to move up into management, you may need to look for opportunities where you're a full-time employee.
| In some countries, once you have been in employment for long enough, you will have rights if the employer wishes to make you redundant.
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Asking for too many pay raises in one year? I currently work as a developer on a platform that demands certifications. Without these certifications, you're basically out of the running for any role that requires development on this platform. As it stands, I hold a certification on said platform. Earlier this year, during an annual pay review I was offered a salary increase and a promotion. Additionally, after two quarters (around July) they'd review it again with a view to increase my salary again. I suppose this isn't too dissimilar to a probation period for the promotion. Regardless, all that is great! However, I'm looking to take a higher-certification later on this year. So I was wondering whether or not to approach the business for another pay raise/review (given I'll already have had (hopefully) two already this year). I made the point to my manager that I intended on taking this. I'm making 2 assumptions here: I'll get the pay raise at the end of July I'll pass the exam I'm pretty confident on both points; however, at the moment they are assumptions. My question is, given that I'll have had 2 pay reviews in a single year, is it acceptable/worthwhile/wise asking for another, given I've made myself more valuable in taking the exam and earning the certification? Or would it be best to just wait until the following year? Edit I think I've got my answer. Generally people are saying to just wait. I think I'll likely just say in passing "Hey, I got this better certification!" Best case: they'll discuss pay; worst: I'll get a nice company-wide e-mail and a stronger position for the next annual pay raise. <Q> Wether or not this would go over well <S> is heavily dependant on the personality and tolerance of your superiors. <S> I wouldn't risk it. <S> You can, of course, bring up at the end of July that you are looking into getting this certificate and ask then if that would bring up another avenue for a raise, but independently asking for a third raise in the same year would probably be quite unsavory. <S> If you get a promise for another review/raise out of that, you should insist on getting it in writing. <S> The more value you add to it, the more you can justify getting another raise. <A> If you think this is going to work, give it a shot, however don't go greedy thinking <S> this is the formula to keep getting raises since your employer will only pay you as much as their budget allows and eventually this treat for your effort will no longer work and you will end up being frustrated or they will have some problems keeping you aboard. <S> I tell you this as employee and employer, sometimes you want to reward your staff's effort <S> but you just can't make enough money to keep everyone happy. <A> If your company is already giving you two opportunities for a raise in a single year, I'd say asking for a third will seem bold at best, and probably more along the lines of "greedy". <S> You have already been given a raise this year, and you might get another, I would wait until your next annual pay review. <S> Moreover, it seems like your qualifications are being recognized and given value, and the point of the annual pay reviews is already to put your salary/position back in line with your value to the company. <S> Wait until next year and your next automatic review, if your new qualification gives you value, it is likely to be rewarded. <S> And if it's not, well, you didn't ask for it anyway, so you're not going to look greedy. <A> You wrote, "during an annual pay review"; so of course another alternative is to wait until your next annual review and suggest a pay rise then, based on what you did (including get another certification) during the previous year. <A> If certifications are as important as you say in your area, then I think that is an exception to the rule. <S> There's nothing wrong with knowing the company's position on employee certification and pay. <S> A company that wants to give incentives for certifications, should be more upfront about the benefits and shouldn't discourage people from getting them sooner rather than later. <S> You may find you have a better relationship with your immediate supervisor and can ask about it in casual conversation. <S> Some companies have set time frames on evaluations and other promotions. <S> All companies and managers are different and only you can tell how they will react along with your tolerance for risk. <S> Keep an eye on the current job market. <S> You may find this next certification is worth more than you think.
| Generally speaking, if your employer isn't looking to screw you over, you can expect to get regular raises until you're in the ballpark of the value you add to the company.
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How should I approach a recruiter once you got an interview call via internal referral? The recruiter sent me a job profile, for which I sent him my resume, but after 2 days later he responded that the employer thinks my profile didn't match the job description. In the meantime, I discovered my ex-colleague is working there. She mentioned about the job openings, and when I told her that I am interested, she connected me to the HR, who admitted that she can't get in touch with me because the recruiter already has, however she will make sure the director at least interviews me. Now, after this, within an hour recruiter got back to me saying that he fought really hard to get me an interview call. I am not sure who to believe. Can I still go via my ex-colleague's recommendation or should I go thru the recruiter? <Q> The recruiter is obviously a lying bastard. <S> That being said, there are possibly legal reasons why you can't go around him at this point. <S> There exist written communications between the two of you in which he advertises the job for you. <S> There's a paper trail of him contacting the company with your resume. <S> If the company were to hire you without paying him his fee he will most likely be able to turn around and sue the company for breach of contract. <S> The company will absolutely not want to get involved with that. <S> Had your contact been purely by phone <S> the situation might be different. <S> As things stand the best bet is to just go through him. <S> Later in the process, if you feel that he is misrepresenting you, or otherwise screwing your chances over, you may want to have a heart to heart with the hiring manager and tell him that you feel that the agent is not working in your best interest, and is probably lying to you. <S> You might then ask them to simply pay him his fee and get him out of the way of the hiring process. <A> You have to go through the recruiter. <S> Since they're the one who provided your name/resume to the client, the company almost certainly can not hire you any other way for contractual reasons. <S> The chances of the employer going around the recruiter are so slim as to be not worthy of consideration but even if they did, they could be forced to let you go if the recruiter finds out and the company doesn't want to pony up a fee. <S> You'd also be burning a bridge with a recruiter which is never fatal, it's also not a good idea to burn any bridges at all if you can avoid it. <S> Now, there's possibly a third option. <S> You could go around the recruiter for the interview and if the company wants to hire you, they could just go through the recruiter anyway. <S> Either way, when all is said and done you should have a conversation with someone at the recruiter's company because in my experience, they don't like recruiters to be lazy when it can cost them money. <S> I'd wait until it was resolved one way or another though. <A> There lies a possibility that your recruiter has a completely different contact than whomever you were contacting at the company. <S> There's also the possibility that the recruiter has lagged in communication. <S> For example, your call may have happened after the recruiter received an email declining an interview request. <S> In these situations, it's best to not assume that anything malicious is going on. <S> You, the prospective employee, are the lifeblood of these agencies. <S> Without hiring you, they don't make any money. <S> Therefore I would approach this as a means of getting everyone on the same page: you, the recruiter, and the client. <S> Mention the referral to the recruiter, and tell them that the client company expressed interest. <S> Conversely, the client company should be contacting the recruiter to inform them that they would like to interview you based on said referral. <S> If things play out in your favor, all they would need to beyond that point is serve as a point of contact through the interview process. <S> Less work for them is usually taken as a good thing based on past experience. <S> What if things don't go your way? <S> At least here in the USA, there is a beautiful competition between recruiting agencies. <S> As a good example, I receive ~5+ emails from different agencies (and usually from multiple people within the same recruiting agency) every time a local company is hiring in my field. <S> Aside from a few companies, most positions that open up will have multiple agencies attempting to fill a single role. <S> In this case, it might be possible to simply wait it out. <S> When the role is filled, the recruiter might no longer have dibs on your resume to this company; leaving you free to apply directly to the company or any of the recruiter's competition for future positions. <S> I have personally done this for scummy staffing agencies in the past. <S> There also lies the possibility that there are multiple recruiters within your recruiting agency. <S> Although this also carries the possibilities of burning bridges with that particular recruiter, so I wouldn't recommend it unless the opportunity presents itself such as someone else from the agency approaching you.
| I have seen a recruiter more than happy to take a candidate from his colleague to fill a new position.
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What should I say to a potentially vengeful ex-manager when interviewing for a job, after having left recently? Recently I left a job where I had worked for a number of years. Throughout my time there, I had more or less the same manager. I left because I wasn't being challenged enough and I felt a little overworked more often than I'd have liked. A suitable job appeared elsewhere and I went through the interview process and was offered the job. Before I left, I had an exit interview with HR. This was an acutely private conversation, though there would have been no point in having it if the information was not to leave the room in any form. At this interview I discussed the reasons for my choosing to leave and also some concerns I had. These concerns weren't solely about any one thing or person and, I feel, I put my concerns in the more professional and objective way I could, for example: I consistently stressed that my opinions were just that, and that what I perceived was not necessarily accurate nor a complete picture I avoided citing hearsay but where it was of an issue significant enough to merit it and where I had experience of the same issue firsthand, I stressed that it was hearsay I did my best at the start and finish to make clear that I did not have an axe to grind; rather, I love the people I worked with and felt it important to air my concerns in the appropriate way, in hope that it would be a better workplace for them HR suggested that some of the concerns I made had been made before and that they would have to start taking them more seriously. They also asked if they could use the information I had given them immediately or after I had left, and I told them they could use it immediately. Within a week of this interview, perhaps the same day, I left. Fast forward a few months. The new job I am working is nothing like I expected. It's very slow and boring and I am at the stage where I am happy to apply for another; I am more than aware that changing jobs so rapidly looks bad but this warrants another move. I applied for a different job at the same place I left, a job which I would have applied for before if it was available at the time. I heard that initially, said manager completely dismissed the idea of me returning. Apparently, my feedback, and presumably the feedback which has come before it, has acted as a catalyst for some serious change, change which my ex-manager does not necessarily like. I have good reason to believe that the ex-manager feels like I have sought to do them and their job harm, though I don't know exactly what they know. The staff to whom I had applied were different however and managed to go over the ex-manager's head, securing me an interview. I now have an interview within the next few weeks, which begins with a session alone with my ex-manager. My overarching question is this: How should I handle the situation when my ex-manager inevitably brings this up? Furthermore: Does anyone else have any similar experiences? The conversation I had with HR was two-way; should I limit myself only to what I said to HR? Should I be as open and honest as possible about everything I said right from the outset or should I simply respond to what they ask me? Does anyone feel they are entitled to know exactly what I said in this exit interview, as it relates to them or to anything else? Does anyone feel it is appropriate or inappropriate for the ex-manager to expect me to recite what I said, as it relates to them or to anything else? Is there anything you think I should do beforehand? A few words on my own thoughts: I don't regret what I said to HR, though I may if I am denied a chance to return based solely on this I don't feel bad about being honest with HR, but I will feel very uncomfortable reciting my concerns about my ex-manager to their face I don't feel it's fair to expect me to recite what I said, or to give much by way of details <Q> Based on your question and title, you are acting on some large assumptions. <S> In reality, you don't know what ex-manager knows, if he is truly "potentially vengeful", nor do you know what he will ask you to do, or that he will require you to repeat your exit interview. <S> In general, I don't like airing grievances in exit interview because it burns a bridge and can often complicate things for you in the future <S> (ex: this whole situation). <S> However, it's done. <S> Close that chapter and move on. <S> You do not have any duty to repeat your HR exit interview performance to ex-manager <S> (and if he requires it, I would report that to HR as well). <S> You can do so if a) <S> you want the satisfaction of (finally) looking him in the eye and reciting his flaws, and b) you don't care if you get the job. <S> A job interview is not the time to rehash this topic. <S> My approach would be to avoid the exit interview topic altogether. <S> Avoid, avoid, avoid. <S> Don't lie, but don't confirm (or deny) anything relating to the exit interview. <S> If he asks what you said in exit interview, simply say, "In my exit interview, I shared some candid reflections on my experience here in an overall positive conversation. <S> I was not accusatory, nor did I directly seek to undermine you nor any other individual. <S> I cannot begin to speculate on whether any of the things I said influenced HR in any way. <S> I liked working here in the past, love my former colleagues, and enjoyed our working relationship. <S> I would enjoy working together again." <S> I'd rather not talk about it." <S> Maybe he will be satisfied, maybe he won't. <S> But, personally, there is simply no-way I would rehash a confidential exit interview during a hiring interview with the same company. <S> Especially not if you care (at all) about getting this job and / or avoiding burning bridges. <A> Do the right thing. <S> Be confident. <S> Think of the worst thing. <S> You will not get the job, but you stuck to your principles and values, and did not succumb to any pressure. <S> If you get the job, it is better if you have spoken your mind and cleared things upfront. <S> If that lingers, you might have issues going forward. <S> Just my 2 cents. <A> First and foremost <S> ** <S> , you can't be retaliated against for anything that you told HR then or now, or any time for that matter. <S> If this ex-manager (I'll refer to them as XMAN) has some kind of vendetta against you or anyone else due to numerous like-minded claims against them, chances are they're already on thin ice. <S> Furthermore, on the merit of "they threw me under the bus in an exit interview," to disapprove of rehiring that person is also unprofessional, since they shouldn't really know what you said to begin. <S> Being said , you don't know what XMAN knows, only that some people left, and some changes got made that perhaps made them a little bitter. <S> Unless they query you directly, you have no reason to believe there's a specific problem, and that it could just be that XMAN didn't like you as an employee to begin with. <S> XMAN certainly doesn't have any obligation to know the events of the exit interview explicitly, so you have no obligation to tell them anything. <S> If you're being harassed by someone not on your team, go to your new manager and they should go and say "hey, you can't harass my team members. <S> " That would represent the most professional environment. <S> ** <S> Referring mainly from the US.
| If he presses for details, I would simply say, "I am uncomfortable repeating anything I said in a confidential exit interview. If he has any questions, answer them truthfully and sincerely in a straight forward fashion. You have already done what you need to do. In fact, as your ex -manager, they really have no reason to speak to you unless they're part of the interview and/or hiring process or somehow supervise you again.
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What is the right way to think about doing lower value work when small talking with an executive? I work as an IT helpdesk contractor in a large corporation. We basically have to help users with resetting their passwords, switching out broken stuff, so nothing fancy. Sometimes I get into smalltalk with the employees there, which is okay because we might be in a similar position in the value chain, but I have a hard time reacting to statements from executives, like " I wish I knew how you guys did that ". They are obviously simply being nice, because they honestly couldn't care less about an obscure windows setting, and I am completely fine with it. I know that if I did not do my job they also could not work, so they are depending on me, which would implicate that my work is really important. On the other hand they are doing work that has higher impact, and therefore are much more important and valuable. I am also completely fine with this. I can think of only one way to react to the previous statement, but it is simply wrong: Ahh, it's nothing, you could do it yourself if you wanted to. This is simply degrading my work, and saying that I shouldn't even be paid to be here. What would be a nicer way to react than this? Actually I'm more interested in the mindset about how I can think about my job in the right way, and I can react better in every small talk situation. Thanks. <Q> Don't pass up a legitimate opportunity for visibility. <S> Being seen doing good work is important for your career. <S> My reaction to things like this is "It only takes a couple seconds to change the setting. <S> The real trick is knowing which setting to change :). <S> " <S> or some variation on that. <S> Mind set wise remember, a very small portion of your wage is flipping switches/pushing buttons; most of your wage comes from knowing what switches or buttons will accomplish the user's goals. <A> It's simple. <S> Instead of deflecting the compliment, accept it with grace. <S> Executive : <S> wow. <S> I don't know how you guys do all this stuff. <S> I wish I knew what you do about computers. <S> You : well, I'm here to help. <S> Glad I could assist you. <S> (or) You : Just doin' my job. <S> Gotta take care of folks. <S> (or) <S> You : <S> Yup, computers can drive ya crazy. <S> But I've got your back. <S> (or simply) <S> You <S> : No worries. <S> I'm glad I could help. <A> An important fact to realize is that no matter how simple a process may appear to you this is not the case for those lacking that knowledge. <S> Sure, changing a Windows setting is easily done if you know it's even an option. <S> A quick Google search might give the user insight, but even then they might not understand all the implications and rather rely on an expert to do it for them. <S> The fact is that you took the time to learn about these things, understand the implications, and are qualified to manage these systems. <S> Even if it appears simple there's no reason not to feel a certain measure of pride in your knowledge and skills. <S> You have to keep in mind that most people are actually far more ignorant of the way <S> a computer/OS works than you typically suspect. <S> I've met developers who know how to use a computer quite well, but have no idea how to guard themselves against viruses, run a VM, or even perform windows recovery. <S> In the future answer more along these lines: Well, like anything it just takes some study and practice, but being passionate about computer systems helps :) <A> What's important in your role is to provide solutions and encourage users to call you when there are problems. <S> If they indicate they want to know how to take care of this themselves to save their time, you try and teach them. <S> There's nothing wrong with a little modesty. <S> The CEO of your company doesn't want to hear about how many hours you've spent studying this type of stuff. <S> Every virtuoso has had someone make a comment about how easy they make it look. <A> It would take them a whole day to fix the issue that takes you a few seconds. <S> Thats 8 hours of work wasted/saved.
| When in doubt about any complement, a simple thank you is a safe response.
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Problems in Concentration Due to Pregnancy I am currently 5 months pregnant and work in a tech company. We have an open seating area for the engineering department and this is where I sit as well. I have just received my semi annual review a few weeks ago with one of the highest scores in the company. However, recently I have been assigned a very interesting research project that requires a lot of focus. The problem is that the engineering area is very loud. When I'm not pregnant I'm usually able to tune a lot of the noises out, but right now I find it impossible. For example, one man sitting next to me talks to himself while working (talking through his work and announcing every time he needs to go to the bathroom) and another group of women congregate by my desk a couple of times a day for 30 minutes at a time to vent about their mother in laws. I am very worried that my performance has started to suffer. Up until now I have managed to get work done by booking a conference room for myself but people have started to complain that I'm hogging the conference room (though I follow proper company procedure when using the conference room). I have also thought of asking to be moved to a different work area or working from home a couple of days a week but I am afraid of asking for special accommodations when I don't want to be treated differently because I'm pregnant. I have thought of getting noise cancelling headphones but I don't find them to be very comfortable. Perhaps they are my only option. How do I balance my growing need for peace and quiet while not making a bad impression by asking for special accommodation? <Q> I'm autistic and things like that always drive me crazy. <S> Try the headphones or earplugs and visit some autism sites for ideas on how to combat sensitivity to stimuli. <A> There seem to be two major issues you need to deal with: Guy <S> Who Talks To Himself <S> Try talking to him about it. <S> Maybe he doesn't realize that he's doing it, or knows, but doesn't realize it's bothering you. <S> Be polite, but firm: <S> Hey Bob, sorry to bother you, however are you aware that you narrate your workday out loud? <S> Could I please ask you to try and do so internally? <S> (you may want to work on the wording - this is simply off the top of my head) <S> There's no need to really step on egg shells as most people will react reasonably if you're polite and friendly about it. <S> Gossiping Gal Pals <S> Whether these women are trying to include you into their conversation or not you can still approach them in much the same manner: <S> Excuse me, guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but could I ask you to take your conversation over to the lunch room? <S> Thanks! <S> (you don't need to specify a reason - it should be obvious that you're trying to get work done, unlike them) <S> If for some reason they do feel offended point out that you're working to meet a deadline for the manager X, and should take up the issue with him if they wish to. <S> Other <S> Hey boss, these new projects are a lot more taxing on my attention and focus than some of my regular work, and I'm finding it difficult to stay on task in the open-plan area. <S> Could we work out some kind of arrangement, because I feel like I need a little bit of peace and quiet while researching these issues. <S> Your boss will probably engage with you and work on finding a solution. <A> Tell people your hearing is sensitive right now, and that you can't concentrate. <S> Normally adults take these things in their stride and go somewhere else to chat. <S> You may get some resistance at first, or people simply forgetting but just keep politely telling them. <A> If booking the conference room works for you then keep doing it, just make sure you follow company policy. <S> You would also be wise to explain to your boss why you need to do it and ask him to make people aware of the reason and to stop complaining! <A> How do I balance my growing need for peace and quiet while not making a bad impression by asking for special accommodation? <S> Stepping back to 10,000 feet, this is a failure of management. <S> Engineers usually work best when they have a distraction-free environment, and that usually means private offices. <S> The failure is, management is not providing it. <S> Maybe you can tactfully suggest management read Peopleware: <S> Productive Projects and Teams . <S> Or cite it in your arguments to obtain a distraction free work area. <S> (I take no position on the common area where engineers meetup and collaborate when needed. <S> I think that area is useful, too).
| Get a pair of noise canceling headphones, or ear plugs, and anything else that can lower stimulus. A few women I know had extreme increases in sensitivity to stimulus when they were expecting (which makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint, you're going to want to know if there is a predator in the area, if food is spoiled, et cetera). If you're still finding that you can't focus then you may wish to speak with your manager and simple be honest:
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Abrupt end to internship I am an intern at one of the major Silicon Valley Companies. I was recruited last December to work in a team for 8 months, which I gladly accepted. My signed offer letter says I would be interning for 8 months. I should mention that I am a PhD (international) student in EE from a different state where the internship job is based. The Employment term stipulates the payment of a stipend allowance to subsidize living costs in the state of the internship. The thing is my school's international office does not give CPT's for 8 months. Rather, I was given a 5 month CPT to start with, with the hope that I could renew the CPT when the first CPT expires. Last week, the employment mobility in the company told me my stop date was May (presumably due to the CPT that the school issued to me originally). I brought this up with my manager (who also happens to be the one who recruited me) and confirmed verbally with him that my employment letter states 8 months. I also told him that I already completed my CPT for the summer from the school and it has been approved. I can't just quit now as I gave up my funding from my University for the summer semester due to his word. He said he would check with HR and resolve the discrepancy. To my bafflement, he went ahead and told HR to terminate my offer in May simply because of the CPT issue. I told him I had rented an apartment based on his informing me that he needed me for 8 months and I cannot afford to break my lease at this point as it would hurt my credit. I also mentioned that I gave up my funding in the summer semester based on the agreement I signed with the company. He showed no remorse and told me I was too expensive for him to keep because Corporate mobility pays me the subsidized living costs each month since I was recruited out of state. Other interns in the department I work are from the company area and they only take monthly salaries. I feel he is taking advantage of a loophole in the CPT that was approved on a termly basis by the school as other interns from other schools had their CPT for the entire period of their offer letter. What would you suggest I do? EDIT: May 15, 2016 Thanks to everyone who responded, empathized and advised. I met with the HR person, a day after this post, and she scheduled a meeting involving her, myself and the manager in question. Senior management seems to be looking for a summer intern with relevant experience similar to mine and it seems that they would be extending my internship in the spirit that I would be working in that newly available position. Again, thanks for all your comments! <Q> If you're receiving academic credit through this CPT, you might find it prudent to get in touch with someone at your university about your issue. <S> Regularly , an employment contract—whether temporary or permanent—will contain all the major stipulations, however, from what I can tell is that you've signed an offer letter. <S> An offer letter differs fundamentally from an employment contract in that the contract is very thorough in what can and can't happen, and includes severance clauses that make it very detrimental to breach. <S> An offer letter is a little bit more tentative. <S> You can often find at-will employment sections in offer letters such as: "Your employment will be at-will, meaning that [the Company] may terminate your employment at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice... <S> " <S> And so hence the provisions of your offer letter may not constitute an argument herein. <S> I do however suspect that there is something contractual here between your university and the internship employer that you should probably have addressed, again, by someone at the university. <S> To go any further in the matter you will undoubtedly need legal advice, as I'm not a lawyer, but from my standpoint now it would seem that for whatever reasons <S> it's whoever issued the incorrect CPT duration who is at fault and needs to be spoken with. <A> I understand your situation <S> but i don't think the manager is at fault. <S> you are giving him excuses for accomodation issues etc. <S> This is not at all warranted as a professional. <S> It sounds like a rant against the manager. <S> He already told you the reason as to why he cannot keep you. <S> I think what you should do is try to see how you can resolve the situation. <S> For e.g sublease your apt for the next 2-3 months , look for new assignment , resolve any CPT issues. <S> There is not much you can do against the manager or the co who hired you. <S> Look to the future and start resolving issues instead of being stuck on issues you cannot resolve. <A> You can be fired. <S> And unless you have a verbal or written proof of the fact that you would be hired for 8 months and would recieve Money for your accomodations for the entire 8 months. <S> Its not looking good for you. <S> I would say go and make a request at the internal Monitoring Group of your Company. <S> I know mine is called betriebsrad. <S> In any Country that Group should have enough power to give you your remaining 3 months. <S> Since legally a verbal Agreement followed by a contract is confirming the verbal Agreement for any period shorter than 1 year in most Country's. <S> Other than that go look for a Job that can cover your expenses or try and make a Agreement with your leasher. <S> Or ask for a larger hour contract for less hourly pay. <S> Yes this is gonna eat your free time, but you would't be the first one to work 2 fulltime Jobs. <S> Debt is evil and should be fought by effort not complaining. <S> Comeing back to your initial mistake: <S> Rather, I was given a 5 month CPT to start with, with the hope that I could renew the CPT when the first CPT expires. <S> This is something you shouldn't have risked. <S> I would have rented a accomodation for 5 months and then look for the next 3 if applicable.
| Any employment can be terminated at any time .
