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How much should I be paid extra for being on call? I work in 3rd line technical support for a large multi national (non IT) company in the UK. I am one of four engineers/developers with a varying mix of knowledge, expertise and experience. I am the youngest with only 10 years work experience as technical support, but 6 in this current employer. Whilst the other three have more experience than me (20-30 years+) All four of us currently have had an unspoken arrangement whereby we have all been 'on call' for the last 6 years and not getting paid any extra, we have all just seen this as part of the job as there is no real alternative as other members of the IT team in the company do not have the detailed knowledge or access to the systems that we posses. Management now want a proper process in place for us four engineers/developers to be on call out of hours sharing the responsibility 25% each. The company have other employees in other parts of the business in similar situations and management have told us that they are paid rather handsomely on top of their annual salary if they are called or not. They are proposing a similar situation with us four. The companies definition of on call is just to be available within 15 minutes of accepting the initial call. We must accept the call within a reasonable time. IE it is acceptable to miss a call at 3am but to phone back within a reasonable amount of time after being woken up. We are not expected to stay awake when on call. I have no reference point when it comes to being on call. I feel I could charge whatever I wish and the company will accept any amount I request as they have done so in the past when negotiating salaries. They do not have any other option as far as we see. But yet I do not want to seem to be greedy or over the top. I was thinking an additional 10% - 20% of my annual salary. What is a typical on-call rate for this type of scenario? UPDATE - June 2019: I am now receiving 25% of my annual salary for being on call 50% of the year, but in reality I rarely get called out so seems reasonable and fair for my circumstances. <Q> I am on call as 3rd line application support one week out of every three in a UK branch of a large multinational, and get paid £750 per week on top of my salary - irrespective of whether I get called or not. <S> If I am called, the first hour spent working a call is unpaid, every extra hour is paid as 1.5x salary (2x at weekends). <S> For that, I'm on call 24/7, with a requirement to be online and working the problem within 30 minutes of the initial call (60 minutes at weekends) <S> - i.e. I can just about make it to the local shops, but otherwise i've got to stay near the phone /laptop. <S> I cover a range of mission-critical applications (Java, legacy C) with 10+ years experience of fixing operational issues, although that's no longer my day job. <A> Working at a large UK <S> based non-IT multinational like yourself - I think <S> hoping for 10-20% of you annual salary might be a little hopeful. <S> The first thing I'd say is that given the company already has Stand By policies agreed with other areas of the business, I imagine any arrangement you have will be very similar. <S> There is a minimum one hour charge, and then anything worked over that is pro rata. <S> For example; An engineer called out for 15 minutes will be paid for one hour, and 1.5 times their normal hourly rate. <S> An engineer called out for 2 hours and 10 minutes, will be paid for that time at 1.5 times their normal rate. <S> (Having said you might be hopeful, I've no idea <S> actually what the above arrangement earns our on-call staff!) <A> This should all be in your contract. <S> The way my contract is worded <S> (exactly) it says: <S> When the employer requires an employee to be available on stand by during off-duty hours an employee shall be compensated at the rate of one-half (1/2) hour for every four (4) hour period or portion thereof for which he has been designated as being on stand by duty <S> There is also a whole other section that says what happens if we get called. <S> If I get a call, I automatically get paid for a minimum for 3 hours regardless of how much I worked. <S> If I worked more than that I will get paid for the extra <S> I worked <S> You contract should have something similar. <S> Keep in mind that my quote comes from a Canadian contract so your mileage may vary.
| Our staff that are on call are paid between £2 to £3 per hour of being on standby, and then time and a half for any work they actually have to undertake.
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In the long term, how can someone translate very high productivity into a bigger paycheck? I would like to start out by saying, I love my current job. The work is interesting, the hours are good, my coworkers are great, my manager is intelligent and competent, and my pay is good. This question is about long term career, not trying to find a new job or increase pay in the near-term. How would a software engineer/architect, whom had a natural knack for the job and tended to be significantly more productive (by productive, I mean creating a working and valuable product from the company's perspective) than the average person in their field go about monetizing that productivity in the job market? When someone hires you, they are taking a certain risk. It can be very difficult to judge a hire's value before they've worked in the company over the course of several months. This can mean that being very productive, does not necessarily translate directly into a higher paycheck. It is also difficult to objectively measure a developer's value, contrasted to sales, where you look at the money the salesman brings in. In a consultancy, you can often make extra money, even as a developer, by increasing your billable hours, but this is not the same thing as being payed for your productivity . Are their any particularly technically challenging industries/subjects to work in where the pay is commiserate? In the long term, what can an engineer do to leverage their ability to create software to make more money? <Q> In the long term, what can I do to leverage my ability to get things done to make more money? <S> Work for yourself. <S> The best way to translate superior ability into cash is to do so on your own terms in your own company. <S> That might mean building and selling your own apps and product. <S> It might mean taking on task-based projects (where you can complete them quickly and/or work on several simultaneously). <S> It might mean any of a number of other work styles. <S> If you are truly better than others, then the market will reward you. <A> The one way that never fails is to tie your productivity directly to the revenue stream. <S> If you can argue for how much money you save or make for the company, you can very succinctly argue your value to the company. <S> Be able to quantify your value, have specifics that you can point to as to where you saved the company "X" or increased revenues by "Y" <S> and you're set. <A> While other answers have valid points, I think they don't completely apply to this situation. <S> Mainly because op already states that he is above average, so saying "keep doing good work" or "keep getting better" are probably things that op is already aware because of his situation. <S> What he is asking for is a strategy to be better rewarded. <S> One option you have is directly ask for a raise. <S> On the basis that your performance is above average, but the first step is to convince your manager that you actually perform better than the rest, based on actual facts, even suggest a way to measure that. <S> Then its just a matter of knowing if they are willing to reward you for that or not. <S> After you know the answer you could start thinking if this is the right place to be working in. <A> We can't tell you what skills to develop or what specific career path to take <S> but I'd like to answer this in general terms. <S> Figure out what you are doing differently from the pack and become involved in writing white papers, present at conferences, and network at industry events. <S> People with exceptional credentials stand a much better shot at negotiating exceptional salaries.
| To leverage high productivity into high compensation, use your high productivity to become a respected expert in your field.
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What to do- Job offer reduced So basically I got offered a job verbally and was told that at the interview that they would like to offer me the position. They even introduced me to everyone in the team saying I will join the team in a couple of weeks. They asked me to wait for a couple of weeks to get the paper work done. I contacted them in a couple of weeks and they reduced the offer because they said that they did not get the permission for what they originally offered. Not only that, they said they dont really need me but are just agreeing to keep me in board in somewhat of a good will gesture. They also said that if I find another job I should go for it. I asked them some time to think about it and then emailed them to ask them for a written offer to which they did not respond since a day. Can someone tell me what is it that they are trying to do and whether I should consider working for this place? Actually im an international student and I am just about to graduate. Thus I could need the job and the employer told me in the second interview that I wont be able to get a job anywhere else <Q> Either they're engaging in some really shady negotiation tactics, or it really is just a good-will gesture (likely with a hint of a giant organisational mess). <S> In the latter case, there's a small chance that you'll find a good role there eventually, but the best option in either case is probably just to follow their advice and find another job. <A> So they didn't have their ducks in a row before hiring you. <S> Not only was the expenditure not approved, but they determined that they don't need you. <S> If you're working now and take the job, you'd be entering a situation where its reputation with you is already less than good, and maybe leaving a situation that's more stable than where you're going. <S> In either case if you take it, it may hinder you from having the time to get the job you do want. <S> Whatever the case, don't fool yourself into relying too heavily on this opportunity. <S> If you can't get a written offer, don't bother!! <A> They probably run out of budget, or just found a better candidate. <S> So they are basically suggesting you to move on. <S> I think they are being honest with their second proposal (it may just be an internship, and that would explain the reduced salary). <S> However, given how things have happened, I would just thanks them for your offer and look for something else - it cannot be as hard as they are implying. <A> Do not work for this company. <S> I am not familiar with the specifics of why the company reduced your offer, but the last line in your question is troubling to say the least. <S> the employer told me in the second interview that I wont be able toget a job anywhere else <S> No reputable or honest company should or would ever say that to a candidate. <S> I also do not believe that they do not have the money to hire you as per the original promised amount. <S> The first step of the hiring process besides who you want to hire is how much you can afford to pay them (employers always have a salary ceiling for a job role). <S> If they're being honest, then it sounds like a poorly run company and one you probably shouldn't work for. <S> There are numerous red flags in your question: <S> They also said that if I find another job I should go for it <S> they said that they did not get the permission for what they originally offered <S> You might need the job, but I have a feeling you'll probably regret it. <S> If you can hold on for a while longer, I am sure something more suitable will come up for you.
| If I were you, I wouldn't take this job unless you're not working now and just need the money.
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How can I get unbiased and objective feedback when my manager is a friend of mine? I work in a ~200 person company; my team is composed of about 15 people and my manager is an old friend of mine who has extensive confidence in me. According to my colleagues' feedback, I'm doing a great job. Still, there are a few who talk behind my back saying that I'm too fast and will introduce too many bugs into the product. I tried to ask my manager for feedback about this (and similar) situations but he always tells me to give no importance to this because I'm performing very well. I think he's biased because of our friendship and I would like to get objective feedback but I'm not sure who should I ask. I could ask the manager of my manager but I fear he's not informed enough about these low level problems, or that he could think my manager isn't doing a good job because of his bias. I may also wait for the periodical performance reviews but if something is wrong I'd like to know about it before I get a bad PR so that I have time to fix the situation... Are there possible solutions to this problem or should I wait for the periodical performance review? <Q> I try to ask my manager feedbacks about this (and similar) situations <S> but he always tells me to give no importance to this because I'm performing very well. <S> Take you manager at his word, this is his role and he's a professional. <S> Your failure impacts badly on him <S> so it's in his best interest to provide honest feedback. <A> There's a big difference between saying "No, there is no possible way for you to improve" and "No, don't pay any attention to those idiots trying to put you down". <S> Beyond that, you should just trust that he'll give you honest feedback. <S> People talking behind your back could just be coming from their own insecurity or lack of ability to perform at your level. <S> You can possibly also ask your manager about the quality of your work as well as the number of bugs you introduced and whether he thinks there's room for improvement there (without pointing out that this might be related to how fast you work or that this is coming from others talking behind your back). <S> If you or your manager see a good argument there, you can work on that and try to optimise the speed / attention to detail trade-off a bit better. <S> If there isn't a good argument there, just laugh it off. <A> Don't worry too much about the (lack of) feedback from your manager: <S> He will let you know if there is anything to correct if necessary - it is part of his job, after all; and also in its best interest. <S> Also, I would not give too much importance to the comment of your colleagues. <S> However, you can give it a go and think wether they might be right in some of their criticism <S> (are you really that fast? <S> do you follow proper programming methodologies? <S> do you test your code early and often?), and if you think so, try to improve on these areas by yourself. <S> You don't really need a manager to confirm that if you already realise by yourself.
| You can ask your manager whether there's any area you can improve on (without referencing what people are saying behind your back). Try to look at their feedback objectively and try to see whether or not they're making a good point.
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I have a very weak connection at the company I'm interviewing at. Should I get in touch? Hoping someone here can share some advice regarding my situation. I applied to company X a couple weeks ago. I found out after I sent my application that I had been introduced to the team's supervisor a year ago over email when I was an undergraduate student. At the time, I had asked her if there were any internships available and she (very nicely and apologetically) said no. I never had a phone call with her or met her in person. Naturally, after I found out she was the team lead for this vacancy, I sent her an email to reconnect, saying I had now graduated and applied for this opening on her team. She sent me a simple "I'll keep an eye out for your application!" A couple weeks pass, and I had an interview with HR that went very well. The HR rep just told me that it's down to me and an internal candidate, and that the team lead AKA "my weak connection" is going to have the final say as to whether I am brought in for an in-person meeting. The HR rep said I am a perfect fit for the role, but I have to be aware that internal candidates are given priority. Should I reach out to my weak connection? After all, the fate of my application rests in her hands. I'm very conflicted because I have already let her know I applied for the position and she may not want to be bothered a second time. She also might not appreciate the intel that the HR rep shared with me regarding the internal candidate too. But, I'm also worried that she's thinking, "Well he knows me by name and email, why hasn't he reached out? If he's not making the extra effort, maybe I should stick with the internal hire." Still, she's barely a connection as we've never even spoken over the phone. I might still be another stranger to her. I know I'm over-analyzing this. I appreciate any advice that someone can offer! This is absolutely my dream job, and I don't want to blow my chances. <Q> I would just stick to the official process. <S> As far as she is concerned, she does not know that you know she is the hiring manager. <S> You could think some one else is hiring for that role and not your connection. <S> I do not think your prospective boss will be offended by the fact that your did not reach out to her again. <S> Just wait and see how it turns out. <S> When you are officially introduced via email or personal meeting, then you can remind her you are the same person who had contacted her some time back. <A> Should I get in touch? <S> I am not sure your weak connection can barely be counted as a connection at all , so I would not recommend reaching out at this point. <S> Internal candidates are very hard to beat out. <S> If they were qualified, then the internal candidate probably won out over you, and should win out over you as an external candidate . <S> Sit tight, if they want to hire you they won't forget about you and will contact you. <S> ( And continue your job search ) <A> Your weak connection already knows that you are the other candidate, right? <S> (he/she said: "I'll keep an eye out for your application!" <S> a couple of weeks ago, right?). <S> Then I'd say that there is not much more that you can do. <S> But I would definitely not disclose the information that the HR person told you about the other candidate. <S> That could be very risky. <A> Personally, I would reach out and ask her if she has been tracking your application to fill in the vacant position. <S> If you've done some homework on what kind of role this would be, and tell her how you are excited about this opportunity, and how much you would love to do x, y and z in that role. <S> I'm sure there can be downsides to this. <S> Perhaps this can backfire, and the lead figures out what your intentions are (to try to beat out the other candidate) and is not into that sort of thing. <S> But in my own experience, it's usually the one who goes actively after the position that has the better odds. <S> Also, considering that the decision has come down to the two of you, and HR thinks you are a great candidate for the position, it means the other candidate clearly has not impressed enough to seal the deal. <S> In addition, if you feel the weak connection is truly weak, and her short response was lip service, you can make the reasonable assumption that she isn't really interested to begin with, and if that is the case, perhaps you can get some interest by reaching out. <S> At the end of the day, it's really up to you to decide whether to give it a short or let others determine the course. <S> I just personally favor going after it. <S> Good luck!
| If HR has not sent an email to you with your 'weak connection' in copy, then do not contact her at this point. Still, you can try to reach her out again, if you wish - and you have something new supporting your application. If it was me, I would just wait for an official answer. You did everything right so far in maintaining a weak connection and you made it to the final stage of hiring pretty much on your own.
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How to insist that my skill be respected without seeming arrogant? I have only one year of experience of work after graduating from college. I recognize that given my lack of experience, I am less skilled at what I do than everyone else at my company. On more than one occasion however, my boss has stated out right that I have no skill at all. I try not to be offended by this, but as time has gone on I've seen it more frequently and it has started to make me feel very useless. How can I ask my boss to stop saying (or implying, which feels no better) that I have no skill without coming off as cocky or arrogant? <Q> I'll start by saying that a boss that puts you down isn't something you're going to fix with a conversation. <S> So if you're looking for magic words, don't. <S> Simply put, early in your career you have to prove him wrong. <S> Don't shy away from difficult problems. <S> Tackle a longstanding bug. <S> Look for something to do and do it. <S> Learn new skills and leverage the ones you do have. <S> It's that simple. <A> Ask for specific areas you should work on or ways to improve <S> "You have no skill" is not in any way constructive. <S> As your manager, if they want to criticise you, they should be able to give meaningful criticism and give general guidance that you can use to improve yourself. <S> The optimistic assumption is that the manager just isn't aware of how his words are received (e.g. they have Asperger's) and digging deeper could reveal useful information and making a habit of asking for more details might even in future lead to them opting to start with constructive criticism instead. <S> If this is cause, something could be said about just confronting them about this directly, but that could certainly backfire if they're not receptive and won't go at all well if there is any other cause. <S> Alternatively, showing that you're eager to learn from them, you're not in any way offended by their words and every such statement leads to them needing to justify it could remove all pleasure they might get from insulting you and make it way more effort than it's worth for them. <S> Prove them wrong <S> Simply working hard to improve the things they criticise you on should (over time) make these criticisms less common or eliminate them completely. <S> While this is an option, I wouldn't really recommend it as a way to deal with a manager who gives degrading criticism (because life's too short to be subjected to such criticism while you work on improving yourself and they may just find something else to criticise you about later). <S> Find another boss (i.e. job) <S> "You have no skill" is not something a manager <S> should ever tell someone they manage (even if you really do have no skill, there's no point in saying that). <S> If they regularly give you such criticism, my strongest recommendation would be to just find another job. <A> The esiest way is to keep track of all your accomplishments with objective facts to prove them. <S> Then wait for the first performance review and list them all there. <S> Doing so your manager will be forced to recognize your skills and accomplishments. <A> How can I ask my boss to stop saying..... <S> Work harder, more professionally, prove him/her wrong. <S> Then ask them to stop the derogatory comments if they haven't already.
| When you have an opportunity to show your skill (and professionalism!) take full advantage of it.
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How many candidates should I pass on to my boss after screening? I am a tech lead with my own reports and I'm tasked with interviewing candidates for a position that will be a peer to my position. After my screening, I pass on qualified candidates to my boss, who's currently managing about 15 people. My boss and I have already synchronized on requirements and what we're looking for in a candidate. However, the process is never perfect. I don't want to burden my boss with unqualified candidates. What is generally an acceptable number of candidates to pass on to my boss? <Q> I don't want to burden my boss with unqualified candidates. <S> Exactly. <S> So pass to your boss all qualified candidates, and let him make the decision who to hire and who not. <S> If you're worried about giving him too many candidates (especially after you've already interviewed some of them and decided that many meet the requirements), you should reconvene with your boss and rediscuss the requirements — maybe you should set the bar higher. <S> Similarly, if the process yields too few candidates for your liking, the bar should probably set lower. <S> Other than that <S> , there's not much to tell here. <S> Incidentally, this problem is related to the Secretary Problem in mathematics. <A> You could give your boss a categorized selection: <S> No: People you would be strictly against <S> Maybe <S> : People with flaws, but who could still be worth considering <S> Yes: People who fulfill all the requirements <S> Yes, please! <S> : <S> Your personal favorites who go beyond the requirements <S> If the "Yes, please" list is too short, your boss can look at the "Yes" list, and when that's still too short, they can look at the "Maybe" list. <S> We use a similar approach at our company: Each application stage rates every candidate on a scale from 1 to 10, according to a predefined set of criteria. <S> The next stage can then select the cutoff rating to get the number of candidates they want. <A> What is generally an acceptable number of candidates to pass on to my boss? <S> There is no generally acceptable number of candidates. <S> Just as you learned what the requirements for a candidate are by talking to him, you need to talk with him to learn the volume he wants: <S> Perhaps he wants to see every qualified candidate. <S> Or perhapsthat's far too many. <S> Perhaps he wants to see as many qualified candidates as he can in aweek. <S> Or perhaps he only has 3 days available. <S> Perhaps he wants to see only the "top three" <S> and then he will chooseamong them. <S> You need to ask the only person who can answer your question without guessing - your boss. <A> What is generally an acceptable level of candidates to pass on to my boss (he currently manages about 15 people)? <S> It is not about the percentage (or fixed number), but rather about the quality of the candidates. <S> In my case, I like to use two criteria: <S> Does the candidate meet the absolute minimum for the role? <S> If so, then I provide an evaluation (with some sort of ranking, as in "borderline", "fair", "good", "very good", "outstanding"). <S> The reason for the first is that you don't want to be forced to pass candidates that would be unable to do the job. <S> If because of this no candidate goes to the next phase, then there is a problem in the recruiting pipeline (HR, external sourcing...) <S> The second then lets me do a honest evaluation, <S> gives enough information for my manager to take a decision (possibly combining my feedback with others' evaluations), and, if necessary, provides my manager with a way of ranking the candidates <S> (so, if he wishes, he can just take the top N from the list). <S> Other than that, I usually refuse to trim the list of candidates to a fixed number - as there is the risk of having me as the single person that filters out too many people.
| You need to ask your boss how many candidates he wants to see. We can't give you a definitive number; it largely depends on how easy/hard it is to get qualified people for that position.
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How to Effectively Deal with a Difficult Scrum Master I am a new developer and have landed a job where most of the developers are also recent college graduates. While the position is not ideal, I view it more as an opportunity to become a stronger developer and build my resume so that I may get the job I want. However, I would like advice on dealing with a difficult scrum master. Here are the specific challenges: They frequently talk about members on our team to other teammates rather than talk to that person directly. While they do not have any technical experience, they are quick to put us down, label us as lazy, and openly berate us for issues that are not in our control. They do not respect their developers' time. We are frequently asked to write emails or manage communications to get our code deployed/QA'd on their behalf, which interrupts our development work. If we do not do this, they criticize us as being lazy or not doing our work. In order to complete tasks, most developers work in the evenings or weekends, even though we are hourly workers and are essentially working for free. They are unable to communicate effectively with our superiors to get work done, so they ask us to do this on their behalf. They openly complain about our superiors even though we need the scrum master to have a good relationship with them to get our work done. They struggle maintaining a professional demeanor and blow up over every set-back. As they also micromanage, they are included in everything we do. Every comment on a code review is analyzed and often complained about to other people on the team. They are quick to get developers fired. In the short time they have been on the job, they have rotated through five new developers. They openly complain that they cannot find 'good developers.' Ultimately, the development team is stressed out. Since this is my first job as a developer, I would like to know if this is normal behavior. Also, does anyone have tips on how to deal with this type of personality? <Q> No, this is definitely not a normal behaviour, and should never be the way to write software. <S> There are generally three options: 1) Discuss the issue with the upper management <S> You will need support from the whole team to do this, but the output may be even worse culture, and you may lose your job. <S> If you go with this, be really careful; try to find out what the PO/management thinks on how the development should be done. <S> 2) Spend few months in the company to gain relevant experience, then run away <S> This is what I would recommend you. <S> And don't be afraid to tell this situation in your following interviews; a good interviewer would definitely understand this as a perfectly good reason to change jobs. <S> What is your country btw, are you from US? <S> This sounds pretty much the worst way to work on software I can imagine. <A> Show your management this answer, telling them that if your description is right, then this is about the most incompetent "scrum master" I've ever heard of. <S> And that person is indeed not a scrum master. <S> The scrum master's responsibility is to make sure that there are stories ready, make sure that these stories have reasonable story points, to make sure that the right amount of stories go into the next sprint, and keep track how many stories the team is doing. <S> And their responsibility is to communicate progress with everyone who needs to be involved. <S> The scrum masters responsibility is NOT to comment on the quality of anyone's work. <S> Actually, the quality of your work is none of the scrum master's business. <S> If they think it is, they don't know what a scrum master is. <S> And if your scrum master can get someone fired, then your management doesn't understand what a scrum master is. <S> A bit of training would be helpful. <S> Now what you should do for yourself, stop doing unpaid overtime and instead use that time to look for a new position. <A> Anything less than a year is going to look short term <S> so you might as well start looking now. <S> Don't take just any job. <S> You might want to go through a recruiter <S> so jobs can be screened <S> and you don't have to take as many calls at work. <S> This job is not going to get better any time soon. <S> Learn and ask questions during the interview process. <S> Try and keep the overtime down but let him beat you out the door.
| Just practice for your interviews, and you will be fine. 3) Run away now Start immediately to seek for your job; however as a junior this option is too risky in my opinion, and however bad is the situation, you would significantly gain from 6-12 months experience in the job before leaving. If you go over his head he is likely to find a reason to fire you.
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How to deal with a subordinate constantly being in semi-professional chats I constantly see one of my subordinates chatting in a semi-professional chat during her working hours. With "semi-professional" I mean that the chat is targeted towards frontend developers (which is her position), but besides sharing and discussing code snippets they often do small talk about books, movies, etc... As a believer in development culture and active user of the Stack Exchange network I don't want to forbid such communication entirely. Mostly because it is hard to define the line (is answering a Stack Overflow question already private? Is commenting and improving an answer? Is discussing lunch options in WhatsApp?) On the other hand I see that it takes a significant amount of her working time and I have never seen her doing overtime. What I did so far when I saw her chatting for a longer period from the corner of my eye: Asking about the status of her current work package. The packages are rather small (I could deliver them in half a day, she takes 1-2 days). I often get evasive answers and she then indeed turns back to her package - for some time. Discussing which additional aspects popped up during the current work package to send her back on track. Openly stating that she should have an eye on her private browsing behavior Openly stating that I see her changing the tab when I come close and that I am annoyed by that. We are a small startup so our possibility of sanctions is rather limited and not our desired culture. I am also unsure if I should appear tougher and stricter - to be honest I am alarmed that I have to act like a elementary school teacher here. Also she is not a very good coder, but it took a long time to fill that position and she indeed solves more problems than she creates - so firing her is a tough decision. <Q> I would focus on her productivity, not her individual actions. <S> If her productivity is reasonable, then let it go. <S> It's her process of getting more done at other times. <S> If her productivity is low, whether you think it is a result of her chatting or not, address that directly. <S> Have a talk with her about her lower than expected productivity <S> , what is holding her back, and how you can help her. <S> See if she mentions the chatting. <S> If not, bring it up as a possible suggestion as to how to improve her productivity. <S> Do this in a friendly "I'm trying to help you" way. <S> After a reasonable time (a few weeks, a month), sit down with her to re-evaluate her productivity. <S> If it's still low, you can be more authoritative about cutting the chatting. <S> Eventually if her productivity continues to be poor after attempts to fix it, you need to decide whether she's really worth keeping around versus someone else you could get to replace her. <A> Maybe this is a problem of motivation? <S> Does she work more efficiently if she has more challenging and important tasks? <S> In the past I often saw myself distracted from work if I had no interesting or challenging projects due to lack of motivation. <S> Maybe try to give her tasks out of other areas from development (if that is your competence). <S> I think at the time you acted tough enough. <S> But more toughness is recommended if nothing else helps. <A> As others had already said, you should really focus on her results only. <S> Otherwise, you will find yourself in a constant state of vigilance wondering if she is or not wasting her time on non-work-related chats. <S> Actually, in that case, both of you will be wasting time. <S> Her on the chats and you by wasting energy keeping tabs on her moves. <S> You should keep your head clear to focus on things that really need your attention. <S> Another thing you should consider, you stated that she is not a good coder, so I`ll assume that she has less experience rather than <S> assume that she is just a bad professional. <S> In any case, I think you should assume a kind of teacher role and help her improve her productivity by showing her how you deal with the many distractions, chats included, on work and manage to keep the focus on delivering the packages on time. <S> If she solves more problems than she creates, so there is pontencial to invest time on her. <S> Of course, her improval will depend on her will to improve her productivity, but at least you can provide ways to help her to achiev that.
| Or simply talk to her about problems she might have in the job and mention her productivity, maybe there is something to change what you don't know.
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Handing resignation for current job via email I am soon to be handing in my notice at my part-time office job. From what I've gathered, it seems handing in resignations via email is a little unprofessional... but in my circumstances, would it be more acceptable? I would like to hand in my notice in person, however I'm thinking email is probably the best bet for the following reasons: The CEO isn't always at the office The CEO is often very busy and hard to find time to catch-up with even if he is around It is only a small company (around 8 people) with no HR department... apart from one guy who handles some HR tasks, but I dont think anyone would hand their resignation to him I work part-time, 2 days per week and don't wish to wait until Im next at the office It is a small, open plan office... there is sometimes a side-room for more private conversations but it's not guaranteed that there will be no-one else there If I email him with my resignation and state my reasons, but then offer to talk about it in person... does that sound a little more professional? <Q> Yes , it's unprofessional to resign over an email. <S> Do it in person if possible and explain as you start the conversation that you have a list of things you want to run through. <S> Be clear, concise and give your reasons. <S> If it's not ideal, drop a mail, but as you said your boss is super busy which means he may read your mail and forget it or forget reading mails or checking them on time which will further delay your resignation process. <A> Book a meeting in both of your calendars for the next time you are both in the office. <S> Title it "catch up". <S> Once int he meeting, hand in your written notice. <S> Problem solved. <A> If I email him with my resignation and state my reasons, but then offer to talk about it in person... does that sound a little more professional? <S> Not much. <S> Instead, send an email asking for a small bit of his time privately at his earliest convenience. <S> Make a special trip into the office if necessary or go in <S> early/stay late if needed, and discuss your resignation in person. <S> It's a bit more awkward resigning face-to-face, particularly if you haven't experienced resigning before. <S> But, as with most things, it gets easier the more you do it. <A> Try and think about it from the CEO's perspective. <S> You are (presumably) a valued employee who will be difficult to replace. <S> The company will most likely suffer a significant decrease in productivity and possibly monetary loss during the time it takes them to find a replacement. <S> Would you want to find out about this news in such an impersonal manner? <S> That said, I think the answer really depends on the level of respect you have for the CEO and the company as a whole. <S> If you don't care at all about his/her feelings and just want to make things as easy as possible for yourself, by all means, resign over email. <S> (Adding the option for a followup meeting to discuss the resignation, to me seems to simply be adding insult to injury.) <S> Even if you don't like or respect the company, I feel that it's always better not to burn bridges--you never know when you might meet these people again and when questioned about your character, you will want them to say good things. <A> If I email him with my resignation and state my reasons, but then offer to talk about it in person... does that sound a little more professional? <S> Not really, it would actually look as if you were trying to hide. <S> Now, if your line manager is unavailable (like your CEO in this case), it is just a matter of booking a small meeting with him - you don't need to state the reasons in advance - and break the news to him. <S> If you have no meeting room available for this, you can just go with him for a coffee, or something similar. <A> This isn't a " <S> whenever it's convenient for your CEO conversation", it's a "as soon as possible" conversation. <S> I need a moment for a private conversation. <S> Step into an office, a side-room, the hallway, or leave the office building entirely. <S> Whatever you need to do to have a private conversation. <S> Hand the CEO your resignation, let him know your last date and an outline of your transition plan. <S> CEO, I'm handing in my resignation. <S> hands resignation letter <S> My last day will be DATE , and I will work with CO-WORKER to hand-off my projects and transfer appropriate knowledge. <S> Is there is anything else I can do to ensure a smooth transition? <S> Heck, if you really want it sooner than later, schedule a meeting the next time he's in the office, even if you're not scheduled that day (that will certainly send the message that it's important). <S> Based on your comments on other answers, it seems like you're concerned you're not going to be able to get his time. <S> If after the "I need a moment", the CEO brushes you off, stand-up for yourself. <S> Assuming a public location, hand him the printed resignation letter and follow-up with "I really think we need to talk. <S> " If at that point he still can't be bothered, you've successfully turned in your resignation and are confirmed to have made the right decision to leave.
| The best way (etiquette-wise) usually is to have an honest conversation with your current line manager before sending your resignation by e-mail. Hence, it's always best to resign in person.
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Does it matter where you get a Bachelor's degree from? I'm coming up on graduation for my A.A. degree, and have two options for where to go to finish my Bachelor's degree in Business Management (with a specialty in project management). I can either continue going to the state college I've been going through for a much more affordable price, or I can go to a 4-year University on scholarships to complete it. Do hiring managers look at where you get a degree from and does it weigh in on their decision? That's a factor I'd like to take into consideration before I decide where to go. <Q> I was just wondering if hiring managers look at where you get a degree from <S> Yes, most do. <S> and if it weighs in on their decision <S> As always, it depends. <S> It depends on the manager. <S> If you went to the same school as the hiring manager, that's probably a good thing. <S> If you didn't go to the same school it probably doesn't matter much. <S> If you are applying for a position at one of the top law firms, you most likely need to have graduated from a top law school. <S> If you are looking for a low-level business job, your school may not matter much. <A> I agree with most answers here, but wanted to add another point, purely from the standpoint of a career starter when your education is weighed more heavily: just because a school isn't among the "big names <S> " doesn't mean it doesn't have a reputation. <S> I would mostly advise you to beware of attending a Uni that has a reputation of not being credible overall, or one that does not offer a credible program, given your major area of study. <S> For example, majoring in computer science at a school well-known for it's art and theater programs is not likely to help you land a programming job, and it might raise a small suspicion in the backs of people's minds. <S> Likewise, a school can be unremarkable overall, but it may still offer a well respected program for your major. <S> In this case the back of the mind will feel more satisfied that your education level is acceptable or even superior, depending on the program's reputation. <S> Meanwhile, attending a "party school" is not going to appear as credible in a more general way, so unless that school is known to have an outstanding program in your major, attending might not do you any favors. <A> Yes, it makes a big difference sometimes both in terms of pay offered if you land the job, and in terms of landing the job in the first place. <S> Having a degree from the National University over here doesn't actual guarantee the candidate can read and write or know anything at all. <S> So although it will get you a low level job here in govt, it's useless elsewhere. <S> I discount a lot of candidates based on their university education for starting jobs. <S> There is several nearby countries whose degrees are worthless as well. <S> It's the difference between putting someone on helpdesk for a year at a tiny wage and putting someone straight into a technical role at decent pay. <S> So it depends where you are and the prestige of the university. <S> Experience trumps degree in terms of job hunting, so you can always go to a cheaper university, work solidly for a while and get ahead that way. <A> It's not always available but often is, particularly in more prestigious institutions. <S> With this information you can see whether the college has helped its alumni to jobs that you are interested in. <S> The nice thing about this approach is that it can help bypass some of complexity in the relation between a job and a course at a particular college. <S> For example, it may well be that the courses are very similar but one college has close relations with particular companies or government departments. <S> Anecdotally, I recommended this approach to a friend a few years ago. <S> The outcome was that she realised that, although the courses she was applying for were vocational, not one of them actually had graduates enter the field she was interested in. <S> In her case it transpired that it was such a competitive field that employers only looked at top students from the very top tier colleges, regardless of the course. <S> She subsequently chose a different career path and has made a great success of it.
| An approach that I have seen be useful in the past is to ask the colleges for alumni employment data for the courses you are interested in. In many cases, assuming it's an accredited school, it won't matter much at all. It depends on the domain in which you want to work.
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Different projects at the same company - break them apart on the resume or keep them in the same block? I have had two very different projects over my years at the company. I'd like to break it into two different blocks on my resume, but there are two reasons I'm considering not to. 1) I had the same job title for both, though the job and project were different. 2) I think recruiters may look at the top block, see that it's only a year long, and not bother to look at the rest. They'll never learn that I was at the company for more than a year. What's the best way to handle this? <Q> [detail here] <S> October 2001 - June 2005 - Senior Developer - Offsite Hosting Project [detail here] <S> This way you focus on the work performed and your part in it, without confusing the reader. <A> You could first list the total amount of time you were at the company, followed by sub headers for the projects. <S> You could also list any non-official titles for those projects January 2010 - July 2017 <S> - Senior Developer - ABC Corp. Project <S> A - January 2010 <S> - December 2011 - Developer [text] Project B - December 2011 - July 2017 - Project Manager [text] <A> Depends on your years of experience, if these were older roles then I would bunch them together to enhance your long service loyalty, if they are your most recent roles then splitting them out only makes sense if they are very different jobs. <S> You state that your job title is unchanged, in that scenario I would put your job title & full service length together in the heading & only then describe the two projects in the detail of the job role. <S> This way you can demonstrate your length of service at a glance & your adaptability across multiple projects in the detail.
| I've handled this by making the project name part of the heading: July 2005 - June 2007 - Senior Developer - Web Security Project
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Listening to music at work hours inside office, is it unprofessional? I work as a software developer in my enterprise. I don't have my own office so I have to share the same office (pretty big office) with other engineers (not software developers). These workmates spend a lot of time with headphones or putting music through speakers. Our boss never tell them to stop. To be completely honest it doesnt bother me.The thing is how professional is it? Sometimes I really would like to listen to one of my favorite tracks but I'm afraid that I could loose professionalism at work ( I'm new I have only 3 months inside the company). Is it really unprofessional listening to music at work? Addition: Our boss is really close to us. He's not the type of person that calls you or sends you email. He comes to your desk and ask you questions about your progress. For example: The other day my boss was trying to get attention of a workmate and he couldnt listen because he had headphones on. <Q> I work in a large consultancy company, where we have a hot desk policy, so our office is often occupied by consultants and the likes, as a member of the 'appdev' team we are the only ones in the office with fixed desks. <S> Headphones in the work environment as a developer, in my opinion are perfectly acceptable, as in I wouldn't necessarily say that using them is inherently 'unprofessional'. <S> One of the main considerations to be aware of is that there should be <S> no 'bleed thorugh' coming from the headphones people use that may distract other people within the working environment. <S> (There are numerous examples of this from a simple google search, one example can be found here. ) <S> In terms of professionalism, at the end of the day activities such as listening to music can be prohibited in some companies and allowed in others. <S> It depends entirely on the type of culture that company has adopted. <S> In most instances however I wouldn't say it was unprofessional. <A> Is it really unprofessional listening to music at work? <S> Not at all. <S> As long as you aren't bothering others (which argues for headphones or earbuds), and as long as you remain productive, what you listen to is unlikely to matter at all. <S> Every software environment where I've ever worked had many folks listening while they worked. <S> You've already seen the norm at your company. <S> If you still have doubts, ask your boss. <A> It depends mostly on the type of job you are doing. <S> For other jobs, such as software developpement, that requires hours of concentration on a specific task, it would seem rather acceptable. <S> However, at the end of the day, the decision comes down to workplace policies and wether or not your boss allows you to do it. <S> The rest is purely personal opinions.
| It's worth considering that a lot of the time developers (and other types of professionals) may do this to block out distractions, and in some instances it can lead to increases in productivity. Any work that requires constant communication with coworkers or clients, such as a secretary or a manager, wouldn't allow someone to professionally listen to music. Whether it's allowed or not is a company by company issue.