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How soon before graduation should I start applying for jobs? I am a PhD student graduating in September 2016. I just started looking for jobs, but I feel that when recruiters look at my CV and see that I am still 5-6 months away from graduation, they'll ignore me. However, I can't just wait till 1-2 months before graduation, since finding a job is a long process (interviews, etc), and if I graduated without a job then I have to leave the US since I'm not a citizen. This seems like a never ending problem. What do you think? <Q> Yes apply for jobs. <S> It shouldn't matter if they see you are still 5-6 months away. <S> If they are not interested then move on to the next. <S> You never know, someone might actually have work or a position waiting for you. <A> It takes approximately 1 month per every 10K of salary to find a job. <S> With a PHD, you should be looking at least in the 60k range, if not much much more. <S> Apply now. <S> You are actually BEHIND schedule. <A> Absolutely apply. <S> It is the CV that will be on file so make it a good one. <S> In your cover letter maybe even state your situation - you need a job to stay in the US. <S> They may low ball you but <S> a job is a job. <S> Apply directly with companies. <S> With a PhD you probably have limited target group. <S> 5-6 months out if they are looking for a PhD in your field will get their attention.
| Recruiters may ignore you as they want quick paycheck.
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Is it ok to socialize with your coworkers? I often feel uncomfortable around my co-workers. I don't know if it's okay to talk about stuff other than work-related matter. What is the general rule for workplace socializing? <Q> However in most cases, people don't care about whether you talk about work or non related questions. <S> Of-course you are expected to talk about work during your working hours. <S> But it would be inhuman to ban occasional random chatting. <S> In fact, random conversations help employees feel more comfortable at work and allows them to work harder. <S> Personally I'm highly introverted so I dislike small talk. <S> On the other hand, extraverted people thrive on small talk. <S> They gain energy and get excited to work harder. <S> At work people find it much easier to talk about work-related things. <S> They don't always need to talk about topics that are beneficial towards the company. <S> But the are often still work related. <S> This is not because they have to. <S> It's more likely that this is the most common shared interest that everyone has knowledge about. <S> Therefor it's easier to talk about it. <S> But in the end, does it matter what you talk about? <S> For as long as you do your job, not really. <S> Again, this is heavily dependent on the company culture. <A> There isn't really a rule. <S> It depends on the place you work. <S> I can't really talk with my co workers about work because I am the only one doing that kind of work. <S> My solution is to find common ground on simple things in life (relaxing in the sun, going out [be careful about the information you give about a night out], sport, etc) <S> NOTE: <S> not everyone is into small talk or random chit-chat. <S> I like quiet most of the time and would rather not be disturbed <A> It has to do with the "nature of the person" in general. <S> I've met 1st-class crappy people whom I work on a daily basis. <S> Despite trials, I wasn't able to get to socialize with them be it professional/personal. <S> I have seen the complete opposite on a work based trip <S> and it all happened in a very short span. <S> If you ask a solution, it perhaps doesn't happen in a short time, rather takes a bit of time, if you are still "unhappy" as opposed to uncomfortable, move on to a new job where you meet people of your kind.
| So long as they help you professionally, I think it should be ok. Every company has a different culture. Maybe an unspoken rule but avoid big subjects like politics and religion.
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I am asked to move to another position. Is it OK for me to ask for a raise? About me I am a new employee and also fresh on the job market. I graduated 3 months ago. Did really good in college, found myself a first job (as a software developer) 2 months ago without any problems. An internship, actually, but I was offered a job really quickly and agreed to that. This is my first real job (aside from a few internships during college). The situation I have an idea about the entry level salary in my city for a developer, but because my company is working in a specific, niche technology, they offered me about 30% less (because of my minor experience) and offered a fairly good raise every 2-3 months. I agreed. Now, the company I'm working for is doing a lot of work for another company in another city, and I was asked to go there for a month for an induction training. I agreed. I was receiving a very positive feedback during the training. During my last week there I had an unexpected internal interview - as it turned out, they want me to switch to another role within the company. They later told me they interviewed about 10 people and I was the best... The point is, that new role is something I have no major experience in, and also it is more demanding and there is a lot of pressure and stress while working there. So, because I am comfortable in my current role (and it is a long-term decision), I said no, and they said: no problem. And I was relieved, to be honest. Also, they didn't mention any raise for me. A couple of days later, they offer me the same thing again and here I am... The dillema Would it be ok for me to agree to move to that role, but ask for a raise? I mean, they want me to take a more stressful job, and apparently I did really good during the induction and interview. The duties of new position extend my current duties (not only programming, but also other things). So I feel like I could learn a lot of stuff there, too. On the other hand, it's something different than I initially agreed to, so re-negotiating seems like a logical move. Also, I just feel that the money I'm currently making is to little, considering my new (if I agree) responsibilities. Even though they are telling me there is no pressure for me to work in that position, I can really feel that they want me to. And I don't know if me saying "no" again wouldn't be frowned upon. The situation is further complicated by the fact that I am employed in my company (A), but will be working remotely almost only for the other company (B). I don't know exactly how it works, but probably cannot negotiate my salary directly with my boss, because he must negotiate it with people from company B. Any advice? Please understand that this is my first job and I really don't know how I should feel about it. EDIT . I should have also mentioned that this time they proposed that I can spend 2-3 days in the new role as some sort of "trial" before saying my final word. Just to see what the work will be there. Because I won't be able to revert if I say yes. EDIT2 I will obviously be trying the new role before saying my final word. That will give me more time and insight on what will I be doing. From what I know now, it involves not only programming, but also contact with the clients and a few more things. Thank you all for your help. <Q> and you feel like they specifically want you for the job. <S> I believe asking for a raise is reasonable here. <S> That said, it doesn't mean you'll get it : it is possible (although not too likely) that hiring you at your current rate, then proposing you to switch was the plan all along. <S> They might also not be able to give you a raise, for various reasons, but that doesn't mean you should not ask, <S> the only thing you should worry about is "is it reasonable to ask for a raise" and I believe the answer is yes. <S> If you decline a second time, and you feel like you are perceived as rude for it, that might be a red flag. <A> What I understood from this is you are working under company A's name at company B. Company B <S> hired you in (through company A) for a certain position and now want want you to take on a different role. <S> If you are only being paid by company A then take it up with them. <S> If company B is paying you then I would politely ask about a raise if there is more responsibilities and stress to this new role/position. <S> Furthermore you have a right to say "no" (especially if it is the same offer). <S> P.S. Seriously check with company A, seeing as you technically work for them. <A> Salary is usually a function of two inputs : Work (value you create, work conditions, required dedication ...) <S> Capita (experience, degree ...) <S> Considering the fact that the offered job requires more of you ("more work"), it's definitely possible to discuss of the salary you may obtain. <S> A convenient way to do that is not to ask directly for a raise but to ask about your perspectives, arguing this will allow you to do a "P&L" in order to take a decision.
| If the role they are proposing you involves more responsibility and more stress, then it sounds reasonable to consider asking for a raise, especially if your interview went well About saying "no" a second time : making the same offer a couple of days later, without changing anything to it, nor to your own current situation, and expecting a different answer is not reasonable, so I wouldn't worry about appearing as rude or ungrateful if declining the first offer went fine. In my opinion, neither you may nor you should, you must discuss about it.
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How to handle lack of supervision in start-up? This is a question I should have asked quite a while ago and is no longer relevant for my current situation, but I believe the answer still holds value. I hope this is not a problem ! Context French start-up, software & web development, created about a year ago.5 people were working there when I joined : an operational leader, a technical leader, two developers, and a graphist.Things are going quite OK but the balance of the team is still somewhat fragile. Everyone is pretty busy, pretty much all the time, as you could expect it in a start-up environment. My role was to work on a project not related in any way to what the other developers were doing : different technologies, different organisation... I was supervised by the technical leader for this project, and we were the only two people on the project. I just graduated from engineering school at the time, and had no previous professional experience, aside from internships. I was not especially proficient in the technologies involved by the project, and there was, as we discussed it during the interview, quite some challenge in it. Situation The first weeks went quite OK, the subject was interesting and there was a lot for me to learn. However, I started to notice that the technical leader had little to no time to answer my questions. It was OK at first because I was merely learning about the project, and getting started, but as things got more complex, I found myself in need for some technical advice since I was quite unexperienced and working on stuff that was new for me. But asking questions was somewhat difficult, because TL (Technical Leader) often (sort of involuntarily) seemed annoyed by my questions, sighing and looking unwilling to take time to help. I know it was more of a flow-breaking problem for him, and I understand it because he seemed to have a lot on his plate all the time, but it made me unwilling to ask for help (because it was unpleasant), and lead to a progressive loss of motivation. After a little more than two months, they put an end to my probation period because they did not feel I was motivated enough, and although my technical ability was fine, my presence felt like an unbalancing factor for the team. Question I perfectly understand that recruitment is a difficult step for a young start-up, and choosing a newly graduated person was probably not the best choice for them. We took some time with TL to discuss it and came to a conclusion that there were management issues regarding the supervision of my work. Still, I wonder if I could have done something to avoid this conclusion (which is me losing the job). I know losing my motivation altogether was not a very mature reaction, and I could probably have handled things better. It is to be noted that the lack of supervision from TL was a real problem that prevented me from being efficient, and couldn't be resolved only by searching stuff on the Internet (I know how to do that). Also, only TL could help on this. To put it simply : what should have I done to handle this lack of supervision problem ? <Q> Probably nothing <S> You were a relatively inexperienced junior employee who was not fully familiar with the technologies they wanted to use. <S> It's no surprise that you needed more supervision and direct leadership. <S> It might have been possible for you to queue up your questions and arrange with the TL a weekly 1 hour review. <S> This would have helped with the flow/interruption problem he was seeing, and would have forced to you put some thought and clarity into the questions you had. <S> You could spend the week researching the questions, making sure <S> they were well written and researched. <S> It is not unusual for the act of writing and clarifying a question to suggest an answer. <A> If being interrupted was the main problem, you can schedule a time when the TL could meet with you and review all your questions at once. <S> This may not be as efficient for you, but you just have to work through it. <S> It could mean shuffling your work schedule. <S> Startups take risks. <S> They may have underestimated the amount of help needed or the availability of the TL to be available. <S> There's a big difference between freeing a one hour block a day compared to being interrupted 12 times even if they're just for 5 minutes. <S> Where and when do you ask questions? <S> Have they cleared time for someone during an introductory phase of hiring? <S> You can tell during the hiring process that they're over-whelmed and barely made time to do the interviews. <A> The concrete answer depends on the environment, the type of work, your experience and abilities, and the resources available at your job. <S> You have to take the initiative without being (or seeming like) a burden. <S> There are definitely steps you can take to help yourself, even with a lack of supervision. <S> A few strategies that might work <S> If you are stuck on a task and do not have an answer yet, find something else to work on. <S> Ask for reference documents, and if there are none, write up what you know, which will help you identify what you need to know and ask the right questions. <S> Applying these strategies will also show that you are being active in seeking help and getting your work done, without just walking up to your supervisor every n minutes, which might seem like you are not putting much effort into learning on your own. <A> I was in the same situation recently when I first started working for a technically competent team. <S> Everyone was very busy, and I felt bad asking the tech lead for help when I had questions because of their busy schedule. <S> However, I quickly learned that I could ask more junior employees many of the questions I would have liked to ask the tech lead . <S> And even though sometimes they were not as knowledgeable, they had the patience to work out problems with me. <S> It helped us to bond and work together better on other problems later on. <S> But I won't sugarcoat the fact that it is necessary to learn how to independently teach yourself a lot on the fly... <S> As programmers, we're expected to be able to teach ourselves new technologies and skills when needed. <S> And many teams will cut employees who aren't strong enough autodidacts because they can find better talent or quicker learners to hire. <S> Startups especially look to obtain the fewest and most valuable hires because they are so strapped for cash. <S> Don't be too hard on yourself, there are plenty of places looking to hire tech talent. <S> I have no doubt that if you have the maturity to reflect on your failures that you will find a team who appreciates your talent and personality and they will invest the time in training you better. <A> Start-ups normally require the average employee to don a number of hats because of the nature of the company type. <S> Often understaffed, exploratory/experimental, and lots of promises on the table that need delivery. <S> So the problem is that then, everyone is stretched super thin and you need to be able to hit the ground running. <S> This is just an aspect of start-ups, and if you literally have no idea what they're doing <S> I can guarantee it'll be hard without heavy research and time investment outside of regular working hours.
| : Write up a list of questions to ask your supervisor and ask him/her to answer it when they are available (or schedule a meeting for it), instead of going to see them each time you want an answer. Even if you're a senior developer, it's important to ask how the team works.
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How do I accept thanks from my boss? I have a manager that thanks me occasionally for doing the basic duties of my job. Especially when she has a vacation day or a sick day and asks me to cover for her, she always comes in with a large amount of gratitude. This usually has the effect of making me feel a bit off put, and I respond with "Yeah, of course" in 90% of the cases. I feel this isn't a great way to respond to her thanks, and feel it creates a sort of chasm in our working relationship. How can I professionally accept a thanks or apology from my boss without seeming insincere? <Q> Your boss is attempting to show that you are appreciated. <A> Some thoughts about baseline expectations... <S> First - if I have an employee who I know has the capability to really handle things when I'm out, I really value that. <S> Having watched many fail, I'd say it's harder than it looks and often the folks who are naturally good at it don't realize how many people are NOT naturally good. <S> So it could well be that while you think it's no big deal, she has had other experience. <S> That said, some people are effusive thank-you givers. <S> They like making a big deal out of seemingly normal things --- and sometimes that's just how they are. <S> It's certainly better to be excessively grateful than excessively demeaning! <S> A couple thoughts <S> if it's driving you absolutely crazy: <S> Look for effusiveness in multiple places - it may not be just you <S> , the boss may just be a big thank-you giver. <S> Or effusive about a lot of things. <S> Or effusive in particular situations. <S> Look for a pattern. <S> If it's just you, that may be rather weird, but I'll bet you may not have noticed the other cases. <S> Take a quiet moment out of the loop and ask if there's a reason. <S> Something like - <S> "I really appreciate that you notice the extra work I do <S> when you're not here, it's great to be appreciated. <S> But it's been pretty easy to do and hardly seems worth all your praise. <S> Is there something I'm missing about the value of how I'm helping? <S> I feel like I loaned you a spare pen <S> and you thank me <S> like I just gave you a sports car. <S> " <S> Do it in private and make sure you stay positive about it. <S> I often use humor in these situations - but that's a difficult and personal choice. <S> I have a big personality <S> and I'm known as a person who likes a good laugh. <S> The humor is never a put-down (of anyone but myself) and aims to be inclusive. <S> But it's a natural response for me to deal with awkwardness. <S> If using humor feels even more awkward, it will seem that way to your listeners, too, so skip it. <S> A good litmus test is - if all these suggestions seem like too much work to you, then let it go <S> - it's really not a big deal unless it's bugging you, so only you can know how much it bothers you. <A> How can I professionally accept a thanks or apology from my boss without seeming insincere? <S> A quick reply along the lines of "Wow, thanks boss. <S> I really appreciate the gratitude! <S> But I think it's all just part of the job. <S> " would convey your thanks adequately. <S> It would also show that you think it's just an expected part of the job. <S> And it certainly wouldn't create any more chasms. <A> If it makes you feel put off then yes that is a problem. <S> If it creates chasm then you are the one creating the chasm. <S> The intent from your boss is to enhance the working relationship and show appreciation for your work. <S> You should working on replying <S> "you are welcome" and be sincere.
| Take it for what it's worth, and a polite "my pleasure" or "you're welcome" is enough.
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Recommending my wife for a job at my workplace I learned about a position in my company in our customer service department today at work I think my wife could be a good fit for. I work in the engineering department (I'm a new hire by the way). My wife has prior customer service experience and although she lacks the technical background of the products my company designs and manufactures, I believe she could fit into the position and do well at the job. Is it inappropriate to ask the supervisor of that department about the position and recommend my wife? As I mentioned before, I'm brand new at the company and learned about the opening today while talking with one of our IT guys and he mentioned it after I said my wife has experience in customer support. <Q> Is it inappropriate to ask the supervisor of that department about the position and recommend my wife? <S> It's not inappropriate at all to ask . <S> Some companies frown on spouses working in the same group. <S> So be sensitive to that. <S> Otherwise, just ask and be guided by the response you get. <S> If your wife does apply, of course stay out of the way of the interview process. <S> In many companies, the best employees come from internal referrals. <S> I know that's one way I've hired terrific people. <S> And for that reason I'm always pleased when companies offer referral bonuses. <S> I think it helps encourage behavior that builds a better company. <A> Firstly, I would highly recommend against working in the same place as your wife. <S> Especially if you could come into contact professionally during it. <S> I have seen several marriages ruined this way, and even if between the both of you it works, its commonly seen as unsavory and an inherent conflict of interest. <S> Secondly, I would recommend against recommending her internally. <S> If she wants the job, she should apply normally for it. <S> In this stage for most companys your word will count against rather then for her. <S> It may easily be seen as you just wanting to get your wife in there and exaggerating her skills because of it. <S> (Even if you're not) <S> Additionally, as a new hire, doing something like this could easily count against you in the perception of your managers and the company's HR. <S> This could be a career limiting move. <S> In general thats a mine field you absolutely do not want to tread. <A> Generally, the most suggested approach is not to recommend anyone when you're fresh into a company. <S> There are different reasons for that <S> but you can consider at least that you are not yet familiar with the company culture, so it would be hard to predict a good match with only partial understanding of that culture. <S> you haven't yet proven yourself, so <S> your recommendation wouldn't have much weight, and might geopardize your own situation, if unfortunately it does not work as great as could be. <A> This is a bad idea, my friend. <S> You will DEFINITELY bring any household conflict, which is inevitable, to the workplace. <S> Also, you carry the workplace back into your home. <S> I wouldn't want to hear about workplace drama every day once I left work, because I need the time away from the workplace to recuperate. <S> So when your wife needs to decompress (and most women do this by talking) <S> you'll have to endure daily conversations at home, or during your commute, about people you'd rather not even be thinking about "after 5 p.m.". <S> You also run the risk that if the company gets merged, bought, or sold, then both of your jobs are potentially up on the chopping block. <S> Or, if the company policy changes adversely, then you're both in the hole without having any balance -- <S> an example would be you carrying health insurance, and the rates suddenly skyrocket for you, and at the same time they'd be cheaper if she worked elsewhere. <S> Spread your risk, don't consolidate it.
| Even though you are in development and this is customer service, it might still be that the company wouldn't like to see relatives together. If your wife is unemployed, meaning that you have a need for her to get a job, you might consider asking your direct boss, or the person responsible for the new customer service hire, depending on the size of the company, and how familiar you are with people around.
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All Programmer are Independent? Even as an Intern? I am currently doing my internship in a SME software development company. My boss, who is also my supervisor which also happened to be the owner of the company, to me I think, have a very different of teaching approach. Let me first tell you guys the story. When I have applied my intern in the company, I met my boss and we begin to know each other. For the task, he given me a website project. He gave me the shortcuts of designing a website using the Twitter Bootstrap. He gave me the link of the Twitter Bootstrap documentation and I had no problem understanding it as I have my HTML & CSS basics. After designed it, the next stage is I need to convert the design into a Content Management System (CMS) using Wordpress. This part gave me so much headache as it a is whole new knowledge for me. He gave me the Wordpress Codex documentation link to me for me to read & understand. I have read it for weeks & still I can't understand it. I did so much googling to understand them, but it took me too much time just to understand the basics. I asked my boss, how to even start using the Wordpress, or atleast give me a head start. But what he said is, he didn't want me to ask him, he wanted me to understand them by myself and he want me to be independent. After few weeks with no progress, he showed me how to start it. He copied some functions in the Wordpress & apply it to some part in my project which I don't event understand why he did that. When I ask him how he knew those function are to need to be copied to those part & how it works, he told me he read it. The thing is, I read all those documentation & still I failed to understand. My boss usually not around & when he's around, I always did not get the answer when I ask him about my problems. Sometimes he gave me the answers, but to be honest, it was not direct answer. He said, "use this function, technique, etc." but it always ended with another new problems. I have to figure out myself to adjust/fix the false answer. My boss said to me that during the his first time knowing about Wordpress, it only took him 1 week to read & understand those codex and after that, he can do all. He said, he learn all of these programming by himself with no teacher or sifu at all. His only sifu is the web. He wanted me to be independent. He said to me, "If you keep asking me, means you are getting & you are not learning...". "Did you ever wonder how can there are so many teens who is younger than you able to do all these stuff by their own... They did all those stuff by read all of these documentation with no assistance from others". These statement really hit me hard as I always ask if I do not understand. I tried to contact my lecturer if he know how these stuff works or know anyone who knows how these stuff works. My lecturer gave me some phone number & I asked their help. All of them are busy & not able to help me. I asked my friends who is expert in this field, didn't reply my quest regarding assisting me on learning these stuff. After few months of slow progress, I failed to meet the deadline of the stage, and now I am burnout, stuck in the E-Commerce phase. Currently just waiting my internship to finish. I always wanted to be a web developer, the first time I knew my task is about web developing I was happy, I knew I can get so much knowledge about it. But when I learn something really new here, it was not type of learning that I expected. My question is, is it really my way of learning need to be change as my boss said or my boss teaching method need to be revised? Another question is, is it really true, all programmer are independent? I hope you guys can help me out because I am started to think that I my ambition is no longer mine and I need to think something better for my future. <Q> What your boss says about teen programmers isn't entirely far fetched. <S> So don´t give up yet, but don´t expect others to teach you. <S> Others have had to learn by themselves as well. <S> As a programmer you will be expected to handle new problems all the time and you will be expected to find solutions by yourself. <A> Honestly if you ask me, yes any programmer is independent. <S> It does not mean he knows it all, but you should be able to do x projects solo and willingly to adapt to new languages in a split second. <S> YOU are not a programmer, you are a intern. <S> A internship should be a learning experience with real work environment. <S> It sounds to me that either your Boss is expecting to much or your school did not prepare you enough. <S> "Did you ever wonder how there are so many teens who are younger than you and are able to do all these things on their own.. <S> You are you and not some other teen . <S> Just because Usain Bolt won the Olympics his Family wont. <S> Saying <S> but he did so <S> can you is the most stupid argument you can have. <S> Also if you only need to do the CSS/HTML don't bother going through the docs. <S> Just do your thing backup your Project regularly and just mess with it till you get the hang of it. <S> Progress is made by doing 1 step forth and 2 steps back. <S> Oh and in wordpress it really is important to document all files you changed. <S> I mean its always important but even more so in wordpress. <S> And when you don't know or can do something just tell your Boss: "mkay <S> you wanted this <S> well i cant do that in the time restraint you gave me, why you ask? <S> Because i don't have experience in wordpress or even php. <S> " only then spoken in the nice words People use. <S> Also I don't know if you can or want to, but discuss this Problem with your Supervisor from school. <A> I understand how you feel. <S> I'm a young dev myself (21 years old) making Spring apps when 10 months ago, I didn't understand xml files, let alone Spring. <S> So it's tough learning something new. <S> I'm sure everyone knows what that's like. <S> You may not like the answer, but I think your method of learning should change (maybe even the boss). <S> There are many other ways to learn tech besides reading docs. <S> From experience, looking at tutorials online rather than reading docs are much more helpful. <S> If looking at docs aren't working, you should try another source of info. <S> Sometimes docs aren't friendly to new programmers in general, and tutorials from people give really nice explanations with pretty pictures. <S> So instead of staring at docs, look at tutorials, download their code (if it's available) and go from there and ask questions later. <S> The fact that I think your boss should've changed his teaching method is because he just gave you docs and then expected something is weird, especially when he told you "I just knew". <S> Yes it's true programmers should be independent or else they won't learn, but that doesn't mean you can't ask questions. <S> That's what development teams are meant for. <A> is it really true, all programmer are independent? <S> No, it's not - but you do need to be capable of working independently when you have to. <S> Asking good questions will make the whole team more efficient: picking up a large codebase from scratch is difficult, and if someone can give you any pointers at all it makes a huge difference. <S> But there are times when there will be no-one around who can help you, or you're already the expert, so it's not always an option. <S> That said there is a balance to be struck between asking questions and distracting the people you're asking. <S> It's more-or-less like asking a question on StackOverflow: before you go to them do a bit of research yourself to make sure you give the impression you've at least tried to solve the problem yourself, and ask something specific as possible. <S> (Unlike StackOverflow though it's also OK to ask early for a general direction to get started, and brainstorm ideas.) <S> And try to limit the amount you ask: if you're genuinely stuck and unable to make any progress then do ask, but be wary of annoying people by asking too many questions and failing (from their point of view) to take on board what they've already told you. <S> It sounds like your boss is being unreasonable here, but you're unlikely to change his attitude: sometimes you just have to get by without any help. <S> (Or maybe he thinks he's helped you enough already, or maybe he's trying to help you to be more independent.) <S> WordPress is unusual in that there's lots of documentation and examples (of varying quality) for simple stuff, but beyond a point your best option is to read and understand the relevant PHP code. <S> (Again, just finding the relevant code is often difficult in an unfamiliar codebase.) <S> If you just need to develop a bootstrap-based theme then your best bet would be to read up on the page selection code to understand the interface between the core code and the theme, and to look at a few simple example bootstrap-based themes to see how they work, and steal ideas and code from them liberally <S> (it's all GPL after all).
| In IT your are expected to be much more independent and able to learn by yourself. Apart from tutorials consider some programming books and asking what you don´t understand here on stack overflow.
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How do I politely tell a coworker to only focus on his portion of the work? I've been working on a software project for a few months now with a very small team (and by small, I mean there was an extended period of time where I was the only developer). Our working dynamic is excellent for the most part, as each developer has a different sector that they work in (frontend, backend, database, etc.) and there's very little overlap, so conflicts are minimal. Recently we brought another developer in to do work in another area on the project, and thus far their work has been great. However, they are starting to reach out and alter code in other people's spaces, including my own. While the code they're writing isn't broken, it introduces some clashes, such as when they started rewriting some of the frontend/backend architecture without consulting anyone. The biggest benefits of having each person "own" a certain portion of the code is that 1) everything in that portion of the code has a similar logic and style to it, making it more easy to understand, and 2) the person working in that area can be sure they have absolute understanding of all the moving pieces in that section. That's something that is starting to change with this new development. While I am not the manager or owner of the project, I am the team lead, so I think this falls into my area of responsibility. So my questions are: Am I overreacting to something that is not really a major issue? If I am not overreacting, what is the best way to correct this person without discouraging them? Again, they do fine work and I don't want to create any hostility. EDIT: the wording of my question has led several people to believe that we are intentionally obscuring how parts of the code work so that only one person understands it. This is not at all the case. We have learned the hard way the importance of spreading knowledge around. We have daily stand ups and source control. What I mean is that we have one person working on particular sections of the code, because 1) it is easier to create consistent code that all operates in a similar manner, and 2) again, we are a very small team with a not-small task on our hands, and a harsh deadline. Specialization, combined with regular communication, breeds efficiency. FURTHER EDIT: I suppose a better phrasing would be "how do I politely tell a coworker to only focus on his assigned tasks?" <Q> Only having 1 person understand/develop be responsible for a system is a major failing in a team. <S> This will lead to large disruptions if people leave are sick etc. <S> So you actually want everybody working in all parts of the system all the time. <S> Yes having somebody changes code in systems without review is not acceptable (even if all your test pass). <S> At least one other person should review any change and preferably more with the owner having the final say if the change is acceptable. <A> I think this could become a major issue if you let it. <S> It also could be a major opportunity if you handle it correctly. <S> If your team continues to grow, you're not going to be able to maintain the clean separation you have had up till now, so you should probably try to figure out how to deal with this issue now, while it's small. <S> I think the issue is mainly one of communication. <S> It's fantastic that your new team member has a lot of initiative to solve her own problems. <S> But as you pointed out, the changes she is making are disrupting other peoples' work. <S> So you need to develop a way to communicate about changes, before, during, and after. <S> I'm assuming you have regular standups or similar. <S> This can be a great way to discuss proposed changes to make sure they're needed and in-line with the team's method of doing business. <S> After changes are made, they should be reviewed before being incorporated into the main codebase. <S> At this point, they should be reviewed by the person who has "ownership," though that line will get fuzzier as more people touch the code. <S> This will allow for needed edits to be made and for the "owner" to still stay in touch with all the parts of the code. <S> One thing that you'll need to realize is if your team needs to grow, it needs to grow. <S> And that's going to introduce some inefficiencies due to having some parts of the code that some people are less familiar with than if they wrote it, and it will also mean that some of the lines between different pieces of functionality won't be drawn exactly where you would. <S> In cases of adverse impact, that may mean going back and redrawing those lines. <S> But that's just what happens once a team gets larger than a certain point. <A> You do not own any part of the code. <S> Let's start with that. <S> It is not your private domain. <S> It is counterproductive for only one person to understand a part of the code. <S> This is an attitude that you personally must adjust. <S> What he is doing is not wrong. <S> What you expect is. <S> Now that you have more devs you need more formal processes in place to make sure that changes are appropriate. <S> You want to make sure that changes in any part of the code don't break the build. <S> You want to make sure that QA is done before changes are pushed to prod <S> and you want to make sure that devs no longer can push anything to production without going through the appropriate processes( usually by removing dev rights to prod and giving them only to a build team or a manager). <S> You should also have code review of 100% of code written by any team member. <S> You should be requiring unit test of all code so that you can test when changes are made. <S> All code should be in source control so it can be reverted if necessary. <S> This is where it is appropriate to bring up any concerns about the changes affecting other things. <S> What your team and managers need to do is sit down and determine the processes you need as the team grows and how you are going to enforce those processes. <S> You also need to sit down and do knowledge transfer training so that more than one person can safely touch any part of the code.
| You NEVER OWN any part of the code. It is acceptable for anyone on the team to make any changes they feel necessary.
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How do I stop my co-workers from teasing me with another co-worker? I have been working for more than 3 years now with my co-worker and people have been teasing us here and there and it doesn't make me happy, at all. Things have gone awkward to the point where I can't even do certain things just because people might think we're a thing. Back when we weren't being teased we had good rapport but now I actively ignore my co-worker at times, which I feel bad for. How do I control/prevent this behavior? <Q> The first step is to tell anyone who is teasing: "Stop it. <S> You are not being funny. " <S> The next time: "I told you to stop it before. <S> You are not being funny, you are actually very annoying". <S> The third time: "I am telling you for the third time to stop it. <S> You are very annoying. <S> If you don't stop it, I'll have to take action, and you won't like it". <S> Each time you make a note in your notebook, visible to the person. <S> The fourth time, which shouldn't happen, you'll take your notebook and ask them to follow you to your manager, or to HR. <S> If it is a group, single out one person. <S> Is it unfair? <S> Well, they are singling you out. <A> I'm assuming that you and your co-worker are of opposite sexes, since that's the most likely scenario this happens <S> in("Do <S> you have a crush on her? ;)", you get my point). <S> If it's bad, you could complain to a manager. <S> Have you tried doing that? <S> Or a better way is, just ignore it. <S> Things like this happen, just laugh it off. <S> One more thing you could try doing is finding out what the teasing is stemming from. <S> If it's just a collective joke, ignoring it will be best. <A> Like always, the best course of action is to turn this against the people who have been initiating the talk. <S> You could say something along the lines of "Wow, you sure do think a lot about workplace relationships, why do you think that might be the case"? <S> Or maybe something more appropriate in your situation, you will know the best. <S> If that does not work out, getting just a bit confrontational might also work such as "Are you actually implying that Me and XYZ are in some sort of a workplace relationship? <S> Please stop insinuating as I find this insulting/aggravating/demeaning to my work here and might need to report this to the management". <S> It´s <S> not your fault you have <S> (obviously) immature co-workers, you should make it clear they should understand that they should keep their perverse thoughts to themselves. <A> Have you ever considered to have a recorder on or near you where people can see it? <S> I wouldn't turn it on like ever, but just having one worked wonders for me. <S> People don't like the chance of being recorded while pestering someone. <S> But in general don't feel bad for ignoring people. <S> If it's not their actions that bothering you at this moment, but the fact that you are actively ignoring them then just think about it this way. <S> We got a lot of people on this planet caring about all of them is just impossible. <S> And if you both don't feel like you are a thing who cares about others.
| If there's someone spreading rumors you could confront that person and ask them to stop it, or risk action from HR. If the other person is chill about it you can even make your own jokes about it, might even be fun.
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Told everyone I graduated but turns out I didn't I am finishing my bachelor degree. I finished my exams, applied to graduate and started applying to full time jobs in my field. I had a couple of interviews and have a couple more lined up. Today, I got an e-mail and my world came crumbling down. I'm not able to graduate as I failed a class (I didn't quite pass the final exam). I thought I had one extra course in case something like this happened, but it turned out that was a miscommunication between me and the course advisor. I'm thinking of taking the one last class at a community college. One course is usually 4 months. I need a source of income before then. I only need one more course to graduate and ideally I want a full time job in my field, if not a part time job. I want to be upfront with potential employers. I had put that I had my degree on my resume. How should I bring this up with employers who have already seen that? How should I update my resume to show "bachelor degree minus one course?" Would altering my plan to obtain my degree help? EDIT: I have had quite a few full time jobs, but most were through the school's co-op program. <Q> I had a resume out while I was studying - what I did was simply leave the finishing date open ended. <S> I've been there. <S> I've gone into an exam needing a 30% score to pass... and got 29%. <S> The marker (who was elsewhere) disagreed with my answer's content, and well, <S> yeah. <S> I retook that module. <S> Its not the end of the world (I got a pretty good score when I retook it!). <S> So, what to say? <S> "I'm currently finishing up my degree and I'm one module away from finishing". <S> Focus on the wins, and what you have to offer to an employer. <S> I'd also add that depending on the job market, its going to take time to find a job, and getting your resume out there <S> pre-graduation is a sensible thing to do. <A> As always be truthful up front about anything in life. <S> On the resume you only needed to put down you were expecting to graduate May 2016 (or whenever), and that you are planning to apply for graduate courses. <S> Now that you need to retake a single course, all you need to say you're expecting to graduate at the end of summer, or fall 2016 (or whenever). <S> Most small shops probably do a simple background check which would verify if you graduated college, highschool, etc. <S> Most places probably won't dig too deeply. <S> However it is never a wise idea to lie. <S> As for what to do change your expected graduation date. <S> Don't say you failed but instead say you thought you were graduating May 2016, but you are a course away from graduating and expecting to have the degree at the end of summer, fall or whenever. <S> All that should cover you and properly explain to the employer. <A> I had a similar situation but in my case, it was my second year of degree college. <S> I wanted to apply for an internship and by being completely honest with them, I did score one in a multinational bank. <S> I mentioned in my CV the modules I was retaking and explained in my resume the reason I wasn't able to clear my second year. <S> All they really look for, is whether you have reflected from your past experience and if you have sufficient knowledge in your field. <S> They don't really care if you explain your situations right. <S> Just two words are important here, Knowledge and reflection. <S> So, as a conclusion: Use this time you have got to its maximum potential and learn skills which will help you. <S> Take this opportunity positively and as a learning experience. <S> Consider Freelancing, part time jobs which will be an add-on to your CV and Resume. <S> Be completely honest in your CV and explain your situation/ circumstance in your resume. <S> Don't be too upfront. <S> Feel grateful of this opportunity you've got to improve and after a year, look back just to smile and see how far you've come. <S> Ups and downs are a characteristic of life. <S> Hope <S> this helps, cheers! <A> Passing courses is not what employers really care about. <S> The employers that put a lot of emphasis are your grades probably are not the ones you want to work for. <S> You have two issues: To the people you told you graduated, correct the situation as soon as possible (only if you are in contact with them). <S> Send them a note saying, "I was mistaken. <S> I am one course short of graduation. <S> Please see my updated resume. <S> " Or something similar. <S> You are surprised by the situation, so saying that you are surprised and one course short is truthful. <S> If an employer asks what happened, then explain in more detail, but it's likely most won't ask. <S> If you feel that an explanation is necessary, you can indicate, "1 course needed due to miscommunication with my advisor" or something. <S> If someone asks the nature of the miscommunication, you can explain as you did here. <S> You obviously tried to prepare for this outcome, so be sure to explain that. <S> Dealing with life's problems without it stopping you is what employers pay you to do.
| As others have explained, fix your resume to indicate that you need 1 more course.
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Is it ethical to coach referrals? If my company has a referral bonus clearly I benefit financially in the short term from getting my own referral hired. That said, I'm genuinely not interested in referring people I wouldn't want to work with, so I'd be judicious in who I refer. But the question remains. Even though I would not be interviewing my own referrals, I know what kinds of questions are likely to come up, and the personalities of the interviewers (my coworkers). None of this is particularly strategic or company secret information, per se, but it could give my referrals an advantage over an equally qualified "walk in" candidate. I'm trying to decide if the fact that I already know the person and personally believe them to be a good choice for the job is sufficient to offset the possible unfairness of giving them another edge besides my recommendation (implicit in my referral). <Q> Of course - if he is a good fit. <S> If you truly believe he'll be an addition to the company, I see no problem in you giving out non-confidential information . <S> Explain the company structure, what you do, what your company's core values are, how they work. <S> Explain the interview process, who he'll see, what they'll look for. <S> Tell him about your own interview and the feedback you got. <S> But make sure he's honest and enthusiastic. " <S> Yeah, kojiro told me all about your company <S> and I'm really looking forward to working here. <S> " will sail much better than " He prepped me for the interview to gain advantage over other contestants so he could get his referral bonus. ". <S> Good applicants always prepare for an interview. <S> They look up info, online, use their network. <S> If they know someone who works there, they'll always ask about the company - it would be a bad sign if they didn't. <A> It is not ethical to give information about the kinds of questions are likely to come up, and the personalities of the interviewers (my coworkers) . <S> In the companies I have worked till date, company expects me to tell referrals about Information like what company expects from candidates including the technical skills etc Information about the working culture in the company. <S> Because this way you are helping company and the candidate to choose the right one. <S> But not the below. <S> Questions in screening test or an interview. <S> It is something like this, if I am doing an interview, I should not ask the candidate about the questions asked in the screening test or previous level of interview. <S> Screening test question paper will be very confidential and that to HR team only knows that. <S> What i mean to say is that companies want to maintain the confidentiality in the recruitment tests/interviews. <A> I don't see how its unethical to coach referals or even assist People you want to work with. <S> Now this does Sound weird, but how can you work effeciently with someone you don't want to work with? <S> This should not interfere in your relation if you push it in as a hard dicision instead of the fact that you pushed someone in the right directions unethical or not, <S> but this is the Internet <S> and you should always think twice before you act. <S> In the end you should do what you want. <S> Its the Company that should Monitor if the financial Bonus is being abused and if "odd" People are being hired.
| If and only if your recruiter is that easily swayed to hire someone he just met you might want to change recuiter or atleast ask why he hired them because they looked equally qualified. So it is not ethical to do against the interest of employer/company.
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Ending contract prematurely due to inconsistent pay I work in a vibrant startup. I love the culture, I love the environment. But recently the company I'm in ran into a financial problem, and it hit my payroll. At first I just get downpayments to my salary. Now I get nothing. My contract says I can leave the company in six months from the time I started working for them, or opt to continue my employment with them. Today's my fifth month with them. Meanwhile I've received offers from other companies, four out of six of which I have turned down because despite my delayed wages, I told them I need to honor my six-month contract with my current employer. Today, however, changed my mind. My employers revealed to me that they could possibly let us all employees go because they could not pay us consistently. But it is not a sure thing. They assured me that I could get my back wages by the end of the week. With my bills nearing deadlines I had to follow up on their promise. As of my performance I admit lacking focus in one sprint, delaying a module for one month. But when I asked my boss about my performance they told me it was okay and understanable. We spent a month practically working from our homes because we got locked out of our old office. The wages were delayed and it was summertime, where heat rises to distracting and dangerous levels where I live. Awhile ago, I emailed the management, Skyped them, sent SMS about the urgency of my financial situation, that I need to pay the bills, etc. I had no money to travel to work even, and that I told them too. I called them many times but I could not reach their telephone numbers, and despite being online all the time they did not reply to my messages. I'd like to think that it's not entirely their fault they ran into a financial problem, that they don't even know where to get the money to pay me, at least that's what they're telling me. But I admit feeling insulted at their radio silence on the matter. Especially that I live away from my family, my bills are racking up and they need to be paid, and I will run out of food very soon. I feel truly sorry for their financial problems. Being an entry-level developer, I had to work long hours for little pay to rack up on work experience and get the hang of my craft. Low pay is fine with me, I just wished it were consistent. My finances would be in trouble in two months and my credit will get messed up if they don't give me my back wages within the week. Which they haven't at all. I am taking the risk of posting this question using my real name because the problems I am having are real, despite my boss's emphasis on company secrecy. I'm in a really desperate financial setback right now. So how do I exit gracefully? Many companies here in the Philippines are particular about the sanctity of contracts, but I really want to leave. How do I explain to my prospective employers that my company is good, but I need to eat and pay bills, and their current offer does not fulfill my needs. I also have a few pieces of equipment my current employer lent me that are worth a sum. I was also wondering if I could use that as a bargaining chip--for most likely collateral--"I will keep this until you pay me." without facing legal repercussions. UPDATE : So far the answers told me to get a lawyer, and run the hell out of my company. I greatly appreciate all of your answers, the latter I am doing right now. However, I am not about to let go of the paychecks my would-be former employers owe me. I earned that, fair and square. I will go to a lawyer, I assure you. But I was hoping for a more strategic advice how to make them pay me what they owe me. One that doesn't need lawyers and government intervention, because putting it through the government is just too much hassle for me. <Q> First off, I'm not a lawyer nor do I reside in the Phillipines <S> so bear in mind this is coming from a more general (and decidedly American) point of view. <S> Contracts are a two-way street. <S> All too often, companies treat them as nothing more than shackles to be put on people working for them without considering that contracts have obligations for both parties . <S> What you need to look at is whether or not they've met their own obligations. <S> Clearly they have not. <S> At that stage, I would submit that they're currently in breach of contract which at the minimum gives you flexibility as to what to do. <S> Were it me, I would remind them of the measures you've taken in attempt to get paid and since they aren't paying you they are now in violation of contract and it needs to be considered breached. <S> I would then go my own way. <S> As for repercussions for them claiming that you violated it by leaving, those will likely be limited to them not paying you anymore anyway. <S> If they can't afford to pay you, they can't afford to pursue breach of contract, can they? <S> And even if they did pursue it, you can respond that to continue to work for them <S> would be to do so for free since you're not getting paid. <S> I personally wouldn't sweat it too much, to be honest. <S> Having said that, it's always a good idea to seek legal counsel in your particular country. <A> There are two sides to this: <S> Go get a new job immediately. <S> Your current employer is not fulfilling his part of the contract. <S> Paying on time is the minimum duty he has. <S> He is not even managing that . <S> While failing to do that, your employer even fails to communicate this fact properly. <S> Run and don't look back. <S> It does not matter who is at fault. <S> This company is failing. <S> Get off board. <S> Fix your personal finances. <S> Any time in your life, something can happen that impacts your ability to make money. <S> Your employer might file for bankruptcy. <S> His factory might burn down. <S> Or maybe you get sick. <S> You need a personal comfort space in which you can operate. <S> If you worry about costs for transportation and food after your employer has not paid you for one or two months, this is bad. <S> Very bad. <S> You need to save money until you have enough to live your current lifestyle for a period of time it normally takes you to get another job. <A> So how do I exit gracefully? <S> Many companies here in the Philippines are particular about the sanctity of contracts, but I really want to leave. <S> How do I explain to my prospective employers that my company is good, but I need to eat and pay bills, and their current offer does not fulfill my needs. <S> I also have a few pieces of equipment my current employer lent me that are worth a sum. <S> I was also wondering if I could use that as a bargaining chip without facing legal repercussions. <S> I am not a lawyer but I am Filipino. <S> You do not need to explain to prospective employers about your (dire) financial situation. <S> In fact, I'd recommend against it. <S> Do not use company-issued equipment as a bargaining chip. <S> That would be immoral, unethical, and probably illegal. <S> Not only is it wrong, doing that will damage your professional reputation, expose you to legal action, and weaken your standing if the dispute goes to a third party. <S> If they continue to withhold your salary, consult a lawyer and the Department of Labor's National Labor Relations Commission. <S> From what I hear, the hearings, decision, and action take relatively quickly. <S> If the company doesn't have the money to pay you with (which seems possible), then I am sorry <S> but you probably won't get anything. <S> I also recommend you change your user name. <S> You don't want people reading that you were contemplating blackmailing your previous company with issued equipment.
| If you negotiate with your employer from a position of weakness because you worry what might happen without the next paycheck, you have already lost. Give your notice and leave. If you are unsure about your contract, ask a lawyer.
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How can I pass gas with professionalism on days when it is a constant occurrence? Some background: I am a low level executive for a SMB with roughly 500 employees in the United States. Among other things, my role calls for me to directly supervise about a dozen employees. I have a small office (roughly 16 ft by 20 ft) with a small window that opens, and a door that closes, but airflow is virtually non-existent. I have a very busy schedule, with a number of high priority projects that must be completed on-time. The problem: Under normal circumstances, if I need to pass gas, I will excuse myself to the restroom, occupy a stall, and do the deed. Everything is fine. This might happen once or twice a week, and it does not cause any meaningful disruption. Today, however, is a different matter. I don't know what it is that I ate last night, but something has disagreed with my digestion in a minor way. All day today I have felt an almost incessant need to pass gas. With each subsequent trip to the bathroom, I began to feel a little more guilty about the time I was wasting. After the sixth or seventh trip to the bathroom, I stopped, and I have since been passing gas in my office when the pressure becomes unbearable. I opened up my window and my door to promote airflow, but I am truly dreading the moment when one of my direct reports comes in to my office to talk to me about something. I have no doubt that he/she will be able to detect the unpleasant odor of human flatulence. So the question then: If you need to pass gas more than a few times in a given day, what is the best way to deal with this situation while maintaining professionalism? I am needing to pass gas often enough that making a trip to the bathroom is not feasible. <Q> I would suggest keeping the door closed, the window open and some air freshener handy, <S> If the door is closed, your reports will have to knock. <S> That way they wont just walk in unexpectedly. <A> The foul smelling part is flammable. <S> Light a candle or one of those room-scenters with a candle inside. <S> Or one of those tea warmers with a candle inside. <S> Works really well in the bathroom too, if you have a big party and lots of people using it. <A> This almost feels like reviving a thread fading out, but - from reading closely through your current threads (which I did because of real interest in the matter, the first one being the (alleged) micromanagement one) - could it be that you're simply, these days, in a generally less-than-calm (or mildly nervous) disposition? <S> Let me say I'm with you there <S> , there's that kind of times. <S> It could be not something you ate that was troubling your physical condition just now. <S> Talking of physiological processes and reactions, that would be nothing so much out of the ordinary. <S> Apart from that, mixing healthy foods like whole grain with junk food (any hidden-sugar bombs in particular), as might happen more likely with a stressant workpace, can have a similar effect. <S> You could make sure also that your general physical condition is sound as a line of precaution, but what I gather from the reading is that some calming down (the potential of which you may not be aware of right now) could go a long way towards leveling things out a bit. <S> Weekend's coming, it's also a holiday <S> so get some rest, don't worry too much and all the best for the upcoming discussions. <S> On another note, one thought that came to mind was that things may be quite different than what they seem but may be much more on the harmless side for yourself, such as your own manager having his own agenda or his manager's about what entails (or preceded) <S> Brent's leaving but quite possibly neither anything to do with you nor in any way threatening to you (unless you choose to step in the way of things you quite don't need to). <S> I've seen things happen, everybody got nervous on a scale from subliminally to quite obviously, and in the end it was kind of a heavy train passing by that never troubled the working team in reality, it was just rolling its way past <S> and there was nothing to get overly involved with.
| Keep the air freshener under your desk, spray when you need to, and invite your reports in when it's safe. Experience suggests that getting enough sleep or not is also a factor.