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Salary Counter Offer without an offer of employment I had a phone interview where the hiring manager told me what the salary is for the position. In order to move forward in the interview process, I will have to accept the salary. Can I counter-offer in this situation? <Q> I would say you can always provide a counter offer for what you'd like for your salary. <S> Whether or not they accept is up to them. <S> Very likely, this is just a trick on their part to get you to agree to something less than what you'd like and avoid salary negotiations. <A> Can I counter-offer in this situation? <S> Sure, you can always counter-offer. <S> You could also try to stall them with something like "Well, that seems close, but first I have to find out more about the company and position before I can make a decision." <S> And you could always indicate that the salary is acceptable, then change you mind when you find out more about the position. <S> None of this will likely work. <S> Most likely, the company set up this foolish "require a salary acceptance before the interview process is done" system to avoid thoughtful counter-offers. <S> It depends on how acceptable their offer is, and how much you value this job. <S> For me, this is a big red flag that this is a company I'd likely avoid. <A> If you're at the beginning of the interview process and have only had a phone interview, it's a potentially dangerous place to be accepting salary. <S> You haven't been on the premises to assess the situation for yourself. <S> You've probably only interacted with one person besides HR, and that was by telephone. <S> So accepting a fixed salary number at this point would be tantamount to a building contractor accepting a project - for a fixed price - without ever visiting the work site. <S> So in this scenario, once you consent to a salary amount, the company may start adding conditions that make that salary amount unreasonable. <S> You might be better off responding to say that you're reserving making any decision on salary until the interview process is complete. <A> If this is far into the interview process (as in the last or close to the last interview), one can make a good argument for just treating it as you would an official offer and negotiating appropriately. <S> If this is early in the interview process: <S> Neither party is in a particularly good negotiating position yet: interviewing is a two-way street - yes, you haven't really had time to prove your abilities, but you may also not be completely sold on the company yet. <S> Also, both parties presumably still have plenty of other options to consider. <S> If you were given an exact amount which you need to accept, your best bet is probably to treat it as an offer and make a counter-offer if you so desire (but I'd expect them to decline it). <S> This would slightly concern me and make me think they're more interested in just filling the role for a specific amount (grunt work?) <S> as opposed to finding (and paying a bit extra for) someone who'd be a particularly awesome employee (or they just use counter-intuitive negotiating techniques). <S> You can also try to push the negotiations to a later stage by stating that a salary in that region seems reasonable, but you first want to find out more about the company before you commit to anything. <S> If you were given a ballpark figure , I'd perhaps just consider this them trying to avoid wasting effort and money interviewing someone who could've told them at the start that they're not interested in receiving a salary in that region <S> (there's little point in interviewing someone who wants significantly more than the absolute maximum you're willing to pay). <S> But expect an offer similar to the initial figure given, and don't expect them to negotiate too far away from that figure.
| If you'd be happy with a salary roughly in that region, you can simply say as much and negotiate when you get an exact amount further into the interview process (when you get an offer, presumably).
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What should a newly "exempt" employee expect? What should someone expect when being an exempt employee for the first time in the US? At first it sounded great (better pay, flexibility), but after doing a bit of research it sounds like exempt employees have almost no rights compared to non-exempt employees. Some of the things that worry me are: No overtime (nothing stops employers from asking for 60-70 hours a week) Are allowed to make you buy company equipment as long as you still make min wage Require you to travel out of state without reimbursing gas or plane tickets Always on call So what should I expect before getting an exempt job? Are any of these fears reality or is it usually just like working as a non-exempt? I'm aware that you "work until the job is done", but at previous jobs, the job is technically never done. <Q> What you are describing is the worst case scenario <S> this has been my experience. <S> During emergencies and "crunch times" you may work long hours <S> Most times, your hours are flexible and small absences are excused (leaving early, long lunches, et cetera) <S> Slow times generally mean free time <S> Everything is negotiated on a more personal level. <S> I.E. you can arrange different times with your manager, coverage with your coworkers. <S> FAR less attention to the clock. <S> A considerably greater amount of give and take. <S> Most of the time, the 80 hour weeks are compensated by a good deal of looking the other way when you need time off. <S> unofficial "comp time" and other experiences. <S> You need to be your own advocate. <S> No unions anymore. <S> Learn to speak up for yourself. <S> You can push for a raise yourself. <S> (see previous point) <A> No overtime (nothing stops employers from asking for 60-70 hours a week) <S> Absolutely correct. <S> This can and does happen at many companies. <S> You have to research the specific company culture (look for "work-life balance" on Glassdoor), and can vary within companies as well. <S> Note that if you make less than $47,476 <S> you still must be paid overtime. <S> Are allowed to make you buy company equipment as long as you still make min wage Require you to travel out of state without reimbursing gas or plane tickets <S> These may be legal but are not at all a common practice. <S> It's much more common that reimbursements are a net benefit to the worker: you can get credit card rewards for business expenses you get repaid in full for, and your company may provide a car, computer, or phone that can be used for personal activities outside of work hours. <S> Always on call <S> This is in somewhat common practice depending on the job. <S> Most workers are at the office during business hours so the issue doesn't come up except during vacations. <S> I would say this a non-issue for most workers but a huge problem for a small subset who cannot adequately separate their home life from their work life. <A> I currently work an in an exempt position. <S> Much like you, the idea was really off putting and at times I wondered if it was worth it. <S> So far I'm 6 months in and usually average 45 to 55 hours a week. <S> Of course there have been times when I've pulled 80 hours a week, but this is usually when things go wrong here. <S> I can't speak for you experience, but in my small IT environment my manager is more interested in my time management and project progress. <S> If I am required to work longer to meet a deadline then I do. <S> If not then it's 8 hours a day for me. <S> I pretty much use my 8 hour work day to be as productive as I can be, then there is no reason for anyone to ask me to stay late unless something is wrong. <S> I average 50 hours a week because I come in an hour early before anyone gets into the office and the distractions start pouring in. <S> This give me a solid hour of uninterrupted coding which can go a long way to keeping me within reach of my deadlines. <S> Add to that, I cut 30 minutes from my lunch because I don't know what to do with an hour for lunch, and I don't really <S> Which doesn't bother me. <S> Again, I can't speak for your situation but in my experience it's not as scary as some stories claim that it is. <S> It will be a matter of learning how to manage your time at work so you don't have to stay late. <S> You'll have to judge your environment for yourself and make the call.
| Your pay is not dependent on negotiated rates.
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Replying to an email with others CCed When replying to an email with others CCed in it,do I address the sender only, e.g. Dear Sam, or address everyone, e.g. Dear all? <Q> It's really context dependent. <S> Typically, the To/CC lines will give you a good indication. <S> If there is a group of people in the To, generally that's a group conversation. <S> If there is a single To but a group in the CC, typically that's a individual conversation with others being kept abreast. <S> If the communication is primarily between the two of you with other's cc'd to ensure they're aware of the communication, address it to the individual. <S> As a common example, you request information from me and cc your boss and my boss. <S> I will reply all but address you specifically, unless I need/want information from one of our bosses. <S> (Common etiquette would say I can request info from my boss, but should probably address questions I expect only your boss can answer to you and allow you to escalate). <S> To: <S> user74164 CC: YourBoss, MyBoss user74164, <S> Yes, coversheets are now mandatory on all TPS reports. <S> If you're talking to the group, address it to the group. <S> Example: <S> To: user74164, MyBoss, YourBoss, SubjectMatterExpert, ProjectManager CC: <S> VP, PotUS URGENT!!! <S> All, I need your TPS reports ( WITH COVERSHEETS!!!! ) <S> ASAP. <S> I would guess that 50% of my replies are not formally addressed to anyone in particular. <S> To: user74164, MyBoss, YourBoss, SubjectMatterExpert, ProjectManager TPS coversheets shall be in 11.5 pt font. <S> Occasionally, you need to address multiple people. <S> To: Joe, Sue CC: MyBoss, user74164, ProjectManager Joe and Sue, <S> I need TPS coversheets in 11.5 pt font ASAP! <S> works, however, sometimes it can be better to <S> To: <S> Joe, Sue CC: MyBoss, user74164, ProjectManager <S> Joe, Can you please provide your TPS coversheet ASAP. <S> Sue, Your TPS coversheet is in 12 pt font instead of the appropriate 11.5 pt font. <S> Please remedy. <A> when replying to an email with others cced in it do I address the sender only i.e. Dear Sam, or address everyone i.e. Dear all? <S> Address it only to the sender. <A> CC means Carbon Copy . <S> It usually denotes recipients that should receive a copy, but to which the original message is not addressed . <S> Hence, you just address everyone in the 'To:' field, and that is. <S> In some cases you may want to let people know that some people have been included as CC. <S> And, of course, you never mention anyone in BCC. <A> My standard practise is to add the people who need to read the email . <S> If a colleague sent it, I'll usually check the to/CC to see if anyone is on the list unnecessary <S> For example, no matter how many people are in the To/CC, I'll do Hi, Matt, Emily <- List of people <S> I'm taking to <S> I've done <S> x, y, z. <S> The commit is in git v0.03. <S> <- comment to both Matt <S> , What do you think of a, b? <- comment to one recipient Emily, Can we test these changes this afternoon? <S> <- comment to another recipient. <S> Thanks, <S> Stanri <S> This way, people can check the Hi line to see if their name is there. <S> If not, they don't have to read the email. <S> If their name is there, they can check further down to find their name. <S> I usually keep their names on the left, at the start of a new paragraph so someone skim reading can find their name. <S> I generally also keep my emails short and concise, and only group relevant things together in one email (different subject/project/etc different email). <A> It is often not immediately obvious when reading a email that you got it only because you were on the CC list. <S> Therefore, as a courtesy to those CCed, I usually address the main recipient directly at top. <S> For example, if I'm sending a email to Gustav and CCing to Takashi and Naresh, then I'll start with something like "Gustav, the bobulator is ..." . <S> That way Takashi and Naresh immediately see they are being copied in a message from me to Gustav. <A> Some good rules of thumb to follow Address people on the "to" list <S> "By the way Joe, our meeting on this issue has been moved to 2pm" If you are addressing more than three people, "all" or "team" is acceptable
| Put people on the "to" list that need to know and are directly involved Put people on the "CC" list who need to be aware of what is going on but are not directly involved: People you are keeping "in the loop" Only address people on the "CC" list if you are bringing up a topic that involves then. If my boss/someone above me sent it, I'll include everyone as he did. If you really don't know what to do, just don't address the email to anyone.
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Is it okay to start email with "I apologize for the additional email, but..."? I would like to send an email to the Assistant General Manager of a company for the fourth time after a few weeks about its recruitment process. But I get a feeling that I keep nagging him and he is being disturbed. My question is: can I add this line before sending him another email? "I apologize for disturbing your busy schedule, but..." Because some people hate to read emails starting like this: 'Sorry to bother you, but ...' or 'I don't mean to be a pain, but ...' or 'I apologize for disturbing your busy schedule' Is it okay to start my email like the one above to a GM? <Q> I would like to send a mail to Assisstant General Manager of a company for the fourth time after few weeks about a recruitment process Please don't. <S> What you're doing here is nagging, and it can only affect your chances negatively. <S> They won't "admire your persistence" or anything like that, it'll just be annoying. <S> If you find yourself having to apologize for writing an email, maybe take another look if that email is really necessary to send and reconsider. <S> Because few people hates to read mails starting like this, <S> I think the hate of people is more concentrated on getting unnecessary emails that take time away from what they ought to be doing instead. <S> So no, don't add that line. <S> And please reconsider if you have to send that E-Mail at all. <A> To put the fact that it's a fourth email aside for a second and answer the question <S> Is it okay to start mail with “I apologize for the additional email, but…” <S> Even if it were the second email, my general policy is <S> don't apologise needlessly. <S> It loses its meaning <S> I want my apology to mean something. <S> If I mess up and have reason to sincerely apologise, then I want that to have weight behind it. <S> Over the past few years, the number of times I've used the phrase "I'm sorry" or "I apologise" in an email is probably < 20 times. <S> I want my boss and coworkers to know that I'm sincere. <S> If I use it all the time in cases like this, it loses its meaning. <S> It makes you sound like you lack confidence <S> Have confidence in what you do! <S> If you send an email, be confident in what you say. <S> Have purpose behind your words. <S> Saying I'm sorry is like saying "I'm not sure if sending this email is the right thing to do" (which is exactly what you're asking). <S> Either send it and mean it, or don't send it. <S> Don't admit you don't know what you're doing. <S> If you do good work and have confidence in yourself, then people will have confidence in you and you'll gain respect from others. <S> How do you lose the respect of others? <S> (1) do bad work or (2) <S> second guess yourself. <S> It's just extra reading for the recipient <S> A busy recipient won't want to read through sentences of fluff before getting to the point. <S> Get to the point concisely and keep your emails short. <S> So while the accepted answer is correct, here's an elaboration on why you shouldn't apologise in this case; save it for when you really are sincerely sorry. <A> But I get a feeling that I keep nagging him <S> and he is being disturbed. <S> If you have the feeling that he's being disturbed, why do you persist in sending another email? <S> It's okay to start your e-mail <S> however you like, but the net effect of every additional e-mail you send is that you are labeling yourself as a nuisance. <S> Let's think this through. <S> Four e-mails on the same subject, in rapid-fire succession to the same person, shows that you might just believe said person has nothing better to do with herself / himself than attend to your needs. <S> In your case, it's at a distance. <S> If you're demonstrating that kind of behavior now , what perception would the receiver get on how you'd behave if you were hired? <S> If I were the Assistant General Manager, I'd think, "what a jerk!" <S> I'd recommend backing off and pursuing other opportunities.
| If it's an email you're required to send then you won't have to apologize for sending it, and if you have to apologize for sending it, chances are you shouldn't be sending it.
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How do I say my reasons for leaving without being/sounding rude and without burning any bridges? I work as a software dev and I'm about to change my job, signing new contract shortly. After I sign it I'll give a notice at my current workplace to my CEO. The management board is rather distanced from low-rank employees, so I guess if the CEO does talk about it to anyone, that'd be my project manager only, who may or may not relay that to the rest of the team (it's hard to tell). There are quite a few reasons why I'm leaving, mainly because of a low salary, timeworn tech stack and overall terrible managing. In short: My colleagues are fine, the management is not (at least in their actions and decisions). The notice period is ' till the end of the next month ', so my coworkers will have plenty of time and opportunites to ask why I'm leaving. But how do I tell them my reasons without sounding rude? While I don't shy away from socializing, being an introvert and a rather straight-forward person, I have a hard time formulating my thoughts in a way that would not be considered rude and I don't want to lie to anyone. I want to emphasize that my colleagues are great, they were always helpful and I really appreciate that. It's the management that's a problem here. So, how do I reply when asked by the board, project manager or my colleagues for leave reasons without burning any bridges and without giving my colleagues an impression they could be at fault? Edit about duplicate I'd like to emphasize on the fact that the question goes beyond just 'an exit interview' and it's not more about what to say, but how . I'm fine with giving a general answer to the board, my main worry is colleagues asking such questions. Giving them a general answer might not work that well, since we're on pretty good terms and have conversations on a daily basis and I don't want to sound rude or condescending etc while providing them with a satisfactory answer. <Q> I'm looking to explore new areas of software development, and to diversify my experience. <S> That's all you need to say. <S> It's nobodies business for your reasons, and by saying this you're not lying, and you're not burning any bridges. <S> They can't argue with it! <A> So, how do I reply when asked by the board, project manager or my colleagues for leave reasons without burning any bridges and without giving my colleagues an impression they could be at fault? <S> To Your Boss : I have enjoyed working for you. <S> My time here on your team has allowed for me grow. <S> However, I feel as though I must explore this new opportunity to further enhance my career. <S> [ The end, rinse and repeat ] For exit interview you can say something like " <S> If a suitable opportunity come available for me in the future, I hope you will consider me eligible for re-hire ". <S> Take a look at this article for more details as certain approaches when giving feedback will be ignored. <S> Article from Forbes: <S> Exit Interview Do's and Don'ts <S> From the article above: If you care about the company and want to make a difference, “make sure your comments are fact-based and professional,” she said. <S> “In general, most employers want to know what you liked about your job and the company and what you would change if you could. <S> But keep it simple.” <S> You can also say that you were honored to have been part of the organization and are inspired by their mission and products, if this is true. <A> You're about to leave for a new, better job. <S> So what's wrong with <S> just - "I've received an offer for another opportunity that I want to pursue, and have accepted."? <S> You've been a good worker. <S> You've earned your pay, you're giving proper notice. <S> You don't owe your current employer (who underpays you, has lousy management and dated work tools) <S> any kind of explanation or justification. <S> If they want feedback, you can give limited feedback, and if they want more details, you can keep it vague unless you feel like they'd definitely listen and try to make improvement, in which case you'd be helping them and your former co-workers. <S> The vague - <S> It's a substantial raise, for one (no one faults anyone for improving their economic situation, as long as you don't seem solely motivated by greed). <S> Their technology is more advanced, so it's a great opportunity for me to improve my skill set and be more current for my field. <S> Avoid references to management style, completely, if keeping it vague. <S> If they want to know about that, maybe a "I feel like their work environment is a better fit for me." <S> If you do go down the road of more details, and it really seems like you don't want or need to, so, again, only if it seems like they already have some kind of epiphany about needing to make changes - <S> All the stuff above <S> (don't dwell on the pay, other than you feel like they might not be up to market norms, and talk about specifically how the technology falls short), and then, when you go into details about management, talk about processes and results in cold, objective terms. <S> What are the specific issues that make the management lousy? <S> Focus on describing those issues analytically. <S> Example - "We don't have enough regular, detailed interaction with our project manager, so it's difficult to get support that we need when we run into issues. <S> " <S> instead of "It seems like the project manager isn't interested, so he/she can't do their job because they don't have a clue about what is going on." <S> Anyway, I don't want to spend too much time giving advice on topics <S> I'm really advising you to avoid, if at all possible, so I'll leave it at that.
| Do not use any kind of adjectives that indicate judgment (like "lousy" that you shared with us). Be sure to mention how much you learned there and why both you and the company benefited from your time as an employee.
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Can I use Canadian spellings in an American workplace? I'm a Canadian about to start work in the US. Is it appropriate to continue to use Canadian spelling in my new workplace? Obviously, if I were to author anything client-facing, I would use whatever spelling is most familiar to the client (or whatever my company's policy dictates). But can I keep my Canadian spellings in emails, internal documents, and other internal communications? To be clear, I don't mind being "outed" by my non-American spellings. I just don't want to come across as uneducated or unprofessional. I would be okay if a colleague saw my writing and thought, "Oh, Ord is using British-looking spellings. He's probably from a Commonwealth country." I would not be okay if a colleague saw my writing and thought, "Oh, Ord is making spelling mistakes everywhere. How unprofessional." This is a professional workplace. Fairly standard office environment. I'm a programmer, if that's useful context. <Q> This is going to vary entirely based on your workplace. <S> But I'm 99% sure you are way more worried about this than you need to be ( <S> unless maybe you're in some sort of communications role?). <S> Some people will have fun and joke about it. <S> We have a bot that converts American English phrases to British English phrases (and vice versa). <S> So "favorite" gets corrected to "favourite" and vice versa. <S> That might drive people nuts on some teams. <S> Other folks would have a good time with it. <S> My recommendation if you are worried would be one of these: <S> Ask your boss about this <S> Ask coworkers of yours who are also from a non-US English speaking country <S> You can also wait a few weeks to get a better feel about this. <S> You will learn more about this piece of company culture. <S> I would not be okay if a colleague saw my writing and thought, "Oh, Ord is making spelling mistakes everywhere. <S> How unprofessional." <S> If this is your ultimate goal, I'd just try to use US English. <S> Obviously, if I were to author anything client-facing, I would use whatever spelling is most familiar to the client (or whatever my company's policy dictates). <S> If you do end up doing client-facing work, I'd recommend trying to write more in one style (probably US English). <S> Trying to mix and match will drive you nuts. <S> You can also just set spellcheckers to whichever locale you want, too. <A> Overall, I think your approach is well-thought out when dealing with clients by sticking to company policy or using whatever spelling style that are most comfortable using. <S> I understand how you don't want to give your co-workers a wrong impression with your use of spelling, but I would hope that the individuals at your job would be understanding enough to realize that we are the most comfortable with the language we grew up speaking. <S> Of course if you are that concerned about it, it doesn't hurt at all to ask your boss about it. <S> If you were say in a job that was very writing intensive, then I would say your concern would be more legitimate. <S> However, since you mention that you are in a programming position, I don't see this being a huge issue and I wouldn't worry about it too much. <S> I wish you the best of luck in your new position! :) <A> From a European perspective, unless the US is a lot more "strict" regarding language in the workplace, I doubt most will pay attention to British/Canadian vs. American spelling. <S> As long as peers understand you, there are no repercussions to even poor grammar. <S> And at worst, the colleagues here will just ask for clarification by tapping on the shoulder or via instant message.
| I highly doubt many people would care at all but there will likely be one or two people who are just... difficult.
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How to comment on physical changes and alterations of colleague's appearance I have a colleague who has recently dyed his hair to be darker and not quite as light and gray. I think it looks really good and I would like to comment on it, but I am not quite sure how to approach it. If I say "Hey, your hair color looks great!", it brings attention to the fact that I was aware of what his hair looked like and that I noticed how drastic of a change it is. Perhaps he thought it was just a very subtle touch up and it would not be a big change, but now his colleagues are aware that he dyes his hair. How can I comment on a coworker's change to their appearance (whether it is teeth whitening, hair coloring, tanning, etc.) while being sensitive to whether or not they meant it to be a drastic change or just a very minor change that only they would notice? <Q> Obviously Captain Emacs has the safest advice, which is not to comment on other people's physical appearance at all. <S> But if you do want to compliment someone, you should: <S> Be non-specific For example <S> , "I like your hair". <S> You can say it looks nice without pointing out you know exactly what was done or that the change was dramatic. <S> Keep it short <S> Do it infrequently For example, "That scarf is nice" is fine but not if you say it every single day. <S> Avoid anything but the most superficial parts : things that are wholly cosmetic, on the surface, and don't have unfortunate implications. <S> For example, I wouldn't comment on someone's teeth at all as it's hard to disassociate that from hygiene. <S> Another obvious one to avoid is someone's weight; it won't go over well to compliment someone's weight loss if it turns out they're sick. <S> To address the comments: The OP is worried about causing mild offense, embarrassment, or self-consciousness. <S> Nothing in the original question or either answer implies that this is about not being seen as a pervert. <S> This was not a concern of the OP and not something addressed in this answer. <A> It depends how close you are with that colleague. <S> At the end of the day what you are saying is meant to be a compliment. <S> Also your comment will not be a life changing event to your life or the life of your colleague, <S> So take it easy and cool! <A> There's absolutely nothing wrong with a discreet compliment. <S> This way, it doesn't bring overt attention and cause a conversation - potentially unwanted - among the rest of the staff seated near you. <S> Frankly, it is nothing unusual for people to show up on Monday mornings with different hairstyles, hair color, wigs, extensions, and even bodily augmentations and alterations these days. <S> They're not fooling anyone who notices. <S> So don't think your desire to pay a compliment is all that unusual, because unfortunately sometimes people are actually "fishing" for them :) <S> Like I stated above, proceed with discretion. <A> You shouldn't comment at all on anyone's appearance, unless you're close enough to them to know that you won't be offending, distracting, embarrassing, demeaning, objectifying, harrassing, concerning, or in any other way harming them. <S> Compliments are great only if people receive them as compliments: if you have any doubt of this, then absolutely err on the side of not commenting. <S> This goes for any public space whatosever, but is especially important in the workplace, where employees are not there because they want to be there, and where problems like bigotry and abuse are rampant across the world. <S> Context is all-important here.
| The very safest thing to say, other than nothing, is "You look nice today".
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Should I send email just to break the silence between offer acceptance and first day? Early last month I was offered an internship and verbally accepted over the phone. I was then emailed an offer letter, and a bunch of information and forms to fill out. The email said to let them know if I had any questions and told me what day/time to show up. I did not reply to the email but did fill out some forms it linked to. All of our communication has been over phone/skype/email because I attend school out of state and flew home right before my first interview. Now, it's been a month, and that was our last communication. The internship starts in about a week and a half. I don't have any questions to ask (at least not any that I feel are worth asking before I show up in person -- maybe I could ask about the dress code ). I am worried that my failure to respond to the email and continued silence will make me look bad, or they will think I'm not serious about the internship. I don't think they are going to take the internship away or anything; I just don't want to make a bad impression before I even meet them. Should I send an email now just to break the silence sooner than later, or would an email the day before saying I am looking forward to my first day be sufficient? <Q> There's no harm in making contact with them now, even to ask a generic question. <S> If I was out of state, it would be something to do with food arrangements. <S> Since you're not local, you don't know if you need to take something in with you or if there are places you can purchase food. <S> Equally, it could be asking who you need to report to on your first day if you don't already know. <S> Make it polite and say that you're really looking forward to getting started and leave it in their hands. <A> You can easily ask for them to confirm that they've recieved all the necessary information from you via the forms or if anything is still outstanding. <S> Also to confirm your start date (sometimes it moves by a day or so). <S> If you want to know, also fit a question about the dress code in there. <S> But, honestly, if you don't have any questions, there is no express need to follow up. <S> Essentially, you've already been recruited, they expect you to show up motivated on your first day, and that's probably all they expect. <S> I discourage you from asking questions <S> that you know will be easily answerable on your first day. <S> It's not good form and you'll be costing a HR person time for no reason. <A> Not answering to the email with the forms wasn't the most professional thing to do, you should always respond to a professional mail even if it's only to confirm you saw it, with the exception of grouped mail that might not require a confirmation from everyone, but nothing to be so concerned about. <S> It's just good habits to take. <S> If you don't that's just a regular behavior, you won't look bad because you didn't ask questions between filling the required papers and your starting day. <S> Then again, if you still want to ask questions just to be sure : Dress code as you mentioned Hours policy <S> Where and when is it usual to eat Are there rules for breaks <S> Should I take my computer or am I going to get one from the company (not as idiot as you may think <S> , I had an internship where I was required to take my own computer since the company didn't have any to provide for me)
| Contacting them now to ask questions is not mandatory or the only professional behavior expected, it's just a bonus, it shows that you are curious and looking forward to start at their company.
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internal transfer : when do i ask for a raise? I currently work as a lab technician, junior level, in Belgium (French company) I asked for a new job in the same company (same building, different team). The new job is to lead a small team (starting with 3, expected to grow to 5-6 people) In charge of building prototypes, so that includes dealing with designers, suppliers, plannings, etc. This position had been open for 6 month before I applied, and they found nobody. My application has been accepted, and according to oral (unofficial & non definitive) communication, I should be starting my new job 2 month from now (mid september). During the interview process, I mentioned the fact that i expected a salary raise (since my level of responsibility will increase significantly), and the HR representative agreed, but said that she was not the right person to talk about that. I do not know if this is recorded somewhere in her report, and there has been no mention of a new contract. This HR rep. left the company two weeks ago, and I have been left without any real news since then, and i do not know who is in charge of my case in HR. We are in the middle of the summer vacations, which means that my current manager and my future manager are both away. I fear that if I wait until the end of summer, i will start working my new job, and if I ask for a raise at that time, negociations will be rushed, or I will be told that I should have asked earlier. How do I approach this? should i go to someone in HR or just wait and see? <Q> I see how this has turned into a tricky situation. <S> Essentially, it's your politeness (in not wanting to push the issue) that has backed you into somewhat of a corner. <S> I'd go and see someone in HR (seeing as it's normally them that would handle salaries/contracts). <S> If it were me the conversation would start like; <S> I'm currently a Junior Lab Technician, but I'm due to start a new role as a Team Leader at the start of September ( for example ). <S> I'm a little worried as I still haven't confirmed my new salary with anyone <S> - I think there's probably been a mix up since HR Person left a couple of weeks ago. <S> Could we please get this sorted as soon as possible, as I don't want it to delay my start date. <S> A promotion like yours should come with an increase in salary. <S> Until you're explicitly told otherwise - I'd take the approach that you are getting one . <S> I'd also raise the issue that you wouldn't want to start your new role before finalising the details of your employment. <S> You should have all this in your new contract though... <A> I'd push for getting the raise and change in job title and/or responsibilities with an official start date in writing before starting the new job (e.g. "I don't feel comfortable starting in this new position until we've discussed and agreed upon the salary and how exactly my responsibilities would change"). <S> Once you start the job, it's implied that you accept doing that job for your current salary, so that doesn't put you in a particularly good negotiating position and it might be seen as trying to take advantage of the situation (in that they already went through the process of changing your job, then you ask for more money since them just paying that might be less trouble than them reverting you back to your old position and finding someone else). <S> Whether you go and speak to "someone in HR" to try to push for this now (while the relevant managers are on leave) or wait until they're back (if there's some time between them coming back <S> and you needing to start) would need to be your decision, but keep in mind that: Your raise doesn't need to take more than a few days to get approved (but this could depend on your company, and, more importantly, it can get significantly delayed at any given point if there isn't sufficient motivation to get it pushed through). <S> This raise might need to get approved by either or both managers. <S> The start date may not be fixed. <S> The fact that it was only given verbally heavily supports this. <A> Promotions are usually accompanied by some sort of a raise that is usually somewhere between 5 -8% <S> so I would say you are being very fair in thinking you should get one. <S> Speak/meet with the manager of the person who extended you the offer ( I assume someone in HR) and explain your reasoning for it as well. <S> Maybe give your accomplishments in written, your goals for what you hope to accomplish etc., as a valid argument for your side. <S> Good Luck
| I would suggest treating the start date as entirely flexible and gently but firmly insist on pushing out the start date until you agree on the new salary if you're having trouble making that conversation happen.
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What should I do when not being paid the agreed amount? I am working on a temporary job that was suppose to be a stipend of X amount. I am now being paid Y which is 10% less than X as well as a retirement plan being taken out of my pay that I did not agree to. I have the amount I should be paid in writing in an email. What steps should I take to make sure I am not being short changed or paying for unwanted retirement plans? UPDATE: The retirement plan OPERS is required. I was not aware of this when I accepted the position but when researching my school's policy it is mandatory. UPDATE2: I was reassured in writing from my adviser that I will receive the money within a few weeks. <Q> Initially, assume it's an honest mistake. <S> Talk to HR (phone or in person, not by email). <S> Tell them there's a mistake with your pay and ask them to fix it. <S> If they say it's not a mistake, produce the email and re-iterate your position. <S> If they don't fix it after that, quit <S> *. <S> This entire process should happen over at most 2 days. <S> Do not let them delay any part of it. <S> Separately, about the retirement plan, if you don't want it then just ask HR how you opt out of it. <S> And then do so. <S> * <S> Or, if your circumstances don't allow you to just walk out, start looking for a new job immediately, and get out as soon as you can. <A> What steps should I take to make sure I am not being short changed or paying for unwanted retirement plans? <S> Almost certainly, this was simply a case of confusion. <S> In many of the public employee retirement systems these days, there is a default selection. <S> In your case, enrollment at the standard 10% level was likely the default. <S> If you wanted a different action, there would be forms to fill out indicating your selection. <S> It sounds like this wasn't clear during the onboarding process. <S> Most systems have a certain period of time to complete this enrollment, such as 120 days from the start of employment. <S> You may still have time to change your selection. <S> As far as "getting your money back" that may also be a misunderstanding. <S> Once money is put into a retirement system there are ways to get that money out, but most involve a penalty and perhaps a tax hit. <S> Perhaps what they were saying is that when you separate from this company, you can roll over the money in your retirement account to something like an IRA if you don't want to leave it in place. <S> Again, check with HR. <S> If you are in a public employee's union, your union can also help. <S> (As an aside, public employee retirement systems are often very generous in their matching amounts - more so than private employers. <S> You might wish to talk with a financial planner to consider if saving for retirement this way is in your best interest.) <S> Being promised $X virtually always means a gross amount, not a net amount. <S> Out of $X must come taxes, the employee's cost of benefits, etc. <S> In this case, it doesn't sound like the employer was trying to be intentionally misleading, but perhaps didn't convey enough details for you to understand. <S> If after discussion the entire package is less than you were hoping, you can always find a new job then quit this one. <A> The normal answer to <S> If they don't pay me, what do I do? <S> is "talk to an employment lawyer". <S> However, since this is an internship that ends this week, don't sweat the small stuff . <S> Make sure you get the college credit and don't worry too much about the pay. <S> It may be a lot to you now, but it's not going to matter 2 years from now. <S> Don't accept an offer of full time employment from this company unless they explain the situation to your satisfaction. <A> Look or ask around for obvious resources for resolving payroll issues. <S> HR, office manager, business owner, whoever. <S> Don't be afraid to ask higher up the food chain; if this issue is below someone's pay grade then said person should absolutely know who you need to talk to for a resolution. <S> The most important part of this is your school credit, <S> so don't give them an opportunity to take a cheap shot at you by alerting them to the fact that you intend to go to the Board of Labor in order to collect your wages. <A> Get the details on the retirement plan. <S> Is it a 401k or an IRA that is managed by someone? <S> Does it seem legitimate? <S> Will they indeed give it back to you? <S> HR should be able to provide this information to you in short order. <S> Any investment accounts should come with materials/paperwork describing the fund or financial product. <S> If you cannot get this information, I would perceive it as a major red flag.
| Talk to HR, explain what you wanted to do, and learn what you can do now. Document everything now, get any evidence you can of the original agreement you made with the company. If no one is helping you, and there's no HR department or office manager who could be assumed to be in charge of payroll discrepancies, then wait until your school credits are confirmed with your university and then file a complaint with the Ohio Board of Labor or equivalent institution.
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What can I do to stop a non-supervisor manager busybody from constantly checking on me? I have a bit of a weird situation. I work for a tech subsidiary of a large multinational corporation that employs across all subsidiaries and companies owned a total of around 180-200k employees. My small company branch of <10 people shares an office building with a sister company branch of about 20 or so with whom we do not share any kind of work responsibilities. Our actual workloads are completely unrelated, with the exception of sharing an HR department. The management of their team has absolutely no power of our team beyond maybe pulling some strings behind the scenes. The CFO of their company, for some reason, has taken it upon himself to constantly walk past and peer into my office throughout the day. I share my office with two coworkers. I didn't even really notice until my coworker pointed out that he was doing it, and told me that he had a history of complaining to our boss if we left the building early or got to work late-- even with a totally legitimate reason (including WFH which is given to us at times). My boss is frequently traveling, so the CFO must feel somehow like it's his responsibility to do this, as though we are too immature to be professional. After my coworker pointed out that their CFO was constantly doing this, I started to notice it more and more. The glances grew longer. I would make awkward eye contact as he did it. I then started counting occurances: 10-15 per day. This week came the real kicker. My office has two doors: one that leads to the hallway that everyone uses, which is the hallway he always stares into my office from, and the other door in my office is behind my desk and leads to a couple cubicles that are also accessible by the common hallway. This second hallway is a part of the building which typically only my team uses (we can talk to each other while the door is open, but it's usually closed while we're working). The CFO walks through my office, from my team hallway, to the common hallway, and stares at my screens as he walks through my office. At this point, it's really getting distracting and incredibly obnoxious. Not only is it obnoxious, it's very rude and in my opinion disrespectful. This guy is typically rude, but having him walk through my office was another level of rude. It's just getting more and more obnoxious, and really beginning to stress me out. It's affecting my work because it happens at least once an hour, possibly more...How does he have time to do this? Doesn't he have work to do? I've never had any work-performance issues, I've scored very well in my work reviews. My Question: What can I do to stop a guy who swings some weight in my company's ladder, but has no direct control over me or my team to stop bugging me without making a huge deal? I don't have anything to hide, it's just distracting and rude, and makes me feel paranoid, even though I have nothing to hide. One of the biggest draws to me working here was during my interview when my boss told me, "I'm not a micromanager." And he's not. This just feels like I'm being silently micromanaged by someone who isn't even in my company. Also I feel like I should note that the nosy CFO's company is not a tech company, they are a construction company. I believe this may affect his attitude somewhat. UPDATE: So I decided to get more passive-aggressively confrontational with all encounters of said CFO. I started giving very steady and deliberate eye contact with him whenever he would walk by and peer into my office. I found that the harder the eye contact, the quicker he would scurry off awkwardly. Since I started doing this, the total number of times he checks in has decreased. He'll still walk by my office fairly frequently, but I think that making it obvious that I noticed really helped the situation. If anything else comes from these interactions, I'll update here. <Q> Apparently, you're beyond the point that ignoring his behaviour will help. <S> Try polite, friendly confrontation instead. <S> Everytime he stares at you, rise from your chair, approach him and ask him: "hi! <S> is there something I can help you with?". <S> That would probably result in a one of the following scenario's: <S> CFO asks a specific question : answer it. <S> CFO asks how your work is going, or says that he is checking up on you: give a truthful, but general answer about your work. <S> Once you've answered him about the topic multiple times, raise the issue with your own boss. <S> CFO scurries away and hopefully learns not to interrupt you, as every time he does that he'll face the same question. <A> Talk to your boss about it and ask him to address this issue with the CFO. <S> It's affecting your efficiency at work - hence it should be in your boss's interest to stop this guy's behaviour. <S> It's also undermining your boss's authority in that it's his prerogative and duty to manage and control you and nobody else's. <S> Plus the behaviour sounds really creepy to me, like somebody testing the waters to see if he can get away with still weirder stuff in the future. <A> Talk to your boss about it <S> but DO NOT ask him to address this issue with the CFO. <S> ONLY THEN try a polite, friendly confrontation with the CFO. <S> You should tell your boss what's happening, but in a way that doesn't require him to do any managing. <S> Just ask him if he has tasked the neighbor CFO to keep an eye on you. <S> Make it clear that you don't expect him to do anything about it. <S> Only then do you politely confront the neighbor CFO, and let him know that his attentions are distracting and unwelcome. <S> Jakob Buis has indicated what to say. <S> Here's the reasoning behind that. <S> If you confront the neighbor CFO and politely demand that he stop investigating you without a reason, he may -- probably will -- invent a reason. <S> Then he'll report whatever he made up to your boss. <S> Of course it'll be nonsense, but your boss will have to deal with it, and it will remain in his mind as something you did that caught the attention of someone who was just walking by and happened to glance in. <S> So you want the first time you boss hears about any of this to be when he learns how nosy this neighbor CFO is. <S> Then, if any mendacious complaints ever reach his ears, his first reaction will be to consider the source. <S> And if the neighbor CFO actually never does make trouble, well, then it remains something you told your boss about and then took care of yourself. <A> Sorry if this is less than practical, but since he really has no say over anything in your company and is being an unwanted irritant, I'd suggest trolling him in a passive-aggressive fashion. <S> You know how there are "screen-savers" that look like spreadsheets or other office busy-work, for slackers to disguise their slacking ways? <S> I'm sure there are also "Pac-Man" or "Galaga" screen savers that emulate famous video games. <S> Make sure your screen saver is displaying some time when he walks through, and try not to visibly notice his eyeballs popping out of his head. <S> Then that CFO loses credibility as a busy-body. <S> Screensavers Planet: 39 Video Game Screensavers for Windows & Mac
| Ask him if you should continue to answer questions about your work, or that he (your boss) will have a chat with the CFO that his supervision is not required. When your boss comes to you about this work-productivity crisis, you show him it's simply your screen-saver, and say it never occurred to you that it would be an issue because you never thought someone would be spying on your screen like that.
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Can/do (seemingly) stupid interview-questions serve a purpose? At the last interview I was at, a HR-rep kept asking followup questions to technical questions that struck me as blatantly stupid. Questions like "who do you ask if you get stuck?". My answer was "I hope I will have the opportunity to find that out." During the course of the day I kept coming back to those questions. The HR-rep was quite young as well, and I assumed she probably just didn't know what to ask. But some part of me still believes there was a hint of guile in those questions. Is there a point to asking a seemingly pointless or even stupid question? <Q> Why is that a stupid question? <S> In your current job, who do you turn to if you have a problem you can't resolve? <S> Your boss? <S> Your peers? <S> Do you pass the problem to a subordinate or just slip it back into the backlog? <S> (Red flag) <S> Do you just keep hacking away until you eventually get an solution? <S> (Bigger red flag) <S> The answer you gave seems to imply that you've never been in a situation where you've been truly stuck on a problem, which may have thrown the interviewer somewhat... <A> Is there a point to asking a seemingly pointless or even stupid question? <S> Sure - it shows how you respond to seemingly pointless or even stupid questions. <S> Some people may respond badly. <S> If you want to assume the best, then assume the HR person was new and didn't have any good questions prepared. <S> Personally, I choose to assume the best. <A> I think the key word in your question is "seemingly". <S> The situation here is that you were asked a question you didn't really understand, so gave a flippant answer. <S> That potentially tells me quite a lot about you - rather than trying working to understand the meaning behind the question, you'd decided to basically ignore it. <S> Just about OK if you do it once. <S> When you're asked the question again, it's time to realise that somebody thinks this is important, and it's time to dig a bit deeper into what they're asking, not think "they're asking a stupid question" or "they don't know how to do their job". <S> I also don't believe you've never been stuck on anything - certainly your Stack Overflow profile <S> reveals a whole number of questions where it very much looks like you were stuck on something. <S> Why not say "I use Stack Overflow"? <S> In summary: this wasn't a stupid question. <S> The responses you've given would mean I wouldn't want you working for me, so it's served a very useful purpose.
| If you want to assume the worst, then assume the HR person was deliberately trying to annoy you to see how you would react. It's intended to get a feel for the way in which you work.
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When makes sense to provide honest feedback in an exit interview? The general consensus is that Exit Interviews are, at best, a waste of time for the employee leaving, and barely useful for the company (this has been extensively discussed here many times). However, let's think for a moment that the employee leaving is not disgruntled at all: Relationship with direct line manager is good. Relationship with relevant execs is also good. Reached a good agreement regarding notice period and end date. Work/tasks during notice period were fair. The employee leaving even helped the company finding a replacement. Let's also assume that the employee already has a new contract signed, and references have been already provided some time ago. In a situation like this, would it make sense to provide honest (negative) feedback explaining the reasons for leaving? Things like: Lack of investment in some areas of the business. Low salaries compared to market. Under-staffed teams in core areas. Old/outdated technology. Assuming a large company (> 1k employees) and UK based (if relevant, although it shouldn't be different in the US). I am specially interested in answers from the point of view of the departing employee - although clear benefits for the company are also of interest here (other than obscure things such as using the exit interview time for blocking the network accounts of the employee...). <Q> There is a time and place to bring up the issues you cite, but the exit interview is NOT it. <S> During the course of your employment, you should have brought these up in discussions with your boss and co-workers. <S> You may have also had an opportunity to propose solutions and offer to implement at least part of the solutions. <S> If you did those things, that's great, but unfortunately it also means that they were not convinced. <S> Now you're leaving and any perceptive manager will at least realize that those problems are part of the reason. <S> If you did not raise concerns during your employment... <S> then you didn't really care that much and just moved on to another opportunity. <S> That's ALSO fine. <S> Just recognize that unless scores of people leave, management isn't going to change. <S> Some orgs won't "get the message" even when facing 100% attrition in 5 years. <S> Whatever the case, a traditional exit interview with HR exists strictly for pro-forma reasons that make sense to HR drones. <A> would it make sense to provide honest (negative) feedback explaining the reasons for leaving? <S> I can imagine a case where it benefits the company. <S> (Although if the company were as bad as you indicated, I don't imagine they would be open to constructive criticism anyway). <S> What I can't see is how it can benefit the departing employee in any way. <S> I'd still advise to give only neutral feedback. <A> This depends heavily on the motivations and maturity of all people involved, but it can be very positive thing <S> When I left my last gig, the CEO of the company asked me for a write up of all the detractors to be shared just with two VPs who ran the business unit at the time. <S> I do respect and trust these people a lot, so I complied. <S> I would NOT have shared this with HR, just the leaders that I trusted. <S> So I left on good terms and I got the occasional ping <S> "how is you new gig, feel like coming back?" . <S> From what I can tell there was a significant change in some of the areas that I mentioned shortly after my departure. <S> I can't tell for sure, whether these changes are related, but it's at least plausible that my feedback made the place better for some of the friends I'd left behind <S> So it can be good if You trust the people involved. <S> There is an honest desire to learn Everyone is open and transparent about their motivations <A> When makes sense to provide honest feedback in an exit interview? <S> I think every time. <S> Whether the company values it or uses it or not is not something you can base your decision on because you simply do not know for sure. <S> It does give you both the satisfaction that you expressed what was in your mind and also an opportunity to clear things in your head why you are leaving the company and what do you want in the next one. <S> If you are fair and constructive, it may also serve as a permanent record of your personality in their files and could be useful if you seek employment with them again. <S> (If their attitude is wrong, it could also harm you but you wouldn't want to work for this company again unless their attitude changes anyway) <S> All you have to be careful about is <S> Answer very specific to the question being asked in the interview. <S> Talk about the salary or compensation only if they specifically ask if you were happy with your salary and not when they something else like 'do you have any suggestions for the team/manager you are leaving?'.
| Also include some positive things (if any) you liked about the company and you would look forward to in your next role as well. Not use rude or offensive language or complain about an individual by name or title. Any feedback you could provide on the way out could be gotten through existing employees, if the company ever really wanted to know.
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How to handle an over-talkative interviewer? I am interviewing for a position and my first interview didn't go as expected. It was supposed to be an hour interview but it turned into 50 minutes of the interviewer's life, her past, etc... when she realized there was 10 minutes left, she quickly started asking random questions unrelated to the position. I basically started just answering basic questions she was supposed to ask. I felt I didn't get to showcase my skills and felt I was qualified for the position. I have another interview with her scheduled for next week. What am I supposed to handle these types of situations? UPDATE: There were just too many red-flags and felt the recruiters and hiring managers were not being honest with me. I turned down their offer. <Q> Go with the flow. <S> You got invited back for another interview, so obviously she saw enough in you based on her own criteria. <S> The only thing I would ensure that is covered is for you to get all the questions you need <S> answered about the company and position. <A> As an interviewee, I like nothing more than a talkative interviewer. <S> While it may seem at first glance that an interview is there for you to present yourself to the company, this is not precisely true. <S> It just so happens that people tend to feel better about a conversation when they got to say what they wanted, even if that means that the conversation technically didn't really achieve its goal of assessing whether or not you're suited to the role they have in mind. <S> With some exceptions, as long as you were able to speak clearly and without delay when it was expected of you, the interviewer will feel like the interview 'went so well that they didn't even have time to ask everything' and will invite you in for a second interview. <S> The trick here is to use the few opportunities that you do get to showcase yourself and your knowledge and experience in a way that will make it clear that you're suited to the job opening. <A> It may be that your over-talkative interviewer is feeling insecure or nervous - yes, they are humans as well. <S> Next meeting, if you see things going in the same direction, insert a remark like this: <S> "This is all interesting, and I want to hear more - but you need to save some details for after you hire me, after all I'm a perfect match for the position! <S> So let's talk about something less interesting: What do you want to know about me?" <S> This way you don't forcefully cut the interviewer, already sets the hiring perspective, get the focus back on you and and keep the tone light and cordial.
| Your goal in an interview should be for the interviewer to leave the interview with a positive feeling about you as a prospective employee.
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Restricted control over company's laptop I have been recently hired as a security engineer on a company. They provided me a MacBook Pro as a company laptop. As I always do in any computer in my possession - including in previous jobs - I rebooted in order to reinstall the operating system. I consider it to be good hygiene, since I don't know what's on the company's standard image, and by default I don't trust it. Besides, I expect to make my own choices regarding its initial configuration. However, I noticed I am unable to enter the recovery screen because it is locked with a firmware password. After requesting its removal, I was told by IT that this is a new company practice and they will not make any exceptions (other than laptops provided before this policy). The password will remain, and I am expected to use the base image only. The way I see it, this is appropriate for non-tech-savvy users, but inappropriate in scenarios where autonomy is required, and employees are skilled, typically on technical teams. I don't think any self-respecting security professional would be comfortable knowing that they do not have full control over their laptop, and that it was installed by someone else, with unknown defaults. Yes, it's the company's property and their decision, but as my main work tool, I should be able to use it anyway I need, including reinstalling the OS or booting from a live pen drive. Effectively, I am being trusted to secure the company's business, but am not being trusted to secure my own laptop. This is a moral issue to me. My questions: Is my behavior unreasonable (or an overreaction)? Is locking down a computer in this way for a security engineer commonplace in industry? How do I resolve this without quitting? I am perfectly aware that the company can choose anything they want, as it is their property, but security folk tend to be paranoid, and I am no exception. I don't mean to turn this into a dispute, but I feel I will be so uncomfortable working like this that I am more likely to consider not remaining on this company. <Q> I doubt that letting them know your feelings are hurt is going to do much good. <S> If you have legitimate job functions that you can't perform because of this policy, then that's how you need to approach it with your management. <S> With this policy in effect, I am unable to do X, Y and Z, which are critical to my role as a security engineer. <S> I need an exception or some other work around to this policy in order to do my job. <S> And let them take it from there. <S> It's useless for you to simply rail at the IT department. <S> If they violate the policy for you, then it's on them if it gets discovered. <S> Whoever has the power to make the exception, it's going to be up to them. <A> am not being trusted to secure my own laptop <S> It's not your laptop, it is a tool the company have provided you in order to do your job. <S> However, I do sympathise. <S> It's normal for companies to have a standard image. <S> And I agree, when handing out a laptop to a generic user I would usually ensure quite a few restrictions were applied so that users didn't screw with the machine. <S> If you need specific tools, you can and should request them. <S> If your manager OK's it, then they should go back to IT and instruct accordingly, at which point the IT team can and should work with you to get the setup you need. <S> However, if your Manager says no, then that's the answer. <S> And you have to accept it. <A> You should realise that this is largely a question of responsibility. <S> Since the IT department is responsible for the correct functioning of the machine they provide for you to use, they need a certain degree of control over the machine in order to be able to provide that guarantee. <S> While I understand that distrust is an occupational hazard of a security engineer, I would advocate that when it comes to your own company's employees, you employ an "innocent until proven guilty" attitude. <S> If you have a need for certain configuration of the machine, with certain tools installed and certain access rights, make a request for that configuration through the normal channels within the company. <S> Only when the normal process fails do you have a reason to go to your manager and explain why and how the current situation prevents you from doing your job properly. <S> Anecdotally, I also fail to see how a pre-imaged machine would prevent you from doing your job: I've worked with security engineers that had barely any control over their own machine, they simply worked with their company's IT department in order to get their machine to the state they required.
| I can understand wanting full control over your own personal machine, or a machine that is in your domain of responsibility, but for a machine provided to you by someone else it seems unrealistic to expect full control. For them, this has nothing to do with you personally: they are providing a laptop to an employee of the company and are treating you like any other employee. What I recommend you do in the first instance however is - go and talk to your Manager, explain explain why you need/want it configured in a particular way, and ask if it is possible to have the restrictions lifted.
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Reading on the job So a little bit about my situation: My company is in the process of relocation. I will be relocating as well. Due to this, workload has cut down significantly to the point where i am reading books my boss provided to me. The books are subject material related to my career and I am reading while at work when there is nothing to do so I can better prepare myself for whats ahead and to get a better grasp at things I have yet to understand. My question is: Despite working hours, is this acceptable for me to do? Or is this something I should save for off-hours? <Q> Despite working hours, is this acceptable for me to do? <S> Or is this something I should save for off-hours? <S> You need to ask your boss what you should be doing if you don't have enough work to fill the hours. <S> Since your boss gave you the books, maybe this is a hint that reading them during work hours is acceptable. <S> It's also possible that there are tasks that need doing which you haven't heard about yet. <S> But the only one who can tell you for sure (and the only one who could praise you or penalize you) is your boss. <S> Ask. <A> I can’t imagine any scenario where reading on the job — which if it is related to your career as you said it is and therefore can really be considered training — would be unacceptable. <S> It’s not unusual for your workload to shift between being intense and being quiet, <S> and so it is a good habit to keep busy improving your job-related skills while there is nothing else that can be done at that moment in time. <S> I would also suggest to keep them in the loop as to what you’re currently learning. <A> I usually take an hour or so per day to study up on concepts I can use at work. <S> I think it is important to ask yourself 3 basic questions. <S> Can I use this Knowledge for a specific reason at work? - <S> Studying a subject that is related to your field or job <S> but not useful is a waste of you time, and <S> the companies. <S> Would this time be better spent on another task? <S> - Reading up on how to increase efficiency is great, being efficient is better. <S> If your a programmer for example, reading about cleaning up and commenting your code is great doing so is better. <S> Will this benefit the company more then the time I have taken? <S> - This is extending the first 2 questions. <S> Is the value to the company worth more then the time you used. <S> Learning a tool that doubles your rate of commits - yes please! <S> Learning a new language that may do that, if everyone commits to the change and learns it too... Not so much. <S> If you can say with confidence that your usage of company time benefits the company, then I would tell you to go for it. <S> If it does not, best to ask, or simply skip it. <A> This answer is considering there are no other prioritized jobs you could do. <S> Yes! <S> Read! <S> If the alternative is not working, you might as well read books in the relevant field. <S> If you think your managers or supervisor may think this is slacking, perhaps ask them if they have any tasks you could perform instead.
| It’s always good to check with your line manager or supervisor that there definitely isn’t something else that needs to be done before investing time into self-led training or reading though.
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Is it unethical to reject the same job offer twice? TL;DR: I declined a job offer under somewhat unique circumstances, HR person called me unprofessional and unethical for rejecting their offer. Was I? I had changed jobs about 7 months ago. At that time I had interviewed with startup A and startup B. Startup B made me an offer first, so when startup A made an informal offer, I politely declined their offer and joined startup B. I was not given a formal offer letter from startup A, and I never signed anything at this point. 4 months into my new job, I started feeling that it wasn't working out, so I started looking out for another job. After searching for 2 months, I reached out to startup A again, and asked if they were still hiring. When asked why I was changing my mind, I explained it was not working out, so HR said they would check if they had an opening, and came back with a formal offer a week later, with a designation usually given to employees with 4-5 years less experience than me, but I was very desperate. I told them I intend to accept the offer formally by sending them a confirmation email, within a day or two. I was then contacted by an enterprise company I really wanted to work at. I told the recruiter that I was about to accept an offer with another company, so they sped up the interview process and made me a significantly better offer. So I told startup A that I found a better offer, and I would not be accepting their offer. I also apologised profusely over phone and over email. But the HR from that startup was really angry at me, and called me unethical and unprofessional, and accused me of "using" their offer to get better offers. Did I do anything wrong? What constitutes accepting an offer letter? Telling them that I intend to accept the offer in some time, and actually accepting it are two different things, right? How could I have handled this situation better? <Q> Was it unethical to reject the job twice ? <S> NO <S> Could I have done anything to handle the situation better ? <S> I don't think so. <S> You declined a 1st informal offer. <S> Nothing wrong about that, it happens, no big deal. <S> When you declined the second offer, you apologized profusely over phone and over email . <S> My 2 cents: <S> So, I reached out to the bigger startup again, and asked if they were still hiring. <S> [...] I told them I intend to accept the offer formally. <S> That's why they were upset. <S> Because they thought they had a deal. <S> But, as @Jane-S nailed it : until you have confirmed in writing that you have accepted the offer, you haven't accepted the offer . <S> Don't count your chickens before they're hatched <S> is a very useful advice they forgot :) <S> From their POV, your move looks like you used their offer to get better offers . <S> Even if this was not intended, they'll think so, and there's nothing you can do about that. <S> More than often, people don't like to be proven wrong, and get upset. <S> Forget them and move ahead... <A> But the HR from that startup was really angry at me, and called me unethical and unprofessional, and accused me of "using" their offer to get better offers. <S> This is called drawing conclusions based on facts not in evidence and would border on slander <S> had it been said to anyone other than you. <S> The offer process is a business transaction no different than buying desks or printer paper. <S> Yes, it takes some work on the company's part to vet candidates and prepare offers. <S> Having some of them turned down -- for any reason -- is a cost of doing business. <S> And being business, they shouldn't be getting their shorts in a knot over it. <S> Some HR people live in their own world and don't reflect the rest of the company, but their job is still to be the company's representative during this process. <S> In this case, they've done a poor job of it and you should consider the possibility that you've dodged a bullet. <A> Unethical? <S> No. <S> You are not honor bound to accept their first offer, or second or even tenth. <S> Was it rude? <S> Yes. <S> You were the one that reached out to them months after your first refusal. <S> It generated some more work for them. <S> So some of their outrage is based on that. <S> But then again, they low balled you in return. <S> They knew you were in a hard spot and used that as leverage. <S> I'm assuming the position paid less as well as the junior title. <S> I am also assuming that the second offer was lower than the first. <S> So their over reaction is really towards having to pay fair market price for someone of your experience whom they obviously feel they need in that role. <S> Unless that HR person was a friend or acquaintance that reached out their neck or pulled some strings for you. <S> Which you made no indication of. <S> There is no real way you could have handled it better. <S> It should go without saying, do not reach out to them a third time though. <S> That bridge is burned, even though it shouldn't be. <S> Human emotions affect business dealings all the time.
| If one party doesn't find the other's terms acceptable, they're free to walk away.
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How do I put two concurrent internships on my resume? So this summer, I had two independent and different internships. One was a full-time 9-5 paid "developer" internship. The other one was a remote internship at an academic institution. I somehow managed to pull it off and finished my projects at both the places (by working weekends, at night etc). My supervisors at both the places knew of the other internship and were comfortable with it hence I did not have a hassle. Now I face a problem of putting them up on my resume. I am slightly apprehensive about putting both of them on my resume,as in my view it would make it seem like the internships were amateur ones and not a professional ones(please do correct me if you think this is not true). It was suggested to me by a mentor that I strike off the remote one, as it will not count towards my professional work experience, but I wish to retain it as it was some really good work and moreover was "research" based(in a field important to me and my career goals). So my questions are: Will showing two overlapping internships on my resume cause any problems? Will it be taken suspiciously as being forged/not authentic? (Forged internships on resumes are a chronic problem in my country) Is there a way I can prevent such a confusion/suspicion? How should I explain this to any potential employers who have their doubts regarding the same? PS. If it matters, this is in the field of computer science and I am a college senior who will soon start looking for full time opportunities. <Q> List both in separate listings. <S> Add enough detail of what you did that <S> is it clear <S> you did something at these internships. <S> Be prepared with recommendations from both for when you are called to an interview. <A> Will showing two overlapping internships on my resume cause any problems? <S> Will it be taken suspiciously as being forged/not authentic? <S> (Forged internships on resumes are a chronic problem in my country) <S> If forgeries are common, probably. <S> At the same time, I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to intentionally try to fake two internships at once. <S> You have more to gain by having two internships than to lose because some people will be suspicious. <S> The good companies who are suspicious would follow up on their suspicions rather than dismissing you outright. <S> Is there a way I can prevent such a confusion/suspicion? <S> How should I explain this to any potential employers who have their doubts regarding the same? <S> The best way to alleviate suspicion is to include specific details that explain the confusing aspects. <S> For example, to show that it's possible to work two jobs at once, mention that one job was part time on nights and weekends only. <S> If a position is unpaid, or if your projects were more of an independent study with little oversight, these also help show that one of the positions had much more flexibility to squeeze in your free time. <S> You should expect questions in interviews about how you managed this too. <S> Above all, just be honest and don't try to exaggerate things to make your case more desirable or believable. <A> Is there a way I can prevent such a confusion/suspicion? <S> How should I explain this to any potential employers who have their doubts regarding the same? <S> There don't seem any way to avoid suspicion. <S> Since you yourself are aware of the forgery of certificates. <S> Your future employer must be seeing a number of forged cases. <S> So you are supposed to explain the truth and with your experience considering multiple internships it don't seem hard. <S> Will showing two overlapping internships on my resume <S> cause any problems? <S> Will it be taken suspiciously as being forged/not authentic? <S> (Forged internships on resumes are a chronic problem in my country) <S> The difference between original and forged documents is that the original ones have a good backing behind them. <S> As you have explained here it all seems legitimate. <S> All you need is backing for everything you state in resume. <S> Considering the scenario of forged docs in your country. <S> You have a hell better experience of your field which is enough to justify your internships.
| In the cover letter, explain how you logistically did two internships at the same time and why you chose to do so. If the two jobs are located in different cities, specify that one was remote work only. Pick the one that is most useful to the job you are applying and list it first. Here all you have to tell is the truth how you managed to complete both.
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How to say 'you mind your own business' without sounding rude, but not being entirely polite either? I work in the software industry in India. My coworker keeps suggesting to change the work I did. This happens 3-4 times per week. For example, my tech lead instructed me to build a contact form, and he has allocated time for it. My coworker suggests that I add a Captcha as well. This will take more time that has not been accounted for. Besides, if a Captcha were necessary, the tech lead would have told me. I want to tell the coworker "you mind your own business", in a manner which is not 100% polite, but it should not sound so rude either. He should get the message that I really, really don't like such interference. <Q> Sorry, <S> but I don't decide what to build. <S> Tech lead <S> does. <S> Please take any suggestions to them. <S> If he keeps up, emphasize the point further: <S> I've already told you, I don't decide what is built. <S> Raising suggestions with me is pointless. <S> Take it to tech lead . <S> Or maybe even: <S> Please stop wasting my time with suggestions. <S> They should go to Tech lead . <S> If even that doesn't help, you need to raise it with your boss as a distraction from your job. <S> At that point, I don't think anything is going to stop the interruptions. <S> However, I feel it's important to at least point out that reacting in this way very likely has a negative impact on how you are being perceived by your colleagues, possibly including your lead and/or boss. <S> Developers who only do what they are told and show no initiative whatsoever are generally not the most appreciated type. <A> Thanks for your input. <S> I'll keep that in mind. <S> Edit: <S> I like this, because it's to the point, and it can be dismissive whilst not offensive. <S> If the suggestions from your co-worker are valid, consider them. <S> if they're not, ignore them. <A> In your comments, you've given one specific example of unwanted suggestions from your colleague when you'd been tasked with creating a contact form; But co-worker suggest me to add captcha too. <S> It takes more time from me and generally if it is needed, tech lead tell it me <S> In my opinion, being in your field of work, this is a solid suggestion and something certainly worth doing. <S> That leads me to question why you're reacting negatively to these suggestions? <S> It's not that they're always pointless or unhelpful <S> - your colleague actually looks to be trying to help you do a better job. <S> But, if you're dead set on ignoring them, given the information you've supplied <S> I'd suggest telling your colleague; <S> Thanks for the suggestion, but tech lead <S> has just asked me to do it this way for now. <S> I'd strongly recommend <S> you're not actually rude to your colleague. <S> If they're being disruptive, then talk to your manager about it. <S> If they're trying to be helpful and you're rude in your response the only person it reflects negatively on is yourself. <A> Thanks for your suggestions. <S> If I need your help, I will ask you, ok? <A> What is a polite (not 100%) way to say 'you mind your own business'? <S> I used to work for the CIO at Delta airlines, while in a similar situation. <S> His advise to me was " Always be nice, until it was time to not be nice. " <S> What he meant was choose carefully when to move from a subtle approach to a more direct approach. <S> In this particular case I think you have moved passed the be nice approach. <S> With that in mind, I would try this " Might I suggest unless unless there is something terribly wrong from a performance perspective with my work, or I have not successfully full filled the requirement that you mind your own business? " <S> I may even go on and ask " Why are you so interested in my work? ". <S> I think you your case, polite isn't going to work, but firm might. <S> Your going to have to be more direct in your response to this individual. <S> He may like reviewing and making suggestions towards your work, but I wonder how open he is to accepting similar input on his work ? <A> I got this <S> /it, thanks. <S> It's just a tiny bit dismissive depending on your tone, and it can be vague enough that they think you actually appreciate their input. <S> But as others have said, your sole example is something that any programmer should welcome, a valid suggestion on design. <S> If you feel he is going about it the wrong way, or trying to create more work from you, you have two options. <S> Direct him to bring it up in a design meeting or to the team lead. <S> Turn it back around on them. <S> Thank you, I'd be happy to include it when you are done coding it. <S> Or That is a great idea <S> , when can you have it ready? <S> Polite, while making it clear that they should put their money where their mouth is. <A> I try it the way Robert Downey Jr suggests: Listen, smile, agree, and then do whatever the fuck you were gonna do anyway. <S> Source: Quotes of Robert Downey Jr <S> Thats a good way to not insult people. <S> And if people repeat to tell you what to do, they will get the message after a while and leave you alone, since they see you are not interested in their opinion. <A> I suggest: "Thanks, I will put it (or: it is already) on the list of possible improvements. <S> If the customer/lead/product owner thinks it is important enough, we will do it".
| Another option for you to consider is to take the same action toward the offenders work as they are towards yours. Just be honest about what's going on. Just because someone offers you advice , it doesn't mean you have to accept nor act on it.
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Asking for a (level) demotion? I work at a tech company that has numerical levels (as opposed to just "junior" → nothing → "senior") for employees. For the first few levels, you are required to advance to the next level within a set number of months, or you're fired (well, PIPed, so... fired). I wasn't hired at the base level, and I'd like to move down to it, after learning about this "advance or die" policy. It would mean less money, but that's fine, the company pays a hilarious amount of money to all engineering employees, even at that lowest level. More importantly, I'd receive the same health insurance (fully paid) and time-off benefits, which are what I really care about. I really don't want to lose those entirely, so since moving down a level would allow me to reduce my chance of getting fired, I'll gladly take lower pay for that. How can I bring this idea up? My company claims that managers don't have much direct control over people's levels and compensation, but I don't know the extent to which that is actually true. <Q> It sounds to me like the whole process is set up as a post-hiring evaluation period. <S> For the first few levels, you are required to advance to the next level within a set number of months, or you're fired (well, PIPed, so... fired). <S> So you're hired as, say, position 8, and need to advance to 9. <S> That's not exactly a Kobayashi Maru situation; they want you to prove that you can outperform . <S> From that point of view, any attempt to dodge the bullet may be seen as lack of willingness to put forth a real effort , something that may be needed in the future in a real life scenario - and they want to know they can count on you. <A> How can I bring this idea up? <S> I think you could bring this up to your manager in such a way: <S> "Manager, I am struggling at my current level of responsibilities. <S> Would it be possible for me to move down to WHATEVERTHISPOSITIONISCALLED and then work my way back up?" <S> Highlight <S> the fact that your not concerned about the temporary decrease in pay, your just concerned about being successful long term with the company . <S> I say could , as you are taking a calculated risk in that the company may feel as though you misled them in obtaining your current position . <S> Only you can weigh the risk and see if its worth it to you. <S> I would also suggest that you verify that a position is available for you to move down to first. <A> As others have said, I would not bring this idea up at all -- rather challenge yourself to do good work and advance. <S> You may surprise yourself in your ability to excel if given the opportunity. <S> Eventually (if your plan succeeds) you will get back to where you are now, so your request is in a way self-defeating. <S> You can't really say for sure that getting demoted decreases your chance of being fired. <S> However, if you are determined to ask for demotion, I would do so gradually and unofficially at first. <S> Ask others, as outside your immediate focus area as possible, if this has ever been done. <S> Work your way toward the point where you can confidently make your request knowing what the answer will be.
| Asking for a demotion only increases the perception that you don't have what it takes to move to the next level.
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Is it common practice to ask Work from Home (call center) contractors to pay training and admin fees? My wife just received (through zip recruiter) notice of an opportunity for an inbound call center position as an independent contractor. The company claims to service "several multi-million dollar clients", each with their own training and certification requirements. So far, so good, but the notice had two provisions that set my alarm bells going. An unspecified "training fee": For each Client Certification training that you attend, there is a training fee that goes directly to the client A monthly "administration fee": There is also a platform usage/Admin bi-weekly fee of $49.75 once you have completed training and are in production. What are the standard industry practices for independent contractors? Right now, we're planning on running away from this "opportunity" (on the suspicion of it being a scam) unless someone here lets me know that this is more or less standard. <Q> No. <S> If you search workplace. <S> SE <S> you will find lots of examples of people asking about this exact type of scam. <S> After these fees then there are suddenly new, 'administrative' fees. <S> Then there is some sort of final 'registration' or some other nonsense. <S> Then the job disappears and you never hear from them again and your money is gone. <S> I'm not saying that this is definitely a scam, but it walks, talks, and smells like one. <A> If anybody ever asks you to pay for work, instead of the other way round, then it is a scam. <S> No exception. <S> Following this rule, it is a scam. <S> Since this kind of scam exploits or tries to exploit people who really have no money and are desperate for a job, there is a special part of hell reserved for those people. <S> Where they have to pay for the cost of heating. <A> Even if we ignore the high likelihood that this is a version of a common scam based around a non-existent job offer, the fact remains that the costs of doing business should be shouldered by the company . <S> If a company wants to send its employee to a conference or have him attend a training event, they have an ethical (though usually not a legal!) obligation to pay them for that time and cover their expenses, within reason. <S> If a new employee has to sign up with an industry organization and that involves a 50$ fee, the employer should cover that. <S> It's entirely unreasonable to push business expenses off to the employees. <S> Which is not to say that this doesn't happen! <S> In most US states this is usually legally above board, assuming that the minimum salary is respected. <S> But it's a terrible practice. <S> Alison Green touches on a version of this here and even she calls it "craziness". <S> But all that being said , the facts you've given us here are all clear indicators that you're dealing with a scam .
| There are plenty of terrible companies out there who do charge business expenses through to their employees.
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Should i pay the internet bill for my company? I have been working for a small startup in bangalore(1.7 years), The team size in India is about 6 personal and Until recently we had a senior guy who used to take care of all the logistics , such as getting a internet connection, deciding which workspace we work in(We work in a shared workspace ) etc. Now recently this guy quit and now i am the most senior guy who takes care of the basic stuff. Ofcourse there is nothing much to do , except inform the seniors (The CEO) if there is something the indian team needs , Now recently the net connection needed to be changed and i asked the CEO about this and he told me that i can get the connection and pay for it myself and that he would refund the amount in my salary(The amount i need to pay is about 20K INR), which is close to what my salary is. I am a bit uncomfortable doing this. Also the seniour guy who left the company, his salary for the last month was't paid , so that gets me a bit worried too. I know the decision is dependent on my personal judgement, but is this something ok to do in a small startup ? <Q> It is reasonable and customary for companies to reimburse smaller expenses (e.g., lodging and food for business travel) that are variable. <S> Core infrastructure costs such as office space and utilities, even in a startup, should be handled by the CEO or co-founders. <S> This is especially true for cost commitments, such as a lease, where you are required to pay several months or more. <S> As an employee, and not a CEO or co-founder, you will not share in the benefit of making investments in fixed costs of the company. <S> You will only bear risk. <S> And the more risk the CEO or founders can transfer, the better it is for them. <S> Another possibility is to ask for reimbursement in advance, so you only pay for the expense once you actually have the money to do so. <A> That would be cause for me to find another job. <S> If their money is so tight they expect employees to do things that are not appropriate like pay their bills and get reimbursed, especially when the bill is your entire salary), that that company is going to fail(I'd estimate the chances of failure at close to 100%). <S> Get out as fast as you can. <A> This is a very unusual request. <S> Being reimbursed for expenses is not unusual, but these are cases where the logistics just makes it easier to reimburse you instead of paying themselves - the company's own internet should absolutely not be considered such an expense. <S> I would treat such a request to be equivalent to being asked to invest one's own money into the company and do whatever you'd do in that situation. <S> If you'll only be paid back the same amount, this is a terrible investment at a 0% interest rate - the only exception is if you own a significant portion of the company (in which case you can consider this part of that). <S> If the company goes under, you can assume you'll never see that money again. <S> If the company doesn't go under, you might still not see it again (because someone might just conveniently "forget"). <S> If you want to do it, absolutely get a commitment from their side in the form of a signed document committing to repaying the money by a certain date (and including some amount of interest), or trade it for shares in the company. <S> If you want to decline, you can probably say something like: <S> I'm sorry, but I don't current <S> have the cash flow to allow me to do this. <S> Or even just simply: I don't feel comfortable doing this. <S> (Although this latter option might not go so well) Is it a good idea to invest (an arguably small amount) in a company that doesn't have enough money to pay their internet or salaries? <S> I wouldn't, but that's your decision. <A> It all depends on how much trust you have in the company. <S> If you trust that the company will pay you back as they say, then go ahead and pay for it and get the reimbursement later. <S> If you do this you should definitely make sure you get the request in writing just to be on the safe side. <S> However, it sounds like you really don't trust the company that much and don't want to risk the money. <S> Tell your boss that you are not comfortable (or possibly not able to) putting that much money on your personal credit card, and ask for alternative methods. <S> Perhaps you can charge a company account directly, or maybe the CEO will hand you his personal card and have you put it on that. <S> The exact method will vary from company to company, but the CEO cannot expect you to pay for something that large with personal funds. <S> If he puts up a fight, stand your ground, but you may need to start brushing up your resume.
| I would tell your CEO that you would be happy to make the arrangements, but require a company account for billing, since you cannot afford to make payments yourself.