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Help getting a job So I am 23 years old and I have never worked or held a job a day in my life. I was never motivated to start working until recently when I've been getting bored, lonely and depressed staying at home all day.My problem is I don't know what kind of job I want. Any options I have come up with I just can't see myself doing for the rest of my life. I need to figure this out so I can work toward getting a job and start getting paid. So my main question is: How can I go about figuring out what kind of work or job I would want to do and/or enjoy doing? I ask because I don't want to wind up doing something like stocking shelves for the rest of my life..Thanks for any help you can give <Q> You are 23. <S> Whatever you do, you will not be doing it for the rest of your life. <S> Odds are you won't even be doing it for the next two years. <S> With that in mind, remember that as each year passes, the learning opportunities that come with employment pass too. <S> It may sound silly, but some of the most successful people I know love to talk about how they learned key skills working in fast food, or otherwise "dead end" jobs. <S> You can read a few books that might help out. <S> I found parts of "What color is your Parachute" to be helpful in improving my job landing skills. <S> "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" can also be motivating. <S> Don't delay. <S> Your first job isn't going to be your dream job. <S> Without some experience, you wouldn't even recognize your dream job if someone offered it to you, and honestly, most jobs are what you make out of them. <S> Dreams are not handed to people on a platter. <A> If you have no prior work experience, you'll have to start at the bottom. <S> There's nothing wrong with that. <S> Don't be afraid of stocking shelves, cleaning, flipping hamburgers, or any other entry-level, unskilled work. <S> These are all fine things to start off in. <S> Working in an entry-level job will not lock you into a career path. <S> On the other hand, continuing to have no job <S> will lock you into a path where you have very few options. <S> So you should prioritize just getting a job initially, without worrying about what it is too much. <S> Once you have some experience, it will be much easier to move into a more interesting, fulfillling job later. <S> And, you will have a better idea of what you want. <S> This will help you get the most out of your job and build the right sort of habits going forward. <S> It's easy to say "this is a worthless job, so I'm going to treat it like it's worthless". <S> Lots of people take this attitude, slacking off, quitting as soon as they get bored, etc. <S> But this is not a path to success; instead, it is a great way to always be stuck at the bottom. <S> If you have never worked a day in your life, work is probably going to be challenging at first. <S> It will help if you commit yourself ahead of time to try to do your best and really stick with it. <S> Having worked a variety of jobs, from the top to the bottom, I would say that practically no job is fun; work is still work, even if you are working on something that greatly interests you. <S> And any job can be fulfilling if you do it well. <S> The most important thing will be your attitude. <A> Find something that pays well considering your no experience that you know you can do. <S> You will either like the Job you got or get a General idea of what you dont want to do. <S> Nothing beats experience. <S> And even though a General Job might not be that great its something to put on your cv. <S> "I worked for 12 months in this Restaurant!" got me a Job at a Service desk. <S> Not that I liked the Job itself, but got me going to where i wanted to go.
| Whatever job you get, make the most of it: take it seriously and do an excellent job.
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Is it ethical to accept an internship that I got because of a recommendation when I failed the (technical) inteview? I am an undergrad in the final year of my Engineering program. I recently appeared for an interview for an internship. I couldn't get through the interview as I didn't perform up to the mark in some rounds. But a couple of days later, I got a notification from the same company that I was selected. Turns out, someone I knew recommended me for that position. I didn't know this until recently from a trusted source. A lot of my peers have also applied for the same position but couldn't get the offer because they hadn't the chance that I had. The internship hasn't yet started. I feel terribly bad because the reason for accepting me into the company was only due to the recommendation. I put in a lot of sincere effort preparing for the interview and the job. Apparently, it wasn't enough. Now, I want to let go of the opportunity for now and try at other companies. Is this the correct decision? <Q> Now, I want to let go of the opportunity for now and try at other companies. <S> Is this the correct decision? <S> If you want to work at this company, it would be foolish to turn down the opportunity to intern there. <S> It never matters how you get there, once you are hired you have a chance to learn, to excel, and to succeed. <S> When I am the hiring manager, I welcome internal referrals. <S> Often, they produce the best employee. <S> I always apply extra weight to the opinion of a trusted employee very highly. <S> They know the candidate for more completely that I can know them during a 1-hour interview. <S> And internal referrals usually won't recommend someone they feel would reflect badly on themselves. <S> Don't worry about what happened previously. <S> If you want to work there, accept the offer. <S> Then prove that your friend was right to refer you by working hard and demonstrating your talent. <A> You can still accept the opportunity without feeling bad. <S> There have been at least two performance evaluations going on: a) From the company during the regular application (where you didn't get a full score) <S> b) <S> The person who recommended you surely also has seen your work and was convinced that you are qualified for this internship. <S> If the person who recommended you wasn't doing it just because you are his nephew, then you should go for it! <A> Let's say I interviewed you. <S> And while you didn't pass the exact requirements that were set, I found that I had a very good impression of you. <S> I know what makes someone good at my job, and I can look past formal requirements. <S> So I might recommend you even though you didn't pass the test. <S> Or I might say that I have a very, very bad feeling about you, even though you passed that test. <S> "Does not including in the final list which is available for the candidates mean that I am rejected? " Not at all. <S> If a company has three positions and you are the fourth best then you are not on the list, but you are not rejected. <S> The company has likely split the candidates into "good enough" and "not good enough". <S> If you were "not good enough" you would be rejected, and you wouldn't be asked to join . <S> If the company finds only two who are "good enough" then they don't hire three. <S> You were on the list of the "good enoughs" and close to the top. <S> Close enough that they called you when someone dropped out. <S> On the other hand, I would strongly recommend that once you join the company, you keep your feelings about not being good enough to yourself. <S> It would make me very nervous about you if I heard that. <S> As an employer, you want someone who is confident that they can do the job. <S> If you think you are not good enough to deserve the job, I would fear that you would give up on the smallest problem. <A> As other people mentioned it doesn't matter how you got there, some chances come once and if you let them go, you will for your rest of your life <S> say "If I only took that opportunity, everything would be different now". <S> and then you will have more experience and more rich CV to apply for other jobs without recommendations. <A> If everybody rejected job offers because they believed that a recommendation helped get them a position then: there would be no reason for asking for references from finalists there would be no reason to ask current employees to recommend people, or to offer a bonus if that person accepts the job. <S> there would be no reason to ask for the current interns to provide names and contact info for potential candidates for next year. <S> there would be no reason for anybody to ever network. <S> there would be no reason for sites such as LinkedIn. <S> The company decided that you met the criteria. <S> Some did it by their experience and interview. <S> Some needed the boost of the recommendation. <S> It is likely that one of the initial list got multiple offers and picked one that paid better, was closer to home, or sounded more interesting... ... <S> Heck they could have asked us last week how to decide between two internship offers.
| In my opinion, accept the offer, get the job, work hard If I recommended you even though you didn't pass a test, then you can 100% assume that you have a legal and ethical right to get that position.
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Using non-company-relevant resources from "group" training (like Pluralsight) towards a new role outside company My company (employer, not my own company) has paid for a "group" training subscription, similar to Pluralsight as that's probably the best known - that they add employees to and we can use all kinds of industry relevant training courses. No mention of a "payback" clause etc. It's a product whereby we can study any courses that are available within it, for no additional cost further to the subscription they paid. Could I use the knowledge from this (edited to add: studied in my own personal time) 1. in applying for new jobs at other companies and/or 2. in my own capacity for personal freelance or self employed work, without any issues from my employer? Given that there's no company policy about things like this. For example... This provider has a course on "How to create a website selling your own Crafty Product" as part of the subscription (but creating a website, or marketing a Crafty Thing isn't relevant to my role with my employer as I'm a First line Help Desk Person). Then I use this knowledge to create my website selling Personalised Crafty Keyrings outside my regular employment. Edit2 (and maybe more philosophical): how far is knowledge from training from that provider/employer considered "proprietary"? Particularly - if considering outside employment, should I shy away from this and seek an outside source for the information from that training? <Q> Could I use the knowledge from this (edited to add: studied in my own personal time) 1. <S> in applying for new jobs at other companies and/or 2. <S> in my own capacity for personal freelance or self employed work, without any issues from my employer? <S> The training is given for improving your skills at the particular craft/domain. <S> However, asking you to use the knowledge only for the company is both impractical and unethical. <S> So, you can definitely go ahead and leverage that knowledge for any side-projects or freelance or for a better career move. <S> However, do read up on the company's policies regarding freelance work during employment. <S> Some companies also forbid working for their competitors atleast for a year after departure. <S> how far is knowledge from training from that provider/employer considered "proprietary"? <S> None <S> if considering outside employment, should I shy away from this and seek an outside source for the information from that training? <S> Yes, from an employer's perspective. <S> You aren't doing anything illegal, however, you are wasting the company's money for your personal benefit. <S> But from your perspective, you are gaining knowledge which you might use for this or some other employer, so gain as much as you can when you have the resource. <A> Yes, you'll be fine. <S> You should use those resources if they are available too you. <S> You are a knowledge worker, the company doesn't have a right to what you learn from your job as long as it isn't under NDA, or proprietary secrets. <S> So you should take advantage of that resource. <S> Besides, I'm sure that the company has some jobs where PluralSight would be useful, so taking the time to improve yourself shows initiative. <S> That said, I would not work on non-job relevant training during work hours. <S> I think that would be unethical, especially if you were doing the training to leave the company. <S> Edit: You mentioned using the knowledge to do freelancing work in addition to your day job. <S> I'd look at your employment contract and see what it says about IP ownership, moonlighting, and working on non-company projects. <S> Some interpretations of your contract may be more aggressive and restrictive than others, but I would personally want to avoid situations where the company might accuse me of breaking the employment agreement. <A> As I see it, the key factor to consider is whether the courses you're taking would be for personal development or to satisfy a requirement for a job opening. <S> Even if you're studying a foreign language that you'll never use at work, employers don't mind their employees using the resources they provide as part of a general package. <S> Encouraging this kind of self-study is good for morale and likely has measurable benefits even on the job. <S> Using provided resources also encourages the company to keep offering them. <S> Keep in mind that even if you're job searching, it could be months or years before you find a position that's worth moving on for. <S> Your job search shouldn't impact your current work or plans until you're sure that you're the finalist. <S> For most jobs that's not until you have an actual offer (director/architect level job searches are different). <S> If you were following a course to satisfy a requirement in a job ad then that is unethical and unacceptable in most offices, because then you'd be using company resources to facilitate your job search , which is a big problem. <A> That is a good one. <S> My interpretation is you can use what you learn at work. <S> And when not at work. <S> Is this even "at work"? <S> It would only be proprietary if it about a proprietary process or product. <S> Clearly if this is general training then it is not about something proprietary to the business. <S> This is not company time. <S> I would not call it direct use of the resource. <S> You trained then built. <S> If this was not a group license and the company was billed incrementally for the class <S> then I would say you used company resources. <S> I get some people may consider this direct use of a company resource <S> and I can agree with that.
| They will be happy you are learning that material if the company would be interested in promoting you to a position that used it. Yes, you can. Most companies have policy cannot use company time or resources.
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Being told I am being forcably resigned instead of just laying off First some details about myself, I am a 20 year old college student (Junior standing, soon to be Senior in a few weeks) interning in a Software Engineering position, I've been working at my currently company (>1000 employees) since beginning of June last year, working full-time over the summer for about 3 months and part time (10-20 hrs/wk on non-break weeks). I was informed ~1 month ago that the company was not able to hire me full time after I graduate due to budget concerns, and they had decided it would be best to just not continue my internship into this upcoming summer. Just a few days ago, I met with my manager to discuss final details about my departure, and informed me that our department was going to be telling HR that I am resigning instead of being laid off. Is this normal? (and can they do this?) This seems like a really sketchy behavior to have. I am worried that the company might be doing it to protect their own reputation, but I feel like it might be putting mine at risk (making me look like someone who doesn't want to stay at a company, when in reality, it wasn't my choice) Should I be concerned professionally/morally/legally/financially? (As a side note, I am still being claimed as a dependent by my parents, so I am not sure I could try to claim unemployment) I am in the U.S. <Q> Regularly, if you're being laid off, for example, because your company no longer has funding for your position, you're entitled to claim unemployment benefits from the state. <S> Voluntary resignation and firing for cause make the company (mostly) exempt from having to pay money for these unemployment benefits, and so they cut funding by laying you off, and then save even more by listing you as having resigned. <S> Thomas Owens suggests and perhaps rightly so that you may not want to burn a good reference. <S> You would draft a resignation letter, sign it and give it to your company. <S> Our hope is that they give you enough time to line up another opportunity before you're let go. <S> In cases where you need income and the company is putting undue financial burden on you, you have the option to fight this and apply for unemployment anyways, even if the company's documents say "resigned. <S> " They will object and you will have a chance to present your case in arbitration. <S> Again, maintaining good terms with that employer you wouldn't probably do this, but it's still a sketchy practice to inaccurately qualify someone's termination for them. <S> All they're doing is putting your claim to unemployment benefits at risk. <A> I've never had an internship end prematurely, but all of my internships ended with my submitting a notice of resignation. <S> Ending an internship with a resignation, with a reason of something like "returning to school" or even "seeking other opportunities" is normal. <S> It would be far worse if you were fired from your internship. <S> I'm not sure how a layoff would affect how companies view you, since I've never heard of an intern being laid off. <S> It sounds like your work arrangement already lasted well beyond the original internship and you've gained experience and potential references. <S> I would recommend doing what your manager says and writing up a letter of resignation with the appropriate date and a suitable reason. <S> You should also talk to your manager and/or HR about policies regarding references as you seek other internships or full-time employment. <A> I would suspect that this is very, very dodgy and will be highly likely to be damaging for you. <S> Your manager should know better than trying a stunt like that. <S> They can lay you off, which they plan anyway, but they cannot make you resign. <S> If anyone asks you to sign anything, read it very carefully and don't sign if you don't like what you read.
| I would go straight to HR and tell them that whatever your department is telling them, you are absolutely 100% not resigning, and ask them politely to write this down, and since it is a serious matter, you would like a written confirmation. And nobody can ever force you to resign.
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Boss wants my team to work weekends I am currently managing an in house team of developers, late in a sprint my boss requested that the team gets some work done by Monday. He mentioned that if the work cannot be done on the Friday, that the team should work on Saturday. The team got disgruntled, since they: want to work fixed hours (40 hours a week), and do overtime during weekends if absolutely necessary want to switch off on the weekends. are not paid for working weekends. I want to mention this to my boss, how can I do this in a non-confrontational way? Has my boss got a right to ask for my team to work on weekends? <Q> Reading your question and while completely agreeing with keshlam's answer , I think the right question to ask is, as a manager, <S> "how can you get your boss to prioritise new work rather than imposing an increase in workload without considering the impact on the team?" <S> If you are: <S> Late in a sprint (and potentially on time); and Asked to add something into the sprint <S> then you have to manage the boss's expectation. <S> Whenever that's happened to me, I say something like this to the boss: <S> If you want this done before Monday, then we have to stop other work to pick it up. <S> What other priority from this sprint is now lower that will have to be pushed into the next sprint? <S> Remember, <S> you are the manager of this team. <S> One of the most important functions of a good manager is to manage your boss's expectation to ensure that your team is not crunched by an arbitrary thought in senior management's mind. <S> I have stood my ground on many occasions when a boss tells me something is urgent. <S> Invariably, I get my priorities and schedule or reschedule accordingly. <S> If your boss is attempting to increase the workload such that your team MUST work more than 40 hours a week to meet commitments, then you need to talk to you boss about hiring additional resources to increase the capacity of your team to keep the workload of team members to a sensible level. <A> What does "deadline" mean? <S> There's the kind of deadline where your company signed a contract and will lose a million dollar payment if you don't deliver on Monday, and if you don't finish the job before Monday, you might as well not bother coming to work because there is no money to pay you. <S> And there is the kind of "deadline" where your boss promised his boss that the software would be done on monday, without any real need to do so, and he doesn't want to look stupid to his boss. <S> That's a deadline for your boss, but not of any importance to the company. <S> In this case it's not a deadline. <S> It's a sprint. <S> There is absolutely no need to work overtime for a sprint. <S> Here's some things to put to your boss: <S> Ending a sprint on Friday is stupid. <S> If you end it on Wednesday or Thursday then you can add extra work without stepping on anyone's toes - IF you think it's needed. <S> You can also release things to the public because someone will be in the office the next days if something goes wrong. <S> A sprint takes as long as planned. <S> If you don't do everything you wanted to do, you didn't do everything you wanted to do. <S> You don't make the sprint longer. <S> Your boss needs to learn better sprint estimates. <S> You don't add to a sprint after the sprint is started. <S> If someone runs out of things to do during the sprint they may start on something from the next sprint, but in no way do you add to the sprint. <A> Your boss has the right to ask. <S> You have the right to decline. <S> Your boss has the right to consider your answer when employee review time comes around. <S> Pick your battles, and consider that companies do tend to remember who is and isn't willing to make an extra effort when the company is hard up against a deadline. <A> There are 2 points here. <S> Your boss wants to: Add things in a sprint (and especially toward the end of it) <S> Have the team work on a Saturday when they are not supposed to <S> A sprint defines a set of features the team commits on delivering at the end of it. <S> Adding new things during the sprint is by definition a problem. <S> As their manager, it is your role to protect your team from such problems. <S> Having people work on a day off usually indicates that the planification was poorly done, and that both the workload was not well estimated and the priorities were not well evaluated. <S> Both those points point toward issues in organization and planification. <S> When a sprint is started, it should not be modified until completed, so the team can be confortable and efficient. <S> Now, obviously, this is theoretical, and things happen that require moving priorities. <S> In which case, I would recommend replacing features from the sprint point for point . <S> That is, here is what I would suggest you do: <S> Evaluate the priority of what is asked <S> If (and only if) the priority is really high: <S> Evaluate the point value what the stackholder (the boss) request <S> Evaluate <S> the health of the current sprint Make a replacement plan where you remove features from the sprint to integrate what is asked. <S> Make this plan with the team to make sure there is no conflict in the scheduling and no non-sense <S> (e.g.: don't remove a task if someone else depends on it, don't remove the final task that gives meaning to 3 months worth of work...) <S> Suggest that to the boss. <S> Don't mention the Saturdays, neither to the boss, nor to the team <S> *. <S> If the boss insists on it, be firm and rely on your plan to show that you can deliver what the boss asks, but also that the boss cannot just ask everything and get it. <S> * <S> If for example you discover a problem that threatens your clients and needs fixing now , then it makes sense to basically drop everything else and fix it right away.
| Make your boss choose whether this work is so urgent that it needs doing by Monday that other work will be delayed, or whether it actually can wait until the next sprint and be scheduled accordingly. There are a few cases where working extra can make sense, but it is never about adding new features, and certainly not adding things on top of what is already promised.
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Unfinished master's degree on job interview I’ve studied 2 majors at university, where getting 2 master’s degrees is tied to finishing both, but I couldn’t end my studies in one of them. (Only the last stage was left: the state exam).I’ve passed the state exam at my other faculty with flying colors, but there won’t be any trace of that on paper, because of the rule mentioned in my first line. How can I explain my situation at an interview, because as far as it seems, I won’t get a degree at all? <Q> I have never been required to show the actual paper proving I have completed a degree in an interview. <S> Now, you still should not lie on your CV, and the same should be applied to job interviews. <S> So the advice is: be honest . <S> On your CV you can formulate it to say that you completed all the requirements for Master X, and that you've passed all the classes in the programme for Master Y. HR and recruiters are not dumb and will notice the difference in the formulation on your CV, so, during the interview, explain the situation. <S> Depending on the job and on the degree(s), the paper proving that you completed a master might not be important, and your application for a job could still be considered. <S> (For instance, where I live, the title 'engineer' is ruled by laws; you must absolutely prove that you have completed an engineering degree, so you would not be allowed to have a job that would make you an engineer. <S> On the other hand, if the job you're seeking is for a programmer job, generally, your skills will be considered, and not whether you fully completed a Master's degree.) <A> Whatever you do, don't lie. <S> A quick phone call to the university registrar will expose the truth. <S> More employers are actually verifying applicants' degrees with the universities they've attended. <S> In my case, I did the bulk of my work for my Master's degree while working full time over a 10 year period. <S> I didn't want to disregard the work I had done, so my resume read something like this: M.S. Engineering Candidate (Expected Graduation Fall 2010) <S> I'd recommend a similar approach, removing the part about expected graduation. <S> It's truthful and in the interview it will prompt the conversation you want to have where you discuss that part of your education, highlighting the work you've done and your explanation of why it's unfinished. <A> " That is true. <S> You don't have a Masters degree. <S> It doesn't sound like you intend to complete it, but you could. <S> So technically, it is still in progress. <A> - "Attended such and such masters program at such and such institutions. <S> During the course of my studies I have studied following subjects: [insert subject list]. <S> I have not received a degree from this program, because... <S> [insert reason]." <S> Don't try to give creative explanations or hide away the fact - first <S> , it's something they can easily check at your educational institution and if your explanation does not fully match theirs, it will look bad for you. <S> Secondly, if you lie or get creative about this description and then land the job, you will be subconsciously burdened and will always think if your manager(s) have revealed the truth about your degree. <S> So better to be honest and just display it for it is. <S> What do you have to lose?
| Another alternative is to say "masters degree in progress. Just be fully honest about it
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Should an applicant admit to having paranoid schizophrenia? The person in question is a hobbyist programmer since their childhood and wants to make a transition to junior developer. S/he has never worked before. A few facts about the person: The person is passionate about programming, and quite knowledgeable as well. S/he knows his/her data structures and algorithms. Knows 2 languages - in one his fairly proficient. S/he doesn't have university education - studied CS for one year and then had to quit. S/he has a portfolio on GitHub with 3/4 small applications. S/he participates on Stack Overflow with reputation around 1500+. S/he had 2 psychotic episodes in his/her life when s/he was convinced everyone was talking about him/her behind his/her back. The person believed that there were cameras everywhere watching him/her, and grandiose thinking that s/he is special in some way and has some special mission from God. The person had to be hospitalized and their symptoms receded after 1 month of care. Now s/he is on daily medication and acts/thinks like the average person. Could such a person be hired? What questions should s/he be prepared for? <Q> If (s)he has marketable skills as a developer, and the disability is managed, so that (s)he does not require unreasonable accommodations, then yes, (s)he should be hirable, even if the reality is there is a huge stigma on mental illnesses. <S> (S)he should avoid disclosing during the hiring process to minimize discrimination, which I think is perfectly reasonable, because it sounds like (s)he doesn't need any accommodation that would be a particular hardship on the employer, as long as his/her condition remains stable as it is now, and (s)he has a reasonable expectation the (s)he will remain stable. <A> I would hire hir for a job that fits hir skills; under control is under control, and many of us have chronic conditions that could be problems if they flare up. <S> However, without either degree or prior experience I would be skeptical about those skills and would certainly hesitate to offer a technical position beyond the most limited until capability had been proved. <S> Effectively, a degree is a recommendation. <S> Going back for a degree would fix this. <S> Or applying for a marginally technical job and working hir way up from there by demonstrating competence in progressively more challenging tasks... <S> If those entry jobs exist. <A> Would you hire a developer with paranoid schizophrenia? <S> Short answer is 'No <S> I wouldn't' Not for a position which is easy to fill. <S> I'm not a psychiatrist, I don't know any, and I have no real idea whats involved <S> but I wouldn't take the risk, because if the person needed some attention I wouldn't know what to do. <S> The only way I would take such a person is if they were sponsored in some way <S> so there is a clear advantage for me. <A> The first question to answer: Would you hire that person if he or she didn't have paranoid schizophrenia? <S> The second question: Does your company as a whole either want to help disadvantaged people, or does your company have an advantage from hiring them? <S> (In some countries, there might be some requirement to hire a certain number of disabled people, and this one might count as disabled without requiring you to make any physical changes to your offices). <S> I am asking about "company as a whole" because that wouldn't be your decision, but your company's. <S> But you really need to get some expert advice what this particular illness means in practice. <S> I had a colleague with some serious mental problem who I would recommend with good conscience to anyone looking for a good software developer working in company of grown-ups. <S> There will be others who I wouldn't want anywhere near my workplace. <S> That's something you have to find out. <S> Plus what legal obligations or problems you might have along the road. <A> I'm impressed with her credentials. <S> I would hire her if I were in your position. <S> But then you should consider having a good rapport with her physicians, or at least your HR department would have good rapport with her physicians. <S> I would recommend using Care Circles (an Android app) or a Slack channel dedicated to monitoring her condition. <S> You should include in that channel/group: the prospective developer, her caretaker/trusted family members, you/HR department, her teammates. <S> But first ask her doctors about her. <S> They might have an insight on how you would address her needs while benefiting from her skills... <S> assuming you're hiring her.
| Keep in mind, in many countries, specifically refusing to hire based on mental illness might be considered discrimination based on disability, and possibly illegal.