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Should I let my employer know I am looking? I am currently working at an agency as a developer. I have been applying to positions for the last few months (including turning down an offer that I didn't feel was a good fit). Until recently, I was one of two developers working in my particular department. However, two weeks ago the other developer was killed in a car crash. I don't want to leave my employer in a bind: however, they are currently dragging their feet on hiring another employee. I think they are hoping that I can handle the workload myself (I can short term, but definitely not long term). Do I need to let them know that I am considering other options so they look more seriously? <Q> Do I need to let them know that I am considering other options so they look more seriously? <S> No. <S> Once you have found a new job, formally accepted an offer and set a start date, then you should give the appropriate notice. <S> (In many locales, even then you don't need to give notice, although it's good practice to do so). <S> Telling your employer that you are "considering other options" might put you at risk of being let go immediately. <S> Or it might very well mean that anything you do will be scrutinized extremely carefully. <S> You may not be given good assignments. <S> Certainly, you will be treated as a short-timer. <S> And you don't know how long it will take you to find a new job, or if you will change your mind and stick around. <S> Keep it to yourself until the time comes to give your notice. <A> Until recently, I was one of two developers working in my particular department. <S> However, two weeks ago the other developer was killed in a car crash. <S> I would imagine that your co-worker being killed in such a traumatic way - and only two weeks ago, to boot - is having a profound impact on everyone at your company. <S> Your bosses included. <S> I'm sure it's also having an impact on you, <S> if you and he were the only two developers on the team. <S> They know they need to hire someone else, but they also need time to process and grieve, just like everyone else. <S> If you can handle the workload in the short-term, then do what you can to keep things running smoothly for now. <S> If it starts to be too much, then by all means prod them and remind them that you can't do this alone. <S> Maybe start rounding up possible references from your own network, to make things easier (and <S> hey, working with someone you already know!) <S> If you want to bail, I would certainly agree with Joe that you shouldn't notify them until you have a new job lined up, nor are you obligated to do so in any way. <S> However, before jumping ship, consider that the current circumstances are far from normal, and things may not be as bad as they seem after some time has passed and people get back to their usual routines. <A> Their lack of planning is not your fault. <S> Their wrong-headed desire to give you two people's worth of work is an extra incentive to leave. <S> you were even looking before this all happened, so go ahead and find your job. <S> In the meantime, do what you can to make it easier for your replacement to get started. <S> Documentation and unit tests can go along way towards helping someone else pick yup where you left off. <S> AS long as you still work there, so the best job you can do. <S> While you still work there, do not tell your manager you are looking. <S> However remind him daily that you cannot absorb the other person's work long-term and that they need to hire a replacement. <S> Point out that if you were in an accident or got sick, they would have no one. <S> This is a serious risk for any company and they need to be made aware that it cannot continue because they want to save salary costs. <A> Best solution as I see could be to outsource some job tasks. <S> Few years back when I worked for one agency in a capital, one of competitive agencies ended up short for one employee so they outsourced few job tasks to my agency and my boss. <S> It is a short term solution but it works. <S> So maybe instead off pulling the trigger, you could sit with your superiors and openly speak about the issue and offer the possible solution until they find someone.
| You never need to let your employer know you are considering leaving.
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How to reply to recruiter that did not read my resume on LinkedIn A recruiter working for a big company contacted me on LinkedIn and asked whether I am interested in a certain position that requires expert level knowledge in A. The thing is that A is mentioned on my LinkedIn profile with a) very little experience b) very long time ago - since then I was doing totally different things. There is clearly no match for the current offer but I would not mind to hear about other relevant opportunities. How should I respond? <Q> My personal opinion is that it's not worthwhile to try to work with recruiters who are unable to evaluate my resume against the requirements of an open position. <S> But if you want to try anyway, and since this is a company recruiter, just reply with something along the lines of: <S> "Thank you for your interest, but unfortunately I don't think this position is a match for my skills. <S> However, I would be interested in other opportunities with your company that are more focused on (insert whatever you're looking for). <S> Please contact me if you have any open positions of this sort." <S> Finally, it's good to pare down the skillset listed on your resume to match what you would actually feel comfortable and qualified doing. <A> I also find this a regular problem, however I only consider it game over if the requirement is clearly unrelated to anything I have specified as an experience or skill I possess. <S> Often, there are skills I have used in a previous job <S> but I am still interested in going back to them in the future. <S> This role sounds very interesting <S> but I notice it focuses on skill A which I have not used in a professional environment since 2011. <S> I am especially interested in hearing from you about roles where I can utilize skills B, C and D" A final point to consider is that the skill and attitude of recruiters can vary wildly, even within a company. <S> Burning a bridge with this person could affect relationships with their colleagues who may be far more helpful. <A> Did you make sure that expert knowledge in A is really necessary? <S> It might be that they would like to get an expert, tried to find one for a while, and gradually reduced the requirements (internally - they will still ask for an expert officially) until even someone with at least a bit of experience is acceptable for the job. <S> Sometimes you just don't find what you want, <S> so you have to take what you can get. <S> Just make sure that they know that your expertise in A is limited. <S> If they still accept, fine. <A> Either this is a very incapable recruiter, or there are no other relevant opportunities for you at that company . <S> You're better off searching that company's website for opportunities that might be a better match for you, if they exist at all. <S> I can imagine that the recruiter received an assignment to look for people proficient in a certain Skill A. <S> He <S> /she stumbled on your profile on LinkedIn, and (assuming he/ <S> she is capable) didn't find any other matches among your skills, and contacts you in the off chance that you're actually interested in a career 'switch' to a job involving Skill A. <A> A vast majority of "cold calls" made by recruiters are just bots / scrapers. <S> They scan your profile or resume for keywords and then email you with a generic canned message. <S> That is why they cannot / do not differentiate between "a little experience" and "a lot," it's almost always just a positive hit on the keyword match. <S> So the appropriate response is to just delete the message if you are not interested. <S> If you are interested, then reach out to them and they will discuss your experience and capabilities at that point and tell you if they think you are a good fit or not. <S> Most jobs have flexibility (within reason) with regard to the requirements. <S> You won't know unless you ask. <S> Even if the recruiter did read your profile and write you a message, he either made a mistake or misread. <S> I think the rules still apply for a cold call... <S> if you're interested you reply, if not ignore. <S> There is clearly no match for the current offer <S> but I would not mind to hear about other relevant opportunities. <S> Then this sounds like the perfect thing to mention in your reply.
| Personally, I would say to this recruiter "Thank you for your proposition.
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Struggling to finish project, how to tell coworker? About 8 months ago I began working on a project for a colleague (part of my job is to do side projects like this). Essentially developing an excel application for a very large database we have. At the beginning I was excited about the project with the programming and GUI creation but the project began growing and becoming more complicated. This happened due to my inexperience in managing projects (first job out of school). I let the project get to the point where I became depressed at work. Just the thought of having to work on it caused serious dread and my productivity at work declined greatly. Finally, about 2 months ago, I just stopped working on it completely. I told the colleague I am in the debugging phase (which is essentially true but there is A LOT of debugging to do) and I would schedule a follow up meeting when I've made substantial progress. My happiness and productivity at work have greatly improved since putting this project out of sight and out of mind but it has come time I actually finish it up. The state of the project is a mess. My code is a mess and I have numerous functions and subs that I've scratched but kept for reference so knowing which ones are used and aren't is proving difficult. I do have plenty of comments throughout the code but I can't seem to even get myself in the head space to take the time to understand my code and comments. I'm at a loss on how to re-approach the project. I don't have a mentor or really anyone in my department that works on any kind of software development for me to turn to. How do I approach my coworker about this? I believe she was planning on presenting this at a company-wide meeting in a couple weeks but I just don't see that happening (I could get it into a beta phase to show but not disperse but it needs to be dispersed within a reasonable time after the meeting of course). Update: Just met with my coworker and very matter-of-factly outlined what was working with little to no bugs, what was in a buggy phase, and what was just a mess. We discussed which features/functions of the application need to be done for a beta and out of those which are priorities. Most of the stuff that is a mess is more admin stuff that only she will use so we agreed on putting this off until the end-user functions are working. Thank you for the answers and advice. I really appreciate this community and all it has to offer. <Q> Struggling to finish project, how to tell coworker? <S> At this point you need to be open and honest about the status of the project. <S> Honesty and transparency are usually your best ally when it comes to a project's status. <S> ( Just tell the co-worker as soon as possible ) <S> You have made a mistake in not disclosing the status of the project, but one that I think you can recover from by being honest about it. <S> Show your co-worker where the project is at and ask for the best way to proceed. <S> Free advice about development <S> : Be sure you break a task or feature down such that you can complete each small part in a 2 or 3 week time frame . <S> This will allow you to see much earlier on if your project is in trouble. <S> Best of luck to you. <A> How do I approach my coworker about this? <S> If you, with your knowledge and experience in the project, believe it is not possible to finish it on time you should have a follow-up meeting ASAP , to make sure you will not affect in a negative way your colleague's possible meeting, and with that your professional reputation. <S> Be sure to have a good outline of what steps to take to achieve that beta phase ready to show her when meeting up. <S> ... <S> any advice on steps to take to clean up my code and make the project not so intimidating to jump back into? <S> You can always be certain you will find help in StackExchange, <S> mostly in your case on Stack Overflow and for improvements of code you could also try on Code Review . <S> When going over your project do so in an orderly fashion <S> : Go one module at a time, <S> debug it (also focus on one bug at a time), test it and carry on with the next module. <S> If you can, using an Integrated Development Environment ( IDE ) greatly helps when programming, as they come with several tools to aid you and most importantly a debugger tool . <S> It sure can be overwhelming and stressful to go back on old code and comments, but make sure you take it with calm; it is usually more harmful to do things in a hurry than taking some more time to do them right. <S> Note: <S> In future occasions, if you feel less motivated with a project you are working on do speak out earlier ! <S> It is no good for you to let work mess with your happiness and mood. <S> Personally I have been there, with projects that sometimes turn really difficult and seem almost impossible, and it is not difficult to fall into a vortex of despair. <S> When I find myself in this situation I speak out immediately (in your case with your coworker or someone you trust) to prevent this from turning into a worse problem in the long run. <A> You should approach your lead/manager with honesty and explain to her what you have accomplished in the last 8 months. <S> Don't mention the lag that you had and <S> you stopped working on it. <S> Since it's a side project; most of these have a priority of "low" and should only be worked on during your free time. <S> When you are presenting your project, I would suggest that you approach it with the following goal(putting the critical functionality on top of your mind): <S> Overall vision of this excel application - Explain your requirements and what you understood where this app should go. <S> Challenges you faced up to today <S> How you solved your challenges Challenges <S> you haven't solved and need help / direction on Challenges <S> you haven't solved but know what to do Bugs <S> Future outlook of the project <S> Any other underlying concerns <S> I think if you approach your project in a sensible way your manager would understand your point of view. <S> She may set new expectations and or give you a new vision on the project. <S> Open and honest communication goes a long way. <A> While I agree with the other answers that in general honesty is the best approach, I cannot recommend it blindly without knowing the circumstances. <S> Do you trust your coworker or will he try to harm you with this information? <S> Nevertheless you should never lie about the state of your project but you do not have to present your work in a very negative way. <S> You said nobody in your department can mentor you, therefore I guess you are the sole software developer. <S> So nobody can actually tell if the software you have developed is good or bad. <S> I would go forward the following way: prepare a minimal prototype for demonstration. <S> It should fulfill the basic requirements, not necessarily for every input. <S> At the presentation, be open that you have run into architectural problems and need more time and training. <S> But nevertheless present the work you have done and the effort you have given this project!
| In the future, as soon as you are struggling with a project , let whoever is in charge of the project know so they can plan accordingly and have whoever is in charge prioritize what they want to see finished first. Sometimes having a piece of paper helps greatly to note things down to debug faster. Be clear and honest with her; the Beta phase seems to be a good approach at this moment.
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Asking for support from employer for speaking at a conference I am a software engineer and speaking at an opensource software conference. Although the conference is paying the flight and hotel expenses, I still need to pay for the visa fee. Also, I wish to attend one of the workshops at the conference (for which I need to pay). I presented at this conference last year as well but my employer refused to pay for the workshop as they believed that the topic of the workshop was not relevant to them (with which I do not agree). So, while they are fine with paying for the visa application fee, they don't want to pay for the workshop. How do I convince them to support me for both, I feel I am asking them for too much. And finally, when I am speaking at these conferences, all the attendees get to know about my employer, which is a good thing for them (my employer). So, is it wrong if instead of using my leaves to attend the conference, I ask them to treat as work rather than vacation? <Q> It is not wrong to ask if the conference is work related, but you can't expect them to pay if they have nothing to do with this opensource software. <S> They should not expect you to advertise them either if they don't support you. <S> What you could do is to put yourself in their spot and draw a list of the pros and cons for them to pay for your time on the trip. <S> It usually works better to convince someone when you have a reward to offer and directly show them the benefits. <S> In your case a reward could be more exposure for the company. <S> If they do not agree with your terms, you don't have to mention them. <A> Companies like to sponsor things that will in some way add value to the company, either by bringing in new customers or by making you a more valuable asset. <S> Since you're presenting a project you completed on your own time, you will have to explain how it relates to their business and how presenting it will promote their brand. <S> With regard to the workshop, if you explain to them the skills you will be gaining and how they will help your work, you may be able to get them to sponsor that as well. <S> At least at my company, the CEO is a firm believer in education, so if I can demonstrate that a workshop or class will improve my skills and make me more productive, they will most likely be willing to pay for it. <S> You might consider doing a cost/benefit analysis, estimating the potential monetary gain the company stands to make by sending you to the conference and buying you the workshop vs. the expense of the trip and the cost of your time away from work. <S> It all depends on how well you make your case. <S> If you put in a good effort, they should at least appreciate your initiative. <S> Worst case scenario: they say no. <A> when I am speaking at these conferences, all the attendees get to know about my employer, which is a good thing for them. <S> While this is generally true, it depends on how large the conference is, and how many people you are speaking to. <S> Companies often don't "get" tech conference culture, and some don't really consider this a benefit unless they are reaching hundreds of people. <S> So, is it wrong if instead of using my leaves to attend the conference <S> , I ask them to treat as work rather than vacation? <S> Nothing wrong with this at all, assuming you have permission in advance. <S> This is a common arrangement, where a company may not pay direct expenses, but support your conference speaking by giving you essentially free time off. <S> It's often a good compromise, since getting time off can be difficult, especially if you are speaking at many different events in a year. <S> Even if your company is not paying or supporting you, it may still be beneficial to mention them at the conference. <S> By putting in a good word for your employer, and documenting that, you may be able to get more direct support from your employer down the road at future events.
| If you can demonstrate that your presence at the conference will help them make money, they'll probably be more willing to pay for it.
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Finding a programming internship as a high school student I'm a rising junior (going into 11th grade) and have a great desire to find and participate in a programming internship while I am still at high school. I have a lot of free time during the school year, and summer I am generally free, grades are not an issue. I know C++, Java, PHP, and I know some Python/Javascript. Also, I have some experience with reverse engineering using IDA Pro. I'm take interest in primarily backend development, and I haven't been able to find any opportunities for high school students. The closest offers I found was a front end development position (I really don't like design), and a tutoring position. If I was only interested in making money, the tutoring position would be fine, however, I wish to have real world backend development experience. A big issue with finding a job during high school is the legal issues. For reference, I live in Massachusetts and I am 16 years old, so I am legally allowed to obtain a work permit which doesn't prohibit programming jobs. I'm unsure what to do at this point, as there are no opportunities available in my state involving what I'd like to do. I was wondering if anyone had gone through the same process I am trying to do now, and if anyone had tips on how to achieve my goal of finding a programming internship. Thanks in advance. It is not a duplicate about the engineering internship at 16 question because the answers to that question primarily pertains to Engineering, not Programming. Also, the answers seem to all give one answer "networking" which I have made clear I do not really have "networks"/people to contact. <Q> This is an interesting question. <S> I.e., sign up for some college-level classes (some high schools will let you take them for credit towards graduation instead of your normal courses), then ask the CS or Engineering internship placement office for help. <S> If that won't fly, reach out to the local startup incubators. <S> You may find an opportunity to invest some sweat equity in one of their ventures. <S> Also try raising your question on Hacker News; there are undoubtedly a lot of people there who might know of an opportunity. <S> Also do the obvious <S> : look for job listings titled "internship. <S> " If you're old enough to work, you're not legally obligated (AFAIK) to reveal your age unless they ask (and if they do, they're taking a legal risk that is off-topic here.) <S> I presume you'll have to stick to part-time opportunities though, which will limit this option pretty severely. <S> If you've tried the above and it doesn't work, reach out to me directly. <S> I know some people out your way who might be able to help. <A> Your best approach is networking with friend of your parents and the parents of your friends. <S> There are quite a bit of "hidden jobs" out there that are gotten through networking with people. <S> Someone's company might not have an opening right now, but upon hearing an inquiry of "Hey, Bob, my son's friend was wondering if we have any programs for HS kids. <S> Yeah, he's a programmer" <S> Another approach is going to a charity or the volunteer office of a local hospital and explain that you want to donate your time as a programmer". <S> You could also go to a site like gig guru or rat race rebellion and do some independent consulting. <A> Look, I have been through something similar. <S> I had done two internships before I got to where I wanted. <S> At your age and experience, it is harder to find a job in IT. <S> Networking really is your best bet . <S> Even relatives working on construction might need a developer (usually for web). <S> Your first job most likely won't be what you want, but don't sweat, it will eventually get you to where you want with perseverance. <S> I also recommend using tools at your disposition. <S> Create a LinkedIn account and add everyone you know. <S> Make sure your profile is clean and shows projects you have worked on during your free time . <S> Facebook is also a nice networking tool. <S> Why don't you post a message saying you are looking for a job in IT? <S> Do a google search for local job postings, there might be hidden gems. <S> I wish you luck and don't give up even if you don't find something right now. <S> Once you get a degree it will be way easier to prove yourself to employers.
| I used to hire a lot(!) of college interns, and that might be a viable route. You should try and ask relatives; not just your parents.
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Internship and can't make deadline. Should I work unpaid extra time? I am currently working as an intern (with a good pay). I have had trouble on my project, and took more time than what was expected of me to find what was wrong with a part of it. Now the deadline is coming, and I know I can't make it. Since the internship is almost over (2 weeks left), and I'm not studying in the same city, I can't continue working for this company after it is done. I am not supposed to work more than X hours per week, and I am not entitled to any sort of overtime. On the other hand, the schedule is flexible, so it is possible to work more hours on certains days and fewer on other, as long as we do X hours a week. In that case, I could work about 5-6 extra hours while still staying withing the allowed work hours, before that deadline. I care a lot more about making a good impression on my employers, so that I can either get hired there after I'm done with school, or at least get a decent recommendation, than I care about the money. I wouldn't mind at all working those extra hours and not saying anything, so essentially doing those hours without pay. My main question is: Are there are downsides, like breaking some sort of law (I am in Canada), to doing this unpaid overtime without saying anything, to make the deadline? On the other hand, how bad would it be for me if I failed to do it on time, when talking about recommendation letters and resumes? They originally thought this project would take 2 days for a full time employee, so they gave me a week to do it. Since I couldn't finish, they gave me an extra week, but mentioned that this was the longest they could give me, because after that my manager (who has to see the project to give his ok) will leave for some time, and we probably won't see each other before the end of my intership. I know I'm a lot behind schedule, and I am fully accepting that it is my fault. I didn't know the programming language very well, so ran into many unexpected problems that I didn't solve fast enough. <Q> Tell your manager ASAP. <S> They knew your qualifications when they hired you and estimating the amount of time necessary to complete a job is something that comes from experience <S> so they shouldn't be upset as long as you make them aware of the problem while there's still time for them to do something about it. <S> There's a reason interns are paid less than salaried employees. <S> Just think of it as a learning experience. <S> I'd be more likely to give a recommendation to someone who's hardworking and honest than a coding savant who lacks these qualities. <S> Even if they decline, it'll make you look good. <A> Keeping management informed is your best course of action. <S> It will give them time to do something about it. <S> Maybe they will assign a 2nd team member to help you. <S> They can at least tell the customer, in advanced about the delay so your company won't take a bigger hit to their reputation. <S> Keeping it secret, and surprising someone at the last minute will surely end badly especially if you want references. <A> The downsides to unpaid overtime are twofold: The one and obvious downside is that you are working and not getting paid for it. <S> That's something that you should avoid through all your career. <S> The second and less obvious one depends on your location. <S> So an employer might be very unhappy if you do unpaid overtime without their knowledge. <S> And not allow you to do unpaid overtime with their knowledge.
| Also, tell them you're willing to volunteer extra time to get the job done. In some countries it is illegal for an employer to not pay you for the work that you are doing, and you can sue them for years afterwards.
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Product delivered quite rough, and coworker complaining on social network site when in QA I'm currently working as a team with a couple others. We have a PM which does the job quite well, gets the job done really well and produces great documentations, defines the features and requirements very clearly. Also doubles as the QA. We have a client, which we worked on for over one year. This is the one of the clients we work together on. Usually we ship once in about two to three months for this particular client, based on the difficulties and the scale of the cycle. All goes well, but not for this time. For this time, it's like a complicated billing system due to the client's unique requirements, and the specs are really long. We did however, have discussed this project over a few times before the starting. But I got admitted into a contest which I attended a few months ago, and after I finished on the contest, it's already like ~50% behind the schedule. So I panicked and tried to keep up with the schedule, working very much longer than usual and trying to keep up with the target. I skimmed through the specs while working on the project, and missed a couple of details and had much more bugs than usual. We did hit the deadline, but it's after 2~3 days of QA-patch cycle. On the last day, after we shipped and I saw the PM wrote this on the social network, when we're working before the deadline: Wow. Our developer finally read the specs on the day of deadline. I was shocked. Sure, there's the freedom to say so but I don't understand why such sarcasm while we all are working really hard. I did messed up this time, but I really don't understand. Yes, I did quite bad and it could be my last project working with the team. But if that is not the case, and I have the opportunity to work with the team again, I don't know how should I think about this, and how to work together with the PM afterwards. Is me overreacting? And is there any suggestions of preventing this (the not-so-effective-cramming part) happening again? <Q> This is an interesting issue, however lets look at it as simply as possible. <S> There are usually a lot of rules around publicly discussing a company that you work for on social media. <S> A lot of companies have fairly robust social media policies that staff must adhere too. <S> Usually they prohibit an employee talking about other company employees and the work that the company produces. <S> Firstly I would advise finding out if your company has any such policy in place. <S> It's really not acceptable for any employee of a company to use social media to vent , or discuss company issues unless specifically directed to by the company. <S> Now you could do one of two things, you could discuss the matter with the PM, and respectfully advise them that this is inappropriate and ask that they remove the comment. <S> Or alternatively you could try to arrange a meeting with your direct line manager to discuss the issue <S> formally should you believe it to be a significant issue. <S> If it was me, I would usually try to discuss it with my co-worker first, and if they refused to remove it, or did not apologies then I would likely take it up with my manager. <S> It is beyond unprofessional to use a public setting to cast negative remarks, no matter what the underlying intention. <A> When you are behind (50% behind schedule), the first thing to do is to tell whoever is in charge that you are behind. <S> Then it's their problem, and you can focus on your work. <S> Most deadlines are movable. <S> Some things are not as important as they seem. <S> A manager might find someone to help you. <S> Or be able to reduce the scope of work to be done. <S> And in any case, reduce the negative impact of being late if he or she is prepared for it. <S> The two bad things are rushing and doing a bad job as a result, and surprising the person in charge when you are late. <S> So then the second thing is to focus on your work. <S> I suppose you know that by now (but worth repeating for anyone in the same position). <S> The next time you are in that situation, you will calmly examine what needs to be done, and then you do the first thing to be done, and then the next thing, and so on. <S> Do without Facebook, eBay, or long cigarette breaks and chats with your colleagues until the situation has improved. <S> All without rushing, but also without wasting time. <S> All that said, your product manager was rude and unprofessional. <S> If that was an internal site, it was bad. <S> If it was open to the public, it is totally unacceptable. <A> Ignore it. <S> Don't mess up again. <S> I just don't see any way for you to "fix" this without coming across as whining about how your PM said you weren't doing your job, when all you did was not do your job. <S> Waahh! <S> According to you what he said was factually correct, and he didn't even mention you by name. <S> Unless this was a formal announcement on a formal channel everyone who sees it (except you) will think of it as a little bit of venting of frustration. <S> Anyone who thinks it is unprofessional will think your PM is the unprofessional one. <S> Noone will know it was about you unless you complain . <S> You could apologise to your PM, without mentioning the tweet(?), and possibly ask if he has any tips for avoiding it happening again. <S> Down that road there are only mistakes and hardship. <S> As soon you start doubting the deadline bring it up and continue working at the pace where you are comfortable. <S> Longer hours are an option, but pace yourself and don't cut corners. <S> You were not wrong to go on the contest, the company approved that time off.
| Your PM in a public forum has made an inappropriate comment that no matter their intention reflects negatively on both you, and by extension the company you both work for. What you did wrong was panicking and try to work frantically to fix it. I think the important lesson to learn is this: If you rush it, it takes longer.
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Sitting next to boss in open office Internee here- I'm all up for a more open plan in an office, but I feel a bit under pressure with my boss sitting beside or behind me. And sometimes peering at my screen to look at what I'm doing. It makes me uncomfortable while I'm working; and makes me feel guilty or like they would use my actions against me in an appraisal while I don't have work and do something else( i.e: read an e-book or scroll through internet). Accepting a workplace's culture and structure is a part of working there. So of course I can't change my desk; What do I do to cope with the situation? <Q> Accepting a workplace's culture and structure is a part of working there. <S> So of course I can't change my desk; What do I do to cope with the situation? <S> Basically, you eventually get used to it. <S> Depending on the culture/structure there may be a few things you can do. <S> Sometimes, reorganizing your individual workspace can help. <S> Moving your keyboard and monitor around can sometimes give you a better angle or line of sight and make it feel less like you are being scrutinized. <S> Some folks like to be looking toward a window; others like to be looking away from a window. <S> Pictures, a lamp, etc - these can make it feel more like "your space" and less like "out in the open". <S> In some shops workers wear headphones or earbuds and listen to music. <S> In more open settings I found that this helped me concentrate on my work more and more easily ignore those around me. <S> In some shops, getting up and getting some water or coffee/tea provides the short mental break needed to help cope well. <S> But often, it's just a matter of gradually getting comfortable with the work setting as it exists. <S> Give it some time, and perhaps try a few of these suggestions. <S> (Personally, I abhor an open office setting. <S> I think it's a terrible thing to do to knowledge workers who need to be able to concentrate to be effective at their work. <S> Still, it's what many companies do these days, so sometimes you just have to make the most of it.) <A> As a matter of fact, an intern is more than another subject to regular checks on his work. <S> That said, intern or not, open office or not, I think it is fair to sometimes get off the path of actual productive work to read or spend time on the web as long as the work that is assigned to you is done correctly and on time. <S> I personally do it without any shame when I can afford it, but know I have to keep on deadlines. <S> Now, looking at a longer term perspective, I would suggest that you let your employer know you're done with your assignment and could take a new one. <S> First it shows your motivation, secondly it can lead to you learning even more which is a very important point of an internship, and finally if your employer doesn't answer to your request for more work, it is even more fair that you do other things, which I would suggest to be more of the self-learning side than checking on your friend's Facebook. <S> If you're worried about being given monkey tasks just to keep you busy or if the unoccupied periods are usually very short (like when you get assigned daily tasks but end up finishing 30 minutes earlier on a regular basis), you could also think proactively on tasks you could be doing and propose that to your employer. <S> You will quickly notice that being useful is more rewarding than being paid for killing time... <A> A couple of things here. <S> Being open space people peeking at your monitors is not uncommon. <S> Sometimes that even happens just because there is something shiny moving around. <S> Everyone needs to switch off once in a while. <S> If your manager is a normal person, he should understand that people are not robots and do not work for 8 hours straight. <S> Now what you can try. <S> He will either say something or feel uncomfortable for doing so. <S> On the other hand when you are working on a task you can ask questions and involve him a little bit, just to reinforce that fact that you are active on your work. <S> I would advise you to stay away from social network browsing. <S> Check networks on your phone while not on your desk. <S> I see no problem reading anything work related that will improve your skills or will help you with current or future tasks. <S> He should know that and be comfortable with it. <S> EDIT: <S> Now that you added you are an intern, you would want to fill your time with learning your infrastructure, processes, tools or whatever <S> you are expected to know about your job. <S> Maybe you are not given a full 8 hours of tasks, just for that reason - to check if you are interested in your job, without having people assigning tasks for you. <A> As an internee, you can reasonably expect to be monitored during your internship. <S> As always, the content of your browsing should be appropriate (so more news/research, less cat videos).
| Some folks find that customizing your space with personal items makes it feel more comfortable. If he isn't appropriate for discussion, then bring a coworker to talk work stuff. Most folks find that uneasiness in an open office setup goes away after a while. If you can demonstrate that you're hitting or exceeding the targets for your work, I don't think that some coffee-break browsing could be punished. Without being rude, when he checks your monitors you can look back at him and optionally ask if you can help him.
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How to ask for more work, now that my original tasks have been assigned to someone else? I am working at consulting company which provides project help to customers in different domains. I was assigned to a supply chain project as a management liaison. Originally the manager of my company was assigned as the project lead, and he assigned certain tasks to me. Now the customer has reassigned the project lead position to their company employee, because of strategic changes. I no longer have those tasks assigned, and I feel more or less useless. I am still helping out organizing meetings, but that is pretty much it. I want to get more work and utilize my technical skills for the customer's team and projects. How do I ask my manager for additional work without sounding being useless to the team? <Q> Just tell your manager that you have noticed that your workload has decreased and that you can handle more work. <S> There is no need of feeling useless. <S> If you don't have enough work, just speak up and tell your boss that you are capable of doing more work. <S> It is probably a simple oversight on their part. <S> There is usually more than enough work to go around. <S> If you ask and they don't assign more work to you, then they are satisfied with the amount of work you are producing and do not expect any more you. <A> They may direct you to do the best you can with out creating waves. <S> Reorganizations are dangerous times for consultants. <S> Some times different managers get assigned that want to reduce the consultant load for no reason other than that its a quick cost reduction. <S> Hopefully your account manager has been in contact with your manager and has a feel for climate with regards to the management at your company. <S> They should be able to provide you direction even if it is just keep your head down and look busy all the time. <S> If your company doesn't have any direction for you, or simply directs you to ask for more I would start by trying to offer help with existing tasks for your projects. <S> You can also approach your customer contact and let them know you have your current tasks managed well and have room on your plate if they can use you. <S> The further out from the reorganization <S> you get the easier <S> it should be to get more tasks assigned, or you should know if they are trying to eliminate your position. <A> Not mentioning you have enough work to do is going to backfire eventually. <S> I would go with something that makes it sound as if you are willing to take on more work, instead of you not having enough work. <S> Focus on the fact that you would like to do more and have skills that are currently unused but valuable to the company. <S> Go for something like: 'Hi Mr X, I took a look at my weekly planning and now that Person Y has taken over some of my tasks, I'm ready for a new challenge. <S> I am looking for a new project to take on, perhaps one where I can utilize my technical skills. <S> Do you have any suggestions?'
| Because you are a consultant, I would first reach out to my contact at your consulting company and let them know about your situation and that you have time to take on more work than you are being assigned.
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Can I hide my Ph.D. on resumes and applications to have better chances to be hired? I have a Ph.D. in English. I've worked as an adjunct for 30 years, and after having not been hired at my last interview, I think it's time to look for something different. My Ph.D. is now an albatross. Am I legally required to include my Ph.D. on applications? resumes? What happens if I pretend it's not there? I think I can find a job which lives up to my M.A., but I'm not going to search for a job which requires a Ph.D. Can it be my little secret? <Q> Am I legally required to include my Ph.D. on applications? <S> resumes? <S> You can omit anything you like. <S> But if you apply for a government job and they ask if you have a PhD, answering "No" could get you in trouble. <S> What happens if I pretend it's not there? <S> Most likely nothing happens. <S> On the other hand your degree could turn up in a background check. <S> At that point you might be asked why you are hiding one of your degrees. <S> That could be an awkward discussion. <S> I think I can find a job which lives up to my M.A., but I'm not going to search for a job which requires a Ph.D. <S> Can it be my little secret? <S> It's okay by me. <S> I think you are asking if you can get away with omitting your PhD. <S> And most likely you can. <S> But as I explained above, your secret could be revealed through a background check. <A> I don't think the PhD is an albatross, but rather indicative of your previous career. <S> After/during completing your PhD, you taught English for thirty years and derived a lot of satisfaction from it. <S> Now you are looking for other opportunities. <S> Improving your confidence and getting your cv into the right hands will improve your chances far more than doctoring any of the details of the cv itself. <S> While you're not required to list education or experience, especially if it's not relevant <S> , I think a PhD in English is relevant as professional training which led to your career as an adjunct. <S> Finding a tenured position in that field is well known to be very difficult, so own your choices and include it as relevant experience. <A> Firstly, it would depend on the type of jobs that you are applying for. <S> If you are applying for book editor positions with publishing companies, I don't see how including a PhD in English on your application might harm you. <S> Instead, if you are applying for jobs that are totally unrelated to your degree, I would leave it off the application since you obtained the degree so long ago. <S> I don't think omitting this would constitute a lie.
| You don't need to include your PhD on your resume. I would chose on a case by case basis, based on the type of job you are applying to.
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Archiving work email on personal devices I realized that there are multiple reasons for why I would want to retain access to my work email correspondence: In case I'd get laid off, or leaving on less than good terms. Having access to email conversations would be quite important to prove what I have/haven't done/said. Unfortunately it's also impossible to foresee which conversation, among all, might be important for this purpose. Some bureaucratic documentation (e.g. salary slips, which documents the amount of taxes that was already paid on my behalf) might not have been sent in paper form, and would only be available in my work email. Contacts of other (previous?) employees: it's possible that I might want to contact them again in the future, but without access to the details, that could prove quite difficult. I'm currently leaving my current job, and luckily I don't see #1 as an actual reason to worry in this case. But when things go south, it might happen quite suddenly, and I'd have to yield access to any work device in the same day. Also, companies might have quite different practices: at a previous one, having any kind of work stuff on personal device was a definite no-no. But at my current one, it's basically expected that we would have access to email, group chat and other stuff on our personal phones (they don't provide a work phone). So, at the moment I already have access to work email on a personal device, but what I'm thinking is archiving it (i.e. downloading it with POP, rather than syncing with IMAP). To be able to leave a job on the same day with short notice, I wouldn't be able to filter/select/copy the emails in a different way. But even when I have a few weeks available, (given also how busy work has been lately) I definitely don't have time to sift through months/years of correspondence, to only look for and retain the interesting bits. For this reason I was thinking that I should probably start to set up POP archiving my work email, and update the archive every 1 or 2 weeks. Do you think it's completely unusual? How do people usually handle the same concerns? I'm interested about answers both regarding your personal experience, how ethical you think this would be, and also if we should be aware of caveats concerning how this might be seen in different countries around the world (I'm working in the UK) since laws are also obviously different. <Q> At most companies I've worked for (UK), corporate email is company property. <S> You're allowed access to it on your personal device for work-related tasks. <S> Keeping a copy of it for your own purpose can be considered theft. <A> Look through your company's network use policy. <S> Saving emails is no different than saving any document considered internal to the company. <S> They don't belong to you. <S> By saving these emails to a personal device, you are taking something that is not yours. <S> I can almost guarantee that your network use policy will touch on the email server and what is allowed. <S> I know at my job, I would be fired on the spot if I saved internal mail to a private device. <S> If this is something you really want to do, look through the network use policy and talk to your manager about it. <S> If you are allowed (which I doubt you are) they will tell you. <S> If anything they tell you conflicts with the network use policy, do not do it. <S> You almost certainly signed a document acknowledging the network use policy, so if they its ok and the policy says no, you will still be held accountable. <S> The easiest way around this is to just not do it. <S> Instead, get letters of recommendation printed on company letter head and do your best not leave on bad terms. <A> I would strongly advise against keeping work email on a personal device. <S> It's one thing to access work-related cloud services on a personal device (I use my phone to have access to work email and Slack in the event of a problem that needs immediate attention during off-hours). <S> It's another thing to download and keep copies of records that may be owned by your company and may contain proprietary communications or confidential information. <S> Of the types of communication that you mention, <S> the only one that I could understand keeping is some "bureaucratic documentation". <S> However, my recommendation would be to (if possible) set up your personal email to receive salary notifications and other benefits information. <S> This is what I do - all of the benefits providers have my personal email address as the contact information. <S> Keeping contact information of other employees may also be OK, but I wouldn't consider this company information. <S> I have current and past coworkers connected on LinkedIn, but I also have their work (and sometimes personal) phone numbers and email addresses in my phone. <S> Out of respect, I would consider the context with which you were provided the information. <S> If you were provided it to stay in touch, I think it would be OK to keep. <S> However, if you were provided the contact information in order to carry out work-related tasks or to communicate about work-related functions, then I would recommend not using it for personal reasons. <S> Of course, I can't speak to local laws. <A> Be Careful Read your company policy on personal devices that contain company property - usually called a BYOD Policy. <S> Many companies have a little clause stating that you grant them the right to access any device which contains company property (e.g. their email) - and it usually also gives them the right to not only their data - but to your personal data and third party data on the device as well. <S> And, that policy may allow them to keep the device until they are done "looking it over". <S> In these cases, where they allow you to keep electronic company property, it is not a theft, but, an open invitation to your former company to come and take what they want - especially if you and they do not part on good terms and they find out you have their email.
| But I would consult your employer's policies regarding the personal use of devices and local laws regarding proprietary communication between companies and employees since you may be walking on a line if you have backups on a personal device, especially after you leave a company.