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Cumulative jobs in resume I am new to the north-American job market (I am an immigrant) and I am struggling to prepare my resume and everything else. My biggest question at the moment is how to present the information that I've had two concurrent functions at the same company. My parents had a small company back in my country and since I was a teenager I took care of the technology there, very amateurishly, on an on-demand basis. In spite of liking tech a lot, I thought it would be better to become a Bachelor in Business Administration so I could help my parents better. While I was in the university and until I came to Canada, I kept working at the tech side of the growing business, which became increasingly complex (but still on an on-demand basis), but as soon as I graduated, I also took care of the company's Customer Relationship, which became my main function. In a week I would spend around 40 hours doing Customer Relationship and 6 hours doing tech. My job titles were officially "Customer Relationship Manager" and "Information Technology Consultant". I have just graduated in a Information Technology diploma, Software Development major, and I see that my experience put me ahead of my colleagues but I am afraid that disclosing my experience in tech would make me overqualified for junior positions but not be enough to get me intermediate positions. I was thinking in downplaying my tech experience so I would not scare junior positions, since I am not very confident that I could handle an intermediary level. But how do I do that? Should I completely omit it? What do you think? <Q> An additional point to consider is the background check and what it would reveal about your time at your previous company. <S> Some HR departments tend to have strong reactions to discrepancies, which might affect your job offer . <S> In any case, it is best to be honest and forthright with your employment history. <S> If you insist on leaving the tech experience off, contact your previous company and get your employment records so that you know what a background check will turn up first. <A> You should be applying for junior level positions so don't worry about not being experienced enough for intermediate level positions. <S> Keep in mind that many of your competitors have internships, summer jobs, etc. <S> So it is fine for you to have some experience. <S> You could say something like "worked on X, Y and Z for family business". <S> It's good experience. <S> And it doesn't sound like years of a full time job. <A> You should give a try for profiles that require both fields, instead of choosing one. <S> Even if you are starting with junior level, there will be few with such combination..and since you have experienced in both.. <S> it is worth mentioning!!!
| If you held two positions, either one or both may show up in a background check for employment history .
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Long Job Titles in Cover Letters In a cover letter, should the job title you are applying to be included in the opening sentence, or at least the opening paragraph? Many of the positions I am applying to have long titles (7-8 words), making the sentence it is included in awkward and hard to follow. Is there another location within the cover letter that the job title can be included, perhaps before the first sentence? <Q> When the company has a long complex job title, that is usually because they have many different job positions and need to distinguish them from each other. <S> If the job title is "Intermediate Hardware Quality Assurance Specialist - Medical Devices" that probably means there are Hardware Quality Assurance Specialists in other departments, and other kinds of Quality Assurance Specialists in that department. <S> You need to make sure you get added to the pile for the right one. <S> Job applications are often processed centrally by HR departments, whose workers may not be able to tell from your resume that you are obviously applying to the Medical Devices department. <S> Specifying the exact job title does two things: firstly it precisely identifies the position you are applying for, reducing the possibility of a mistake, and secondly demonstrates that you have read the company's job adverts and have a real opening in mind. <S> Both of those are far more important than elegant sentences. <S> The lack of readability is not something you should worry about, compared with that. <S> If simplicity and clarity were important to the company, they would not have job titles that long. <S> If you really want to be concerned about readability, make the job title the subject line: <S> Dear Sir/Madam Intermediate Hardware Quality Assurance Specialist - Medical Devices <S> I am writing to apply for the above position... <A> Generally, the company will be aware of the title of the position which they are trying to fill. <S> The only time this may not be true is if the position was posted on a 3rd party recruiting site, who changed the actual title. <S> Regardless, the rest of your cover letter should make it clear what position you're applying for and why. <S> I'd keep it more general, as you may get consideration for other, related roles that way: <S> Dear Sir/Madam, <S> I am aware of an opening for a {technician|engineer|salesperson} in your {sales|marketing|IT} department. <S> I am writing to express my interest.... <A> Some companies offers many different job opportunities with different roles that may apply to you with your degree. <S> To put it in other words, you are maybe applicable for many job opportunities of that company lets say "Software Engineer" or "Tester" if you graduate from a computing degree then you are applicable for both. <S> In such case, and especially when applying by email, is good idea to make crystal clear <S> the position you are applying for.
| If you are applying by email, then maybe you can reference the job position in the email's title (which allows you to exclude it from your cover letter) or in my opinion if you want to be sure that is clear of what you are applying for to put it in your opening sentence.
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New employer wants me to pay for ISO 9001 accreditation before employment begins - is this a scam? I recently went for an interview for a new job, the interview took place in the restaurant of a hotel in Euston, UK. They called 2 days later to inform me I got the job of a customer service advisor with salary £20k+ and would like me to sign a contract. Then they informed me I would have to pay £180 for an ISO 9001 accreditation before employment commences. The signing of contract took place in a rented office in Moorgate. Alarm bells are ringing. I told them about my concerns and I needed more time to think about it. Is this a legitimate offer? I have only spoken to one person during this whole encounter and the website seems dubious with the following information. If we employ you directly, it will be under our employment and career development (ECD) program. Because we are an ISO 9001 affiliate network company, you will be required to become an accredited member of the Institute of Quality Management Excellence and to follow an accredited career development plan created for you to the level of your role with us. You will be required to make full payment for your accreditation as a condition of employment but we will refund any amounts paid out by you after you have been employed with us for a period of (26) weeks. <Q> It's a scam. <S> ISO 9000/9001 accreditation is about quality in a company, <S> not individuals (I've worked in an ISO 9000 company). <S> To be accredited, the company needs to define their quality system for all aspects of their business. <S> It is then audited to ensure that it is acceptable and that they follow it. <S> Making you pay up for accreditation is likely part of an advanced fee fraud, where there will always be "just one more" thing to pay for before starting the non-existent job. <S> Just imagine the guy asking you is emailing from Lagos, Nigeria, and how you'd react to that; it's the same scam. <A> As someone who is a ISO 9001 certified auditor, I can tell you that: This is a scam. <S> You cannot get an ISO/9001 certification (it's not possible); you can only be certified as an auditor and even then it doesn't cost 180 GBP (its way more). <S> Your "sixth sense" is right on this one. <S> This is a ruse. <S> I can almost guarantee that if you pasted some paragraph from your contract into Google you'll find that it's either a template or common sample contracts available online. <S> Even if you ignore everything else, if there is a requirement for a job to get certified (and a candidate is not), the company pays for the certification in lieu of a work bond or other such undertaking. <S> They most definitely don't ask for money upfront. <S> In fact, in general if you are asked for money upfront during the hiring process it is almost always a scam. <A> This is so unusual that you have either come across a remarkably stingy employer, or (more likely) <S> this is a scam. <S> Also, the thing they're asking you to pay for sounds like a load of nonsense: ISO 9001 is an accreditation which applies to organisations, not individual employees: <S> The ISO 9000 family of quality management systems standards is designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product. <S> ISO 9000 deals with the fundamentals of quality management systems, including the eight management principles upon which the family of standards is based. <S> ISO 9001 deals with the requirements that organizations wishing to meet the standard must fulfill. <S> Action Fraud has a page about employment/recruitment scams: <S> When you pay one fee (eg: a visa administration fee), the agency will tell you about another fee that has to be paid (eg: a deposit on accommodation). <S> In reality, the fraudulent agency makes none of these arrangements. <S> What’s more, the fraudsters may also ask for your bank account details to set up salary payments. <S> They will use these details to steal money from your account. <S> In reality, there is no job and any fees paid go straight to the fraudsters. <S> In summary: run a mile. <A> Further to all the answers about why asking to pay for ISO-9001 accreditation is a sign of a scam, something which hasn't been touched on. <S> If I'm going for a job with a company, I expect to have at least one interview at the place <S> I'm going to work. <S> Remember that YOU are interviewing THEM as well, and you're going to be spending a lot of time there over the next few years. <S> Do the facilities look OK? <S> (But also be suspicious of vastly over-expensive crap if the company is not making a honking great profit, as per all those famous failed internet startups.) <S> Do the people look OK? <S> How's the parking? <S> Do you need to allow an extra hour for traffic? <S> There are three exceptions to this. <S> One is if the company is so big that it's worth them hiring an entire hotel for a new-intake event. <S> In that case you'd be in a large group of other potential hires. <S> The second is if I'm a contractor, in which case I have a signed contract before I start and either I'm working through an agency or (if going direct) <S> I get paid weekly <S> so I'm not left out of pocket if things go south. <S> And the third is if your skill-set is so specialised and you're such a star player that it's worth their while to headhunt you and take you out to a fine-dining restaurant to try to persuade you to join their team. <S> You don't fit any of those categories. <S> Oh, and if they say it's a new startup, that's fine. <S> You then decide whether you can take that risk though. <S> And as a ground-level employee, you want some shares. <A> You might be dealing with the alleged scammer in this video . <S> Explanation <S> By googling for the term <S> "If we employ you directly, it will be under our employment and career development (ECD) program." <S> I found that a similar scam had also been run using the website www.staffinder.co.uk . <S> Further googling for staffinder uk scam lead to this website , where a number of people describe similar scans and one person links to the video mentioned above. <S> Please note that I have no means to independently verify that the man in the video is indeed a scammer, but if OP recognizes that man, it might help in identifying and reporting him.
| Some employment fraudsters ask the applicant to pay a fee in order to apply for a job. It's definitely not normal practice here in London for an employer to require an employee to pay anything at all before starting a new job.
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How to work with senior colleagues who always seem to have an upper saying? I work with some senior colleagues, some of them have over 25 years of experience and I have around 5 years. One of them is my boss and he always seem to override whatever I say during meetings and in my view he thinks that I am too inexperienced to make a decision. I am not saying every one is like that but it seems most senior colleagues especially who have put in 20+ years confidently or rather feel happy to ignore / override the decisions made by less experienced. I hugely respect their experience, their understanding of the domain but I believe they should take some time in respecting the comments/decisions suggested by the less experienced and correct them if needed. What would you say? Am I just one of those? :) <Q> To me, it seems that you and the senior colleagues have some disagreement about who is in what role. <S> Are you supposed to be equals? <S> Or are they senior to you? <S> If you are supposed to be equals, you should go to your manager and ask for some guidance, here. <S> If your decisions are not as beneficial to the company as the senior colleagues', you may need to work on understanding your company's culture more and finding out where your ideas are falling short. <S> If they are your seniors, you should ask them (privately and when their schedule allows) to help you understand where they feel you're not making decisions as they'd want. <S> Now, keep in mind, this is <S> NOT the time to argue. <S> This is where you ask, listen, and process. <S> Going with the Ask-Listen-Think model also will earn you some respect from the seniors. <S> If they believe that you have been listening to them and understanding what they've told you, you're likely to get more respect from them for your decisions later on. <S> I've been on both sides of this issue, to be honest. <S> 5 years' experience gives you enough knowledge to know what will work, and work well. <S> 25 years' experience gives you enough knowledge to know what won't work, and why, as well as what problems you'll encounter along the way. <S> Also, to soothe your ego: <S> You get the knowledge of what won't work by making mistakes. <S> Someone with 5 times your experience has likely made AT LEAST 5 times your mistakes. <A> The problem may not be with your solutions, but the fact you're stating them out loud in a meeting. <S> Some people feel threatened by this or as a senior, feel the need to make a better suggestion because it is expected of them. <S> Instead of confronting them in public, ask for a one-on-one session to review your suggestions and get some feedback. <S> This is a learning opportunity for you and it may be more political then technical. <S> I'm not sure how to phrase it, but at some point you could ask if your boss prefers you to keep quiet during meetings instead of offering suggestions. <S> It's fair to say that being rejected 100% of the time is discouraging. <S> Or you can just stop making suggestions in meetings. <S> Maybe follow-up with an email of suggestions <S> just so they know you have a brain and like to use it. <A> If you think are more correct, show them why ... <S> Or, better, ask them why your solution wasn't a good one and how it could be improved. <S> You may learn something useful; if not you will at least learn what their biases are and how to avoid triggering then. <A> Well, it means that you, with your 5 years, are alone in a group of people with 25 years of experience. <S> It is honor. <S> Second: imagine a sitution as if you would work together with somebody with fewer as a single year of experience. <S> Behave to them, as you would want it in this imaginary situation from your beginner collegue. <A> Ideally and in a perfect world, your senior colleagues would be mentoring you. <S> At 5 years of experience, you should be getting to be more independent when it comes to completing work, but still have a lot to learn. <S> I think there may be two approaches that can help you. <S> If you are having a meeting to discuss ideas and you throw out an idea that is rejected, ask questions. <S> Try to learn why the decision that gets accepted is better in the given situation. <S> Show interest in learning how the decision making process works and how ideas are evaluated by the more senior colleagues. <S> If you are having a meeting where you are being told about a decision that has already been made, ask questions to probe into why the decision was made. <S> It would be a problem if your senior colleagues didn't take the time to help you learn. <S> You probably shouldn't expect it all the time - there are other things that may need to take priority. <S> But getting questions answered and helping you to develop your careers should be an expectation of senior employees in a workplace.
| Doing so during the meeting may not be the best time, depending on length, but you can always go up to the person making the decisions after the meeting and ask questions or schedule some time to learn.
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Professional response to "Are you busy?" My co-workers often ask me "are you busy?" before asking for help or discussing a problem. I find this question hilarious: If you answer yes then you are a bad employee because you are unavailable and can't help the team, if you answer no then you are a bad employee for not having stuff to do. Usually the answer is "not too busy, what's going on". What is the best way to communicate that you are working, but have time to help? <Q> I think you're misunderstanding the intent behind asking if you're busy. <S> I think everyone expects that their colleagues and coworkers have work to do. <S> What they are asking is if it's OK to interrupt you from your work at the moment. <S> If you aren't working on anything pressing and have time to answer their questions or help them out, the expected answer would be that you aren't busy, implying that you aren't busy at the moment. <S> If you are on a deadline and don't have time at the moment, you should let them know when you'll be free to answer questions or help them out. <S> If they need help explicitly from you before you are free and it would interfere with you meeting your deadlines, you should direct them to your team lead or manager to sort out conflicts and determine what the right thing to do is. <S> As a professional, if you truly don't have anything to work on, you should be going to your manager or leader and trying to get more work lined up. <A> There's a good answer for these types of questions. <S> "I am right at this moment. <S> Can you come back in about 30 minutes? <S> I'm at a point where stopping would be a setback." <S> You're telling them to go away without being rude or a bad employee. <S> If it's important, they'll come back. <S> If not, they won't. <A> If I'm busy I just say so, but I don't usually just blow them off, I evaluate what they want and decide whether to prioritise it or not. <S> If I can't be interrupted for 2 minutes (I have already been interrupted) then:- "Sorry mate, ask me later I can't leave this." <S> But normally I'll hear them out while multi tasking:- <S> "Yep, pretty busy <S> right now, what do you need?" <S> Then after listening to their needs I'll either set aside what I'm doing temporarily or give them a tentative timeframe of when I can deal with it. <S> If it's someone who just asks because they're bored <S> and they do this all the time. <S> " <S> That depends on whether there's free food involved." <A> I have experienced this same issue for the past two years since being promoted to administrator. <S> What I have done is inform those with which I interact the most that I am here to help and they do not need to ask if I am busy. <S> I have relayed the fact that in the event that I was too busy at the moment I would voluntarily indicate this and offer a suggestion for the best means by which to pose their question at that time. <S> For people that contact me less frequently and ask this question I simply say "I have time for you at the moment ". <S> If the same person were to call more frequently I would explain things to them the same way. <A> Depends on what I am doing and who the person is but my responses tend to be: <S> Sorry, I am working on an urgent issue right now. <S> I'll message you when I am free. <S> What can I do for you? <S> (I then evaluate based on what they asked to whether or not I am interruptible at that point.) <S> If I can help them right away, then I do so or I set a time when I can get back to them or send them to someone else. <S> Just a minute, let me finish my sentence. <S> (If I am in the middle of writing an email). <S> Point to phone and mouth <S> (but don't say aloud) " <S> On a conference call. <S> Is it urgent?"
| If I'm not busy, I give them my full attention.
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I am new at this place and I have found a critical bug How should I approach this scenario: I am working as a software contractor in a big telecom giant and they have an app, development for which has taken a painful two years and everyone on the team has worked very hard. I have joined this place just two months back and have been asked to look after whatever I can grab, I also enjoy a bit more share in terms of freedom. So I started fiddling around with the live code and found a very critical glitch of not protecting the production build with obfuscation. One of the main libraries is compromised and it's only a matter of discovery before it takes all of us on an ugly ride. I don't want to demotivate anyone, how do I approach this problem? Should I inform the whole team via a mail? Should I only ask our lead developer to fix it quietly? Or should I talk with the big guns? <Q> First off, take a breath. <S> Don't assume priority/severity Start by realizing that you're new, don't know what the company has decided in the past. <S> Your company many have already evaluated this issue and determined that it doesn't matter to them, which would make your severity rating inaccurate. <S> Even if the company cares in general, they may have determined that it doesn't matter for this product, again making your severity rating wrong. <S> Assuming the company cares, fixing the bug may be much easier than you seem to anticipate. <S> (in the case of obfuscation, it's is typically an automated process, so it's not that big of a deal to add it though the follow-up QA effort may be large. <S> You can go over to https://security.stackexchange.com/ if you want to know more.) <S> Don't Panic <S> I bring up the above because, when you raise this, you need to do so in a calm manner. <S> Panicking (like calling this 'critical') never helps. <S> In fact, it will make people trust your judgment far less. <S> Don't panic. <S> Stay calm. <S> You also should be careful to let others prioritize the work and assign the severity. <S> Ask your boss <S> You report to someone. <S> Tell them the facts of what you found and why you think it's a problem. <S> Speak factually, without indicating priority, or using any adjectives whatsoever if you can help it. <S> Your boss may tell you why the company doesn't care. <S> S/he may direct you to someone technical to tell. <S> S/he may tell you to talk to security. <S> If so, give them the same facts you gave your boss. <A> I would hope that such a project has a bug tracking system. <S> In which case, raise it as an issue, and inform whoever is responsible for that area of the code. <S> There's no need to make a big song-and-dance about it. <S> To be honest, if you're relying on obfuscation for your security, then you've probably got bigger problems. <A> So you found a bug... <S> Ask the developers how many open bugs they have. <S> Yours can be added to the list. <S> Which is probably a very long list. <S> Quite the contrary, every bug found makes life easier for all the developers. <S> Obviously don't put up your hopes that finding a bug will get you a promotion. <S> I find a dozen every day and fix them without running around and telling everyone :-) <S> I'm worried though about what you mean with "fiddling around with the life code". <S> Someone said I should be worried about finding 12 bugs in a day... <S> A while ago I downloaded a new version of a popular music player and after half an hour <S> I was so pissed off that I sent ten reproducible bug reports to them within an hour.
| Using scary sounding adjectives will burn you if the company considers code obfuscation to be a non-issue, or has evaluated the performance or maintenance or other cost to be unworthy of the effort. Your job is to report the issue so that others who understand the product and the company and the risk tolerances better can do their jobs. Nobody will be demotivated if you find a bug.
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Birthday celebration in bad environment In my job, people are used to bring sweets on their birthday. But they are really bad mannered and distant to me and never invite me. This Sunday it was my birthday and I just passed to bring anything. I am incapable of putting a good face to people that are not nice to me and I think it will look bad to bring something to few ones that actually are nice people and have a minimum of education. But I noticed few "salty" comments about that on Monday and Tuesday. Did I acted wrong? How should one behave in such situation? <Q> You basically have two options: a) <S> Simply play by the accepted social rules, bring along some cake, stand next to it, do some small talk and accept any congratulations you may get. <S> b) Do what you feel is right, and don't bring anything, or only to people you like. <S> Option a) will avoid the complaints from coworkers, and show you are making an effort to fit in. <S> However, it may feel "fake" to you, or as you write, you may feel "incapable of putting a good face to people that are not nice to me". <S> Option b) may well exacerbate tensions with your co-workers (or it may not make a difference). <S> Both options are acceptable in principle, neither is illegal, so it is up to you to decide what you value most. <S> Finally, I think you will have to tackle the underlying problem, namely that you do not get along with many of your coworkers. <S> While you can work like this for a while, you will get all kinds of problems in the long run: Your work will be unecessarily stressful, cooperation / teamwork will be difficult, you may be perceived as "not a teamplayer". <S> So I think you will have to solve that problem. <S> How to do that is again up to you (make amends with coworkers, move to different department, quit job...), but you should not let the problem linger. <S> You might consider professional counseling (away from the office) to help you tackle this. <A> People may not be inviting you for a reason and since you don't interact with them enough, you don't know if that's the case. <S> Maybe there was an incident where you seem distant and bad mannered? <S> So in other words, they've behaved just like you and have the same opinion of you that you have for them. <S> You could all be right just as easily as you could all be wrong. <S> How would we know? <S> Since this site is for the workplace, I'll base my answer on that. <S> What you did was wrong. <S> You may need the cooperation of these people to help you with your job and the company. <S> Show you are a professional and above petty opinions of people and choose to be the one to do something nice first. <S> You may not need these people. <S> We'll never know. <S> If you would like to correct people with bad manners, you may want to start by showing some yourself. <S> Bring some treats to the office. <S> What's the worse thing that could happen? <A> Apparently in your company people bring in treats on their birthday. <S> You were wrong not to have done so and made your own situation actually worse. <S> Whether you like the others is not the issue, behaving in the way that is culturally acceptable is. <S> Likely if you made a mistake like this, there are other ways you are failing to meet cultural norms; that could be why some people seem unfriendly to you. <S> You need to sit back and start observing how other people in your company relate to each other and what is and is not acceptable behavior and the adjust your behavior accordingly. <S> Remember, you have to work well with people whether you like them or respect them or not. <S> You are being paid to do this, so like or dislike or hate is irrelevant. <A> Tell people that you simply don't celebrate your birthday, and bringing them treats for the occasion would contradict this long-held position. <S> With maybe 3 exceptions, no one in my office even knows when my birthday is, and I like to keep it that way. <S> Side note: I don't understand this cultural obligation to buy things for other people on your birthday. <S> I mean, my 6 year old is expected to bring cupcakes for her class in school on her birthday. <S> But that's 6 year olds. <S> Adults? <S> Seems silly to me.
| If they press the issue, tell them that it's your personal preference to not commemorate your birthday in any way, and as it's a personal decision the details are not appropriate to share in the office. If you want to get along in a particular company, you need to follow the cultural norms of that company whether you agree with them or not.
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How to find a low-challenge, low-variety job when coming from a highly educated background? I am a university graduate with a BSc and an MA. I am currently working for a (very) large financial company as a java developer who effectively spends most his time doing everything else IT related. I'm effectively sent on every possibly IT errand; whether it is upgrading existing systems or designing new ones. Some people would appreciate the variety and challenge, but I experience it as extremely stressful. I do all this for near-minimum wage, and have decided I can happily live off that. Asking around, though, it seems that with my educated background getting a 'monotonous' or 'routine' job would be nearly impossible within the company. Especially data entry would be an impossibility.At the same time, when going to another company on interview one of the questions I struggle with is "what new challenges are you looking for?", as I am explicitly trying to avoid challenges, and mostly want to just provide menial labour. Is there a viable way to get a low-challenge, low-variety job when relatively highly educated? <Q> Certainly. <S> Personally, I find most QA work to be that sort of thing, though the crunches near release time might not be what you consider low stress. <S> Some programming jobs are just standing up basic websites for small businesses. <S> Again, not terribly challenging or stressful. <S> But the thing to realize is that a low stress work environment is less about the work and more about the company culture. <S> So before derailing your career too severely, I would recommend simply changing your approach. <S> It's not that you're looking for monotonous work, but that you're looking for a low stress environment since you know that helps you succeed. <S> It's not that you're looking for routine work, but that you work best in an environment with fewer unknowns. <S> As an employee, you need to be a little picky during your job search - for culture as well as work/salary/title. <S> And you'll need to be able to do a little salesmanship to convince the company that a laid back sort of environment is best for you, and will allow you to best help them. <A> If your goal is monotony and you are ok with making around or near minimum wage, I would recommend changing industries. <S> For example, I have a cousin who has done seasonal work for years - he works in some of the most beautiful locations in our country, doesn't make much money, but gets to spend all his time outdoors in beautiful country. <S> I actually have dreamed of doing this - basically quitting my software engineering career and finding a career that has me outdoors in nature all the time. <S> Oftentimes though working for minimum wage level jobs may be more stressful as you will deal with worse managers and worse coworkers. <S> This is why I would look for more a "specialty" minimum wage level job. <A> If you don't care about moving up in your career and don't want to do this type of work, why are you stressed? <S> Are you being asked to do things you don't feel capable of or are under time constraints? <S> Stop responding to a variety of tasks. <S> Start telling people you don't know how to do those things. <S> You don't care about money, so losing a job shouldn't be a problem. <S> If you're over-qualified, stop putting your education on your resume. <S> Apply for a job in data entry atanother company. <S> Many people leave out skills, education, certification and experience it if is not relevant to the job. <S> Even in your current position, you don't have to mention everything you do. <S> Tell them your current title doesn't really fit the job. <S> It sounds like you will do a good job and not look for something more challenging, so you'd be a good fit. <A> In general you're in the wrong company. <S> Usually the bigger the company, the less of this sort of work you will encounter. <S> These normally have more set roles. <S> And there are plenty of them out there. <S> Govt is also a good option, plenty of Govt IT employees rarely do anything different and quite often they're overstaffed and just sit around most of the time. <A> If there's too much stress and you're working for near minimum wage, I might suggest working part time for a higher rate. <S> You'll be at work less, which would help with the stress levels, and won't always be available to be ' <S> that guy' to run to when there's an IT issue. <S> It would also be easier to find a 'monotonous' job, with minimal task variety, since they aren't expecting to keep you busy for 40 hours a week. <S> In addition, as you mentioned in some of the comments, maybe you can have more time to work on Theater things, if t <A> If you're looking for a monotonous IT related job you should consider becoming a professional software tester. <S> You need intense focus, sharp memory and pattern recognition as a software tester <S> and you'll need to be able to do that over and over. <S> And your job is incredibly important since more and more companies see the value of software testing.
| My recommendation for finding what you want to do is to find the types of things you do and find jobs related to them. Last, you can always take things off your resume - if you apply for a manual data entry job, consider taking your degree(s) off your resume if you feel they are making you overqualified. There are tons of programming and IT jobs that are doing the same basic thing day in and day out. IT as a field in general has expectations which probably will not be agreeable to you long term. So look for a big company with a large well established IT team.
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What's the most important career advice for someone who is going to work in the U.S. for the first time? I've been recruited to work at a large company overseas and this will be my first time working and living in the United States. I'm excited about the opportunity but part of me is worried about the fact that I'm from a third-world country and there might be huge differences between both countries in terms of work culture and practices. What's the most important advice for someone who's about to come work in the U.S. for the first time at a large company? Are there any formalities I should be aware of? Is the work culture exclusive and different from any other place? <Q> Make sure that your green card and/or H1B visa is always current. <S> If it's not, your work engagement may be termimated immediately. <S> Don't do anything illegal because you will be deported immediately. <A> If you are talking about workplace etiquette and rules, it really depends where you come from. <S> Some things will be the same and some won't, can you be more specific about where you are from and where you are going into in the USA? <S> Off the top of my head, Americans generally don't lose much sleep over switching jobs or careers compared to some countries where people strive to have the same stable job for life, and this can affect workplace relations (e.g. people quit rather than complain or put up with bad management, and look for a new job instead of asking for a raise/promotion). <S> There are regional differences too... <S> I am from the Midwest, and I've had friends go to work in the South, East and West Coast and all 3 had noticeable differences in workplace culture. <A> As an outsider there is one overriding thing to always remember. <S> It's not enough to be as good as everyone else, you need to be better to get respected and get ahead. <S> Be on your best behaviour both in and outside work. <S> This is where most people have issues, they get comfortable and they forget the basics. <S> NEVER allow that to happen. <S> Live as if you are being watched, and as if you are representing your people full time.
| Work hard and respect the people, the laws, and the cultural values of your location.
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Acknowledging a worker for accolades given by outside party A contractor asked me,"So what did you think of the letter I sent your manager?" "What letter?", I replied. My manager has been sitting a a letter from a contractor commending me for my efforts to get a project done. It has been about three weeks and she has said nothing to me. The contractor got a short reply thanking them for their input so i know my manager received the correspondence. This is not the first time my manager has kept silent after receiving such an accolade towards me. What am I to do? This kind of thing should be acknowledged and a copy entered into my personnel file. Is there any way to force her hand? <Q> I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think there's anything you can do. <S> Either your manager thinks that the praise is inconsequential, or plain doesn't like you. <S> Either way she's a terrible manager. <S> You can't really force her hand, because the customer will most likely rarely tell you about it after the fact. <S> What are you going to do? <S> Regularly go up to her and ask whether you've received praise? <A> Next time, see if you can get the customer to send you a cc of the praise (which they really should have done without being promoted). <S> Then you and your manager will both have copies, and both be aware that the other has a copy, which should make the conversation easier. <S> Re other comments, standard reminder to not assume malace. <S> Maybe the manager is assuming you did get a copy, and just isn't good about remembering to say "hey, they like you, well done. <S> " Not every manager has good vpeople skills, alas. <A> The manager is not doing her job properly. <S> Letters like this are morale boosters for a whole team as well as they reflect well on her as your manager, so should definitely be mentioned. <S> But psychoanalysing her motivations isn't constructive. <S> Not a lot you can do about it either, the fault is mainly with the manager and partly with the client. <S> The client should have cc'd you. <S> Personally I would just shrug it off and file the information away until I have a use for it.
| You could have a conversation about this sort of situation and tell her that you'd appreciate if such praise was passed on to you in the future, but realistically, it would probably be perceived as a slap in her face, and won't over well.
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How to resign from a remote-work position after my employer has invested in getting me a visa? I've been working remotely as a freelance programmer for a ~15 people startup company in the US (I'm from Europe) for about 7-8 months now. They've started a visa process to get me on site and the visa process has been taking ~7 months so far. I assume the company invested a lot of money into the visa process but there are still issues with the visa and they've been hiring lawyers to fix those. Anyway, the visa is still not ready and the process will at least take another month. On the other hand, I've realized that I'm a bad fit for the company. I've had numerous Skype conferences with the lower-chain team and there seems to have been a lot of tensions - mainly due to the fact that I'm more introverted and the majority of the team is extremely extroverted. Also their lead engineer left in the middle of the project and for no clear reason. And he was the only team member that I had no problem communicating. How do I resign properly in this situation? I'm afraid that they'll ask me to return the money they've paid for the visa process and, seeing as it's been taking this long, it might have cost them ~10k already. I don't even have that amount of money. <Q> You simply tell them what you've said here, that you realize that you wouldn't be a good fit. <S> They'll be ticked, but that's just life. <S> Just because they've spent money on a visa process doesn't mean you've sold yourself into slavery. <S> Unless you signed something that said you will repay them , they really wouldn't have any recourse to recover the money from you, though I am not a lawyer. <S> Let them ask for the money. <S> You're not in the same country, you're not even on the same continent. <A> Well, this is a tough situation. <S> Is there anything in your contract about you being liable for the costs of the visa process if you quit? <S> If you're not certain you should contact a lawyer (American one, probably) and clarify this point ASAP. <S> They'll be upset, but you can't really avoid that. <S> You can offer your help for X number of weeks in order to transition the project to someone else if you want to be generous. <A> It's better to leave now than wait for the visa to clear, then they buy your plane ticket, relocation cost, etc, etc. <S> By then they might feel more obligated to recover some of their cost but even then unless you signed something there is nothing really that can be done. <S> Overall better to leave now and be sure to state the reasons above. <S> If they're this interested in you maybe they can work something out for you.
| Once you know what the situation is, you will have to contact the company in question and simply politely let them know that you don't feel like you're a good fit with the team, and you're quitting. Thank them for the opportunity and part ways.
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Send more complete answers after the interview I did a phone interview for a programming job with a hiring manager. He mentioned that I did well, although I couldn't come up with complete and optimized answers for some of the questions on the fly, which were relatively hard algorithm questions. Would it be considered a good practice to resend the complete solutions after the interview to him? Edit: The questions were not exactly generic programming questions. They were tailored towards their products. I know they would obviously know that I did some research, but I'm hoping sending a follow up answer while clearly saying I did look up a few things, shows that I can solve the problem more optimally in real life. Is this recommended or can it have a bad impression on them? <Q> I've done this, more than once. <S> Once the stress of a live coding interview is over, answers I couldn't come up with during the actual interview <S> have a way of just popping into my head. <S> Once, literally as I was hanging up the phone at the conclusion of an interview (that involved coding via screen-sharing) a simple, elegant solution to a problem I had failed to solve occurred to me. <S> I let out a scream of frustration, typed up the solution, and emailed it to the interviewer. <S> It has never helped. <S> In my experience, if you do not absolutely ace a technical interview, you don't get an offer. <S> Heck, even if you do ace the technical interview, chances are there are several other developers in the candidate pool who performed similarly well, so your chances are still not very good. <S> Competition for programming jobs is pretty cutthroat :) <A> As a counterpoint to some of the other answers, I did what you are asking about when interviewing for my current position. <S> After stammering out a mediocre answer in front of a white board, I told the manager (now my boss), that I don't do well in such situations, but I understood his reservations (he gave me immediate feedback). <S> The company gave me a take home programming test, which I did. <S> I also spent a little time coding an answer to what I was trying and failing to say in person. <S> After I was hired I was chatting with my new boss. <S> He said the fact that I continued with the original problem and showed better what I was trying to do was beneficial in their evaluation of me. <S> Would they have hired me simply via my take home submission? <S> Probably, but that extra work helped. <S> Also, look at the down side: <S> What harm does it do if you suggest other/better answers in a follow up email? <S> If they don't like you, you have spent some time you won't get back. <S> If they are on the fence, you might snag an offer. <A> Viewpoint from a hiring manager: <S> I would be very surprised at this kind of action from a candidate - and, depending on exactly what they sent back, it might work in their favour. <S> How to make it work <S> If you just respond with "hey, I googled the problem and found this solution was better than mine", it wouldn't really add anything to the consideration. <S> On the other hand, if you say something like: <S> I found that problem very interesting, and while I think I provided a good and working solution, I've been putting in some extra thought and think I've a more optimal one. <S> I did a bit of research - <S> (link to wherever) - and found this similar idea, and if I adapted it, then the algorithm would be (some) faster. <S> Is it worth it, though While it's nice to know that you're keen to improve and research, and interested enough in the job to try and score a few more points, it probably won't change the outcome. <S> For one thing - a good hiring manager will realise that getting a highly optimised solution in a short, supervised test is not very likely - they are looking at other things, like your approach and surface knowledge (ie, not reinventing wheels when the language has a built-in methods for that). <S> For another - if you didn't come across as keen and excited person at the interview, any follow up won't fix that. <S> Conversely, if you did come across as keen and excited, any follow up won't add to that impression. <S> In the end, there'd have to be a very fine balance between you and any other candidate for the spot for this to influence whether you get the call. <S> Still - it's good for your own skill development to see how to approach the test question better - but I wouldn't bother following up with the interviewer. <A> As far as sending an answer to a interview question post interview, I wouldn't do that. <S> They would know you looked up the answer and forward them what you found. <S> That may or may not help you.
| My advice is to send a follow up email a few days from now expressing you really enjoyed the interview and would still be interested in the job.
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Manager is pushing me to take an intern while I'm not sure to stay Last year, my manager asked me to try to find one subject that could turn into an internship, which I successfully did. Unfortuantely, due to some problems with HR which resulted in a very late posting of the offer, we haven't been able to find anyone for the internship. Some time has passed since then and the annual salary negotiation left me quite unhappy, which my manager is well aware of. He said that he will do everything he can to fix this next year, but considering the explanation I've got this year concerning my raise, I have some hope about this, but not that much. So I'm actually having a look at other positions, without considering me actively looking. He's not aware of that, as things may get better next year and I don't want to appear as threatening him with a potential resignation. Problem is that in the past few days, he has been actively pushing me to take an intern on another subject (perfectly related to my area, spontaneous application) for around 6 months which is for me a period of time during which I may hand him over my resignation, leaving the intern with no tutor, which is something I wouldn't like to do to anybody. How to handle this the most professionally way ? Edit : Thanks to the good answers. I think I'll take this opportunity as this is something I already wanted to do before this spontaneous application. I'll let my manager handle the consequences of my resignation if the situation arises, it's his job after all. <Q> When looking for a new job, you can't stop functioning "as normal" in your current position. <S> Yes, this will mean starting things that you know you are never going to finish, and sometimes this has quite a big impact on other people. <S> But this is simply unavoidable. <S> Of course, you should not intentionally take on something you won't finish. <S> You wouldn't volunteer to take a new responsibility or suggest the idea of bringing on this intern yourself. <S> But your boss is your boss, and if he asks you to do something, what can you do? <S> Refusing and being uncooperative is not a good idea, nor is telling him about your job search. <S> Do try to be prepared for your possible departure, to minimize the extent that your leaving will disrupt things. <S> gvo gives good advice on this point . <S> But ultimately the company will have to deal with this. <S> It's just one of the realities of doing business. <A> leaving the intern with no tutor Are you the only one in your team to be able to help/work with the intern? <S> Unless your subject area is extremely specific even within your team, the intern will be part of the team , and it's not such a big deal if one of your colleagues (or you manager) take the responsibility of becoming its tutor. <S> Once the internship starts, if you still think about leaving, ensure that other colleagues are aware of what the intern is doing so that they can easily take over your role . <S> In fact, I think that's something you should do anyway <S> (you could be sick or hit by a bus any time after all), and it's more interesting for the intern to have interactions with multiple professionals rather than only the tutor. <S> So I'm actually having a look at other positions, without considering me actively looking. <S> Furthermore, you're not even sure to leave. <S> Your company will not stop asking you doing some activities because "maybe you will decide to leave in six months <S> but that's not sure" How to handle this the most professionally way ? <S> Find the subject, and ensure other colleagues participate and adhere to it. <S> In other words, continue to do your job, and ensure it can be taken over the day you'll leave (if you do) <A> It almost sounds like that your manager is only saving his own boat from sinking, as he is aware of your unhappy situation but is still actively pushing you to take an intern on another subject. <S> You did your job by successfully finding a subject that could turn into an internship, and now it is your managers turn to do his. <S> Looking for other positions is threatening to a manager, but from your perspective it is quite normal that you are looking for other positions as you want to be safe for the future <S> You can take it into consideration that he may also be under pressure by his boss/manager, but since he said that he will do everything he can to fix it, it is a good moment to talk about the situation and explain how you feel about it. <S> If he is under pressure, I would communicate it like: <S> Hey <S> X, before I take an intern for the subject, I wish to clear things up, We both know that we are under pressure, but can we consider Y.. <S> You can also bring it like: <S> Hey X, about the annual salary negotiation, have you thought about how we can do this? <S> Goodluck!
| So, if your boss asked you to do something, you should do it (as long as you don't have some other compelling reason to object).
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How to handle awkward conversation with co-worker in gym changing room who is naked I was at the gym (non work affiliated if it makes a difference) last week and ran into a co worker in the changing rooms. This would have been fine except she had just walked out of the shower completely starkers and tried to have a conversation with me, first normal chatting like "here for a run?" but then work related stuff. I tried to be polite but honestly wanted to keep chatter to a minimum in the hope that she would stop getting distracted and put some clothes on. I changed quickly for my activity, and then left. But now I'm wondering was I rude for not wanting to engage in conversation with a naked co worker. She is generally lovely by the way so no issues there. How would other people handle this? <Q> Just tell her to put some clothes on, I'm assuming you're both female. <S> Or turn your back and talk. <S> There's nothing wrong with not looking. <S> I've never had exactly the same situation, and I'm male anyway, <S> but in a similar situation I just told the guy in a joking manner. <S> "You going to put some pants on mate? <S> Or are we going to have a sword fight?" <S> It's similar to those people who think it's fine to chat while you're on the toilet, it's best to just let them know you're not comfortable about it but trying not to be embarrassed. <S> " <S> Sorry dude, give me a bit of privacy for a minute, really pushing on this one, need to concentrate or I might injure myself." <A> Just tell her you are on a schedule and need to get going. <S> If naked makes you uncomfortable then fine. <S> For many people showers or changing room is not a big deal. <S> If you play sports a lot of banter takes place in the showers and changing (locker) room. <A> it is polite, simple, direct, and non-confrontational. <S> side note <S> : i have a similar policy about bathroom chat. <S> if someone is getting too chatty, i just say i don't chat in the bathroom.
| you could just say i generally don't talk to people while they are naked.
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How do you handle a pressing question in your head while someone is in the middle of explaining something to you? As a junior developer working on a rather complex system, I find myself in this situation constantly. A fellow programmer is explaining a topic that is relatively complex but I am following along with their thoughts enough as I deem appropriate. But then they'll mention something that I'd like clarification on and would like them to explain, even if it may only be tangentially related to the big picture. It's like that minor point has acquired an exclusive lock on my cognitive reasoning ability. I just want to know how THAT works. However, they are on a roll explaining the system, while I can't seem to stop thinking about that one thing that's confusing to me. Should I be interrupting more often or should I work on my own inability to let little things go and try to focus on just picking up the gist of what is being described after a snag point? <Q> When your cohort is done hearing himself talk, read what you wrote down to jog your memory, and ask him the question. <A> "even if it may only be tangentially related to the big picture" Learn to differentiate between what is essential for understanding, and what is a true tangent. <S> If your question isn't a tangent, you need to interrupt. <S> Your "understanding" questions need to be asked in the moment, otherwise the rest of the explanation will fly over your head. <S> If your question won't help you to understand what he is trying to teach, you should put it in the "parking lot." <S> Most people will give you an opportunity to ask questions if they are explaining a complex system. <S> Save your "parking lot" questions for that opportunity. <A> I often ask people to pause, and then say something like <S> "I need to run that back to you. <S> Have I got this right?" <S> and then I ask true/false questions: <S> "So, at this point we haven't initialised anything?" <S> "Where does that variable get set?" <S> "Don't we want to do X at this point?" <S> The thing I find all the time is that developers explaining things assume more information is better , and will often over-explain or overwhelm when they should be slowing down. <S> Your part is to flag this up, invert the conversation, and attempt to pull out the facts you need, and have them confirm your understanding. <S> (Of course, there might seem like a power/experience imbalance <S> makes this 'rude' somehow, but you've gotta do it anyway)
| At a certain point, you have to turn the lecture into a conversation. Write down your question and release the exclusive lock.
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Is it unethical, or a conflict of interest, to hold shares in other companies in my industry? I work for Company A and hold shares in Companies B and C who are competitors of A, or work in the same industry "niche" (e.g. A, B and C are all banks and I work in credit card processing for A). Is that a potentially unethical action or a conflict of interest (assuming I just invest in the shares because I think B and C will give a good return to shareholders, and I won't directly take any action at A that would impact B or C other than carrying out my normal duties in the interests of A). If I already owned stock in B or C before starting work at A, could I be asked to "exit" that position in the stock market? There is no specific company policy about this; I'm asking about a more generic "Company A". Edited to add: I'm a standard low level employee, not in any kind of privileged position. <Q> No. <S> It's perfectly fine to invest in competitors. <S> It would only be in exceptionally unusual circumstances that it would be an issue. <S> If you bought, say, 5% of the shares of B, that would likely create an issue. <S> If you used insider knowledge of A to buy or sell shares in B or C, that could be an issue. <S> Undoubtedly, you can come up with a few other corner cases but those would be highly dependent on localized circumstances. <S> I've never heard of a company that asked (normal) new hires about their existing positions or that would ask someone to sell stock before their start date. <S> Unless your country has a particular law that prevents that, I suppose a company could ask you to exit the position as a condition of employment. <S> I certainly wouldn't worry that you'll actually come across such an offer until you're applying for CEO positions. <A> Regarding the size of the investment. <S> If your investment is so large that they would have to list you on their government require documents, that would be a problem for your current employer. <S> The nature of the investment is also important. <S> I own shares of mutual funds. <S> These funds invest in dozens or hundreds of companies. <S> Therefore some of my money is invested in competitors. <S> I am sure my employer is OK with this because the fund is available through the 401K. <S> The third part to be considered is your role in your current company. <S> Are you in a position to base purchasing decisions on the potential to help your outside investments. <S> This wouldn't just apply to competitors, it would also apply to other conflicts of interest. <S> If they asked you to provide a list of companies you have significant investments in to identify potential sources of conflict you should comply, otherwise you may risk your position if they later discover it. <S> In my experience if they have an issue they will usually also have suggested ways to mitigate it. <A> I have worked mostly in the Financial Services industry, so this does add to the governance pressure, but these roles were not all senior roles, so <S> seniority isn't the critical factor. <S> It generally isn't unethical even in financial services, but the regulator wants to avoid the possibility of unethical or criminal behaviour as best they can.
| Financial regulators usually do count these as a potential conflict of interest - but if you aren't in that sort of heavily regulated environment, it certainly isn't unethical. The issue would depend on the size of the investment, the nature of the investment, and your role in your employers organization. In every company I have worked for in the last 18 years, I have had to declare any investments in competitors and clients, as well as any personal or familial relationships.