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Bad collegiate career - explain details to employer? Background I am from Austria and currently pursuing my master's degree in mechanical engineering. I will finish in about a year, then two years overdue (for people who pay fortunes for education this sounds reckless, in countries where education is less expensive it is a little more common however to take longer, I believe). Setback phase Reasons for the delay are overestimation of myself, underestimation of the complexity of my studies and general lack of worldly knowledge. I started working four years ago, during my studies, on a flexible basis of around eight hours a week to full time during holidays. Additionally I get paid for playing soccer, so I regard this as part hobby part job. This occupies me around 15 hours a week. And has done so for ten years now. At some point I simply did not have enough time to study, failed exams and fell behind schedule. Work went well during this time, I was and still am regarded as smart and dilligent at my company. Working freed me in some way from the shame of failing at university, because at work I was unemcumbered and therefore able to show what I am actually capable of. The turnaround Nevertheless I was determined to work hard to get my studies back on track. I took classes in time management, learned concentration techniques, structured all parts of my life very neatly. Furthermore I tried to get into a mindset of endless learing, as in "I am not perfect, far from it, and want to become a better person in all regards everyday." This is an ongoing process obviously and I intend to keep it that way for the rest of my life. Recent events I am due for a talk about my future at my company. I myself initiated it and the proposal was met with joy from the HR department. There is an informal understanding that I will stay at the company after my degree, and this meeting is to discuss the position that will be left open for me. Present at the meeting will be the CEO, head of HR department and probably someone else also from HR. The question The company does not know about my situation as detailed as I described it above. They know that university is taking me longer than minimum alloted time, but the CEO himself did take a little longer with his studies, as he once told me. They do not know that I struggled a lot, exhibited certain not so favorable traits (bad concentration, overestimation of my abilities, lack of hindsight, lack of time management, snootiness, ...) repeatedly to the point of almost failing university. So, if the question of why it took me longer comes up: Do I explain my situation in detail or do I just brush it off as a setback phase in my life? I do not want to shed a light on said bad traits, that I am already slowly but surely obliterating. There are two cases that bother me: Not going into details (which, from a company standpoint will probably be fine) and therefore not connecting bad traits with my person. Going into details, as I am proud of what I have achieved and that I got myself back on track. Exhibits willingness to improve myself. <Q> Provide some details — if they ask. <S> I would tell them about why it took you longer and about the turnaround. <S> You where able to get yourself back on track, this is something to be proud of. <S> It does show willingness to improve and also the willingness to put time and effort into mastering your job and your life. <S> This is something that can come across positively. <S> A lot of companies want to see how you deal with challenges in your life and career. <S> This experience shows that you are somebody who can overcome challenges, it is positive. <S> You do not need to go into details. <S> You could probably spend an hour talking about what challenges you faced in this time and <S> how you overcame them, don't. <S> Keep it short and sweet. <S> I was faced with X challenges and solved them by doing X things. <S> Yes it took you longer to finish studying, but you learned from it. <S> If they are happy with your work they will keep you. <S> As it sounds to me you are already in a good position at this company and they aare happy with the work you are doing. <S> They are considering your candidacy and they already know it will take you longer to finish. <S> The reason why it took you longer is not likely to change their minds (well unless it was something like you where stealing from the University or doing other criminal things). <A> You do not need to directly explain the situation with as much detail as you provided here. <S> As you said, it is not that uncommon to take 2 years longer to finish your university. <S> Just explain briefly in positive terms: You took the 2 years, and in those 2 years you learned how to balance work, a full time university study and 15 hours of sports. <S> You developed your time-management skills, you learned concentration techniques. <S> Try and answer in terms of what you achieved during your education. <S> There is no need to mention your bad traits, unless you think they might still be/become big problems. <S> From what I am reading, this is not the case, you have already learned how to deal with those traits. <S> Then it is always better to mention progress or achievements. <S> If you mention that you learned time-management skills, this will sound much better then ' <S> I was unable to manage my time'. <S> The first indicates a problem solved, the second might suggest time management is still a problem for you. <S> You have worked for the company for four years now, and according to your own words: "I was and still am regarded as smart and diligent at my company. <S> " This is important. <S> It means you should not worry too much about your bad traits, since they did not significantly influence how people at your company see you. <S> It also means that it will make being positive as described above much easier, because if you are lucky, nobody at work ever noticed that you even had these traits. <A> Don't bring it up unless asked Be honest Frame it properly. <S> I failed out of college twice, then I went to a trade school and succeeded. <S> The important thing in the workplace and in life in general is not that we avoid making mistakes but that we learn from them. <S> Even us established gray beards who have been doing this for decades were once young, inexperienced, full of arrogance and energy, and quick to make mistakes. <S> Becoming a better person is, hopefully, an on going process that ends with the burial. <S> If asked about any difficulties you had, be honest but frame it in the same way you framed your question, especially in the turnaround part. <S> THAT got my interest and that is the part you should focus on. <S> You made mistakes, you accepted the fact that the fault was your own, you examined your situation and then took steps to improve your situation and most importantly followed through. <S> Don't be embarrassed by your past but don't brush it off as a setback. <S> Hold on to it to both keep yourself humble and to acknowledge your growth as a person.
| If the question of why it took you longer comes up, I think the best thing to do would be to be honest, but positive. You needed the 2 years to develop the skills needed to become a successful employee, which is what education is for!
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Should I punch in when I arrive at work? Or should I wait until I start working? At my job we have an electronic sign-in clock to record when we arrive at work. I always make sure that I'm arrived at work on-time for punch in. Sometimes if I arrive a few minutes early, I'll stop and use the restroom after punching in. However, recently I started wondering whether this was proper workplace behavior, or if I should wait to punch in until after I've used the bathroom. Should I punch in when I first arrive at work, or should I wait until I begin working? <Q> Do you punch out and back in when you take a restroom break? <S> If so, punch after you used the bathroom. <S> Otherwise, before. <A> Does it take more than 15/20 minutes to use the rest-room and grab a drink before working? <S> If not, don't worry about it. <A> For appearance sake, If you're early, use the bathroom first, if not, punch in first. <A> Clocking in generally denotes that you're present and available to work. <S> Still, I think some flexibility should be allowed, and obviously your boss's temperament needs to be taken into account. <S> A couple criteria to evaluate <S> : Are these visits to the bathroom longer than 3-5 minutes? <S> If so, then definitely wait until you're done to clock in. <S> You said that you "sometimes" use the restroom. <S> If what you really mean is "more often than not," then clock in afterwards. <S> If neither of the above is true, then clock in when you arrive.
| It makes little sense, but if you punch in when you're early, then use the bathroom, some busybody will say that you're trying to pad your hours
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Meal Premiums in California I've worked at several companies that have not been paying the 1-hour of regular pay to employees if they miss their lunch period. During the transition from not taking break to taking breaks and changing the policies, we're trying to figure out how to position this to employees. It's been a struggle to just have employees take breaks and how will be continue to have them take breaks if they find out that they will get paid for not taking a break. We're trying to find a way to position this to employees so that: They do not ask for compensation for all the missed breaks up until now They continue to take their meal breaks <Q> As for #1, there may be no way around it without breaking a few labor laws. <S> As for #2, start writing them up for missing their breaks and send them home early if they do. <S> Do both or people will game the system (Hey! <S> I get to leave early if I skip lunch) or <S> (Hey, I worked through lunch <S> , I should get paid, it's not fair that you right me up and don't pay me, I still worked the hours) <A> You have two options. <S> First if the labor law requires they be paid, then you must pay them for the past instances. <S> Let them know how paying this impacts things you will be no longer be able to pay for such as conferences, new equipment, etc. <S> Be very transparent on where the money to pay this came from. <S> Going forward, you can budget the money to pay this as part of their normal salary. <S> Show them the budget calculation. <S> Assume a low figure for the salary calc (and make sure they know you are low balling) but say 100 people who get paid an extra hour 5 days a week every week is a lot of money even if you lowball the per hour salary. <S> Then the first time after that someone works through a break without written approval, you write them up for insubordination and let them know that three strikes and they are out (i.e. fired). <S> If you have an HR team, have them draft the policy as they should be aware of the legal requirements. <S> If not have labor lawyer draft the policy. <S> Do not write this policy without consultation with someone who is up on labor laws. <S> It is tough to have to be harsh, but this is a huge budgetary issue for you <S> and it is something that warrants firing when they disregard your specific workplace rules on breaks. <S> But don't make the threat unless you take action when someone defies the policy just as you would if they deliberately smashed some equipment or stole from the company. <S> This is that level of serious. <S> (It is stealing from the company to get unauthorized payments.) <S> You will lose some people because they don't want to be adults. <S> Fine, good riddance. <S> Further not taking breaks is counterproductive just like working overtime is. <S> They actually get less work done over time because they are tired. <S> Remind them of that. <A> At one California restaurant I worked at, we were told that we would only be eligible for the extra hour of pay if we missed our lunch break due to business needs (as determined by the Manager on Duty). <S> If we missed our lunch break voluntarily without being asked to by a manager, then we would get written up instead.
| Let them know there will be no salary increases next year (or whatever budget items you have to cut to make this work for your company) as you have to absorb this major change to your budget. Or you can tell them specifically and in writing that the policy is that breaks will be taken unless approved in writing in advance by a manager.
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How to handle a coworker who feels rejected The situation goes as follows: The company you work for has a "Leadership Program" that is by invitation only. You were selected for it by the president of the company, but meanwhile your coworker, who happens to have been at this company longer, is one of the people who interviewed you, and then mentored you, was not selected, and now is feeling rejected by this situation. You also happen to have a close relationship with this particular coworker. What would be an appropriate way to handle this situation and be able to maintain a professional and close relationship? edit: there are no 'hard requirements" for this program <Q> You didn't do anything wrong <S> so you are not obligated to do something specific in this situation. <S> what you could do to show that you care about your coworker is to share with him the things you learn over the program, but do not try to talk to your manager or president into bringing him to the program, because it's not your business. <S> If he wants an explanation or an opportunity he can ask for himself. <A> Given that you've a close relationship with your colleague, it might be worth buying him (or her) <S> a beer, ridicule the situation by bringing up that it's e.g. straight out of Dilbert, that you can't see why he/she shouldn't have gone too/instead of you. <S> Crack a few jokes about the situation to ease and diffuse the tension, and laugh about it together . <S> Or just do nothing , as Joe suggested in a comment. <S> So long as you're not walking around with a smug smile, your coworker will get over it quickly. <A> [...] <S> your coworker [...] was not selected, and now is feeling rejected by this situation. <S> So said coworker values the idea of being a 'leader', or at the very least the idea of being part of the program. <S> there are no 'hard requirements" for this program <S> So it is based on someone's opinion/evaluation, which may or may not reflect your coworker's merit. <S> The logical conclusion would be that, if your coworker wants to get an invitation to the leadership program, then they need to match the evaluator's expectations. <S> As it stands, this may have nothing to do with their professional competency at all . <S> Let's assume, for a second, a technical specialist like a software developer: the only practical 'path to leadership' would be a position as Lead Developer. <S> The Leadership Program may be focused on administrative leadership, with a Venn diagram showing a surprisingly small shared area between the two administration aspects. <S> As it is, your presence on the program may even reward them with an insight on expected traits, thus helping them in the long run.
| The best approach in my opinion would be to make it clear to your coworker that you participating in the program doesn't interfere with your relationship with them at all, and that you're sympathetic to their situation.
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How can I persuade my boss to license the software I need to use? There is a software product I use that has a professional version, which costs money, and a community version, which is free and less capable. Also, the end user agreement for the community version restricts use to individuals and non-profits. This program is written specifically for the type of work I do and is very powerful. I've tried several alternatives, and they all seem to fall into one of two categories: 1) Powerful, but general purpose and somewhat clumsy to customize to my needs. 2) Customized to the type of work I do, but not very powerful. When my boss was transitioning into management, he split his time between task duties and supervising. During that time he purchased a 5 user license of the software described above. By the time that license expired, he had been become a full time manager and the other people who used the software had moved on to other tasks (or out of the organization), leaving me as the only user of that software in our organization. So, the boss decided that he would not pay for the license any more. When I said I wanted to continue using the program, he told me to use the community version. However, I feel guilty using the community version and concerned about the possible legal ramifications for me if the vendor should decide to pursue legal action. I do not report the violation, since it would be easy to determine who made that report, and I would surely be out of a job. A one year license is a few hundred U.S. dollars. What might I do to persuade him to spend the money on a professional license? <Q> Your boss gave you the option of using the community version (not legal) or a different piece of software (less efficient). <S> By making it your choice, he's avoiding responsibility. <S> However, that also means you need to choose the legal option, even if you are less efficient. <S> Because if comes out, you are the one who will take the fall. <S> If, after changing to software that doesn't work as well, he asks why you are getting less done or the work doesn't look as well, you can point out that you are using the legal, but less effective software. <S> At that point, it's his choice on whether he wants to buy the software to make you more efficient, or put up with you doing less. <S> Don't use the software illegally. <A> When I said I wanted to continue using the program, he told me to use the community version or change to a different program. <S> I've tried a few open source alternatives, but nothing seems as good for what I do as the program for which we had a license and I am less effective at getting my work done when I use one of the alternatives. <S> (A few pages max including an exec summary.) <S> It should outline how, per your question, you've tried open source alternatives but nothing seems as good, complete with a comparison grid, and raise that there's a genuine legal risk for using the community version - basically, rule it out because of that. <S> Get your boss's response in writing. <S> (For all you know he or she might order you to use the community version in spite of the risks, in which case you might want to update your CV because you don't want to do anything to do with that.) <S> FWIW managers tend to worry about costs, so slap numbers on it. <S> Put another way, if you think that you'll likely be 10% less efficient with an open source solution at full proficiency, raise it. <S> 10% of your salary probably offsets a license cost. <S> As does the prospects of fighting a legal battle. <S> If your boss refuses to renew the license, pick a legal option . <S> By making this short report you'll have more than enough CYA material in case it comes back to haunt you for not performing as well as you normally do, and you'll even be able to justify why you picked one option over another. <S> If you don't feel strongly about it, pick a legal option as well - but ideally justify it in a short email, for the same CYA reasons. <S> (e.g. "FYI I've opted for X because Y, Z. <S> But, again, I expect to end up less productive with it than with what we had until now because A, B, C.") <A> The way I see it you have a few options: <S> If it's important enough, you can consider buying the software for yourself and use it at work (only at work since it's a single license). <S> This may be prohibitive depending on the cost but this is what I do with some programs that I want to use at work. <S> To me, it's much less of a hassle to just buy the utilities I need than to argue with a manager. <S> (My tools are not terribly expensive, though.) <S> The tool will stay yours when you leave this company. <S> You may be able to talk to the distributor and explain your situation and may get a discounted price. <S> Switch to a different program and put up with the differences. <S> I understand that this is not very appealing <S> but it may / may not be as bad as you think after a few days. <S> Sit down with your manager and explain that you can do without the tool <S> but it'll be less efficient. <S> Also explain that you think it's wrong to violate the free edition's license terms. <S> This may or may not convice your manager. <S> Stop using the tool altogether and be less efficient. <S> You'll have to explain it after the fact that you're now less efficient because the tool you're familiar with is no longer available. <S> This may be seen as a passive-agressive approach so be careful with this. <S> You can keep using the community edition which will technically work but is not legal and/or ethical. <S> The chances of getting found out about it are not very high <S> but you'll have to make the call of putting up with it or not.
| Assuming you feel strongly about it, defend your point by creating a short feature/benefit analysis/report, and present it to your boss. Factually pointing out how much more efficient you are with the old tool may be a good argument.
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Company wants specific reason why I am not accepting their offer... not sure how to say why politely I recently moved with my husband and am in the process of trying to find a new job. I have been unemployed for about 3 weeks now, applying like crazy to jobs. I have been interviewing with this company via webcam (even though they are in the area I live) and three days ago they offered me the position. I have never actually been to the office. I could not shake my gut feeling telling me not to accept the position, so I let them know I would be declining. I did not give a specific reason, and now she has emailed me asking what the reason is so that they can work on that for future candidates. I understand that they want to know, but I don't know how to explain "gut feeling" being my reason. I don't want to just cold not answer, but I truly am at a loss of what to tell them. My biggest reason of all and also the hardest to explain, I did not like the vibe of the company and simply have a bad gut feeling and do not want the role any longer. Is there a professional and polite way that I can respond to them? I hate the notion of burning a bridge so I don't feel quite comfortable saying I just didnt get a totally wonderful impression that we would be a good fit for each other. <Q> Just as a company who doesn't offer you a job isn't obliged to give feedback, I don't see that you're obliged to give a specific reason either. <S> I would provide this feedback via email <S> so as not to get drawn into a longer discussion, and tactfully terminate the discussion to prevent further follow ups with something like: <S> I appreciate your taking the time to consider my application and I wish you the best in filling the role. <S> And after that, I wouldn't respond to further communication, unless it's of benefit to you. <A> Firstly, you're not obliged to give a reason at all. <S> People often forget that the interview process is a two-way process, especially when in your position of needing a job as soon as possible. <S> You are assessing them as much as they are assessing you. <S> To be honest, I would be very reluctant to accept an offer from anybody when all interviews were done over webcam. <S> I would have no insight in to the work environment. <S> No insight in to the type of customer/client they deal with. <S> I just wouldn't have enough information about them to make an informed decision as to whether I want to work there or not. <S> This may be part of what you describe as 'gut feeling'. <S> If you do give an answer, try to isolate exactly what it is that you object to, and relay that as objectively as you can. <S> Don't forget though, it's a small world! <A> I'd suggest that you tell them that you don't feel you'd be a good fit for their organization. <S> If they push for more, be straight with them and lay it down to gut feeling. <S> Too many people in the modern world ignore what their gut or heart is telling them because their head remembers some rules they once read in a magazine. <S> There's an oft-forgotten golden rule: <S> As long as you're honest and genuine you can never insult or hurt someone. <S> So just be honest with the recruiter. <S> That's the best feedback they could ever hope for. <S> Besides, they sound a little shifty to me... <A> I would suggest you do <S> NOT use the word ' gut feeling ' or anything similar to that when communicating with them. <S> 'Gut feeling' is not a fact neither is it professional. <S> Instead, you can say something like : " <S> It was a pleasure meeting you, and your team. <S> (If applicable) <S> Based on my observation from our initial conversation and communication, I have realized that I am not going to be a good fit for your organisation. <S> " <S> I doubt they push any further than that.
| Based on what I've learned during the interview process, I do not feel the position would be a good fit for me. If you do want to give a reason, I think it's perfectly acceptable to keep it vague.
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How to answer why someone would want to work in Malaysia as a foreigner? This question is for X , a very close relative of mine with around 20 years of experience as a software developer. He lives in an Asian country Y , which he thinks is a "dustbin". And Y indeed is a dustbin. Roads are littered, fruits and vegetables are freely sprayed with formalin, people are dishonest and uneducated, traffic goes unregulated, nepotism's widespread, etc. He works in a local IT company and his salary is more than satisfactory. But he still isn't satisfied with the people in the company and the country in general.Moreover, he's worried for his children's health and welfare. Living in a country so backward will become nigh impossible for the next generation. So he applies for a job in a top-class IT firm in Malaysia, a much more better and developed country. They received his CV and were considerably interested in him. But they want to know more about X and so they give him a a set of questions. The very first one asks "Why are you interested in working in Malaysia?" Food safety, healthy environment, cheap living cost, and better education system are primarily what makes Malaysia a good choice in his eyes for living and working in. He basically has no professional reasons to state. All he essentially plans to say in his answer to the question is, " Malaysia is a wonderful country, as opposed to my disgusting country Y. So I want to go to Malaysia and work there. " In every single paragraph, he mentions one advantage of living in Malaysia and also mentions how Y lacks it. He comes off as more emotional than professional in his answer. Will this affect his application? Will these trivial reasons be of interest to his prospective employer? If not, how should he properly answer the question without being dishonest? <Q> His reasons are totally OK, but he shouldn't be so vulgar. <S> Malaysia is a wonderful country, as opposed to my disgusting country Y . <S> So I want to go to Malaysia and work there <S> I think he should not be so negative; it gives off a bad impression of him as a person. <S> The people who want to hire X are interested because he has experience in the country he lives in. <S> In my opinion, he should say that he wants a better average life <S> but he shouldn't be so aggressive talking of Y. <S> Or maybe he shouldn't even talk about Y. <A> Will these trivial reasons be of interest to his prospective employer? <S> These reasons are most definitely not trivial! <S> Most people who pick a place to live before finding a job (instead of the other way around) do so for personal reasons, not professional. <S> It's usually best not to needlessly bash your previous location (be it country or company), so don't ramble on about specific complaints, but you should certainly still be honest. <S> He comes off as more emotional than professional in his answer. <S> In every single paragraph, he mentions one advantage of living in Malaysia and also mentions how Y lacks it. <S> It sounds like you are spending way too much time answering this question. <S> You should address the "Why do you want to live here?" question in one paragraph only. <S> If this is going in a cover letter format, then maybe mention it once again at the very end when you wrap up. <S> You should not be writing multiple paragraphs about how awful your current country is and how amazing Malaysia is. <S> It comes across as desperate. <S> Be short and to the point, and try not to inject too much emotion. <S> It also has a much better quality of life than where I come from. <S> I want to move here <S> so I can make a better life for me and my family. <A> They've clearly identified the reasons why they want to work in Malaysia, so mention those. <S> There's no need to compare it to anything, the reasons by themselves are good enough. <S> "I would like to work in Malaysia because it has a good standard of living and [I'd like to raise my family there <S> /I'm thinking of starting a family there]. <S> Remember that it can be incredibly valuable to find out what kind of person a potential employee is <S> so it can be determined if they would be a good fit. <S> Not everything in a job interview is about checking if the employee matches some specific criteria like "X years of experience in Y, has worked with methodology A and B, is younger than Z years" etc. <A> "Malaysia is a wonderful country, as opposed to my disgusting country Y . <S> So I want to go to Malaysia and work there. <S> " <S> I would rephrase that to this... <S> "Malaysia is a wonderful country with opportunities and culture. <S> I want to live and work in Malaysia." <S> I would even go specifically where you want to live and work in Malaysia. <S> Not just the country as a whole. <S> I'm not sure how big Malaysia is <S> so I can't comment on whether it is easy to relocate around the country. <S> No need to talk bad about country Y . <S> Key thing to remember is never talk bad about anything. <S> If you do, they'll think there is nothing stopping you from saying something bad about them.
| Malaysia is a wonderful country that I have always admired. It is very important to consider where you will be living, and from the employer's perspective, they want to make sure that you are serious about moving and are likely to stay. Not mentioning 'country Y' where they come from isn't being dishonest, it's simply leaving out unnecessary information that the interviewer probably isn't even interested in.
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Prospective employer wants me to spend the first month as an independent contractor I interviewed for a job at a young startup, got an offer, and negotiated compensation. After the negotiation, they called and said that they've been having employees work as ICs for the first month before becoming real, full-time employees. They seemed somewhat flexible on the issue, but I'm not sure what to think. Is this normal/standard? Why would they only mention it now? Should I be concerned? <Q> If this is your first job out of school, you may want to try this. <S> I would NOT leave a steady W-2 job for such an opportunity. <S> Assuming this is the US, here are some things you'll need to worry about: <S> You are not eligible for health insurance benefits. <S> If you think your auto insurance is outrageously priced, wait until you see what COBRA costs from your current employer. <S> You are not eligible for unemployment benefits. <S> If the job doesn't work out, you're entirely on your own. <S> You are responsible for your own taxes, both Income and self-employment. <S> You should figure on giving Uncle Guido, err, Uncle Sam about 40% of your check. <S> Make sure you negotiate compensation accordingly. <S> Your taxes will be more complicated. <S> Say hello to the 1040 long form, and its buddies Schedules C and SE. <S> Of course, it's your career, so none of us can tell you what to do. <S> We can only advise you of things to be careful of. <A> They're hedging their bets . <S> With any new hire, there's a risk of making a mistake and hiring someone who isn't a good fit / doesn't work out / doesn't fit their culture, and so on. <S> With this arrangement, they get to take a trial run before making the commitment of hiring you full time. <S> If the one month trial run doesn't impress them, it's a lot easier to just let the contract expire than to fire a full time employee. <S> Is this normal/standard? <S> It's common enough that there's a term for it - "contract to hire". <S> Should I be concerned? <S> Make sure you have sufficient insurance coverage (very important if you're in the US) <S> and you can survive either being let go in a month or having them decide to extend the contract for another 6 instead of making you full time. <S> Since you won't be a full time employee for another month (possibly longer), you might want to consider whether you should continue to search for other job leads or not. <S> It may make sense to accept this offer but let them know that the one month trial period goes both ways <S> - you'll keep looking until they're ready to make a commitment. <A> I would consider this a huge red flag and turn own the offer. <S> Not because it is contract for hire but because they didn't tell that up front before the first interview. <S> It is a real concern because you will have no benefits until you are a real employee and they may not do as promised and convert you after a month especially since they have already misled you about the nature of the employment by not disclosing this up front. <S> I would trust nothing this company says at this point. <S> If you are going to work as a contractor, it is far better to do it for a contracting firm, so <S> that taxes etc are correct. <S> This is a logistical nightmare for you. <S> You will have to pay medicare, social security, federal and state taxes out of what they pay you. <S> You will have to buy your own health insurance. <S> You might be required to get a business license. <A> This type of situation is known as contract-to-hire. <S> It probably depends on the area, but contract-to-hire, from my experience, is by no means common, but it's definitely not a unique situation. <S> I would expect as soon as they were ready to make an offer, at the absolute latest, for them to mention that detail, but even more likely, they'd just tell you near the very beginning of the interview process. <S> Possible explanations I can think up are <S> it may be that they neglected to tell you because to them it's no big deal, and they fully have the expectation that they will hire you at the end, or it could be a sign of some oversight which may indicate some degree of disorganization. <S> The number one thing you should consider very carefully is if you are located in America is that as a contractor you will likely receive no benefits including health insurance. <A> The appropriate response would be something like, "I'm only interested in full employment, not contract work under any circumstances. <S> " If they want to hire you, they should hire you. <S> They're acting unethically in two ways:1: changing the terms mid-negotiation. <S> This is dishonest. <S> It also shifts significant costs onto you: insurance, taxes, unemployment benefits, employee protections, etc.2: assuming this is in the US, this is essentially illegal, if you're doing the same work under the same circumstances as an employee, you should be an employee and be subject to all the benefits and protections employees are subject to. <S> Misclassifying employees as contractors has serious consequences for employers with agencies from the IRS to the Department of Labor.
| It is, however, atypical to not mention that it's contract-to-hire until after salary negotiation.
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Why is it such a terrible idea to resign even if your current job is making you feel suicidal? I'm a female Software Developer, working as a provider, sitting in the client's offices, in Germany. Due to constant misogynistic attitudes(1), sexual harassment(2), and being treated as if I was a hihgly sexualised stupid child(3) I have developed a depression, with phases where I just want to die. I have discussed this with my employer (not the part of feeling suicidal, but mentioning this was making me literally ill) to see if they can give me some other project where I am treated as an adult human being, only to be given the feeling it is all my fault for letting this get to me, and they can't promise it will be different in some other project. When feeling suicidal I went to the doctor, who put me on sick leave. While this helped a lot, and allowed me to find the strength to search for another job, when I was back I began to feel really bad again (of course). I am waiting for an potential employer to tell me if they take me or not, but meanwhile I developed some wish to harm myself, so I went to the doctor, and I told him I want to resign due to health problems. His answer to that was that it is a bad idea, that if I am sick for more than 6 weeks I can still get money to live from the health insurance, and he put me on a sick leave. My question , why it is such a horrific idea to resign without having yet a new job, even if your current job is making you feel suicidal and/or making you want to physically harm yourself or others? This is related, but doesn't consider the health factor. Here some concrete examples on why I say my current workplace is so horrible: (1) Now I am in another office where it doesn't happen that often, but still... Some concrete example: "to be a woman is really an illness", or joking about how fun rape is. (2) One guy used to stare all the time on my breasts. When I told him to stop, he went angry and didn't even greet me, which I considered an improvement on his attitude. After a while he decided to talk to me again, but continued to stare on my breasts, and began to make comments. When I told my project manager, he wondered why I wouldn't take is as a compliment, and told me how a friend of his thinks it is. While he finally told the harasser to not to comment on any part of my body, he did so while smiling broadly, and telling him I was being very sensible and he didn't thing he was a sexual harasser. He finally asked me if I was wearing normal unisex t-shirts with normal pictures where pictures always are on purpose so that people would stare me on my breasts. (3) Two days ago, after a comment of mine about leaving for home that day, he told me "I should be put over one's knee" (man muss dich über das Knie legen).It's like the fourth time he tells me exactly that, with the difference that this time I managed to tell him in a very serious voice that this kind of comments make me feel uncomfortable. On the next day he was like "I'm afraid to tell you the wrong thing in case you get angry at me". Some time ago he also had the bad habit to tell me how a friend of him likes to provoke to be stared and commented on his breasts, and how frequent this is on women (it is not). Edit: I think I misunderstood my doctor and some comments of some freinds and aquitances. It is itself not a terrible idea to quit beacuse of your health, in Germany there are usually better alternatives. <Q> But I think you misunderstood your doctor: <S> " I told him I want to resign due to health problems. <S> His answer to that was that it is a bad idea, that if I am sick for more than 6 weeks I can still get money to live from the health insurance, and he put me on a sick leave. " <S> Basically, your doctor says: stay on sick leave for more than 6 weeks. <S> If you quit now, you are not entitled to the money paid by health insurance. <S> It is generally a bad idea to leave a job for something as minor as "my boss wants me to clean the toilets <S> and I don't want to do that". <S> It is fine that you want to quit to your job in such cases, but in such cases it is better to just stay and clean the toilets while looking for another job, for the reasons you can find in the related question <S> you yourself linked to. <S> But you should never ever put a job above your own mental health and safety! <S> Try and work with your doctor to get the health insurance money, and work from there to get a new job. <A> If you returned back to work after sick leave, and the same thing happens again, then you go straight back to your doctor, tell him what happened, and you will get another sick note, the company will have the pleasure again to pay you for not working, and eventually they will figure out that allowing this disgusting behaviour in their company is costing them real money. <S> The doctor will also make notes about what is happening, so if they wanted to fire you for being ill too often, they would be in for a bad surprise. <S> About the threat of physical violence: Go straight to the police. <S> If it happens again, take your phone, dial 110, tell them that you have been threatened and that you are afraid. <A> Feeling suicidal is not a normal reaction to a job. <S> I am not a psychiatrist or a doctor, you should speak to one. <S> You have a bad work environment and you happen to be suicidal, two not related situations that are really bad together. <S> But the rub is, tendency or or attraction to suicide is a state that does not go well together with any of life's bad periods or situations, and there are many of them. <S> You should get help for having suicidal thoughts, not get a new job. <S> You should also get a new job, but that is in my un-educated and non-certificated opinion not the cause, it is just a trigger.
| It is never a bad idea to quit your job if the job is the cause of your suicidal thoughts. So don't quit, just stay on sick leave and try finding another job while you are on sick leave. If a man at your workplace threatens you with physical violence repeatedly , then both you and the police have to take this seriously.
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Should I entertain prospective employer who does not even want to interview me directly? TL;DR: I feel this company not only does not appreciate prospective employee's time, also their interview process is less than ideal. How would you objectively put/present this into the recruiter and the company's hiring manager's perspective? (Forgive my subjective language as I'm still licking my wounds.) A 'recruiter' on LinkedIn contacted me for a Senior DevOps position at the largest of its kind, previously local but now regional company in Singapore. I liked the job scope because it presented a new, interesting challenge and growth opportunity, besides, it's a big company with probably good benefits (or so I thought.) There were a few things which kind of put me off: The recruiter is only a consultant to the company, which is totally fine, but no one from company -HR or tech team- is interested in interviewing candidates even on the phone where I could get to see whether I'm interested as well. She told me they are 'too busy'. I've also interviewed quite a number of candidates for my current workplace and this is something we never did. Considering I didn't apply to their job listing and they reached out to me by a consultant, this was the least expected. (Come on, for senior position? Plus I've been working in Singapore for 5 years, too.) I was told if I were to pass a technical challenge to show my competency in automation skills, only then I would be interviewed by their side, although my initial feeling wasn't good, I said "Of course!" to see what the challenge is. Couple of days later I received an email for a "Codility" test which has a timer and your code needs to compile and run successfully in Codility's environment, else it's considered a fail. Best part is 'technical challenge' is a competitive programming (some interesting opinions here) task which involves Big O Notation and has nothing to do with automation or DevOps. I didn't do the test as I saw it absurd, irrelevant and no way I could complete multiple tasks they required in total of 3 hours. (I'm more than willing to put long hours to learn and tackle it though.) What would you tell the recruiter in this situation? (I will probably receive this phone call asking about 'what happened' next week.) Disclaimer: I have studied engineering but not CS, I'm from sysadmin background, currently working as DevOps Engineer. I've passed technical challenges for other jobs I'm interviewing for and I've already got offers. Other companies presented a challenge and asked to solve it using standard DevOps tools like CM, CI/CD using virtual environment. Nothing that can fit into an glorified browser REPL . <Q> Screening processes which don't initially involve the hiring manager or internal staff aren't unusual, especially when you're dealing with international recruitment. <S> That being said, I never have a good feeling about a position which requires you to pass a coding test before you get the opportunity to talk to a person about the job. <S> As a senior, I'm sure you're at the point where the company culture is going to mean much more to you than their technical stack. <S> The fact that they've placed more emphasis on your technical skills than your communication skills is a huge red flag. <S> If they ask why, simply say you can't make an informed decision about whether or not this company provides a good cultural fit for you, because you haven't been allowed to discuss the position, the responsibilities, or (most important) <S> the expectations with anyone who has decision-making authority. <S> The fact that you're being tested on tasks not directly related to the job you're being hired to do calls into question whether the job responsibilities have been sufficiently defined to make sure that they hire the right person for the job. <S> They would probably be best served by someone a little less senior who was at a point in their career where their future direction was more flexible. <A> A few things to note: <S> A technical assessment before having an interview is not uncommon, even at top companies. <S> One candidate's opinion is unlikely to be given too much weight and is unlikely to change their interview process. <S> If this is their standard interview process, they are unlikely to make an exception for you simply because you object to it. <S> What any given role <S> X consists of can vary greatly between companies, and this can be different from the skills tested during the interview process. <S> As in you, or even most people, might not think any given skill is particularly important to your career path, but you may run into a role at a company where you'd regularly make use of such skills or one that simply has a "broken" interview process. <S> To summarise the above: there isn't much point in going into specific detail regarding what problem you have with the interview process. <S> Such criticism of their interview process is more likely to leave a bad taste in their mouth than anything else. <S> At most, I would say something like this: <S> Due to the format of and skills tested during the initial assessment, I don't think this role would be a good fit for me. <S> (Only) if asked to elaborate, you can say: <S> The assessment consisted of a coding challenge, which implies that this role consists of a significant portion of programming, which, as a DevOps Engineer, is not what I'm looking for in a role. <S> Or you can go a different route and say: I have not needed, and thus not learnt, these skills in my DevOps career thus far (or my studies). <S> I'd have no problem putting in some time to learn these skills, but if these skills are required and can't be learnt on the job, I might not be a good fit for this role at this time. <S> You definitely should not be sharing your thoughts on whether a technical assessment prior to an interview is acceptable, competitive programming or whether big-O is important for programming. <S> I'd probably not wait for a phone call from the recruiter, but rather either send them a mail (possibly stating "I'd be more than happy to discuss this further over phone if you wish") or call them yourself. <A> The interview process should normally focus on evaluating skills that are expected/needed for the company. <S> A specific tile means something different per company and companies that are big with large number of applicants needs to weed out unfit candidates. <S> You already know the company and since you applied you are interested in it. <S> What the company did was reasonable. <S> Why would they spend resources on a candidate that is not clear if he meets their minimum requirements? <S> From your post you found the test outside of your skillset. <S> You should ask them why the test was in that format so that you understand what the position is about. <S> And you should do these tests even if you are concerned about them just for the experience. <S> My 2c
| I would suggest simply telling the recruiter that, after further consideration, you're no longer interested in the position.