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How can an experienced employee convince his manager to give team lead role & more responsibility? I am an experienced IT professional who was leading a small team in my previous company. I joined a new company a few months back. My manager & most team members are completely new to IT , and there are very few IT engineers (with little IT experience) in the team. My previous company had a strong IT team with lots of experience, but this new company is basically product-based & inexperienced(IT-wise) people within the company are grouped to form a new IT team with a few experienced IT professionals hired from outside. My new manager has divided the work into small pieces and is giving each person a small piece of work and ask me to only work on that. When ever I come up with overall project methodology or give ideas, he is indifferent and asks me to only work on the small piece he has given me(which will only last two weeks), thus limiting my scope & influence in the project. Also he is not supportive of me overall. My problem is that the role he is trying to assign to me is a step down from my role in the previous company, where I "architected" the solution and led the team as well to do hands-on work along with other team members. -- How can I convince him without causing any problems to give me the lead role where I architect the solution & coordinate with other team members, and report to my manager regularly like the role I was doing in my previous company? I hinted my intention indirectly few times but I now want to setting up a 1-1 to convince him. Edit: I was technically hired in a team lead role but this team has been formed very recently. I was told during hiring that when the team expands in strength I will be given a team lead responsibility, but it was not specified when that would happen. The problem here is more on how to convince an unsupportive manager & get into a team lead role quickly without causing problems. <Q> You may need to complete this task as an individual contributor to demonstrate your skill and ability to take orders. <S> He has explicitly told you to only work on the small piece he has given you. <S> I don't see that pushing for more right now <S> is the way to go. <S> He is clearly not ready to give a new employee architect and team lead. <S> How long will it take you do complete this task? <S> If it is a long task and you don't think you can wait until the end then approach him directly. <S> Tell him you had a bigger role in your previous job and feel like you can contribute on a higher level. <S> You edited that this is only a two week task. <S> Just do the task and see how it plays out from there. <S> Not the time to convince an unsupportive manager that you need more responsibility. <A> You were told this would happen when the team grows. <S> Don't expect it to happen before then. <S> Meanwhile, lead by example -- do the work you're given efficiently and to high quality, help educate your co-workers on how to do their juice better (constructively not by criticising)... <S> To get promoted into a role the best thing you can do is look for opportunities to demonstrate the skills associated with the role. <S> But the official promotion will occur on the company's schedule, even if you're actually doing the full job well before that. <A> You are jumping the gun expecting to be put into a leadership architect role straight away on the strength of your last job. <S> You need to focus, start building trust and work relationships and prepare yourself for that role in the future, not make a nuisance of yourself asking for something the boss probably can't or is unwilling to actually give you at this point. <S> I have employed people with impressive credentials on paper and years of experience, they still need to prove themselves to me before I entrust them with too much. <S> I've seen too many paper heroes <S> and there's a lot more to organising a successful project than the tech side..
| Stop complaining and start proving you have the skills they hired you for.
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What do I say to my manager if he asked me about a colleague's raise? So my boss asked me to come to his office to take my opinion about a raise that my colleague asked for earlier. This colleague started only months ago but he proved that he is very good at it. Took big bugs and fixed it then started improving the application and released new features only in couple months. He started with an agreement for a certain salary where a raise is to be considered based on his evaluation during the agreement period. Now that colleagues asked for a raise almost 25% of what he is taking. I didn't know what to say because I didn't know about it so I said that I will think about it and get back to him. What should I say? My boss is the owner and the company is a small company (5-10 employees). I didn't know numbers and we both managed to keep it this way; I only knew percentage. The question sounded very normal, not tricky or trap for over limits/responsibility sort of questions. It sounded like he just wants to know what do I (a good coworker) think so he knows what to do best for the company . I liked that he managed to ask me, I took it as my opinion is important and as he is consulting me. I want to be part of making the decision. I agree that it is not of my business when it comes to salaries, but I think this overall situation is an opportunity to show/improve leadership skills towards a future possible management position. <Q> Don't give an opinion on the colleague's salary. <S> This isn't your place, and the fact that the boss discussed the numbers with you was perhaps not appropriate. <S> (However, it does indicate that your boss trusts you and wants your input on a major decision, which is a good thing). <S> Do give your assessment of the colleague's performance. <S> This is probably why the boss asked you anyway. <S> If the colleague is very good, say so, and explain why you think that. <S> Example response: <S> From my perspective, he has clearly proven himself since coming here, doing an excellent job in a short time. <S> He is someone that I hope we can keep on our team. <S> But I would prefer to leave the business side of the decision to you. <A> I'm afraid you can't have a clear opinion about whether or not your coworker is worth "almost 25% more" than his current salary, if you don't actually know how much he's earning right now . <S> With the following in mind: He started with an agreement for a certain salary where a raise is to be considered based on his evaluation during the agreement period. <S> You say he's only been on the team for two months; is that the agreement period? <S> It might be a little too early to discuss a raise, but it might also not be - specially if he agreed to a sub-standard salary upon joining the company in the first place. <S> I suggest telling your boss that your colleague is a great performer - in fact, from the way you word it, he appears exceptional - and advising him to make sure the employee is getting a fair paycheck so that he's happy to stay in the team. <S> If a 25% raise is the way to make this happen, so be it. <S> You can also tell your boss how much (money) <S> you feel this employee is worth, but only if you feel confident enough and have a rather good feeling of what's the job market like in your area. <S> Otherwise, it's better not to. <A> Depending on where you are working there may or may not be confidentiality regarding salaries. <S> For example, in Australia salaries are not confidential in general but <S> a specific agreement can make them confidential on the employer only; the employee can take out a full page newspaper ad if they want. <S> Notwithstanding, asking colleagues for their opinions about a workmate is perfectly fine. <S> However, you simply do not have enough to go on <S> - you say your colleague is "very good" and that they want 25% more than they are getting. <S> If what they are getting is $1/hour then 25% more is a very modest ask; if its $100k/hour its probably excessive. <S> All you can do is go back to you boss and put your colleague in a class - "lots worse than me", "almost as good as me", "about the same as me", "a little better than me", "lots better than me" and let you boss decide on the appropriate salary. <A> If your boss is not a technical person he is probably asking you to help him evaluate the new employee. <S> Tell him exactly what you posted here and let your boss decide how much of a raise to give him if any. <S> Don't be concerned with the size of the raise. <S> Retaining talent is expensive and the end your boss will decide if your coworker is worth it. <A> Simply telling your boss that the person is "very good" doesn't help all that much in determining whether a 25% raise is reasonable. <S> Since you are a small company and don't have an HR department that keeps track of what they should be paying, what I would do is: 1 - Assess the person's approximate experience level or "rank". <S> For example, Junior, Senior, Principal etc... <S> 2 - Get the average salary for that level in your area. <S> You can find that on various websites. <S> 3 - Tell the boss, <S> well I think the person's experience level is about Senior level 2 and according to this website the average salary for a person like this is $xyz. <S> I would then expand upon where in that range the person's salary <S> should be by saying something like <S> "I think the person is very good compared to a typical person at that level so they should probably be a bit above the average". <S> That at least gives concrete information for your boss to work with. <S> After all, a person who is "very good" for their skill level and is already making "very good" money for their skill level probably shouldn't get a 25% raise but if they are vastly underpaid then they certainly should. <A> What an incredibly(!) <S> unprofessional thing for a manager to ask of his/her employee! <S> :-O <S> The role of "a Manager" is to manage(!) <S> his/her team. <S> "Any request made by any member of the team ... <S> no matter how bizarre (heh) ..." is his/hers alone to handle." <S> It is, therefore (IMHO...) "grossly unprofessional" to bring any other team-member into the picture, with regards to any issue relating to another member of that team. <S> The manager has utterly no(!) <S> business asking any of his/her subordinates "for input" with regard to the sort of decision that is reserved exclusively to the manager him(her)self. <S> And, as for "what you should probably do?" <S> Give 'em your best "disbelieving stare" ( diplomatically-unspoken: " <S> are you seriously asking me this?!?!") ... <S> (keep silent!) ... and a thoroughly-noncommital <S> (but, "disarmingly diplomatic" ...) response. <S> (Sheesh ...)
| I don't really feel comfortable discussing a colleague's salary, and in any case, I'm not the right person to make that decision. As other users have already pointed out, you should strive to give your boss an accurate assessment on your colleague's performance.
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What if the last day of a two weeks notice lands on a holiday? I was offered a position at another company and have limited time to give my two week notice for my current job. However, I see that if I give my notice today (Monday 5/16) then exactly two weeks from now would be Memorial Day (Monday 5/30). Should I just go ahead with notice considering that as my last day? Or should I just make Tuesday 5/31, which is the day after the holiday, as my last day? I also thought of making Friday 5/27 my last day, but I'm not sure if that would be considered full two weeks notice. <Q> I did this once and gave notice as of the day I wanted as my last day in my resignation letter. <S> It even happened as the second day of a two-day holiday at Thanksgiving. <S> I then told them that I realized this was a holiday and that if they wanted to make the last work day as the last day of my notice that was OK with me. <S> I was lucky enough to be paid, but there is good chance they will be happy to let you leave on Friday and not pay for the holiday. <S> I would not offer to stay until the 31st in your case. <S> If they insist I would agree (unless that was a showstopper for the other job), but let them suggest it. <S> As I said, more likely they will prefer not a to pay a holiday for someone who is not going to be there. <A> It's two weeks' notice, not 10 working days' notice, and on top of that it's a courtesy, not a requirement. <S> You ought to provide your company with as much time as you feel is appropriate for them to find a replacement. <S> I've worked at places where the winding down period was spelled out in months, not weeks, and other places where I came into work and people were like "okay, we have no need for you anymore, bye". <S> If you don't want to burn bridges, of course, don't just walk up to the boss and say "I quit". <S> However, I would go so far as to say that a company that was like "NO YOU CANNOT QUIT UNTIL THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY BECAUSE TWO WEEKS <S> DO NOT INCLUDE HOLIDAYS HERE" is probably not a place you want to ever return to work at anyway. <A> You're worrying about this way too much. <S> If you need to start at your new job on Tuesday 5/31 then simply say so. <S> If you boss has an issue with it he will tell you about it and you can come to an arrangement.
| Most companies would probably prefer not to pay you for the holiday.
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How to go to interviews during working hours? I am looking to move jobs soon (this autumn), the last time that I did this it was extremely difficult for me to go to interviews whilst in the office full time. This was largely from my boss being in the same room. It is also a casual environment where we do not suit up but wear casual clothing. Hence, I will need time to get changed (into a suit) and find time during the day to go for interviews without anybody getting suspicious. The last time I did this, I resigned and job hunted full time to get another job. I am not keen to do this again from a loss of income. <Q> Most people use their allotment of paid vacation or paid time off to go to interviews. <S> You shouldn't need to give explicit details about why you are taking time off, in most cases, but that depends on your boss and company culture. <A> When you arrive at the interview, just put them on. <S> Alternatively, you can try scheduling your interviews in the morning, and just leave the jacket & tie in the car when you get to your current job. <S> Most people don't pay that much attention to what their coworkers wear and shirt and pants is not that formal to be noticeable. <S> Even if someone gets suspicious <S> I doubt they'll say anything. <A> Since your job hunting is still months away, start now by gradually improving the way you dress. <S> Start with nicer shirts. <S> If you wear T-shirts, start wearing polo's. <S> After a few weeks wearing dress shirts, start wearing dress slacks for a few weeks. <S> If you wear very casual shoes, do a slight upgrade on those. <S> If you are planning on changing your hair at all (tidying up, clean-shaven, etc.) plan that somewhere in there too. <S> The idea here is to inch toward wearing dressy clothes without actually being dressy. <S> Even in casual environments, it's not unheard of to wear everything but a jacket and tie. <S> This allows you to wear part of your suit to work and since you've been dressing like that for a couple months, nobody will be the wiser. <S> Yes, someone may well notice you're starting to change your clothes style. <S> You can pass it off as dating someone or (if you have one) your significant other has been pushing you to dress nicer. <S> You may even have someone ask you directly if you're looking for work. <S> You can say that you aren't, guilt-free. <S> Then you continue wearing the nicer clothes. <S> The key is to avoid sudden changes. <S> When the time comes to start with the interviews, you being out for personal appointments won't be as suspicious when they look at your clothes. <S> You can take a half day here and there for the interviews with less suspicion.
| If you're wearing polo's or other business casual wear, start with a dress shirt. You can take all or part of a day off to interview - take the whole day off and leave for the interview from home or take part of the day off and travel between work, home, and the interview as appropriate to change. Wear pants and shirt and leave the jacket & tie in the car. You may still garner a little suspicion but if you go slow, nobody should notice. Also wear nicer socks.
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How to deal with colleagues who explain things I already know? I am a programmer and my colleague is a scientist, we are similar ages and at the same seniority. Neither of us have a background in economics, though I have studied some economics out of interest. One day an economist was visiting our department, and the Phillips Economic Machine came up. My colleague started explaining to me what it was, and I said "Oh yes, they're awesome, there's one in the Science Museum in London...", and the conversation carried on happily. Later the same day, with a different economist, the subject of Nassim Taleb came up, and my colleague turned to me and started to explain to that Nassim Taleb wrote a book called Black Swan, about unusual events... I rolled my eyes and said "I know who Nassim Taleb is", before the conversation continued. My colleague perceived my eye-rolling as rude, and said so. I believe my colleague was trying to be helpful, and I shouldn't have rolled my eyes. However, I was annoyed by my colleague's assumption that I needed the explanation, about a really popular author, in a field in which neither of us is an expert, when I had demonstrated that I already knew about a more obscure topic in popular economics a few hours earlier. Unfortunately, explaining happens to me quite a bit, and I usually ignore it, but get irritated internally. Sometimes after I've given a talk about a specialist programming topic, people will come up and start telling me about much more introductory topics in the same field, unsolicited. What's a polite, gentle way to stop people explaining to you things that you already know? I'm not talking about situations where the person has no context about you: I'm talking about situations where you've already shown that you have knowledge of the area, and the person continues to assume you know less than they do. Perhaps I should just allow the explaining, especially with strangers. But I would like to find a polite, non-hurtful solution, because (i) it's boring to have things explained to me that I already know, and (ii) it feels strangely invalidating, like the other person hasn't really absorbed who I am. Thanks for any advice. <Q> I don't know this scientist, but if I were saying things like that to you, it would be an expression of my respect for your intellect. <S> If someone who is very learned, such as this scientist appears to be, when any difficult or complex subject comes up, and it needs to be brought into a conversation with someone else, they tend to put the "someone else" into one of three possibilities: <S> This person is familiar with and competent in this subject. <S> This person is intelligent, and capable of understanding this subject, but is not (yet) familiar with it. <S> This person is not able to understand or learn this subject. <S> This scientist put you in category number 2, when you were in fact in category number 1. <S> I took this to mean that he respects your intelligence, but doesn't know you well enough to know that you are already familiar with these topics. <S> This is understandable, as neither of you specialize in economics, but both appear to have learned it outside your core vocation. <S> If he had put you in category number 3, and just "dropped" you from the conversation when the complex topics came up, THEN <S> you would be right to be upset. <S> Your first scenario you handled absolutely perfectly. <S> The second one would have been better with something like, "You've read him, too? <S> I'd love to go over what your take on his work is over lunch, sometime. <S> " <S> You shut him down, but respectfully, and even enthusiastically. <S> Do this often enough, and you'll find that you'll have an ally, and perhaps even a friend. <S> Oh, and apologize to him for the eye-roll. <S> Tell him you get tired of "... <S> the jocks Mansplaining to you," and just reacted out of habit before you remembered who you were talking with. <S> Trust me: He'll understand. <A> I rolled my eyes and said "I know who Nassim Taleb is", before the conversation continued. <S> My colleague perceived my eye-rolling as rude, and said so. <S> Imagine how much smoother things would have gone if instead of your eye-roll <S> you had responded with "Oh, yes! <S> I read that book. <S> It was so interesting! <S> " It doesn't matter if you and the other person are of opposite genders. <S> An eye-roll is rude. <S> Expressing interest and knowledge is exactly the opposite. <S> Your colleague's behavior might well have been that of a male being condescending to a lowly female. <S> Or it might well have been that of a scientist being condescending to a lowly programmer. <S> On the other hand, it might have been from one intelligent and curious person (but perhaps socially inept person) to another who respects that other person's intelligence and curiosity but at the same time knows how unlikely it is that another person knows about that topic at hand because it is outside that other person's domain of expertise. <S> And that's a problem in the modern era. <S> Even though the domains in which I have professional or amateur expertise have expanded greatly over the years, I know that there's a whole lot out there that I just don't know. <S> My unknown unknowns? <S> I am utterly clueless of that. <S> Ask yourself: How many programmers (male or female) do you know that have read (or even know of) <S> The Black Swan: <S> The Impact of the Highly Improbable ? <S> Your colleague would have been better off asking if you knew what "black swans" were before lecturing you on Nassim Taleb, but that is an subtle social skill that takes some time for highly intelligent and curious people to acquire. <A> " <S> Oh yes, they're awesome, there's one in the Science Museum in London..." <S> This was the perfect response. <S> Demonstrate your familiarity with the subject matter by offering an interesting fact in reply. <S> "I usually ignore it, but get irritated internally." <S> Remind yourself that the person "teaching" you believes they are helping you. <S> There is nothing to be irritated about. <A> Along with a few other gestures, "rolling of the eyes" is one of the most clear and aggressive signals of dismissal. <S> Imagine what it would be like to talk to someone, perhaps for the purpose of small-talk or developing rapport, and then getting an eye-roll as a response. <S> Until they really get to know you, others have no idea what you've read or understand. <S> This is not about "black swans" or knowing obscure or not-so-obscure topics, this is basic manners. <S> Basic manners dictates listening to people when they talk and giving a thoughtful response. <S> Rolling your eyes shuts down the discussion and probably many other future discussions. <A> As is showing off too much. <S> I have a very broad general knowledge and often hear about subjects that I know in depth. <S> But I rarely say anything. <S> There are number of reasons why just listening politely is a positive thing. <S> You may even learn something new. <S> I don't even really speak up if I am convinced that they are wrong unless I'm asked for my opinion. <S> Or I see some sort of gain for myself. <S> Why start a battle <S> I'm not passionate about. <S> That's just me though, your personality may differ. <S> Here's a very short list of positive reasons to listen, mostly to do with people skills. <S> It doesn't antagonise people. <S> You get listened to when it's your turn. <S> It makes people feel good that you're paying them attention and treating their knowledge with respect. <S> The overriding one in my opinion is it helps you gauge a person. <S> Viewpoints (even one's you perceive as wrong) allow you to better judge people which is always useful. <S> So I usually hear people out for those and other reasons.
| If you like you can even respond with a witty/clever/humorous remark to indicate that you know the topic and in so doing, implicitly suggest a higher level of discussion. Anger is rarely helpful, especially in a professional environment. Unless you dislike someone rolling the eyes is not a great response for the obvious reasons.
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Concerned with third party quality of work. Do I say anything? I'm the lead developer of a startup that deals with deliveries and pickups for various companies. One of these partner companies has had a website and API built for them, and with 10 years of development experience I can say that the quality is far, far below par. They sent over the API details and one of the first things I noticed was that the API doesn't use HTTPS , which is an obvious no-no. Having raised it with the "CEO and project manager" of the development firm, I got the following response: No, right now it's transferring via HTTP not HTTPS. You can hit these URL's via cURL. It will be more secure and fast. Now, not everyone here will know that this response is ridiculous, but it is, and also outright wrong and dangerous. This is literally the equivalent of your bank telling you that you don't need the green padlock in your browser. We'll be sending our customer details to this API and vice-versa, so this is a massive security hole. Amongst other things that are clearly wrong with their implementation, I have serious concerns about their attitude towards security, the overall storage of the data and how they will maintain and back up this information. So, what do I do? Our partner who has commissioned this website is valuable to our company, so we don't want to upset them or rock the boat, but on the other hand, their data (and ours!) is being handled improperly and they're not getting a good quality product. My instinct is to contact our partner and expose all the issues that is wrong with the implementation of their new and fancy API and to insist that they get resolved. Is it right for me to get involved in this? I've discussed this with my boss and he agrees that although we should tread carefully, it is a good opportunity to strengthen our ties with this partner and help them out of what could potentially be a tight spot in the near future when their data goes bye-bye. Is it right to bring up the bad practices of fellow professionals in your industry to a third-party like this? <Q> Where the issue concerns the security of data and the public integrity of your partner/client and their clients or users, yes <S> you should absolutely raise these concerns with your partner company. <S> But keep it professional and fact-based. <S> Don't get into any judgemental evaluations of their chosen development partner, just state the facts as you see them and point out the actual security risks. <S> Give your partners the factual information they need and let them make their own security decisions including, if they see fit, bringing these up with their development partner. <S> It is their responsibility not yours. <S> Obviously if your company is being expected to pass sensitive data over an unsecured connection, which is not in the best interests of your company or your users/clients, then you are quite within your rights to decline to use the connection until it has been secured. <A> You point out the security issues and what you see as a resolution. <S> Then your boss should take it from there. <S> Do it in writing and when you compose it, assume that the other side will be reading it, so keep it clean, factual and professional. <S> Do not make judgements like (tripe) in writing. <S> Always leave them a way to resolve it without conflict. <S> Conflict may come later but that's another issue. <S> You can move forwards from whatever eventuates after that. <A> In this case, having that kind of security hole could potentially lead to your company being put out of business due to an actual security breach. <S> If you see something grossly deficient, and you value your position where you're at, speak up! <S> Then document what you've shared (for your own record-keeping. <S> CYA) and move on.
| Definitely record the problem and mention it to your boss, this is your job as the subject expert.
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Am I being taken advantage of (and/or underpaid)? I am a full stack webdev less than a year out of school. That said, I do know what I am doing and have shown this at work. Now, according to several sites (glassdoor is the only name I remember atm), I am getting paid ⅔ of the average in my city when I search for entry level webdev. I am not familiar enough with this industry to know if the fact I am not too far out from school means that this is acceptable and the norm. I got this job right out of school. It was the only option at the time and I didn’t know what I was doing and totally flunked the salary negotiations. Since it pays the bills, I’m not overly active in looking for a new job. I recently got my 6 month performance review (a month late I might add, though that could mean nothing), with it a (I’m told company standard) 5% raise (which amounts to pittance and does nothing to help match city average), and a promise of another review at 1 year (and I assume another standard raise). I’m afraid if I push the issue that I’ll lose the job, and that's not something I can afford at the moment. IDK if another company will pay more to someone with my skill level. I suppose it should be noted that I tend to be overly cautious about things especially when I don’t have all the information (hence my not pushing the issue here at work). I know “average” means there will be some below the mark, and some above. But is it reasonable for me to accept a salary this low below the mark? Am I getting shorted (either by intention or happenstance) because I was overly eager to just get a job at the beginning (or any other reason)? If you are a webdev yourself, I would be very interested to hear your opinion on the matter since you’ve walked this path before. Thanks in advance. <Q> Quite often when building your career from the start it's best to just take what you can get without making waves (so long as it's liveable). <S> Build experience and then go for better money when you have something decent on your CV. <S> Staying with your current company in the future will probably see you consistently paid below the average, so it's a judgement call on when you leave, and it's a judgement call on whether the experience makes up for it. <S> But it's not a good look if your first job was a short one, and this has been less than a year. <S> My advice (and I don''t know your full circumstances) would be to soldier on for at least a year and then start looking around. <A> Talk to local recruitment agents. <S> They'll have a much better handle on the local opportunities, and if they agree that you're underpaid, they'll quickly get you something <S> (it's how they make their money). <A> Start applying for other jobs. <S> This will help you: <S> Determine <S> if you have the necessary skills. <S> Feel much more confident when asking for a raise. <S> If you discover that your are marketable at a higher salary, you need to ask for a raise, but you should focus on what you've been accomplishing in your job for your company. <S> Not all companies have the same budget for their web developer(s), so they may not be in a position to pay you. <S> There's nothing you can do about that except ask for some other benefits that may not cost the employer as much (flex time, days off, etc.). <S> If you're lacking in skills, maybe you can find time to work on them in your current position or do some self study. <S> Sometimes a company can pay for training since they don't have other employment tax expenses and can often write it off as an expense. <S> Doing a little of your own research combined with what you're able to find online will give you a better understanding of your local market and where you fit.
| You're worth what someone is willing to pay you. Get an understanding what is available in your market.