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How do I politely remind the COO of a company to respond to my previous email? I am expected to join their company in the next few days. It's a small company of about 50 people and there is no formal HR department. I've been communicating directly with the COO so far. There has been a change in my schedule and I'll be able to join the new company 1 month later than I had anticipated. I sent her an email on Friday @ 1 pm (today is Monday) informing her this and explicitly requested her to let me know if it was okay. I've not heard back from her, yet. I understand that some people choose not to see work related emails over weekends. But I'm inclined to believe that she has seen the email but forgot to reply (which is quite understandable). I wouldn't worry about this in normal circumstances but I need to talk to my current manager as soon as possible and that depends on the reply I get from this COO. I want to remind her, but Hi XYZ, please respond to my last email. sounds rude to me. Should I just copy paste the last email? UPDATE 1 : I listened to @Jane and decided to wait until tomorrow. But I got a reply late evening. A few emails were exchanged back and forth. Here's the summary - She told me that it was very unprofessional of me to commit to a date I was not ready to honour. I apologised to her to begin with & explained that I gave them the date because I'd seen some cases where other people in my office were released in a very short period. But my current employer has caught me in technicalities and if I don't serve the full official notice period, I will have to pay a large penalty. I didn't dare to ask her if they'd be willing to pay that on my behalf. She said she needs to discuss the situation internally and they'll let me know their decision by tomorrow. In short, I messed up. Bigtime. UPDATE 2 : I kept the job! My joining bonus took a significant hit. But I'm just happy to have salvaged the job. My guess is that a fresh interview process might have taken the same amount of time in which I'd be able start there (this time for real :P). Thanks a lot The Workplace! You were a big help. You cannot imagine how palpable my relief is. I really didn't want to lose this. Lesson Learned : NEVER promise your new employer a date which is earlier than the official notice period of your current organization. <Q> You should pick up the phone and call her, or someone else at the company if you cannot reach her. <S> However, you should also make it very clear that this is blunder on your part, and that you are willing to be very flexible and find a solution that will work for the company. <A> A better way of wording it would be to reply to the previous email you sent to her with something like: <S> Hi XYZ, I was wondering if you have had a chance to take a look at the email I sent on Friday. <S> I'm sorry to push, I just need to have confirmation so that I can work with my current manager as soon as possible. <S> Regards. <S> RodrikTheReader <S> I understand the urgency, but you do need to give her a chance to not only read but to act on the information you have given her. <S> I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and then sending off the above. <A> In general, patience is a virtue. <S> People are busy and that especially counts for COOs. <S> While a lot of people do read their work related emails over the weekend it should not be brought into account, instead you need to make effort on you part to communicate during the week. <S> If the email is urgent you can send a read receipt with it (not recommended, but worth mentioning). <S> This will notify you when the person confirms that they have read the email. <S> Note that when using read receipts they can still read it and choose not to notify you. <S> Read receipts can also be considered rude by some people. <S> If you have not received a response within 1–2 working days then you should call the person being contacted. <S> Sending a second email within such a short amount of time might come of as rude to some people but calling wont. <S> Calling shows that you are serious about working with them. <S> However, in your case I would call today (Monday). <S> You said that you are expected to start within the next few days so even waiting one day can be too long. <S> Take this next part with a bit of salt... <S> Technically if your old employer already knew that you would be leaving in a few days then they should not expect you to stay longer. <S> They may ask but they can not expect it. <S> So if it is not completely OK with the new company you need to tell the old employer no . <S> Update: <S> You learned a valuable lesson. <S> Just because previous employees where released on a short basis does not mean you will get the same treatment. <S> When looking to switch jobs you need to first make sure until when you are contractually subjected to work before promising any date to your new employer. <A> Many people who were important to their previous employer have gone this route to aid the transition (rather than delay the inevitable). <S> You sticking around longer at the place you are leaving isn't going to help as much as anyone imagines and the world will go on without you. <S> Also consider that you sent the first email on a Friday in the summer <S> and it's merely Monday.
| Even if the email is somewhat urgent you need to allow at least 1–2 working days for a response. Start your new job when you said you would and work as a consultant for your old job, should that be allowed.
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How to deal with recruiters filtering out candidates based on salary expectation? I had a short chat with an independent recruitment consultant recently. From the get go, it was all wrong. He started by asking how much I expect for my next position. I then reminded that he did not tell me anything about the position, to which he replied that "It does not matter. Just tell me how much you expect". At this point I asked the title of the role. He replied in 2 words (name of the role) and nothing else. Considering the fact that I am desperately in need of a job, I gave out a figure and mentioned I'm flexible. Unfortunately, the figure I mentioned is only about 50% of the figure on the table. The recruitment consultant said he will not proceed with me just because of the low salary expectations. I am fairly sure that I will face a similar situation in terms of salary expectation again where the recruiter will be able to bully me (since I am the one looking for job) into giving a number without describing the position. How do I handle this properly without going into their black list? <Q> The solution in this specific case is pretty simple: get a better recruiter. <S> You haves Stack Overflow activity which means you are involved in software development. <S> Right now, nearly everywhere in the world there is considerable demand for software developers. <S> In the future, you can directly ask them, "what is the range for the position so I can know if I am in the right ballpark?" or even say "appropriate market rates. <S> " You should know them, so if you don't, read this . <S> Second, don't lowball yourself once you do, as asking for such a low salary conveys all sorts of things . <S> Both the problems I raise there (desperation and lack of understanding of what an appropriate salary) were things your recruiter apparently picked up from you. <S> Last, you can always give a range. <S> Something like, "$40k-$60k depending on the overall package" will always come across better than something like "$52k." <A> In addition to enderland's answer above. <S> Considering the fact that I am desperately in need of a job <S> Recruiters have targets. <S> They need to hire X people by Y date. <S> In this sense you hold strong cards (your expertise). <S> You already know that an acceptable salary for you is formed by many factors. <S> Re-focus <S> the discussion on them and not the number. <S> I am fairly sure that I will face a similar situation in terms of salary expectation again where the recruiter will be able to bully me (since I am the one looking for job) into giving a number without describing the position. <S> Consider this. <S> You are looking for a new car. <S> You go to a dealership and the salesman is trying to pull a figure out of you for a car that you have not seen, would you give in and say a number? <A> I'll give a contrary answer... <S> Given your knowledge of the industry, you should have a reasonable knowledge of what the salary range is. <S> If you're not sure, look around for posted job adverts. <S> If you go in too low, then either you're desperate (which implies that nobody else wants to employ you), or you don't think you're really qualified. <S> Either will worry the recruiter. <S> If you go in too high, then there's no point in offering the job. <S> Even if you do accept it, you'll constantly be asking for a pay rise. <A> There's nothing wrong with establishing what you want in a salary with a recruiter. <S> Nobody wants to waste time if they can't meet your expectations. <S> Seriously, they're doing you a favor. <S> It doesn't matter what they pay you even if the job requires just staring at a wall if you can't pay your rent with it. <S> Now, this notion that you're not a suitable candidate because you don't know what you are worth in a given market, is a little over the top. <S> A good recruiter will educate you in this area and put you into a job you can handle. <S> This is how they get paid. <S> It is possible he doesn't think you're qualified for other reasons, but I doubt he knows a good candidate when he meets one.
| If you have to say a figure, then go for a range (dependent on the above mentioned factors), but spend some time and do your research. The candidate with an expectation that matches the employer's salary range is more likely to be the right one.
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Pointing out flaws in their website? I recently was contacted by a recruiter to interview for a position at a company. This position is to help build and expand a new team/offering at the company. When I went to do research on their website, I noticed that the webpage pertaining to this new service was "Under construction" - which is understandable as it is a new team. When I was interviewing with a member of the team, the topic about how new the team/offering is to the company came about - and I jokingly said it must be really new since the webpage is still under construction. The interviewer said that the webpage is scheduled to launch in a few days (in a laughing matter) and I made a mental note to check it out when it launches. The interview went well and I was asked to send some sample work. Tonight, as I was typing up my email to send over some sample work, I made my way over to the website and indeed, the web page was up. However, there are flaws - links don't work, graphics are distorted, etc. Is this something I should mention as a "PS" in my email? My original plan was to compliment on how well the web page looks, but in all honesty, that would be a lie. <Q> Short answer: Leave it for now, <S> it's not really helpful in the recruitment phase and might come across as a little smug. <S> I'd leave it alone at this stage. <S> If it's still broken, you can then note it in passing next time you communicate with them in a day or two. <S> That way if they weren't aware they will have been told, but have had time to fix anything they did know about :) <S> if you really must mention it, just say something like: <S> I saw the new website is up! <S> It looks good <S> , I see you're just working through a few teething issues. <S> Should be great when it's done. <A> No. <S> Don't mention it. <S> It might steal the focus from your sample work in a negative way. <S> Stay on topic. <A> Tonight, as I was typing up my email to send over some sample work, I made my way over to the website and indeed, the web page was up. <S> However, there are flaws - links <S> don't work, graphics are distorted, etc. <S> Is this something I should mention as a "PS" in my email? <S> My original plan was to compliment on how well the web page looks, but in all honesty, that would be a lie. <S> No, don't bring it up. <S> First, and most importantly, you don't know how your interviewer will react to your "constructive criticism". <S> You run the risk of being perceived as a "know-it-all" or "holier than thou" type. <S> Second, you don't know if the website is really "production ready" yet. <S> While it may be live to the world, it might not yet be complete. <S> (Once you get the job, you can talk with them about a better process of going live, but not until then). <S> Third, you don't really know their requirements for the site. <S> Of course nobody wants broken links and distorted graphics, but you might end up criticizing something else that is considered useful. <S> Finally, doing so will take their attention away from you. <S> That's not something you want at this stage of the interview process. <S> Hold your thoughts until you are specifically asked, or until you are employed. <A> If you want to be tact about it, you could say something like this: I saw the new website <S> and I think it looks good. <S> I've had some thoughts about what we could include on the page for the new team/offering and would like to have the chance to discuss them with you. <S> They probably don't want to be told that their website looks bad, but they may be happy to know their potential new hire is already considering ways she can help the company.
| They're probably already aware of the issues and are trying to fix it before anyone (appropriately important) notices.
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Is it acceptable to use contractions in professional writing? Growing up, one piece of workplace advice my parents taught me is to never use contractions in any form of professional writing (resumes, cover letters, email correspondence, etc.). I've been told that instead of using contractions like it's , can't , wouldn't , and shouldn't , I should use it is , can not , would not , and should not . Is using contractions really discouraged? Are there any scenarios where contractions can be used in professional writing? Or should contractions always be avoided? <Q> This blog cites a load of reasons given by style guides. <S> The conclusion is basically that contractions can carry an informal or friendly tone - which you may or may not want in your professional writing, depending on the professional context. <S> Some guides also say that contractions can make writing harder to read for non-native English speakers (well, readers). <S> The Associated Press Stylebook: "Contractions reflect informal speech and writing. <S> . . . <S> Avoid excessive use of contractions." <S> Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications: "Avoid contractions. <S> As basic as contractions are to the native reader, they add unnecessary complexity for the non-native reader. <S> For example, contractions that end in 's can be mistaken for possessive nouns, and the 's can be read as either has or is." <A> Is using contractions really discouraged? <S> No. <S> In most cases it's not discouraged. <S> Are there any scenarios where contractions can be used in professional writing? <S> Much professional writing is done for a less-formal audience to read. <S> They're less likely to object to contractions. <S> Or should contractions always be avoided? <S> There are very few things that must always be avoided. <A> This is much less of a "thing" than it was say 20 years ago. <S> To someone of my parents' generation for example it was the "txt spk" of their day and would irritate them in much the same way that "txt-spk" irritates someone of mine. <S> These days it is much more widely accepted and use of contractions in any professional context should be judged primarily on the intended audience of the writing. <S> If it's a formal/legal document such as a contract, specification, tender - or as you specify in your edit CVs/cover letters <S> etc <S> then I'd probably avoid them, in general day-to-day writing like work e-mails <S> then I don't think they are a problem. <S> PS: <S> Bonus points for using a contraction in the question title! <A> Basically, it's because the use of contractions implies an informal tone in the writing. <S> For professional/technical documentation, I've always avoided contractions; it just looks more professional that way.
| Personally I use contractions all the time in my writing at work (emails, internal reports and documentation), but I might avoid it if I were writing reports that were to be shown to clients or investors, or if I had a more formal or uptight boss. Contractions shouldn't always be avoided.
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Should I put a job offer from a former employer on my resume? I had a job at a multinational company which I quit 2 years ago, it was meant to be a summer job before college. The two subsequent years, they have contacted me and offered me my position back at the company, with a considerable raise, even though they knew I was not going to be working there. Is them making these offer resume-worthy? Specifically as a bullet that says something like "Invited back concurrent years". On one hand it shows that I was a preferred employee, and that I did my job well. On the other, I don't really know if it's relevant. <Q> No, you shouldn't. <A> No you really shouldn't do this, yes a resume is intended as a an advert for yourself <S> but it should be limited to things you've actually done or achieved. <S> Offers are far too ephemeral for that. <S> At best it will look "weird" at worst (and more likely in my opinion) <S> it will look like you don't have enough "real" achievements and are scraping the bottom of the barrel for something <S> postive to say. <A> Is them making these offer resume-worthy? <S> Specifically as a bullet that says something like "Invited back concurrent years". <S> No. <S> Jobs go on resumes, not job offers. <S> During interviews if the discussion turns to your summer job and why you didn't subsequently work there, you can mention the offers (along with your reasons for declining them). <A> You shouldn't put this on your resume because it's impossible for any potential employer to evaluate. <S> Getting a job offer just says that some other person thought you had the right skills to do some other job. <S> That's too far removed from actual information. <S> I don't know who that other person was, so I don't know what weight to put on their judgement about you. <S> I don't know why that person came to that decision. <S> Maybe it was made on the basis of a compromise that isn't relevant to me (e.g., maybe you speak the language of a major customer of that company but all my customers are domestic). <S> Maybe they just made a bad decision.
| Your resume is supposed to reflect your work history, not declined offers or opportunities.
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How to build trust without authority I have found many articles about "building trust" and articles about "communicating a decision you disagree with", but nothing that combines the two. How do front line and middle management build trust with staff in the face of unpopular decisions , or decisions with unavailable rationale, over which they have no authority , or further insight? The communication articles emphatically assert to not lay blame so as to not undermine those who have made a particular decision. This is understandable. Then they suggest dialogue ranging from venting-without-debate to asking for feedback. However, if staff concerns are rarely, if ever, acted on, then why should they care or participate in such exercises? The articles assume that you have some control over outcomes. Yet, in this scenario, the decision is already made and will not change. How could you treat differently decisions where you don't have all the information versus others that are plainly inconsistent , unfair or the communication was absent/mishandled (assuming that in the former there is a sound reason for lack of rationale)? The work environment is not nearly as bad as I allude to, and productivity does not seem to be an issue as staff are invested in their work. However, mistrust between staff and certain management persists , and we would like to address this. <Q> How to be trusted in three words: <S> Consistent Reliable Honest <S> Be always someone others can count on, who deals fairly with them and who delivers. <S> If you are always honest, they will trust what you say. <S> If you are reliable, they will trust what you do. <S> If you have no control over the outcome, then it is upon you to support it as best as you can, even if you disagree with it. <S> If it is something that goes against your morals or is illegal/questionable, then that is a different discussion. <S> Find something positive in the decision, even something small, and highlight that. <S> For example, The layoffs are an attempt for the company to survive and thrive. <S> Management has done their best to determine which way has the greatest chance of success, and unfortunately, this is it. <S> Some will have to be let go and those who are left will have increased workload, but the company will still be here. <S> This is a scary time, and if we all do our best, we have the best shot of moving past this. <A> First off, once you're in management you lose the right to criticize management. <S> For example, CEO sets his goals and these are passed down to upper management. <S> Upper management set their goals in line with CEOs and pass down to middle management. <S> This proceeds down to the bottom level supervisor. <S> This way everyone's goals are aligned and communicated. <S> Now if someone is acting against the goals then there is nothing wrong with correspondence to better clarify these actions. <S> The simple explanation may be that two goals conflict but one takes priority over the other. <S> Communication is key, though. <S> You should always strive to not only tell people what to do but also tell them why they should do it. <S> Even unpopular decisions that hurt one group may optimize the company as a whole. <S> I don't see anything wrong with disagreeing with a policy, but you must do the due diligence of finding out why it is being implemented. <A> or further insight? <S> My experience has been to be very careful about criticizing or offering alternative solutions when you don't know what is going on. <S> Find out first. <S> Get clarification. <S> Sometimes when you're new to a job, you just need to listen a lot more. <S> Make sure you are careful with your language and your tone when asking why.
| Be curious and not judgmental. If you are consistent, they will trust who you are. Everyone does deserve an answer to why they are asked to do something especially if it's contrary to what they deem as the correct thing to do. A good tool to see how individual actions fit in the grand scheme is layered goal setting.
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How to react to employer offering way less than what my manager recommended for as raise? I'm firstly going to give you some background. I work for a west coast USA startup that performed extremely well this year (it doubled the last year income record).I work remotely from Europe and I've been working there for a little more than one year. I just finished my bi-yearly performance review, I think I "constantly met and exceded the expectations" but I don't have yet the results of it. My manager told me he asked the management a raise of X, which is approx the 20% of my current salary. He said he wanted to give me that much because I had not an increase in salary in my past performance interview (because I did join just 4 months before it) and because I was a key piece to deliver a huge project the company worked on during the past two quarters. The reply from the management was that they were willing to give me Y (6%), because considering the country where I live, I already earn much more than the average. While this is true, they never mentioned any distinction in salary related to the country of residence of the employees when they hired me, nor during the whole year. Also, I already earn way less than my colleagues that live in the states (at least 35% less). My manager refused their offer and now is trying to negotiate to give me more. The questions are: Is it common to pay remote employees an amount correlated to the place where they live? Should I accept the 6% of raise or this may sign the beginning of a future filled with very low raises because year after year I'll earn way more than "the average"? (Bonus question) How can I help my manager to make him land a good deal for me ? <Q> Is it common to pay remote employees an amount correlated to the place where they live? <S> In my experience it is very common for US employers to pay employees commensurate with wages that are market-driven within their locale. <S> That is the reasoning behind a lot of outsourcing decisions <S> - go where the labor is cheaper. <S> Should I accept the 6% of raise or this may sign the beginning of a future filled with very low raises because year after year I'll earn way more than "the average"? <S> That depends on what your alternatives are for "accepting" this raise. <S> If you mean "quit and find a new job that pays more", then you should do that only if you strongly feel that this is no longer the right job for you - considering financial and non-financial aspects. <S> If you mean "refuse the raise and hope you get more", I'm not sure that will work. <S> In companies where I have worked, refusing a raise would likely mean you get less (ie, no raise at all). <A> Is it common to pay remote employees an amount correlated to the place where they live? <S> In the United States, it is common that compensation is adjusted to reflect the cost of living for an employee. <S> I have had colleagues who moved to work remote and had their compensation lowered because the cost of living in Kansas is much lower than New York City. <S> Should I accept the 6% of raise or this may sign the beginning of a future filled with very low raises because year after year I'll earn way more than "the average"? <S> This is up to you. <S> 6% raise is higher than inflation in the US, so if you were in the US, that would be a good raise. <S> However, thinking long-term, it seems like the "board" doesn't quite understand the value you bring to the company yet. <S> Perhaps there are politics involved, but it seems like you and your manager have a good relationship - I would consult with him. <S> You could take a risk and ask HR to re-evaluate your current duties/skills against what the job description has - obviously if you are doing more or have a higher skill set, then you should be compensated appropriately. <S> However, do take into consideration that the results might come back and your compensation could be adjusted down. <S> (Bonus question) <S> How can I help my manager to make him land a good deal for me? <S> Work with him to come up with a list of all of your accomplishments and contributions to the company. <S> Then perhaps consider re-approaching the "board" to re-evaluate. <A> Your boss made a severe error. <S> He should never have told you any amount except the approved raise amount. <S> If you dispute the raise and say you were promised 20%, there is a strong possibility that you will get no raise and your boss will get fired for making promises that he was not authorized to make. <S> However, the good news is your boss is an ally for you. <S> That means he may try to help you find a way to get more money since he believes you deserve it. <S> A new position often means a salary raise. <S> You might have to wait a few months so that the current raise is no longer a factor in management's decision though. <S> As far as what people in another geographic location make? <S> That is irrelevant. <S> 6% is a good raise, be happy with it. <S> The 20% figure was smoke, it was never a real possibility. <A> Talk to your boss. <S> You were lead to believe deserve a much higher raise. <S> Your boss is the one who will suffer the most if he thinks you are doing such a great, but loses you to another job because of his mistake. <S> They've risked losing your trust. <S> In the future, you should ask how your salary, bonus and any potential raises are determined. <S> Don't leave things up to what is common. <S> Companies and managers who won't be comfortable discussing this during a salary negotiation are either being evasive and/or weak leaders.
| Companies generally try to pay market rates for the geographic location of the employee. Almost certainly, you will not get more than the current offer. Consider if there is a promotion or title change that you can make.
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Coming into the office early and leaving early It was brought to my attention (from part of my boss) that my coworkers have told him that they've noticed I've been leaving 10 minutes early. I leave early because I have an hour commute to work - if I leave later than five it tacks on 30 minutes to my commute. He talked to me about this and I told him that I come in early to makeup for missed time. Last week I showed up at 8AM when most people in the office show up at 9AM or well past 9AM. He told me that it doesn't effect his perception of me and that I just have to worry about the other coworkers that see this and have this idea that I'm lazy. I don't know what to do from here. Do I ignore my coworkers and keep doing my own thing? I'm not lying to my boss about the hours that I work so why should it even matter what they think? Note: The majority of the people in my office live close to or in the city I work in so they have really no commute. We do also have a chat program software for 1-1 chatting which makes it especially easy for office gossip and talking badly about other colleagues. <Q> Do I ignore my coworkers and keep doing my own thing? <S> Instead of ignoring them try explaining your situation to them. <S> Make them notice that you come a considerable amount of time earlier and that your commute takes a long time to arrive your destination. <S> Communication is the key in many aspects of teamwork. <S> That being said, if they continue to pick you on the subject <S> I suggest you approach your boss again and tell him/her that this situation continues to be a problem. <S> Do have in mind that you are the one actually working all your due hours (even more) and that is what matters. <S> Also remember, if the coworkers that pick you on this are also the ones arriving "past 9 <S> " then they are actually the ones not fulfilling their working hours. <S> In case you decide to use that evidence in your favor do make it in a polite and respectful way; remember that: An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind - Mahatma Gandhi <A> Once or twice a week, just send an email when you arrive into the office with some issue <S> /idea you're working on. <S> It can even be about work you fixed the day before - anything, really. <S> The important thing is to send the email out with the 8:07am timestamp. <S> If you're slow at emails, just draft it the day before and have it ready to send in. <S> There you are - instant proof to your co-workers about when you arrive. <S> Do this a over the course of a month or two and people will stop complaining. <A> IMO, there are two aspects to this: <S> You don't care about what your co-workers think since your boss knows the situation. <S> You do care what your co-workers think because you don't want to be "that person" in the office. <S> It seems to me that the best situation is that you ask your manager to explain your situation next time someone brings it up to him. <S> Something like: <S> Oh Samanthalynn lives an hour away and sometimes it takes 1.5 hours to get home <S> Of course, you could try and see which co-workers think you are lazy and just communicate with them. <A> You need to develop a better relationship with your coworkers. <S> Someone went to your boss to tell him you leave 10 minutes early? <S> That is a bad sign. <S> Let them know you will do the same. <S> This whole situation may have been avoided. <S> You could have let them know you have permission to shift your hours. <S> It's a shame you work with spineless cowards, so you need to take precautions. <S> Why don't they just install a time clock if they're that worried about it. <S> Working this out with your boss was the right thing to do. <S> As long as your boss informs you when someone tells on you, you have a chance to defend yourself. <S> A good boss should do a better job of asking coworkers to communicate with one another and not run to the boss with petty differences. <S> Not putting in enough time is borderline.
| I suggest talking to everyone and let them know if they think you're doing something wrong, you would like them to give you the feedback before telling the boss.
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Manager didn't open the office until an hour after my shift started, should I still leave on time? a bit of background to the question, I'm a junior developer and we have recently been given flexitime which so far is working well as I get to start at 8am and leave at 4:30pm. Today I arrived at 7:30 (I like to be early so I can have a coffee in the office before I start my work) however no one arrived to open the office until 9am. So my question is, should I leave at the the normal time (5:30 pm) or when I would usually leave(4:30 pm)? <Q> Unless there was a pre-existing conversation with your boss that you were coming in at 8 and that someone would be there to open the office <S> then I'd say that this time you'll just have to take it on the chin and work till 5:30. <S> What I would do though is explain to your boss (in a non-confrontational, non-accusatory way) that there was no-one to open the office when you arrived and ask if you need to be letting people know about any plans to arrive "early" to ensure a keyholder opens up, or if the office won't be opening pre-9:00 on a day you were planning to come in early that you can at least adjust your plans. <S> Most likely this is just a blip that is down to the organisation adjusting to the flexitime (you mention it is a recent development). <A> Today, work till 5:30. <S> Yes it's not your fault that you couldn't start at 8 - <S> but you still need to ensure you're working your contracted hours. <S> Make sure today though that you discuss with your boss what happens in future. <S> If the company is offering flexible hours - they need to ensure you can start work when you want to (because that's the whole point). <A> You need to be there at least during core hours (e.g. 10am-2pm), and you may only work during a certain window (e.g. 7am-7pm). <S> Was that not communicated? <S> If not, then talk to your manager and ask them to set this policy. <S> Then everyone will know what is or is not possible with flextime. <S> As to today: If you normally start at 8 and leave at 4:30, I don't see why you cannot leave at 4:30 today, too. <S> The time from 7:30 to 8 is probably on you, because it was not clear whether you can start before 8, but if your normal day starts at 8 am, and the door is locked, that's not your fault. <A> This is a tricky one. <S> The basic answer is: You were there at the disposition of the employer in the time agreed upon with him; that you did not were able to do work due to factors external to you does not change that. <S> It is not different to, say, staying an hour idle at work because of the computer do not work due to a power outage. <S> One small "but" is that it may be difficult to prove that you were there at 8 pm; but <S> since you state you are there everyday that sould not be much of an issue. <S> Also any message contacting your coworkers and reporting the issue with the doors should help. <S> The big "but" is that you have just started with flex time, which means that the system still has to be worked out and your employer is still evaluating it. <S> If the employer gets to the conclussion that the system leads to employees working less hours(either if it is not the employees'fault), he may want to return to strict time. <S> I am not saying that it would happen by just one incident, but if it happens more times it could be determinant. <A> Just ask your manager. <S> Don't assume anything and simply ask. <S> Something odd happened today and you want to know how to proceed as well as set up an example for future instances should it happen again. <S> This is the exact situation where the only correct thing to do is ask your manager. <S> You shouldn't assume the opposite either, since you don't want to short-change your workplace work-hours. <S> Just ask.
| You shouldn't "just do the work" without asking because depending on your company guidelines that could push you into overtime hours or the like, which may or may not be "ok". Check with your boss that he knowns that you were there at 8:00 am. With all implementations of flextime that I know, there is a set of rules, in particular core and maximum work hours .
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How can I convince my (public) company to provide me a second monitor (as an apprentice)? I am a programmer in apprenticeship for 1 year in civil/public service (in Germany), already programming productive code for the company. I would like to have a second monitor for various reasons like having the code on one monitor and the running program on the other, or always having the mail program open on one monitor. At the moment I am sitting in an office with two non-programmers (all they do is handle customer tickers, really) and my trainer doesn't really program as much as me (he got other stuff to do). The company has 300+ employees and to that point I was 100% happy and had no complaints or whatsoever. I do get paid more than the average, some apprentice programmers only get 70% of my salary. But this is only the case, because the company is forced to pay that much by law. Also from some co-workers I heard, employees are actually paid a lot below average. The problem is, when I mentioned my intention to get a second monitor I got called crazy by one of my office co-workers, because she cannot imagine why you would ever need a second one, because one is enough for her and it would be so selfish for me to have two. Then I wrote a short email to my trainer, asking where I could request a second monitor. (It turned out it was him, who I can request and he then could forward my request to the boss). Then my trainer came in my office and argued how it is not possible because I am only an apprentice and no real employee, and that he also thinks it's unnessecary. I just said I bet there are plenty of unused monitors in our storage, and asked why I can't have one of them. I think it should be a standard for every programmer (apprentice or employee) to have access to at least two monitors. Since I am just an apprentice , maybe I should refuse writing productive code, since that is a task of real employees, and only do things helping me to extend my programming skills, like reading programming books? (EDIT: No, I don't actually see this as a practicable way and I wouldn't do that - also programming itself is a lot more fun than reading books related to programming.) How can I convince my company to provide me a second monitor? EDIT 1: This question is not a duplicate of How do I request new equipment for the office? as it describes the scenario of already having a rejected request, rather than wanting to know how to approach an equipment request in the first place. Another important thing to note is, I'm not am employee, I'm an apprentice - which seems to make the situation different. Also my company is a civil / public organization; making a lot of money here isn't our first goal. EDIT 2: The solution was to just request a second monitor by myself, rather than asking my trainer to do it for me. I didn't ask higher ranked personell, but instead the department responsible for hardware. A few days later I recieved my second monitor. The hardware-guy installed it and talked about how other older hardware just gets thrown in the trash. Now my trainer wants a second monitor too :) <Q> I had a similar issue when I worked in a contact center for a large software company in the UK. <S> When I started only management had two monitors. <S> I mentioned the benefits to the internal IT support and was laughed at, being advised people over the last five years <S> had asked and never gotten anywhere. <S> The business were not receptive enough to the idea of bringing in my own extra monitor, which i would have happily done (I would expect most large corporate firms to not be up for this kind of headache) <S> I decided to test the head of the departments open door policy and asked about the possibility. <S> He advised if I put a case together he would hear me out. <S> So I put together something brief. <S> I made the points that: We were doing a lot more remoting on than historically, and the need to have CRM open, error logging systems, a remote window and information articles meant that it was a lot less efficient in only having one monitor. <S> I got him to agree to a trial for five members of staff, to demonstrate the benefits, before this trial was over, all contact center staff were given two monitors. <S> In short my advice would be: <S> Identify who the decision maker is as they are the person you need to convince. <S> Focus on advantages to the business, as it is less about making my life easier (which it did) and more about why the business would be better off giving staff two monitors that will persuade management. <A> If I were to guess, I'd say they refuse because they don't want to set a precedent for something like this <S> : they give you a 2nd monitor and, by next month, 80 other people will make the same request. <S> They wouldn't have a reasonable reason to refuse those extra requests, so they would have to honor them, which in turn would generate a lot more cost for the company. <S> Usually, the best way to achieve such a goal is by showing them they'll save money in the long-run due to increased productivity. <S> Look for studies and articles online that handle this subject and show them to your boss. <S> Maybe he'll agree to let you try out with a 2nd monitor for a few weeks to see if it actually increases your output. <S> This applies to a lot of other equipment (office chairs, keyboards etc.) <S> , not just extra monitors. <A> Is there anyone at the company who has two monitors? <S> If so, you could always point to them as an example. <S> Even better, they might be willing to explain to your trainer how much better their life has been since they got a second monitor. <S> I wouldn't hold my breath though. <S> I apologize and take all this with a grain of salt as I don't know much about A) <S> Germany, B) apprenticeships and C) <S> German apprenticeships, but <S> unless you're expected/obligated to stay with the company after your apprenticeship ends, you probably won't get that second monitor. <S> Companies in general are pretty loathe to devote resources on temporary employees. <S> My last thought is that, depending on the company's culture, it might make sense to pick up a cheap, used monitor on your own and bring it into work. <S> It might signal to your trainer that you're serious about your job and can take initiative.
| That studies have shown that efficiency of staff to handle issues quicker with multiple monitors has been demonstrated and that the cost of the second monitor was way less than the cost of hiring more staff and would enable us to handle more calls per person which would benefit the company as a whole.
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How to encourage team members to share responsibility of presentations? For context, I've been on a team of 8 for a year now and recently my team has taken on a very big project for the company. Because of this, naturally, a lot of managers want presentations of what is going on. While we do have presentations within the team, our company has scheduled a bi-weekly demo for anyone who wants to demo anything in front of the company (this is set up in such a way that there is a casual gathering in front of 50+ people) but naturally we are more required to give a presentations given our project. Needless to say, most of my team members do not feel comfortable giving presentations. This is a very related question and I would say most of my team members have been fairly vocal about not wanting to give presentations. We have a few new members on our team and it sets a pretty bad precedence which ends up discouraging them from wanting to present their work either. I think what makes it more challenging is the senior engineer and our team lead on our team are very reluctant to give presentations. Inevitably, while I also don't feel comfortable giving presentations, because I gave one recently and I am willing to give them since I understand it's good for my career, I am always nominated and assigned the task. There have been times I have said no and yet I still get assigned. Since I am the "most comfortable", I've become a scapegoat to give presentations and I believe my manager recognizes that. The truth is, I don't mind giving the presentations sometimes but I feel I can't always give the presentations. I had a talk with my manager about how we can motivate and encourage the team to give presentations and he said "this is something we'll have to work on together over time." I am just wondering if there is anything I can do or perhaps something I can suggest to my manager to help with this? I really liked the suggestion in this question's answer ( How to request senior team members to prepare well for the team meeting? ) where there was a way to not come off rude towards more senior members but it doesn't really seem applicable for my situation as it isn't just the senior engineers that have the issue of not wanting to share the responsibility of speaking. <Q> I am just wondering if there is anything I can do or perhaps something I can suggest to my manager to help with this? <S> Here is good article about how to get your team involved: Secrets to a team presentation <S> Here are a couple of my favorite excerpts: <S> Help them prepare and practice. <S> Weave in their pitch to an overall pitch narrative. <S> But I find when you don’t assign slides that each person owns, often the quiet team members get silenced. <S> My golden rule is that if somebody on your team is attending the meeting, they need to talk. <S> Otherwise they end up looking ineffective or insignificant, and this is especially troublesome if you’re raising money. <S> It’s okay to attend a first meeting on your own, but eventually people want to meet the team. <S> If you try all of the articles suggestions, without putting your team-mates in a bad light I don't think there is much you can do here regarding management involvement. <S> What I would suggest is that you embrace the opportunity to be the face of the team. <S> This will serve you well as you progress in your career, because virtually all leadership roles ( technical or pure managerial ) will require this skill. <A> There will be a few differing opinions on this, but consider the following: <S> Why should your team do those presentations? <S> If it's good practice for you on presenting and speaking skills, what's the problem? <S> Since I am the "most comfortable", I've become a scapegoat to give presentations and I believe my manager recognizes that. <S> This seems like the opposite of a problem. <S> Your manager trusts you to give these presentations, and it seems like their confidence is not misplaced, as you say. <S> Additionally, you're helping yourself stand out among your coworkers. <S> Displaying your work, presenting it, it's all building your credibility as a software engineer. <S> The same likely can't be said for your coworkers. <A> I work on a small team and usually everyone pitches into the project at some point in time. <S> We divide presentations equally among whoever had input into the project and if someone did not have input then they usually aren't invited to the presentation meeting. <S> Then from a printout we mark each slide with a person's name to present. <S> If someone blatantly discourages assigning themself slides, just proceed to assign them anyway. <S> My team evenly distributes slides regardless of the effort that went into the presentation. <S> For example, I just presented a 30 slide presentation with 2 other team members. <S> I did maybe 60% of the work, with another team member doing 30%, and the last doing 10%. <S> We all talked roughly 10 slides each though. <S> Also, open discourse is encouraged. <S> A trick I have learned to keep myself from becoming nervous is to have someone "chime in" early in my speech. <S> It seems the longer I speak to dead silence, <S> the more nervous I get, but once someone else says something it calms me down a great deal.
| What I have found effective is a few days or even a week before the presentation, approach your team members and say something like "OK, we need to decide who is talking which slides." The best way to involve your team members is to assign out slides they will own.