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Dealing with a slow growth curve in improving automation skills and how that affects ones career I have been working as a QA since almost ~5 years now. While I am one of the senior QA in my team, and have brought in other quality aspects to the table, my automation skills are still "beginner".While my jobs have always been manual : automation as 70:30 or best 60:40, I haven't in all these years been able to improve my skills. I will be specific in that - I seem to take quite more time to complete an automation task / user story as compared to my other QA team mates It takes me time to understand code - I can do it myself, but i take time - again not as fast as my team mates I am not happy about my debugging skills, though I am actively trying to learn from colleagues and myself Also, I am not quite there when it comes to adding value to the automation framework My issues and concerns: Am I too slow on my growth curve? This is affecting my performance and I am not sure if this may cause my termination? Should I drop the idea of improving or putting in efforts to harden my coding skills? Please advise as I am finding it very tough to motivate myself, I often feel directionless and feel this weakness is causing me to not gain the credibility in my team in the automation area. <Q> The answers you are looking for are primarily opinion based and can not be answered by anyone but yourself. <S> Slow is a relative concept. <S> If your department is full of people who are fresh college grads, who used the technology while studying somehow <S> or they are more adept due to what they did, of course they will be faster than you. <S> On the other hand, fast brings errors with it. <S> If you are a slow but careful member, your work will always be leaps and bounds ahead of others. <S> The only thing I can suggest here is, look around and see if your skills or lack there of, will be an obstacle for you to go ahead in the promotion scale. <S> If you can be promoted with or without how fast you can code, debug etc, the point is already moot. <S> But if you think that management will not look at you warmly and will promote a fast performer, then by all means you need to improve your skills where you lack them. <S> Of course this is true if you are planning tho have a career with this company as a software QA tester. <S> Otherwise, your next job may not need what you think it is important for your current workplace. <S> You see, there are too many scenarios in play. <S> Hence, opinion based answers and you can not fit all possible answers into this measly space. <S> You are the only one to make this decision. <A> You are as you stated bringing more to the table than just your coding skills. <S> Don't try to be a jack of all trades. <S> And if nessesary reschuffle work, get more Manual work and get People who are good at Automation to do Automation. <S> This will definitly improve Efficiency and should be encouraged. <S> Now I could be misunderstanding your Position, but isn't your Job to try and break Software? <S> Also coding is an endless circle of learning. <S> Don't be demotivated, if you enjoy trying to do coding continue. <S> If all you are doing is learning to be better, quit. <S> We arent made to do Things <S> we don't want or enjoy doing. <S> Sometimes we don't have a choice, but make the ones you have to be fun. <A> Am I too slow on my growth curve? <S> How could we possibly know? <S> Its more about how much you want to grow rather then some arbitrary set of expectations. <S> You've mentioned this is your self asessment. <S> Everybody asesses differently, and self asessments always carry a huge bias, one way or another. <S> Should I drop the idea of improving or putting in efforts to harden my coding skills? <S> That depends. <S> Do you want to improve your coding skills? <S> Is it important for your job and or career growth? <S> Is it important for the career path you want to take or continue? <S> If the answer to any of these is yes then its worth giving it a shot. <S> Ultimately, unless you get a negative or bad performance review, you likely don't have to worry. <A> If you've been working successfully as a QA Engineer for five years now, you have a lot of skills and experience to bring to the table! <S> Don't give up hope on automation, but consider other skills you may have with your experience - propriety application knowledge, SQL skills, api skills, or even just the ability to spot potential bugs a mile away. <S> Another option is to learn by copying and pasting - get your coworkers code, make a copy, comment out sections and run it, and then see what it does/doesn't do. <S> It will be painfully slow and teach you patience, but you'll actively understand what your coworkers are doing and how they accomplish it. <S> Keep in mind that this can be challenging to accomplish if you're in an environment where all the QAE's are always on call to help out in an emergency. <S> If you're the most experienced and therefore always rushing to fix stuff, it will be challenging to take time out enhanced your skills. <S> You might have to let go of 'urgent' requests, or work with your management to set aside time for you to focus on these skills . <S> . <S> .. unless you'd rather be the person who's always reactive! <S> If that's the case, you might want to investigate Application Support as a career instead. <S> One person I worked with was a manual tester for 15 years before learning automation, and three years later he's a senior automation lead. <S> So don't lose hope.
| You could take some time to 'pair program' with your faster automation buddies: You tell them what they should be testing for, and they show you how to do it. Do what your Job requires you to do and improve if not perfect your good Qualities, which got you your current Position before trying to do other things. Your growth curve is something you decide, and its dependant on so many factors that nobody but you can make that call.
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How do I explain to my employer why I'm leaving, without telling him that I think he's been lying to me? I'm a junior developer at a small company(about 50 employees) that specializes in a very niche technology. Since there are very few companies using this technology I'm really concerned about my future and I decided to switch to Java development. My current job contract ends on May 31 and I got myself a job offer as a Junior Java Developer from a very respectable company, starting on June 1. What I'm struggling with is explaining to my employer why I dont want to stay at my current company. He's willing to accomodate all of my needs, i.e. switching me to Java projects(our Java devs barely got anything to do lately, but he says that big contracts are coming soon), he will allow me to work remotely more often, I will get a really big raise, and some other things. The thing is, except for the big raise, I dont trust that he will follow with his promises and I'll probably end up in the same niche technology that I want to leave. EDIT: Sorry for the confusion. The thing is, I already told him that Im leaving but he's now doing everything he can to keep me. <Q> You simply say that you are leaving for a permanent position, and that while you appreciate everything he's done for you, you need to take a more stable position. <S> Edit after edit of OP <S> "Trying" to keep you is not good enough. <S> I made that mistake in my youth when my boss tried to keep me. <S> He was overruled by higher ups. <A> No need to specify where you are going or why you are leaving. <S> If they make a counteroffer, simply turn it down. <S> Tell them you were grateful for the opportunity <S> and you learned a lot, but it is time to move on. <S> You are under no obligation to be more specific than that. <A> Just tell your boss (in a professional manner) that you are leaving. <S> You do not need to justify yourself to him/her. <S> And as long as you are within the normal period for saying that you are quitting for your location, then thats all you need to do. <S> However if you do an exit interview I would advise against saying that you think your boss was lying to you - unless you really really really want to burn bridges (and even then - don't do it) <S> Just say that you are pursuing other interests. <S> Edit after OP Edit Nothing changes just because you boss is trying to keep you. <S> Short of slavery there is nothing he can do to stop you, and there is still no need for you to justify your leaving. <S> Just stand your ground and keep professional about it and eventually he will get the message.
| Thank him for his efforts, but tell him that you have already accepted the other position and that you are a person who believes that a promise made is a promise kept. If they ask questions, decline to answer politely but firmly. Just submit a resignation letter that gives your last date of work on it.
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Are calendar invitations rude? It seems like many people I work with inside and outside of the company always send an email about my availability for a meeting before sending a calendar invite. Is there some workplace social norm that frowns on sending just a calendar invite without some preliminary message? After I accept, they then send the calendar invite or they even respond by saying they're going to send a calendar invite. Apparently, they know how it works. To me, it seems like it's easier to decline or change the calendar item. I know external users may not be certain about someone's familiarity with calendar items or how their system will handle it, but it seems to work fairly seamlessly. I thought this may be a generational issue, but it seems common across age groups and technical expertise. EDIT: I get the calendar isn't perfect, but I still feel (after reading the answers) it is better than just an email. Even if the whole email back and forth and reply to all is limited, you're right back where you started and have to create a calendar item. Seems redundant. <Q> I work in an office that relies heavily on Google Calendar scheduling. <S> It is a technical group, and no doubt (almost) everyone understands that the options you outlined are available to them. <S> Even so, here are some reasons I often find myself emailing invitations before the calendar meeting <S> is setup: <S> The meeting isn't worth having without you. <S> If you declining the meeting would cause a "oh shoot, guess we've got to reschedule" event, it's likely that I'll be approached you by email first. <S> Even though Google Calendar will handle the creation and deletion of the meeting, inviting people to a meeting and then deleting it could be confusing or annoying to the other attendees. <S> If I perceive you to be in high demand. <S> There are some people (looking at you, lead software architects) who everyone would love to have in the back of every room. <S> Depending on the workplace culture they may be constantly bombarded with Calendar invites. <S> If I feel I have a good reason to invite this person I may email them directly, so that my Calendar invite is not lost in all the noise. <S> Note that the fact that Google Calendar supports the "optional" attendee tag only exacerbates this problem, because it now feels OK to invite high demand persons to non-critical meetings. <S> But, the email invitations all look basically the same to them. <S> You're a bit flaky. <S> If I think you might blow the meeting off, either intentionally or just forgetfulness, I might send you a email. <S> It is harder to ignore an email sent directly to you than a Calendar invitation. <S> And to answer the question directly: At least in my office, no, it is not considered rude to issue an initial meeting invitation through the scheduling application . <S> However, there are often good reasons to send a preliminary email (detailed above). <A> Is there some workplace social norm that frowns on sending just a calendar invite without some preliminary message? <S> I would not go as far as saying frowns, but in the places I have worked it can be considered a courtesy much like holding the door open for someone. <S> There is no requirement that you do it, but it is a nice thing to do. <S> As for some additional reasons why people do this (adding on to Zach's answer): <S> External users. <S> Not everyone uses the same email system, and so sometimes accepted/ <S> declined meeting invites do not get back to the one organizing the meeting. <S> Calendars not up to date. <S> Not everyone keeps their calendar up to date on their meetings. <S> So some people want to know people's actual availability before scheduling the meeting. <S> Free time not the same as best time. <S> When scheduling a doctor's appointment normally there is a type of negotiation that occurs to find the optimal time to have the appointment rather than picking an arbitrary time that you and the doctor are free. <S> Coworkers may be reproducing this type of negotiation through email when planning a meeting. <S> Other people are doing it. <S> If people join a workplace where this is the norm, do not be surprised when they start to do it too. <S> Fear of rejection. <S> Some people simply do not like seeing a meeting notice declined. <S> So the best way to avoid getting a decline is to ask before sending out a meeting invite. <S> I doubt it is any one reason. <S> It likely is the culmination of several items in the answers that causes coworkers to get into a mindset of always asking before sending an official meeting notice. <A> Are calendar invitations rude? <S> It depends on the invitation, and the invitee. <S> If I get an invitation to a meeting, and I don't know the topic, agenda, or point of the meeting, it comes across as more of a command for my presence. <S> Often, I'll simply not bother to reply to such an invitation until I learn more. <S> On the other hand, a well-crafted invitation lets me know why my presence is needed, what the meeting is about, and perhaps an Agenda. <S> In this case, the invitation itself is sufficient, and no other email is needed. <S> A well-crafted invitation also takes into account the availability of required attendees. <S> In those cases, I often feel that the moderator doesn't consider my time as valuable.
| For me, there's nothing worse than an invitation that I accept which is subsequently re-scheduled several times, because the moderator didn't bother to check the calendar to see if folks were actually available.
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Using work I've done in last job in a portfolio to start freelance work Last year I worked for a company that did mobile apps. A couple of months after I started to work there I told my boss it would be a good idea to start doing web sites to sell in a bundle with the apps, and he thought it was a good idea. Since then until I left the job at the start of the year I was the sole designer and programmer of all the web sites, except one or two projects where another designer joined in. I want to start freelancing and create a very small creative studio, and I would put those works in the portfolio to show the work that I can do, but I'm not sure if it could bring problems (ethically and legally speaking). I haven't sign any type of work contract with the company so I assume that what I did there is mine, but I'm not so sure. <Q> Normally anything you are paid to do, belongs to the company. <S> But I suggest you ask your old boss if you are on good terms with him <S> /her to see what they think. <S> Possibly they might not mind at all, in which case problem solved. <S> If they do have an issue with it then at least you know their standpoint on the matter and can move forwards from there. <S> For example I'm quite happy for my former staff to reference and even show projects that they did under me, so long as they don't try and sell it or pretend they own it. <S> It's good advertising for my projects as well as benefiting them. <A> This would entirely depend on the contract that you had with your employer. <S> If your employment contract allowed you to maintain copyright of the works you created OR it allowed you to maintain "creation" claims <S> then you are free and clear to go ahead and use the work in your portfolio. <S> HOWEVER <S> if your contract did not expressly grant you permission to do that, or worse, claimed ownership and copyright of works you did for them while under their employ, you will be violating that contract and possibly the copyright agreement. <S> Your best course of action is to simply contact your boss and ask. <S> In doing so I would make an offer that you list the work as having been done while working for his company as a collaborative work done by you and your coworkers (or the company owner). <S> Even if you did all of the actual creation of the jobs, since you were working for someone else, it is somewhat of a collaboration. <S> Specifically it would be confusing for someone who saw your portfolio with your work listed as yours and then your employer's portfolio with the exact same work listed as theirs. <S> Giving attribution to your employer for the client's work will alleviate those issues. <A> As long as you only reference to existing websites and app-downloads which are accessable by public, it shouldn't be a problem. <S> If you want to show code and other project files you have to ask the boss of your previous company for permission.
| If you didn't mention the previous employer in your own portfolio it could cause a number of problems.
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How do I document years of experience when I've been working at home? I am currently a freelance developer. However, I would like to be able to prove my eligibility for a job to any future employer. I've noticed there's a job listing that requires at least 14 years of coding experience, including at least 6 years of iOS programming, and I'm assuming that's the norm for programming jobs. Since I would have no former employing company - and therefore, no formal record of number of years of experience - what can I do now to ensure my ability to prove my eligibility for a job in the future? I'm assuming "experience" will include any relevant college courses taken, correct? <Q> That seems like an awful lot of experience to be required for a development job. <S> But giving the number of years of experience in a job spec is usually just a vague guess at what they want. <S> What they're trying to say is they want a very experienced developer and giving the number of years to give you an idea of what they mean by that since they know everyone has their own interpretation of the word "very". <S> Although if you are that experienced you should certainly send your CV, <S> the one thing I would be wary of with Freelancing is that even though you may be an experienced coder, you'll have had less chance to have learned from others or worked in teams and built up a knowledge of new ideas to bring to their company, which are some of the things they might be hoping you have plenty of. <S> So big-up those kind of areas if you can. <A> I'm a senior developer with over 20 years, split between consulting vs full time jobs. <S> One dilemma I didn't understand early on was the 'years of experience' thing. <S> You don't give me the impression that you've had a very wide depth of experience in your freelance work. <S> You don't get depth by repeating the same simple tasks a bunch of times. <S> This trait is gained through working projects for varied clients with unique needs and technological challenges. <S> For a senior level job, a hiring manager wants you to talk the talk (deep technical competency, plus ability to communicate well on paper, and to understand dollar value of the work done) as well as walk the walk (be given tasks to solve, independently -- with confidence.) <S> If you are timid in communicating what you've accomplished, you'll be sidelined quickly and someone more confident will be found. <S> This 'proving yourself' thing may take more time, because it doesn't seem like you understand what it takes to get your foot in the door. <S> You might consider browsing lots more job requirements (try dice.com, or techfetch.job) that match what you want to be doing, to understand (a) clusters of tools used to accomplish the work, and (b) <S> the attitude you'll need to succeed. <S> In both cases, you must figure out where you're deficient. <S> You can also do assessments (brainbench.com) and this will help you understand your own competency. <S> Plus, you can reference your results on a resume. <A> Honestly programming is mostly about understanding and learning code <S> other People did and how to work together. <S> If you think you can do the job with the time you programmed apply. <S> List the years you did programming language <S> x for <S> x years as a free lancer. <S> I've noticed there's a job listing that requires at least 14 years of coding experience, including at least 6 years of iOS programming, and I'm assuming that's the norm for programming jobs. <S> No, that is definitly not the norm for programming. <S> Alot of People get Jobs with requirements like that one with hardly half the experience <S> I'm assuming "experience" will include any relevant college courses taken, correct? <S> No, an college course is counted as education not experience. <S> Especially if you get a certificate. <S> Most of experience requirements are just to weed People from applying, my opinion atleast. <S> Since I would have no former employing company - and therefore, no formal record of number of years of experience - what can I do now to ensure my ability to prove my eligibility for a job in the future? <S> But honestly find something lower down the line, because it feels atleast on paper, that you are overestimating your capabilities. <S> I am currently a freelance developer. <S> However, I would like to be able to prove my eligibility for a job to any future employer. <S> Put up the Projects you did? <S> Assuming you did work, this is not ment to be mean the market is tough everywhere <S> , also you don't state how Long you have been freelancing or if you did annything at all. <S> Hope this helps, and don't hessitate to ask for clarification if something is unclear. <A> Certification can also be helpful for similar reasons, although be aware that some certifications aren't worth the paper they're printed on - do your research first to find out which ones are known and respected in your particular part of the industry.
| It can be helpful to get membership of a professional association - the kind where you have different levels (e.g. associate member, professional member, chartered status, fellow) because then employers can safely assume the professional association has done the due diligence on your experience in order to allow you to get the level of membership you're on, so you don't have to go through the whole process again with each potential employer (at least, sometimes you don't).
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Receiving a different offer before first day of employment I received an offer from Company A on Monday. I got an offer letter and agreed to a background check, but never signed anything stating I accepted (This is a US based company, and I live in an at-will state). I started their pre-employment background check and start at the beginning of next month. Meanwhile, on Monday (same day as offer from Company A was given), I interviewed with Company B. I really think Company B is a better fit for me. They in all likelihood will extend an offer to me tomorrow (Thursday). I feel very bad for reversing my decision to Company A and going with Company B. Is it very unprofessional to tell Company A no thank you, I found a better fit? I feel really slimy for doing it, but think Company B will be better in the long run. What do I say? <Q> Comes down to 1 thing: " Did you sign the employment contract for company A yet? <S> If you didn't then you have nothing to worry about, just tell them they can terminate their background check and thank them for your time. <S> Then take company B up on their offer. <S> If you DID sign the contract for company A then this answer becomes off-topic because only you will know, by reading your contract, how you can get out of it. <S> I can say with confidence that doing this will nuke the bridges you have built towards company A. Note: Only execute the above once you have both offers, physically, in hand. <A> If you don't have the papers signed and a start date, you owe company "A" nothing. <S> As to if it's ethical, that's a bit more gray. <S> ETHICALLY, if you have accepted the offer and take another, you are obligated to at least inform company "A" that another offer came in from a company you had been waiting to hear back from. <S> It's always good to be as above board as possible because your reputation will follow you. <A> This is why I would not have accepted offer A till I did all my running interviews or would have cancelled the others if I got a Job. <S> You would be risking a Job for an empty promise. <S> I would just stick to A. Legally <S> if you have signed an contract as mentioned by @JJosaur, you can always end this after the first term and say you don't fit in. <S> This does mean that you have to inform B that you already have a Job and are stuck with it till date Y. <S> This is your decision, but don't ever do things that make you feel regret. <S> You can learn from mistakes, but some you just should not make. <A> While this wouldn't be a contract, it is your official signal to them that you are committed to joining their organization and accepted the terms of their offer. <S> But it wouldn't be out of the question <S> they they took your verbal acceptance at that signal of commitment. <S> The fact that they gave you a start date and started a background check indicates to me that they think you have accepted, even if you don't think you accepted anything. <S> On the company's side, this likely means that they have informed the other potential candidates that they have filled the position, and the manager has begun whatever processes are needed to get your started (ordering equipment, getting accounts set up, etc). <S> Since there appears to be no real legally enforceable contract based on your description, you aren't committed to anything. <S> You can walk away without fear of legal repercussions. <S> However, you will likely burn your bridges with company A and it would be a surprise if they ever considered you for another position in the future. <S> Depending on the industry and what the competition is like, you would be surprised who you run into in the future, and who will remember your name. <S> You may even encounter Company A as a client, or someone from Company A in a management role of another company you wish to work with. <S> So the decision should come down to two questions... <S> "Is this job with Company B, both in the short term and in the long term, worth ruining my reputation with Company A <S> "*. <S> Will I ever need Company A in the future for a job, or a client". <S> If you can answer those questions, it should help you make your decision.
| It is very unusual in my experience for a company (at least not a small company) to begin the on-boarding procedures and schedule a start date without a signed offer letter.
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Would it be inappropriate to list only 1 semester on a resume even though I attended 3 semesters? Recently I was asked for my resume. I went to a 4 year university for computer science. The first semester I did OK (3.11 GPA), however the next two semesters I dropped several classes and didn't attend the ones I didn't drop. I wasn't struggling with the academics, I just did other things with my time (read: play games and go to parties). As a result I ended up with a pretty low overall GPA (1.08). I'd like to put the first semester on my resume because I did well in my CS courses, is that OK to do? Also, because of the 2 semesters when I didn't do well, there is a one year gap on my resume... nothing I can do about that I suppose. I left school to start a programming job, I've been working in this field for a little over 5 years now. I am quite good at my job, which is why I was contacted and asked for my resume. So would it be appropriate to put an education section on my resume? If so, how should I present it? Edit: No I didn't graduate. <Q> I'd like to put the first semester on there because I did well in my CS courses, is that OK to do? <S> So should I even put an education section on my resume? <S> How should I handle this? <S> Let me see if I understand. <S> Overall, you did poorly in school. <S> But you want to include a single semester because you did okay in CS during that semester, but omit the rest. <S> You want to do this so you can intentionally mislead the reader regarding your educational performance. <S> Do I have that right? <S> If so, this is a very bad idea. <S> With five years of experience, your education is far less important than it would be if you were entry-level. <S> Be prepared to discuss any gap years and to come up with an answer if asked about education during an interview or a background check. <A> Did you graduate? <S> If you didn't there's no point at all in mentioning education at this point. <S> You have a long work history that should speak for itself and Computer Science is not typically a field where education is terribly important to begin with. <S> If you did graduate, you just list your entry and graduation date alongside the title of your degree. <S> Your GPA doesn't matter at this point. <S> Almost no companies will care and those that do won't hire you if it's that low. <S> I'd say that any company that cares about the GPA of someone with five years' experience are getting the hiring process wrong. <S> Reading through your question, it seems like you only actually studied for a semester. <S> If you're asked about prior education you can just reply that you started a CompSci degree but lost interest in the overly academic nature of it all and chose to enter the workforce instead. <S> No reasonable employer will hold that against you. <A> Unless there is a specific dependency of the position you are applying, and the education that you have, I would leave the details of the education out the resume. <S> If you are graduated, just put the school/department name as well as the graduation year. <S> If not graduated, you can put something like working towards blah-blah degree . <S> If the employer is interested in how you did in school, they will ask you details. <S> At which point I would tell them the truth, but instead of gaming and parties, I would spin it something like a family matter , where the employer would not probe any further. <S> Of course, it is in your best interest if you did not plaster your pictures for this period, holding a weed-bong or doing a keg-stand on facebook and twitter. <S> If you did, it is time to clean them up before they damage your reputation any further. <A> Don't include only one semester of school, because you did poorly on the rest of the semesters. <S> You have two options: List <S> the years you attend your university, but do not list a terminal degree (e.g. Harvard University 2003 - 2004) <S> Don't include your college experience at all. <S> You have worked in the field for 5 years. <S> At this point, your experience is worth more than your degree. <S> You should feel confident to leave it off your resume.
| Leave your education off of your resume completely, if you like, since you didn't graduate. That really doesn't deserve to be mentioned on your resume as it will only have a negative effect.
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