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Should I be honest about Whistleblowing at company X in my interviews for Company Y or Z? I was working at company x three months ago where I found some serious financial & data irregularities. I raised them in front of my bosses but as they were involved they did not take any action.I escalated. I have used whistleblowing hotline of the company x and informed the audit department. While Audit department and the top management has taken preventive measures, my immediate boss got some intel of my involvement in this. And in later months, company x had to lay off staff in hundreds and my immediate boss managed to lay off me giving my name in the list of staff to be laid off ( My bosses were threatening me for quite some time to fire me and asking me to resign by myself in x months ). My bosses also asked me to shut up when I was leaving otherwise they will not let me get another job or at least make it difficult for me and come after me as they have a lot of contacts everywhere. Now I am searching new jobs and in company y, I have had three interviews so far and my expectations are I will be selected if nothing goes wrong. During the interviews, I have told that I had been laid off and there were hundreds of other staff members who had been laid off with me (I reason that perhaps company x do not want to leave any proof about laying off me so I couldn't take them to court though I never had an intention of doing so, in Middle east such things are taboos ). I have also pointed out to the recruiters I believe I pointed out the irregularities and thats why I had been laid off and I further inquired about it from company x’s HR department but the HR department told me your had been laid off as per policy.The top management of the company x also asked Audit department not to share their findings with me and the auditor incharge apologised to me saying that you have fulfilled your duty and we fulfilled ours now the decision is in hands of top leadership. I had even been invited to meet with Audit department again after I left company x but as I was not in that country anymore I offered to help them by phone or by email. Note: My immediate boss resigned last week and will leave company x in October 2017. Question: Should I inform CEO of the company y, once I have the final offerand before joining? I fear that as company x and company y are insimilar kind of business and at some point we encounter at someplace (My colleagues will provide me reference letters). Would it make me troublemaker or a person who can’t be trusted? If this job offer doesn’t work out, should I be more open to tellrecruiters that I voiced out against irregularities and that is myreason of leaving ? <Q> Should I inform CEO of the company Y? <S> I believe that what happens in company X should stay in company X.Unless it pops out and get public audience, because of legal inquiries, trial, or newspapers, any disclosure, of any problem of any kind, from your former company should not come from you, by words or acts. <S> Leave it behind you, better keep things to where they originated / belong . <S> NOTE: to me, this advice may apply to business matters, but not be suited for health or security reasons of a greater importance to the public. <S> YMMV. <S> Would it make me troublemaker or a person who can't be trusted? <S> You can be seen like the one who can't keep important information private/safe. <S> Or not... <S> You never know what people can think of that, how they perceive this kind of behavior. <S> You'll only know if you disclose it, but, as @Joe-Strazzere said in his comment, they may see you as a snitch. <S> Many may... <S> Should I be more open to tell recruiters that I voiced out against irregularities? <S> well, private. <S> From your point of view, it seems that what you did was appropriate. <S> It seems like you already know what to do, but if a stranger-from-the-internet's point of view can comfort you, my advice would be: Move ahead, and focus on the future, and you next job/interview... <S> And good luck! <S> You can also ask yourself: why does company X want me back? <S> Is this because they appreciate my honesty, or a way to have me under control, and keep me silent? <S> Isn't it better to look forward? <A> It's ultimately up to you, but frankly I find it best to treat each company and individual as uniquely their own. <S> Look out for repeat situations, but try to keep the dirty laundry of each place to yourself. <S> Everywhere has difficult people and varying issues and airing that to unrelated people usually doesn't do anything good except communicate gossip and associate you with the bad situation. <S> It's best to start a positive first impression by connecting your good points with the new places good points and not getting stuck in a negative comparison. <A> No, Yes <S> and No You blew the whistle to your internal audit department, so this is an internal matter. <S> Do not disclose this to new potential employers. <S> but you airing internal company laundry in the interview WILL. <S> You also shouldn't use it as reason for your layoff. <S> It can appear vindictive and demonstrates a lack of discretion. <A> No one likes liabilities. <S> Remember that. <S> If you give indication that you acted in such a way as to cause liability, most likely you would be viewed that way as well. <S> In the interview process, the thing people remember the most is the impression the interviewee gave ... not necessarily the facts, so be careful about what impression you create or might create, regardless of the facts. <S> I would recommend just keeping that in the past unless they specifically ask, in which case you would be honest but brief.
| No, for the same exact reasons that you should keep private things... Your whistleblowing may or may not be seen as negative during the interview You should either stick with the story that you were laid off during downsizing (has the implication that you were not among the better workers) or add that personal differences with your manager led to your inclusion into the downsizing.
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I accessed my boss's private Facebook messages, and found out she is trying to fire me. How do I proceed? I had been asked to do a bit of social media work. I gained access to my boss's personal Facebook messages, since the business page is linked to it. I have been having a rough time at work, and went through her private messages to see what she has been saying about me. It turns out she's been trying to get me fired. I want to report this to HR, but I'm scared it could backfire on me for snooping into my boss's private messages. How do I proceed? <Q> The only way to proceed is to look for another job. <S> You know your manager wants you gone. <S> Usually, such wishes are supported by a company. <S> There's nothing to report to HR, because a manager deciding an underling should be fired is part of their job. <S> There's nothing wrong with that, even if you don't like it. <S> There's also nothing to report to HR because you went through that person's personal messages on Facebook. <S> I'd have to think, <S> even as dumb as they were to give you that access, it would be considered an abuse of access they gave you, and that could get you fired. <S> If you mention you did it, you're pretty much hanging a "fire me" sign on yourself. <S> Finally, you do deserve to be fired for that, technically. <S> It is unethical for you to violate someone's privacy like that. <S> It's best to get out while you might still get some kind of neutral recommendation or background check response. <S> If anyone finds out that this was done in a work environment, you'll never get anything but a very negative response from this company if a future employer makes even basic inquiries. <A> How do I proceed? <S> You know your boss is trying to get you fired, start looking for new employment <S> ASAP and remember its always easier to find a job when you are currently employed. <S> Going to HR <S> at this point is fruitless as it most likely will result in nothing more than a write up for you both, and your boss will now be more inclined to get rid of you then before. <S> As a piece of friendly advise and not to scold, but do learn from this. <S> Never go through someone's personal information in any format again. <A> This would be considered highly unprofessional in most businesses. <S> Also, you comment that a previous coworker got fired for disclosing similar information, so why would you repeat such situation? <S> Now, this is clearly some information you were not supposed to know, so technically there is no correct way of proceeding. <S> However, given this information it would be wise to start looking for another job . <A> The source of information being her private Facebook messages is irrelevant to what you do. <S> From your perspective, the situation would be the same if you had found out through other means, such as eavesdropping on her phone call, or due to her wrongly forwarding you an email, etc. <S> Your gut instinct is correct, nothing good will come out of going to HR. <S> Making decisions to fire people is more or less a part of a manager's job, so complaining to HR that you found out your manager is doing her job (by unauthorized access to her private Facebook messages, no less) will not only make you look silly, but also give them evidence to support their decision. <A> Well, you should never read personal messages of other people. <S> At this point, you can't go back in time and unread what you read. <S> You should find another job somewhere less toxic where people are brilliant enough to share admin access instead of giving away direct access to their personal account. <S> I really don't blame you for looking at something readily available to you even if it is unethical.
| You found out your manager is trying to get you fired, so the only thing you should do is start looking for another job. First of all, you should not look into someone's private messages , even if they gave you some access to their accounts.
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Taking time off after giving two-week notice? I recently submitted my two-week notice and was interviewing with another company. I was made an offer and a start date. They want me to come in and do paperwork, meet colleagues, managers, etc..(lasting two hours). I've given my notice and I'm not sure whether to take a sick day or use my vacation days I have left. Company policy states no vacations after two-week notice but nothing about sick days. Will this look bad if I take a sick day? <Q> Yes, this will look bad. <S> Doing paperwork, touring the facilities, and meeting new colleagues all sound like normal tasks for the first day of a new job. <S> Why don't you ask your new company if you can do it then? <A> Yes, it will look bad - but unless your company has some policy or way of determining if you really were sick - what can they do? <S> This isn't 'bridge-burning' behavior, and you don't need a reference from them anyway, since you already have a new job. <S> Technically you are stealing a day of pay (assuming you have paid sick leave) though... <A> I'm not sure whether to take a sick day or use my vacation days I have left. <S> Company policy states no vacations after two-week notice <S> Well straight away let's rule that out: you cannot use your vacation days (of course, you could still ask, but that's unlikely to be a possibility). <S> I don't think a company can really forbid you from using your sick days, and people do get sick in their last two weeks, just as they get sick on their first day of the job, as unfortunate as it is. <S> You could definitely use a sick day. <S> and I don't imagine it would be held against you for longer than your remaining time at the company. <S> Sure, everyone will gossip on the day, but that's probably as bad as it gets. <S> I was made an offer and a start date. <S> They want me to come in and do paperwork, meet colleagues, managers, etc.. <S> (lasting two hours) <S> As Rachael states in their answer , this kind of admin stuff should really be done on the first day. <S> I can't imagine any business that would expect you to be productive on day one. <S> I'd imagine once you contact them, they should be flexible in allowing you to do this on the first day, and I don't see this being held against you. <S> Ultimately, would you rather (potentially) upset your new employer by stating you won't come in till your start date, or (potentially) upset your old employer with a sick day? <S> I don't think either situation will be the worse to find yourself in, and likely after a week it'll be water under the bridge.
| You should contact your new employer in the same manner you have been (e-mail, phone, whatever) and simply explain that the start date you agreed to was the absolute earliest you could start, and you haven't taken a vacation week (something people sometimes do) between jobs. It will look bad, but it won't be the end of the world
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Should I reply to an email if I can't give an answer? My manager, a colleague and I received an email in which we're asked about participating at a workshop (it seems to be pretty important that at least I or my colleague take part). While we'd both be interested in going it's not a decision that's up to us. It's up to our manager who is currently on holiday. The person who sent the email is part of our company and way above my current position but I think in a different division. My questions is should I reply with something like We would love to take part but we can't give an answer until our manager comes back from vacation. Or should I just leave it for my manager to answer when he comes back in a few days ? My manager has an out of office reply so the sender knows that he's currently unavailable Time may actually be pretty important here. <Q> Simply ignoring the email could lead the sender to think you're not interested. <S> That's not a big deal, assuming your manager answers quickly on return to the office. <S> Sending one of you will make your interest clear. <S> But - the deadline could be before the manager returns - or before the manager wades through the thousands of emails that accumulated. <S> I suggest something like: <S> Thanks for the invitation, the workshop sounds excellent. <S> The decision about who to send is up to [manager name], who is away until [date.] <S> What is the deadline for registering? <S> CC your manager on it <S> and keep it SHORT so your manager will not spot the first few lines and think you've taken care of the whole thing. <S> When you get a reply, if the deadline is very close to the manager's return, forward it with a comment like: As you can see the deadline for this is the Monday you come back from vacation. <S> Can you approve [me, or me and coworker, or one of us] to go on this please? <S> We would really benefit from [thing in the workshop.] <S> If the deadline is a week or more after the manager returns, just leave it and discuss it a day or two after the return, allowing some time for dealing with urgent things. <S> If the deadline is while your manager is still away, take a look at that out of office mail (or go by what your manager told you when announcing the vacation) to see if there's someone else who could approve the request. <S> But it probably won't be. <A> Your suggested answer is perfectly fine. <S> Put yourself in the shoes of the sender. <S> She needs to know what will happen next. <S> She may have no idea that this is up to your manager or whether you do not want to go at all. <S> Getting no reply could mean anything. <A> If your manager is on vacation and can't make this decision. <S> Just go talk to your manager's boss and discuss how you should handle this. <S> See if he can make the decision about who can/cannot go to the workshop, and then inform your manager by email. <S> I don't think your company will stop working just because someone is on vacation. <S> Someone should be in charge of your manager functions while he is gone. <A> The sender followed the proper protocols by including your manager in the email, so your manager is aware. <S> Assuming that this person understands that your manager is the one who will be making the decision, the out-of-office reminder from your manager has told them that they shouldn't expect a reply immediately. <S> If they do need something sooner, they can go to whoever is covering for your manager. <S> However, I would say that if your manager didn't have an out-of-office reply set up or <S> the out-of-office reply was incorrect (perhaps he decided to extend the vacation, didn't put when he would be back in the office, or didn't include an alternate contact for things that require immediate attention), then I would recommend replying to give this information to the sender and allow them to make a determination on what to do - go to someone else or wait for your manager to return.
| Make it as smooth and easy as possible for your manager to give the go-ahead. I don't think it's necessary to respond. Therefore, you should reply, to find out whether time is of the essence or not.
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Dealing with "tolerable" jokes on critical moments The last 6 months I have been working in a small company that has a nice and relaxed work environment; the teamwork is good and we sometimes joke on each other as in "water-cooler" moments. One of my coworkers (call him John, 3 years working there) is the one that makes most of the jokes, saying that it "helps the team to relax and prevent work-related stress" . The most recurrent kind of jokes John makes are those that, in a sarcastic manner, put in doubt your technical and professional skills, but actually mean the opposite . For example he may say: "you are a terrible programmer" , when he actually wanted to convey the message: "you are a good programmer" . Some days ago we were in a critical work situation: John had some data analysis due that day and wanted to use a program I developed to make them instead, without ever having used or studied the program before (which is also not ready for production yet). This led us to some strong arguing about the program not working at all, but after explaining him how to correctly use it the problem stopped escalating. Immediately after this (still both a bit tense) he threw one of those jokes at me, saying: "Still, I doubt this is going to work when it is finished..." In another situation perhaps this joke would have been "tolerable" (no sexual or racist content), but in this case it sounded more like an insult rather than sarcasm. Some seconds after saying it John laughed, so I then knew he was only joking... However, this could have started another argument or escalated the problem even more. After some days of thinking it over and over, here are the questions I have: What would be a polite way of telling John to refrain from joking during critical moments? Is there something that could be done to prevent these kind of jokes from turning into a negative situation, in critical and non-critical moments? I don't want to be a party pooper and cut all jokes out. <Q> If you just plain don't find his jokes funny, try and ignore them. <S> If they actively bother you (and they sure seem to) I would recommend talking to him when neither of you are unduly stressed. <S> If it were me I would say something like, <S> You know, normally I like laughing with you, but when things start to get hectic or stressful <S> I sometimes get rubbed the wrong way by your jokes. <S> This is about me more than your jokes, but I'd still appreciate it if you could lay off when we're under pressure. <S> Thanks. <S> As to your second question... there's probably no quick solution. <S> But it sounds like that's just not the kind of guy John is. <S> Unfortunately, I think people are just going to have individual discussions with John when he crosses their boundaries <S> and he's going to have to begin learning how to tailor his jokes to his audience(s). <A> Communication is key here. <S> I would talk to that person privately and express that you can tolerate the jokes, but there is a time and place for everything. <S> For future team members, that's something they will have to figure out for themselves. <S> John probably won't change how he jokes around in general, but future team members can have their own conversations with him. <A> I find that taking what he says literally can work wonders. <S> I learned this by accident. <S> I have Asperger's syndrome and have to work at understanding sarcasm, <S> so when I'm busy or tired, I just don't get it. <S> However, this actually led to someone dropping their efforts to make sarcastic comments around me. <S> If you take what they say literally, like when they say "You're a bad coder", you say "REALLY?!" and look a bit confused, it's not fun for them any longer. <S> If you can play dumb, it works rather well. <S> If not, just ignore it.
| In a perfect world he'd be able to read a room and pick up on when it's okay to make jokes and what kind of jokes are appropriate for the situation. On a normal day, it's fine, but in a situation where there is high stress, then it can escalate to other arguments and cause even more stress.
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How should I portray experience in two unrelated fields on LinkedIn or my resume? I worked as a Front end web developer for 2.5 years and later I worked as an Office manager for 2.5 years. Both jobs gave me very good experience and knowledge. Now I want to look for new opportunities and I am unable to update LinkedIn / my resume profile due to separate fields. Should I include both fields or just single field on LinkedIn or my resume? I am afraid that because of unrelated fields I might not get calls and I want to apply in both fields. <Q> Early in your career, you definitely want to include both, because 50% more professional experience is going to count for a lot, even if it were in an unrelated field. <S> If it were your last job, you also want to include it, since the obvious question would be "what have you been doing for the last X years?" and that could get your resume thrown out. <S> If you've worked many jobs, you can arguably leave a few of them that were long ago off, since you're trying to highlight your past experiences to best sell yourself, not give a complete work history. <S> Of course you can choose how much detail you want to go into for any given role on your resume, depending on how the skills you used there and your achievements relate to any new jobs you're applying for. <A> Include both for three reasons: <S> You want to apply for both positions You have worked for the same time in each of them <S> You believe that each position gave you valuable experience <A> Recently I watched the talk Weird Game Dev: Unusual Roles and How to Get Them , and I got some solid career advice out of it. <S> The focus of the talk is how unusual career paths can get you into the game industry, but you can apply it to any industry. <S> The key takeaway is this: even if your career path seems odd from the outside, it usually tells a story . <S> Try to find which story your career tells and make it a strength. <S> The example that he gives about himself is brilliant. <S> He was a boxing coach and a community manager for a videogame website. <S> What story you get out of it? <S> He portrays himself as a mentor, with passion to teach others. <S> So my advice is that if you can find a compelling story that ties both of this positions together you can turn it into an advantage.
| This is again very dependent on how much experience you have - if you don't have much to say, including a decent achievement that's unrelated to your target job is likely to only count in your favour, while doing so when you have a lot of other information on your resume might distract from more important things.
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Speech problems due to braces - how to approach this during interview? I am wearing braces. Recently, a metal part was added near my palate and it's causing some lisping. I'm going to be interviewed in a while and I'm wondering how I should approach this issue. I'm thinking about telling the interviewers at the beginning that this is only a temporary issue and that they shouldn't hesitate to ask me to repeat if they don't understand some words. Is this acceptable and professional? <Q> Is this acceptable and professional? <S> Yes, bringing up the issue yourself at the start of the interview will likely put you and the interviewers more at ease. <S> It's entirely possible that the speech problems are more noticeable to you than others, but there's no harm in mentioning it. <S> I would only mention it once, however -- <S> if you repeatedly apologize or draw attention to your speech, that could be more distracting. <A> I think that would be fine. <S> They will be able to see your braces. <A> Given the impediment to speech is visible, they will probably surmise your braces are the cause, and even if they aren't, lisping which doesn't interfere with being able to understand you is not in at least most instances cause for dismissing a candidate, unless for example, you are applying for a role that requires a lot of public speaking. <S> That being said, if you make a particularly embarrassing mistake because of the lisp, it may be an opportune time to point out the cause, but I would leave it otherwise.
| I'm thinking about telling the interviewers at the beginning that this is only a temporary issue and that they shouldn't hesitate to ask me to repeat if they don't understand some words.
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Will applying for vacation directly after my probation period carry negative consequences? I am a fresh graduate and currently stuck in a dilemma. My family has planned 2 holiday trips. One will be in December and another one in February. The trip in December has a duration of 7 days, while the one in February has a duration of 14 days. If I were to apply for an entry-level job, I would have to apply for leaves of absence immediately after the probation period (which normally is 3 months in my country) and also for the trip in February. I am afraid that this will affect my position in the company. Alternatively, I could apply for an internship, it would be much more flexible, but pay much less. <Q> Just let your employer know you've some planned trips when getting hired. <S> Companies that will have a problem with it are those which you probably don't want to work for anyway. <A> Their evaluation of you should be done by then. <S> The biggest issue would be whether or not you'll actually get the time off, as many companies require time off to be requested significantly in advance. <S> The best course of action would be to address those vacations during your negotiations. <S> This gives them the best heads up to plan their resources and you the best heads up to cancel travel plans or the negotiations in case you can't find a solution. <A> I went through this recently in my career. <S> In my case, my family had booked a cruise and prepaid the airfare from USA to Spain, all before I even started interviewing for the new job. <S> In my case, the trip was prepaid and nonrefundable, and would occur before my probation period ended, which would violate the rules of my probation. <S> When the hiring supervisor called me to offer me the position -- the informal offer before the formal, written offer came through -- <S> I wasn't fully aware of the probation policy rules, but I told him about the trip and that it was nonrefundable. <S> He and I worked together to actually include the trip in the formal job offer, so it was in writing that they were making an exception to the rules. <S> I suggest a similar approach for you. <S> Go through the interview process. <S> If they make you an offer, let the hiring committee know that you've already booked a trip for dates X through Y, and you want to make sure that taking this trip will not cause any negative impact. <S> If the trip is after the end of your probation, then they shouldn't have a problem with it. <S> And by letting them know up front, you're making it clear to the managers/hiring committee/etc. <S> that you don't want to cause problems and want to be completely above-board about things. <S> The only reason I can see that this might be an issue is if you haven't saved up enough vacation time by the beginning of your trip. <S> As long as your vacation accrual rates are good, you should be good, too. <S> Otherwise, you may be forced to take the trip on leave without pay? <S> But that's not really directly related to the original question. <S> And by scheduling this at the beginning, you should have plenty of time to work through that.
| Applying for vacation outside your probationary period should not result in negative consequences for you.
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How to gracefully quit after joining a new job within a week? Basically I had two great opportunities one in a big research organisation and other from a fast paced startup. After some thought and a bit of intuition I though to join the first one but within couple of days I came to know that they don't take software development much seriously and the environment is a bit relaxed. They don't follow any code standard or style guide etc. maybe because the organisation has its main focus on research.The environment is quite relaxed and so the reward/appraisal. So, I am feeling a bit stuck because these are the things that you learn after joining only. On the other hand I am now actively looking at the Github repo of the startup and I feel that they are more into latest technology and fast paced development where I can learn much. Its only couple of days since I joined here and I still have option to join the startup. What should I do? if I finally make my mind to join the startup then how should I quit from the current one? should I make up some family emergency situation? PS: Both are from two different countries. <Q> What should I do? <S> I think you already made your mind about it. <S> should I make up some family emergency situation? <S> No. <S> Get the managers and talk to them about the situation. <S> To me, it's quite straightforward. <S> The way this company does software development is not aligned with your expectations and career aspirations. <A> Probationary periods are not just for the company to evaluate you but also for you to evalutate the company. <S> Of course people won't be happy if you leave considering the effort involved with hiring, but it's not something they should hold grudges over. <S> Check <S> what your options for leaving are then make a polite resignation stating that the development department turned out to be very different from what you were expecting/looking for. <A> It shouldn't be too difficult to get out within a reasonable time frame (as explained by Kempeth), but I would like to add that if you are concerned about the other company not accepting you then you should communicate with them. <S> You should express your definite commitment: make sure they know that you're not just keeping them on hold as a backup option but are serious about starting there. <S> In all you communication, remember to be candid, open and truthful. <S> There is no better way to make this process arduous and difficult by muddying the waters with potential doubt about your integrity. <S> you don't want either side of the table to think that you are taking them for a ride or being deliberately problematic, so make your intentions clear rather than trying to hide them behind something that you would consider a more 'reasonable excuse'. <S> And one final thing: <S> engage in face to face communication over the matter whenever you can. <S> I get that it's not always possible or convenient, but in my opinion it leads people to treat you more like a person than a company asset or resource. <S> It shows that you are willing to open up and talk bout the situation honestly, and that should be seen as a good thing.
| Your job contract probably contains some kind of probation period during which quitting/firing is much easier/faster. I think it would be best to explain to them what has happened and ask for flexibility in the situation.
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My Company has a problem letting my department finish and implement projects. (Manufacturing environment) I work in a small IT department (4 people), and two of the 4 of us are software developers. The company is behind the times in terms of IT solutions and technology in general. So my coworker and I are developing software to ease paper and pencil documentation, product tracking, cost savings solutions, and QA solutions and tracking. The other developer and myself work really well together and we are very good at making the software that is requested from the higher ups. Our problem is that we get a project to 98% completion and our manager comes to us and informs us that our focus is now to be shifted to a new project or to go back to working on a previous unfinished project. Since these focus shifts come from a top tier boss we don't have much choice than to shift focus. But being thrown between new projects and having to revisit and pick up our thought trains on old ones months after we've left the project is becoming really troublesome. Myself and my partner are at the point where we are becoming jaded and we don't work nearly as hard as we used to on projects. Because we just know that we won't get to finish it. Add to that, our manager telling us that it appears that we aren't working because we haven't pushed anything out and that we are making the department look bad. It's just a really weird cycle that I think I'm the only one who sees it. So, I'm here to ask you fine people if there is something we can do as developers to change the status quo? We've brought it up to our manager who has basically told us that it's just the way it is. Is there a way we can help keep the higher ups focused on current projects and not like kids with ADD who can't keep their mind focused for long? I understand that they are excited at what these solutions can do for the company but they just can't grasp the concept of the process of concept to completion. My partner and I would really like to get to a place where we can complete projects and implement what we design. <Q> As a corporate VP once told me, "sometimes you need to let them feel the pain". <S> In other words, you need to let them feel the consequences of their actions. <S> Since you said that they have no concept of the process from concept to completion, involve them in every phase. <S> When projects are canceled or put on hold, make sure that there is a "ramping down" meeting so that they know what is involved in shutting down a project, even temporarily. <S> Then, when they say go back to it, schedule a re-launch meeting. <S> Give them some of the pain, but do it as part of the process. <S> The reason they are so willy-nilly about jumping from project to project is because they have no part in the process. <S> Involve them in the process to where their time is taken up by the consequences of their actions and their actions will change. <S> The point of this is not to be punitive, but to get involvement and understanding. <S> They will never understand if they are not involved. <A> I'd extend the project plan past the delivery date if possible. <S> Usually "follow-up" or implementation verification is overlooked or not done at all mostly because it is not planned. <S> Implementation verification is actually one of the most crucial steps, because processes hardly ever work the same in practice as in theory. <S> To plan for implementation verification or follow-up you would need to identify the metrics you will be testing up-front in the planning stage as well as what the expected value of these metrics are to ensure implementation was effective. <S> This step is usually scheduled atleast a month after implementation; so the customer has time to work through their own adaptation issues. <S> If this cannot be done or if you still keep getting pulled off at the end, then a more agile approach may be necessary. <S> Agile in the sense, that you release the product to the customer in several stages, but each release works and could be used by itself. <S> Then each iteration adds more functionality and "bells and whistles". <S> That way the customer atleast has something that is functional (even though it may not be complete) and usually if they start using it they will pressure your manager to allow you to finish the project in full. <S> If neither of these work then just keep open communication with your customers and maybe they can pressure your manager into letting you finish the projects. <A> I live a similar situation; sometimes I have projects that are about to finish i.e.: being tested, and when it comes to user acceptance tests it can take maybe 1 or 2 months when they come up with changes <S> so I have to pick it up again. <S> Or projects that are not prioritized, so I look at them only when I have free time <S> so I work on them once in a while. <S> The only thing I could do to help with this situation is to focus on write down some comments, not just on the code, but what is the situation I'm dealing with, or what are the next step <S> I have to take, so when I have to return to that project <S> I'm able to pick it up faster. <S> As a developer, sometimes there is not much you can do to improve management (primary because it's your manager's job to do that). <S> You just have to assume that priorities change frequently in some business or just because the owners suck at planning.
| Arrange launch meetings, proof of concept meetings, prototyping meetings and any kind of meeting you can think of to show them that you don't just wave a magic wand to get things done.
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My onsite client keeps calling me after office hours and on weekends So the scenario is like we and another company are working on a common project. I often visit their office for discussion and meetings. For the first few months, it goes very well. After that they started to call me after office hours and even on weekends. This was for discussion the software development cycle and other things in project without notifying my team members. I don't know what to do. My onsite is regularly calling me after office hours and they want me to discuss the next page phases of the project. Sometimes they want me their in team discussion on weekends without informing my team members or my immediate boss I never answer their calls after office hours, is this ethical? Note: There is no such deal to offer extra pay during extra hours working or working in weekends. I don't know what agreement was signed between them. They even refused to clear the RFP <Q> I never answer their calls after office hours, is this ethical? <S> On Monday , you should direct the client to call your boss for any after hours or weekend work where you are needed. <S> The reason for this is because as a consultancy company I guarantee your boss expects you to bill for all you're time, and you should get paid for this extra time too. <A> What you are doing is not unethical, but it's not favorable either. <S> You may want to attend the occasional off-hours meeting, but make sure you are compensated either through additional hours billed, or comp time. <S> A VERY high after hours rate would help to curb this (Double your rate, for example) <A> Here's how you handle this situation: Stop handing out your direct cell phone number to clients. <S> Consider a service like https://www.numberbarn.com/ <S> (there are others) where you give clients an assigned number that only rings through to you during hours of your choosing, because there are always going to be clients that just don't give a hoot about interrupting you during your personal time (especially if the client happens to be in a different time zone). <S> There's nothing unethical about not taking calls during personal time - that's why it's called personal time. <S> You wouldn't expect 24/7 access to your gardener, family attorney, general contractor, physician, or others who serve your needs; so why would you hold yourself to some much higher standard for the clients you serve? <S> Think about it. <A> My onsite is regularly calling me after office hours and they want me to discuss the next page phases of the project. <S> Sometimes they want me <S> their in team discussion on weekends without informing my team members or my immediate boss <S> I never answer their calls after office hours, is this ethical? <S> I wouldn't use the term "unethical" here. <S> But simply refusing to answer calls and doing nothing about the situation else seems foolish. <S> Instead the two companies need to come to an agreement on the terms of work - expectations, hours of operation, how to escalate emergencies, etc. <S> Apparently, that hasn't happened yet. <S> That was a mistake. <S> If you aren't the right person to deal with these issues, discuss it with your boss. <S> But someone needs to take the lead and come to an agreement on the terms of engagement here, so that both companies can be successful. <S> Just ducking calls isn't the right course of action.
| No, its is not un-ethical to ignore the calls and you are doing the right thing by ignoring them. You need to create some healthy distance between yourself and your clients.
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Going from full time to part time to spend more time with spouse I have worked full time with current position for almost 10 years. Due to a change in my husband's work schedule, he will be unable to return home on the weekends (he works in another city and is only home on weekends). I would like to cut back to a 3 days a week schedule so that I can go to where he is and spend time with him. This comes up at the start of our busy season at work and my boss is NOT going to be happy with my decision. What is the best way to approach this with her? I want to stay on a 3 day a week schedule would be ideal. <Q> Depending on what your company offers, there may be a "flex" time arrangement where employees can work part-time or work flexible hours (usually outside of normal business hours). <S> You should research if such a policy exists and if it does, then approach her and ask if it's possible to reduce your work hours. <S> If there isn't a policy, then you, her, and HR will have to work something out. <S> Keep in mind that your pay will be docked accordingly. <S> Communication is key. <S> There could also not be the option to work part-time, in which case you will have to choose between work or family <S> - it's not ideal, but it is reality. <A> The one good thing about retail is that there is more than a bit of flexibility, and if you are good, they tend to work with you. <S> Approach your manager and see if you can work out a compromise that suits both of you. <S> Approach her with several solutions and see how it works. <S> If not, you may want to see if there is a branch near where your husband works, and see if you can split your time between the two stores. <S> Be creative and see what they will agree to. <A> I think the best way to start would be to set up a meeting with your boss (it can be informal) and tell her that you love your job, but you also love your husband. <S> Ask them if there's any way you could reduce your shifts to just a three day work-week. <S> If they say 'yes', great. <S> If not, schedule a more formal meeting where the two of you can work out a compromise. <S> Maybe you can work a three-day week twice a month. <S> And start talking to your coworkers. <S> There is another solution if worse comes to worse. <S> If the company won't or can't give you a schedule that works for you <S> and you can't arrange to swap shifts with your coworkers, then (provided your able and willing to do so) <S> you can quit and find another job. <S> Retail is a nice field because schedules can be very flexible if you're upfront during the interview process about your availability. <S> Either way, good luck!
| I don't know what your company's policy is regarding switching shifts, but you might be able to trade around with other employees and cobble together a de facto part-time schedule. Getting entire weekends off is hard, so you may want to see if you can work opening Saturdays, have Sunday and Monday off, and then close Tuesdays to give you the most time with your husband.
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How to handle a fresh graduate who my manager trusts more than me? I am from a third world country that has a bad image in media nowadays. I work in Belgium, in a good company, as a software engineer. I am working on a very specific programming language that there is no one at the company knows how to program with it (of course, not for lacking skills but for lacking time to learn). We use English to communicate in the company. We got a new colleague, fresh, coming from a math background and doing programming (well, I don't know if you believe me or not, but here it is normal to teach new people for like 6 months how to program). This new guy started working with me on my tasks, which at the beginning was good because I started to have team feelings and started to care more about the code. However, he is less than a junior, he is 6-months-old in the software domain, he knows nothing about data structures, algorithms, design patterns .... etc. He is local, and he speaks the same language as my manager (who knows nothing about software development, but he is in charge because the former manager left and they are probably searching for a new one, the current manager comes from the marketing department). The three of us meet mostly on Mondays to discuss the plan, and for some reasons, when we have conflict in opinions, the manager chooses the new guy's opinion. I tried to show him the negative sides of his decisions, but showing why the suggested approach will not scale. I calculated the complexity of the suggested approach and compared it to my approach and showed him formally (using math) that my approach is better. However, it is always the case that my opinion is never taken into account. So I lost motivation, and I just stopped suggesting. What makes it worse that they speak their language together over the coffee machine for example, which I don't understand and while that they speak about the project. I must say that I am a very quiet person, and maybe I have a weak personality (I don't fight for my rights!) Suggestions are appreciated. <Q> You don't need to handle the new graduate. <S> You don't even need to handle your manager. <S> You do need to handle yourself. <S> So, ask yourself, seriously, what is going wrong here? . <S> You think the "wrong" choices are being made. <S> The manager is choosing what the new team member wants instead of what you want, and you think this is because of trust. <S> This has been going on for a while: have there been any consequences? <S> You're worried things won't scale, things will be slow when the system is larger - has that happened? <S> Your manager is telling you more than just "who is trusted on this team". <S> Your manager is telling you what the priorities are on this team. <S> I have met many people who advocate doing things a particular way because of performance, scaling, flexibility, and other future goodness. <S> Often, this way will take longer or otherwise be more expensive, and as a manager, I have to weigh that against the chances of needing that benefit in some future that may never come. <S> It doesn't matter how brilliantly you proved that your way will be better when we have a million users if I don't care about the performance then, because when we have the revenue from a million users we can rewrite it, what matters is getting the first thousand users and to do that we have to ship it. <S> If things go wrong, and you're sure that it's <S> because it wasn't done your way, you can totally tell your manager that you predicted this. <S> You provide information: "doing it this way will give better performance" and your team-mate provides other information: "doing it this other way will ship a week earlier" and your manager chooses "ship a week earlier". <S> OK, done. <S> This isn't about sharing a language or being friends over coffee, it's about listening to business needs and ensuring your technical strengths serve those needs. <S> Now, if you feel your manager is totally wrong on business needs, and that you know better, then looking for a different manager (inside this company or out of it) or working very hard so that you get promoted to being the one who makes those decisions are both good plans. <S> But see how that has nothing to do with the new team member? <A> Look for another job. <S> Simple. <S> Yes, not nice, but there is little you will be able to change in your situation. <A> Did you consider that the new guy is plainly right? <S> Not in the sense that some abstract value of performance is optimal, but in the sense that within performance, implementation time, real run time behavior, testability, impact on caches/locality of write accesses, multi-process locks etc. <S> his solution may be better (i.e. still ok for the given problem sizes)? <S> I mean if it does not hold up in production, your methods will still be implemented; I have heard people issuing similar statements like yours, and sometimes the one complaining that the best solution was not chosen actually factored less inputs and criteria into his decision.
| But if nothing is going wrong, how about relaxing and letting your manager manage the project.
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Should I tell a friend that I'm disappointed in the way he's running his business which hired me? This is a long, complex situation, and I'm not sure how to proceed. A bit of backstory, I made friends with a guy that I work with. He bails more often than not on hanging out, which is irritating after I've turned down other plans to hang out with him. He's gone into website hosting, and I agreed to set up the server for him for beer, provided that he owned the business and the IP and didn't take on frivolous employees as is the temptation when one is new to business. This is my 4th or 5th "startup", by the way. I agreed to come over 5 times as the site is at his place, and twice he didn't contact me when we were supposed to meet. As he had just moved, I did not know where his place was. I saw him playing pokemon go the next day in the hallway at work with a collegue, and later I texted him to ask why he didn't get back to me after I'd cooled down a bit. He sited serious ongoing health concerns, which would have indeed prevented him from contacting me. Finally, we made contact, I came over, then he asked me to leave, telling me that his father wanted to see him and he had to go over. Then the next time, I came over, set up a number of services for him, but the SSH wasn't working correctly by the time he asked me to leave again at night. We set a time for me to come over and fix it, and then he bailed again, saying that his father asked him to come over and help him work on their house, which is his boilerplate excuse. Now he's texted me that he's reinstalled the whole server and everything is "working correctly now," which I take to mean he can now SSH into the machine. He struggles with basic server-client, web concepts, so I want to wash my hands of the whole situation to cover my bottom, and I believe that the server was set up insecurely and in a manner that wouldn't even work, as this was the case the last time I came over. I had to walk him through setting up port-forwarding. However, when I set up the server, he told me that someone else had created the website, who he was going to pay for it. I know they haven't worked out who's IP it is. Additionally, he listed off a number of employees he's paying, who basically consist of almost his entire friend group, some of whom are under 18 years of age, 10-20 employees, although I didn't count. This isn't his fault that he's inexperienced, but these are not the terms that I agreed to help him free of charge. He's told me that he would pay me, although it was offhand and we didn't agree on a price. I'm not expecting to see any money, but I'm considering telling him my freelance rate, which is a lot more than just beer, and letting him know he's violated our terms, which are in writing. The other half of me just wants to let it be, let by-gones be by-gones, and just letting him do his thing, but turning down any help he asks for in the future, as I want to avoid the "zomg-we-haven't-done-backups-in-a-month-please-recover-our-wobsites-nothing-is-working" call and being on the hook again for that situation, when I've been giving him help to avoid that from the get go. I also want to, as his friend, see him succeed in his business, communication shortcomings aside. And lastly, I don't want to have things be awkward at work, as it's distracting from the work I want to be doing. Should I say something? Should I send him the bill? Should I not say anything and just pass over the entire situation? The gods know that I haven't been perfect either, and everyone makes mistakes. <Q> From experience (mine and others): People value things according to how much they paid for them. <S> Your "friend" paid nothing for your help. <S> Guess how much he values you and your help: Zero. <S> Because he didn't have to pay for it, your help to him is absolutely worthless. <S> You saw this - he didn't come to meetings, giving just some lame excuse. <S> If he had been billed $100 for a missed meeting, you can be sure he wouldn't have missed them. <S> I suggest you cut your losses. <S> If he asks for any work done, figure out a realistic rate and charge before you start the work. <A> The most important point is: figure out if he is professional enough to work with, even if he would pay you. <S> I am not so sure about that. <S> If you decide to continue to work with him (and he pays you), it is important to define responsibilities, and an open word could help. <S> If not, say to him "sorry, to busy" <A> I think the most important thing for you to do is to get out from under any liability or legal responsibility for the damages to his business that will result from his server being set up incorrectly. <S> You need to document the fact that he did not allow you to complete the work according to your specification and design. <S> This should be easy to do since your contract calls for 5 meetings and these have not all taken place. <S> Just make sure that you have a paper trail showing that you tried to complete 5 meetings <S> and it is his fault that they did not happen. <S> It can be very difficult to maintain proper boundaries with someone you would like to hang with, but in this case the lack of a clear delineation of responsibility for the server can end up costing you serious money and reputation. <S> Once you have protected yourself from unwanted legal association with the failure his web hosting business, it should be safe for you to go back to being his buddy and pestering him with sage advice that he doesn't want and will never thank you for. <A> You say he's inexperienced in running a business, and that's why he's running this one poorly? <S> Well, now he can gain some experience-- by having a core employee leave as a result of his poor, haphazard management of his business. <S> He's going to learn a lesson either way, but it's up to you if that lesson will be that his behavior is acceptable and is enough to retain talent, or if it will be that operating this way will lead to problems (including, but not limited to, attracting and keeping skilled employees). <S> It's an actual problem for him if and only if you end your "professional" relationship here, and explain why you're doing so. <S> It's not even really about him, it's about your time, skill, and professionalism. <S> It's not that he's a bad person, just that you can't/won't work for a person or organization like this.
| As soon as he can pay other people, you should stop working for beer
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How do I handle the CEO's child (working as an intern) not wanting to do what I ask of her? The daughter of the CEO works as an intern in our company. When I once asked her to do a call for me, she replied "do you know who I am?" I don't know how to handle this. Should I politely tell her, that it is important, that she should be engaging in the daily activities to do a better job in the future? Should I completely ignore her and pass it on other workers, to not get in trouble? Should I report it to the CEO about her behaviour? <Q> "Yes I know who you are. <S> My understanding that folks in your role are responsible for X, Y and Z (taking calls). <S> If that's not the case, let me apologise and clarify with your manager to get a better idea of what -people in your team are expected to do". <S> If there is a pattern of not doing stuff she's expected to, then speak to her manager about how her lack of cooperation in tasks she is expected to perform impacts your ability to get your stuff done. <S> CEO relationship is not something I'd concern yourself with directly. <S> If she reports to you then get a position description from HR and go over it with her. <A> She is taking advantage of her "special" status as the daughter of the CEO. <S> What she did was unprofessional / rude if taking calls was part of her job duties. <S> As to how you should handle this situation, you should first ignore of her "special" status, and treat the incident how you normally would if she were another regular employee, which she is. <A> Tell him his daughter is working for you as an intern and you would like to know what his expectations of what she should be doing are. <S> Just say you don't have a problem at this time, but want to be clear on what to do if a problem arises. <S> If you want to expand, say you have seen it happen where the CEO expects the same behavior as anyone else and where the CEO expects that person to be cut some slack and you wanted to be sure that you did what was expected. <S> I personally would have done this immediately on finding out I was getting the relative as my employee even before ever talking to that person. <A> You need to start asking your boss, if not the CEO, what your responsibility is when it comes to managing this person. <S> Once you know what those in charge expect, then you can approach her and act accordingly. <S> This can range from treating her like everyone else, so she learns what it means to have a job and follow directions or your boss doesn't want to upset the CEO <S> so you need to just let it go. <S> Just make sure you get the straight information <S> and you find out how anyone else in the company would be treated for noncompliance. <S> If it's not a fireable offense for others, it's not for her either.
| Personally I would go to the CEO, not with a complaint but with a request for clarification of expectations. Bringing spoiled and childish behavior into the workplace does her no good in her future professional life, and if you were to handle this incident any differently than if the incident concerned a another employee, it can also negatively affect other's employees perception of you .
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How do I professionally decline to disclose my current salary I know one should not disclose their salary in an interview: how you are valued anywhere else should not affect how the new company should value you, and it can be used against you. I am aware some people just give a higher figure to prevent it being used against them (stating their supposed current salary as the minimum salary they want in the new position). I would prefer not having to lie, though, but I am not sure I would be able to refuse to disclose it without sounding rude/paranoid. How can one politely refuse to disclose their salary , ideally without hurting their chances of staying in the interview process? EDIT: This is not a duplicate of How to respond to a direct ask of salary earned and expectations? : I know how I want to answer, but I do not know how to phrase it in a polite and professional. <Q> "My company considers salary to be confidential, so I can't disclose it to third parties". <S> If they insist, hold your ground. <S> You can even reply "You aren't suggesting that I break a confidentiality agreement with my current employer, are you?". <S> EDIT: <S> Bottom line <S> , there is nothing wrong with you not wanting to share this information, and holding your ground and clearly stating that you don't want to share this information is not unprofessional. <A> How can one politely refuse to disclose their salary, ideally without hurting their chances of staying in the interview process? <S> Hurting one's chances during an interview is a two-way street. <S> You have no control over what might cause the other party to end the interview process, even if you do everything you believe the other party wants you to do. <S> Negotiation is risky because it is an adversarial process. <S> To get what you want, you have to do and say what's in your best interest, and potentially against the other party. <S> Revealing your salary history is not in your best interest. <S> So what to say instead? <S> Simply: I prefer not to discuss my salary history. <S> If they press further, you can say: My salary history represents specific agreements with past employers, which I don't think is relevant to the position we are discussing. <S> You can bring in any evidence of this that might support it. <S> You can say, for instance, that you would consider yourself underpaid in your current position, so your current salary is not a reliable indicator of your market value. <S> There's always the risk they'll say an offer is contingent on telling the interviewer your salary history. <S> In that case, you'll have to decide how badly you want the job, and either tell them, or simply call their bluff. <A> In a perfect world the salary history is not needed ( only the market average for this position compared to your set of skills is). <S> But for must HR/headhunter <S> it is very important <S> and it is part of the process : they need to communicate the number internally to the department manager. <S> Most of the HR won't give your application to the departement manager until they know what is salary ( because the manager need to know if they have enough money to pay you). <S> If you refuse to answer ( saying it is confidential) <S> it will for sure hurt <S> (maybe a little -delay- maybe a lot - stop the interview <S> process-) <S> your application. <S> One solution to avoid the "confidential" answer or to reveal your exact salary ( which could hurt the salary expectation) is to give a package revenue range : <S> Dear XXXMy current package is around 150k-200k (including salary, benefits, bonus that may fluctuate). <S> Note : Never reply directly to the question saying "it is confidential", "i can only give a range, it is acceptable?" . <S> Because it means your email will need another emails to clarify until the HR got what she wants. <S> It is better to give directly the package range. <A> Here's a twist to that assumption - I've referenced my "current salary" for every position I've been after, and I end up getting the compensation I want every time. <S> The key is to know what compensation you need and to know how your value justifies it. <S> It could be twice your current salary if it's justified, so I have no problem stating my current salary because I come in with a realistic expectation of what new salary I would need to make me personally interested in the move while also being realistic and understanding what value I'm bringing. <S> Also, an employee's compensation is an agreement between the two. <S> One's current salary can be a relevant factor, although not a necessity. <S> For example, if a candidate mentions that they're making $100k and the company knows they can only pay $50k, then that question saved everyone time by realizing it isn't worth moving forward. <S> Ultimately, however, the onus should not be just on the company. <S> The employee is providing a service for a price, and they are equally responsible for disclosing their price just as the company is responsible for disclosing their budget range. <A> You don’t have to refuse to disclose your current salary, as long as you make sure they know the salary you want. <S> The reality is that you want between X and Y, and depending how your job search goes, you will start with a salary at the lower or upper end. <S> If they offer Y or close, you take it. <S> If they offer X or close, you look for something better, and only take their offer if your search seems fruitless. <S> If they offer exactly in between then you look for a short while only. <S> Your old salary is really not relevant. <S> So you can say “I’m making Z now, but I’m looking for offers from X to Y”. <S> Some people will think they can offer Z. <S> Your reply is either “why would I leave a company that I know for the same salary” or just “No”. <S> Good companies will have a range like you do, and just like you they have to decide if it’s better to hire you now or wait for someone better.
| For the odd case where your salary isn't confidential and you don't want to lie, you can say "My current salary is not relevant for the current negotiation", or just "I rather not tell" if you want to be bold.
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What does M/F/D/V mean on a job application? While filling out a job application, I noticed a small label designating M/F/D/V. Is this important? What does this label mean? <Q> It refers to the employer being an equal opportunities employer. <S> m refers to <S> male <S> (in some places also minority ). <S> f refers to female . <S> d refers to disabled . <S> v refers to veteran . <A> Ever hear an advertisement that "Company X is an Equal Opportunity Employer?" <S> Technically, it doesn't really mean anything - it's against the law to use information on any of the protected groups as a deciding factor for hiring - the protected groups being: race, skin color, ethnicity, religion, gender, orientation, and physical disability. <S> (Correction, it looks like the page is a bit out of date, and Veteran was added to the Protected Groups back in 2015 .) <S> It's the same thing as M/F/D/V - <S> it's just something that doesn't technically mean anything, apart from "We follow the law, and don't discriminate." <S> Because discriminating based on Male/Minority, Female, Veteran, or Disabled is already against the law. <S> Beyond that, the intent upon adding it could be any number of things. <S> It could be an active attempt at virtue signalling. <S> It could be a company trying to get past a black-eye over discriminatory practices in their recent past. <S> Honestly, though, the best guess is probably just Boilerplate. <A> I don't see that notation on postings as much as I used to. <S> My understanding is it is an attempt to notify people they follow all US Government guidelines about non-discrimination against those categories of people. <S> I've seen the M as either minority or male. <S> F = female, D=disabled, V=veteran. <S> Also, I think, government projects get extra points for having people from those categories employed. <S> Its certainly not saying ONLY people from those categories will be hired, that would be discrimination just as much as saying they would not be hired for the position.
| It could be simple boilerplate upon a standard job listing. It could even be trying to subtly get more people with a non-majority status in one of those groups to apply (aka, more women, minorities, veterans, or disabled people.)
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Is it okay to tell my team lead I am not interested in doing an administrative task? Today I received a mail from the senior lead of my team asking whether I can take up an administrative task which was previously done by another colleague. (UPDATE: Initially this mail was routed as: requesting for volunteers. No one from the team apparently had replied. Then, later, the lead mailed me asking whether it could be taken up by me. Please note that the lead did not directly assign the task to me.) I replied in a mail saying: No. He responded that I would get some administrative experience. I again declined saying: No. Over lunch, he asked, "Is it because you earlier had differences with that colleague that you did not want to take up that task, or is it for some other reason?". I said, "I am not interested in taking up that task". And I also continued saying, I am interested in checking if there are scripts which could be executed to do that task, instead of doing it manually. I am currently unsure whether my response is correct professionally or not. Or how do I professionally reject doing an administrative task? <Q> Well if your response to the request from your senior was actually as curt as you describe it in the question then yes, I'd say that's pretty unprofessional. <S> It's okay to express a preference for not doing certain types of task, actually refusing isn't often wise however. <S> You don't specify your location but certainly in many places (e.g. US, UK) your employment contract will have a clause around "other duties as assigned" which is aimed to cover off additional tasks for the business that are not your primary job description (things such as admin). <S> At this point it does sound like <S> your team lead is asking you to do this rather than telling you <S> so it's more a question of how you want to be seen by the lead (and by extension the organisation), are you the helpful, willing employee who wants to help the organisation get things done or are siloed "not my job" type? <S> It's totally up to you <S> and I'm not telling you to be one or the other but be aware of how these sort of actions are percieved <S> (because in many ways perception == reality in the workplace) and don't be suprised if future "interesting" tasks or projects end up getting assigned to the employees who stepped up and took on a "boring" task previously. <A> In my experience, it's best not to turn down a task without a good reason. <S> This can include a lack of interest, but should be phrased in a way that you are given assurances and all concerns are addressed. <S> For example I've got a lot of work already and don't have capacity or <S> Although it's quiet at the moment, I don't want to get too involved with this because I've got xxx coming up soon. <S> I'll only take this on if you can assure me that I can hand it over when I need to do xxx . <S> or even This really doesn't fit with my job spec at all. <S> I can do this as a one-off, but I don't want this to become my regular job. <S> Depending on your workplace, you might want to try something more or less assertive. <A> You have to understand what is happening here. <S> They asked for volunteers, nobody wanted to do it. <S> SO the manager picked you out to do it and phrased it politely as a request. <S> It was NOT a request. <S> Someone one has to to the task <S> and you were chosen. <S> The fact that he followed up your no several times indicates that. <S> Everyone has to do tasks they don't want to do at work <S> and you are no exception to that. <S> You point blank refused, so now your manager has a negative view of you and that will color you performance appraisals, you assignments to more fun tasks and <S> your salary increases. <A> Where I live (Germany), refusal to do work assigned to you is not only unprofessional but usually is a valid reason for an instant termination. <A> Professionally, you should have handled this in a more subtle way. <S> To a certain extent you'd be doing your boss a favor. <S> Someday, you may want a favor; don't expect anything in return. <S> Everything is a negotiation. <S> Weigh the pros and cons of the request. <S> Is this really the worse thing you could do? <S> If not, why not ask to having something you hate taken off of your list of duties? <S> Make a request to do it for a limited amount of time. <S> You would be in a better position to do this task manually for a short period of time, so you could then develop a script for it. <S> That would be the best compromise of all.
| So the answer is: you don´t - but you can make it clear that you´d rather not do that kind of work. The exception is when the request is unreasonable or the contract specifically states that only a certain type of work is required.
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Are clients normally billed for time you spend on fixing bugs? I have a client that doesn't want to pay for the time that is spent fixing bugs, is this normal not bill clients for time that you had to deal with bugs? SITUATION: I billed a long time client for a project and he noted that the bill was higher than usual so I let him know that it was because I ran into a bug that held me up for a bit. He doesn't feel he should have to pay for that extra time because it's not his fault I made an error. He also said he asked around to other developers he knew and that they all said it shouldn't have taken me that long so he thought I was trying to cheat him out of his money. There was not a specified amount of time that I had to stay under for this project, the client just thought the time was longer than it should have taken. Is it typically the case that clients are not billed for time you get stuck on bugs? <Q> Notwithstanding some gross negligence taking place on the part of the developers, absolutely not. <S> The client pays. <S> Bug fixing is a normal component of any development cycle, along with QA efforts to flush bugs out. <S> Don't fall for it. <A> Is it typically the case that clients are not billed for time you get stuck on bugs? <S> This could depend on what type of specific contract you had with that client. <S> However you can think of bugs as a usual part of developing a project, so it "falls" within the time agreed for its development. <S> If you charge per project <S> then you already have a fixed amount that the client will pay, no matter if you have endless bugs... <S> In future occasions, when asked why it took you longer to finish project, instead of saying it was because of " bugs " try explaining that "it was more complex than other projects". <S> Every program has its level of difficulty and details, something that should be considered when planning to build one, and that is strongly related to the time it will take to make. <A> Fixed cost contracts bugs are on you, they are paying for the job, not your time. <S> If the job is a billed hours job, then generally, the hours worked are the hours worked. <S> Bug correction is part of all development. <S> Bugs found by the client during acceptance, well, then it becomes kind of a professionalism question to me. <S> I should have found that before I said we were good to go if it is truly a bug, so that would often be on me to fix, but legally, it would depend on how the contract was written. <S> That all said, those general guides might blur depending on the size or nature of the bug. <S> If caused by my own failure to understand or correctly implement the task, then at least a part of that burden should probably fall on me and I should eat at least a portion of the hours. <S> If however the fix was required due to complexities of the base code or the task requirements, then that is an integration issue, not a bug, and should be relayed as such. <S> If the issue is caused by client changing requirements, then they issue is a change in scope and even a fixed price client may well be expected to pay for that for changing the task and extending the project in doing so. <S> As GrayCygnus stated, wording is important, even with a client you feel comfortable with, especially if they are non-technical. <S> All clients, when they hear "bug" hear "you made a mistake" and will not be overly happy about paying for your mistakes. <S> But an integration challenge is <S> a normal development step and scope change is always on them. <S> I would however tend to agree with a comment, <S> if a client accuses you, or even really hints at saying you have cheated them, then you need to clear the air, finish current contracts with them, and in all probability move on without further bids to that client. <A> As others have noted it's typical on hourly based work to bill for all time spent, including bug fixing, unless it's a situation where you were truly negligent in some way. <S> When I need to have this kind of discussion with my clients, I always make a few points. <S> A "bug" is not a mistake by the programmer, it is a natural part of writing code and working on code. <S> Nobody is shipping bug free code, from Apple to Microsoft to NASA, bugs happen regardless of the level of competence and amount invested in advanced testing. <S> if your client has an employee working for them full time who either made an error or discovered an error in a business process, and then had to spend a day correcting it, (for example, a bookeeper finding a problem with the way taxes were applied in an accounting system, requiring the fixing of invoices one by one) <S> the employer would not and could not withold pay for that day. <S> related to number one, if you are to be responsible for all bugs and unable to bill for your time spent fixing them, you will need to spend a lot more time up front planning, designing and testing your code. <S> This extra cost will typically be far more significant than the cost of squashing bugs as they appear, and it will slow down the speed at which you can deliver work.
| If you charge per hour , to say so, then it is the client that should pay it as it was part of the total time the project took. I personally would not stick my client for my error which I should have caught.
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Will it affect my career development if I have open-source projects that create a conflict of interest? Recently, while looking for jobs, I found an online advertising company which had a vacancy at a position I was interested in, and I applied for it. I also run a semi-popular open source project that focuses on blocking online advertising. Does the above situation create a conflict of interest, and can it affect my career development negatively? <Q> Well, I think the first question you have to ask is: does it create a conflict of interest within myself? <S> Why would I work for a company creating advertisements which I'm so dedicated on blocking? <S> A good answer would be (but I'm not sure if it applies to you): because I want to create 'good' ads which are relevant, non-obtrusive and not distracting the user. <S> In that case, you create value both for your new employer and for users of your open-source project. <S> Your experience with ads and ad-blockers can even be a unique selling point (compared to other candidates)! <S> It's certainly something you should bring up during the hiring process (maybe in your application letter, but at the latest during the first interview). <S> If your employers finds out later that you've been involved in writing an ad-blocker (even if you don't contribute actively anymore), that's a sure way to get fired. <A> I think you're totally right with the assumption there's a conflict of interest here, both ways. <S> These are generally considered an issue on a career path, "conflict" is never a positive word. <S> I think the fact you write this question shows you already know there's something wrong there. <S> I see several potential issues which might or not happen, but still: this could show in your job interview that you're mostly against advertising and make you not get the job if you get through and get offered a contract, this kind of activity may be banned from it your fellow open-source "colleagues" might not find it right neither if they ever find out (which may not be possible if you don't tell) your could hardly be really motivated in both at the same time, this will somehow reflect in the motivation you're showing or your performance. <S> In the company, this would most probably cause lack of progress in your career, if not dismissal. <S> I also see the personal ethics side that could be an issue. <S> But maybe this job is only for the money, and the open-source project for passion, and advertising being all about the money I personally would not care too much. <S> This is however my way of seeing things and others might have a real struggle dealing with that. <A> I was in a really similar situation (I did a PhD in online privacy, and then went to work at an ad company). <S> The ad company just appreciated me more for it, because it meant I had a lot of domain knowledge and didn't have to be brought up to speed on stuff. <S> (And anyway most people don't go into ads because they really believe in the product.) <S> The privacy people I worked with were probably pretty unhappy. <S> Of course, the ad company would probably not have been happy if I had continued to do privacy research while being employed by them. <A> I don't see the conflict. <S> Your interest is developing software. <S> You should be willing to develop any software that doesn't directly conflict with your outside interests. <S> If you have no particularly strong opinions about advertisements, then it's absolutely fine to work on an ad blocker at one time and for an advertisement company at another time. <S> Now it might have been that you hate advertisements. <S> In that case, you wouldn't have applied for that job, right? <S> If you are asked, you talk about all the interesting things you learned, all the technical challenges you mastered, and how you produced what your customers wanted.
| You should probably quit your open-source project if you take this job, otherwise you risk causing harm to your future company (and they could fire you).
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Manager got offended with my correction. How to deal with him? My reporting manager does the coding work too. Both of us coordinate and complete the task. While unit testing, I found that there is a typo in his code. It had to be table A instead of A1. I informed him the same, he corrected it. But, with his body language, I could sense that he was quite offended. And since that day, he has been throwing very sarcastic comments at me, albeit indirectly. Now, how should I deal with this? <Q> You're in the 1st phase of conflict escalation . <S> Escalation is charted in five phases, each having its own characteristics and triggers. <S> Stage One is part of normal, everyday life. <S> Even good relationships have moments of conflict. <S> These can only be resolved with great care and mutual empathy. <S> In this stage, people look for objective solutions a cooperative manner. <S> If a solution is not found, especially because one of the parties sticks obstinately to his or her point of view, the conflict escalates. <S> Make sure that you only talk about your impression . <S> Ask him how he feels about that. <A> I wouldn't bother trying to resolve this. <S> The whole point of unit tests is to find problems. <S> Unit tests are also completely impersonal and impartial. <S> It makes no sense to get mad at them, or to get mad at the messenger for reporting the findings. <S> If this is how your boss responds to a machine pointing out a simple mistake that is trivial to fix, I would expect a worse reaction to an actual person (and subordinate) pointing out a far more difficult thing to fix. <S> On the other hand, you didn't say exactly how you informed him of what the unit tests found. <S> If it was in a highly public fashion (at a standup meeting, for instance, or on an email to the whole team), it might have been embarrassing to him and that is why he is reacting the way he is. <S> It's still immature on his part, but perhaps that could be a lesson for you in the future: don't embarrass the boss. <A> I agree with the poster above. <S> It would be beneficial to bring a neutral 3rd party in to talk about it. <S> Explain your side and allow him to respond. <S> Reiterate that you weren't trying to make him look incompetent, you were just "proofreading" as you would with anyone else.
| You should talk to him "under 4 eyes" and tell him that you feel a difference in your relationship since that event. Your boss is immature, so your expectations of change should be low enough that it's not worth the trouble.
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How to explain forced resignation to new employer? I had worked at my previous employer for 13 years as a Staff Analyst/Developer. A new manager and I did not see eye to eye on many recent projects as she was a professional manager and non-technical. I was called into an office on Monday and told in a meeting with her, my VP and an HR rep that I was being terminated but that due to my long years of service I would be given the opportunity to resign. I felt punched in the stomach and did not know what more to say other than to agree to resign. I even found out later that my manager went around saying that I had resigned unexpectedly. While that scenario is unusual I am less concerned with the past and more concerned with how I get over it and move on with a new employer. What should I say during interviews as to why I 'resigned unexpectedly'? How do I explain when they call my previous employer that I am ineligible for rehire? This is in the US, specifically Colorado. <Q> I had something similar happen to me. <S> I explained at my next interview that the residing supervisor <S> and I did not see eye to eye and for the company's benefit, as well as mine, we decided it would be best that my talents were used in another capacity. <S> While it may not be an ideal answer, it should give you the opportunity to explain the situation without casting blame one way or another. <A> You could answer: your previous workplace did not give you the opportunity to develop your career and responsibilities in a way that you were happy with. <S> When being asked why, you can tell that your current skills were not something the company was interested to develop, since the management changed and reevaluated in which direction they want to develop the department/team. <S> The solution that you resign is actually a win for both: you, since you are not fired, and your old company because there is no risk that somebody asks why you were fired. <S> I actually think it is a good sign that your manager states that this was your wish, this is very professional. <A> What you need to do in the future is be honest. <S> That is basically what happens when someone offers you a chance to resign. <S> They are giving you a chance to mutually agree that you would probably be a better fit somewhere else. <S> The flip side is, if you don't see eye to eye with them, you will almost certainly be fired. <S> Use the gift (I use that term loosely) <S> they gave you as a way to get hired somewhere else. <S> If they just fired you, it would be much harder to get a job. <S> As dim as the bright side is here, they did do you a very small favour by allowing you to resign.
| Tell the next employer that your reason for leaving is that you and the new management did not see eye to eye on a technical level and it was mutually decided that you would resign.
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Mentioning unrelated degree to job positions Last year I graduated with BA in one of the humanities. However, I started programming in my second year as a hobby and supplement to my area of study. I am probably not a senior or mid level coder, but I am confident that I have a good entry level skill set. I want to know, should I mention my unrelated degree in my resume when applying? <Q> There is absolutely no problem listing your humanities degree on your CV/Resume . <S> I also have an humanities undergraduate degree, as well as a masters in historical research; yet my field of work is in software development. <S> I personally choose to have my educational achievements prominently displayed on my CV. <S> Consider it logically, even at the very least they show that you've been able to commit to a steady workload for a period of time and are capable of taking on the kind of pressures that you would expect from any kind of university degree. <S> Almost every employer in the field of development that I've interviewed with has asked me about my degrees, and why my career path has been so different. <S> I like to use this opportunity to show them that the underlying skill-sets in the field of humanities can be re-applied quite adequately to development. <S> This allows me to discuss things like, time management, careful assessment of facts, understanding the importance of briefs etc. <S> Obviously I have a robust history of practical development thanks to previous years within the industry. <S> That said, I think you should not undervalue your own achievements even if they are not related to the fields you apply to. <S> They form a part of who you are as an employable individual. <S> They can help demonstrate various traits that may be an ideal fit for the company you seek to work for. <A> Many jobs postings I have worked with mention the need to have a college degree. <S> Sometimes they want a specific degree, or use the phrase technical degree, or just a degree level (Bachelor, Masters...) <S> The more flexible the requirements are the more your BA in Humanities will be considered. <S> I would never suggest not including a college degree. <S> It does show you have a college education. <S> But if they want a specific degree and are making that a strict requirement, then it is not likely that your application will result in an interview. <S> So include it in the CV/Resume and put the degree information onto the application. <S> Having a degree in something is better then giving the impression that you don't have a degree. <A> The fact that the subject isn't directly related isn't a reason not to include it - many employers will take it as a positive, i.e. it indicates that you have the requisite intelligence, commitment and work ethic to complete a degree. <S> Obviously a more directly related degree is more of a positive to have on the resume but other than the outside chance that they might assume you are only applying to the job because you can't get one in your degree area (and you're using the rest of your resume and cover letter to demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm for coding presumably?) <S> I highly doubt it will be taken negatively. <A> You could mention it in a passions/hobbies section. <S> Just to indicate that you have an interest in programming. <S> Companies looking into hiring you could see this as a good sign, that you can learn things which interest you by yourself. <S> Especially in a world where programming is becoming more important, this could be a nice addition to your resume. <A> If your humanities degree is your only degree, methinks yes, because it spells out that you're smart enough to get a degree and didn't merely drop out. <S> If you eventually get a CS degree and apply for a new position in CS, then think of it as optional. <A> I have mentioned this on a number of questions about programming. <S> The best programmers that I have ever worked with had a music degree, a maths degree and no degree at all. <S> These were all better than the comp sci <S> graduates that I have worked with. <S> They all had the passion and attention to detail that made them excellent. <S> It is completely relevant. <S> p.s. <S> My qualification is an MA and BA in Electrical Science - a recipe for confusion if ever there was one!
| You really must include your degree on your CV. Just list it in your education section as normal - many people are in careers that aren't directly related to their degree subject so it shouldn't look odd.
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Request to meet with the CEO in a hotel before work Toward the end of the work day today, I received a meeting invitation via Outlook from my direct manager. I was in a meeting when I received the invitation, and he had already gone home by the time I got out. The meeting invitation is for a meeting with the CEO, tomorrow morning, before work, at a hotel a few miles from our place of work. The subject is "Meeting with [CEO's first name]" and no further details were provided. The CEO and myself are the only listed attendees. I've briefly met with our CEO in the past, since our company is a small government contractor. In more than a year that I've been with the company, I've never heard of anyone being asked to attend a meeting that wasn't either at our office or on-site with a customer. Our company has no relationship with the hotel that I know of. None of my coworkers appear to have received similar invitations. This seems unprofessional at best. Should I accept this meeting? How should I reply to this? Additional information: I do have my manager's phone number, but he has made it clear that he doesn't want to be contacted outside of work hours unless it's an emergency. I do not have the CEO's phone number. <Q> You'v e already answered your own question in comments. <S> If it "goes against your security training", then don't do it. <S> Your CEO would also know your security training and wouldn't make you break it. <S> (If it's some kind of test, then you definitely shouldn't attend) <S> This has several of the characteristics of a spoof email. <S> The use of only the first name, the unusual meeting place, the short notice, the lack of detail - all are red flags. <S> The use of first name only increases the chance that you will think the meeting is with someone you know. <S> The short notice is so you don't have time to check it out. <S> The meeting place outside the office is <S> so the spoofer doesn't have to clear your security. <S> And if course it's very easy to make an email look like it came from your boss. <S> It's not unknown for attackers to use emails like this to gain trust with employees, with a view to later extracting information from them. <S> A small government contractor would be a prime target. <S> The purpose is to make the employee think they are interacting with a legitimate colleague, when in fact they are interacting with an outsider. <S> Using a first name only is a good technique since everybody will assume that "Jim" means the Jim they know. <S> It may be luck or deliberate that they use the CEO's first name. <S> You should absolutely call your manager, and not attend if you can't reach him or <S> he doesn't OK it. <S> One possible scenario is that if you go to this meeting you will find a person you don't know who says "I'm [CEO's first name]. <S> You didn't think I was the CEO did you?". <S> They may claim to be doing a special project and need information from you. <S> You should of course give them no information until you have checked them out. <S> Ask to see their security badge, and take a photograph of them and it (if they haven't mysteriously forgotten to bring it). <S> The photograph is to give to the police if he doesn't check out. <A> Since the meeting came so late in the afternoon, and is due to commence a few hours before work tomorrow, if you don't feel comfortable for whatever reason the easiest way out is to apologise and simply say you can't make that time as you had other plans. <S> Let them know you'd be happy to reschedule at a time during work hours, or if they need you out of hours you will need more notice. <A> Call your manager for confirmation, since you are doubtful and worried it might be dangerous. <S> If the meeting is valid, you can further express your concern regarding the location of the meeting, and understand what is the meeting for. <S> If the meeting is important and they insist to having the meeting over there, you have to decide yourself: Go for the meeting and hope is just you overthinking. <A> Since you think the mail can be spoofed you should report this to the sender. <S> If it's not from him there is a security problem in your company (hacked account). <S> However make sure to check the mail address, maybe it is not managersname@yourcopmany.com <S> but managersname@your-company.com. <S> In this case you also should report this, so that your coworkers can be warned that this kind of spoofed mails are around and your IT-admin can block this domain on your mailserver. <S> Like @Joe stated, accept the meeting, maybe wait outside. <S> Since you know your CEO personally the only thing you can loose is time if he doesn't show up. <S> Hint: If you live in a dangerous country where strange thinks happen to people decline the meeting if it's not in an safe area.
| Better be safe than sorry, politely decline the meeting and perhaps ask for reschedule.
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How can I ask my manager if he is upset at me I work as an software engineering intern in my free time and summers at a small startup. Management has consistently asked me to continue, giving me several raises. However, for some time my direct manager has been acting coldly towards me. For example, when I left last summer, he ignored my email thanking him and asking him for feedback. He jokes and acts friendly towards other employees but is stone-faced when speaking with me. It is not inconceivable that I said something that offended him; my company often has passionate discussion during breaks where people vociferously defend their opinions. However, I would have expected him to say something to me if that was the case. Management is asking me about continuing and I am confused. On one hand, I am generally very happy working at this company, and have good relationships with my coworkers. On the other hand, I don't want to work for someone who is angry at me. I would like to ask my manager point-blank what's wrong, but I'm afraid that he may deny it or get very angry at me. I can easily find other work, but I don't want to burn bridges, and would like to stay with the company if possible. What would be the best way to talk to my manager? <Q> It is not inconceivable that I said something that offended him; my company often has passionate discussion during breaks where people vociferously defend their opinions. <S> You're non-specific as to what topics are being discussed <S> but I'd advise you to avoid discussing things like politics and religion at work. <S> If the discussion is more about sports or which software the company should be using then <S> you're fine as long as you're not throwing around actual insults. <S> However, I would have expected him to say something to me if that was the case. <S> You shouldn't expect that. <S> Many people, if you offend them, will simply avoid you as much as possible. <S> They don't want to have an argument about it, especially if they know they can't change your mind. <S> It's like having a bad meal or experience at a restaurant. <S> Most people don't actually complain, they just don't go back. <S> I'm afraid that he may deny it or get very angry at me. <S> It's possible your manager may deny it <S> but you can't force or trick him into being truthful. <S> But I don't think you have to worry about him becoming angry if he's been otherwise reasonable. <S> If you don't want to be point blank, you can ease into it by first asking if he'd want you back next summer. <S> Boss, management is asking if I'd like to continue with the company and I wanted to check in with you on my performance. <S> Do you want me to stay on the team? <S> Is there anything about my work or my performance in general that you'd like to see me change or improve? <S> If he explains what's wrong, great, if not you can press the issue once: <S> I wanted to be sure because lately I get the impression that you're upset with me. <S> Did I do something to upset you or am I reading this wrong? <S> At this point he may ask why you think he thinks he's angry, so be prepared to explain why. <S> But if he denies again instead of explaining then just drop it. <S> Don't turn it into an argument where you're trying to prove that his behavior changed. <S> You may have to decide whether staying with the company is worth having a manager that's cold toward you. <S> But if you decide to leave to pursue other opportunities, you won't be burning a bridge. <A> Since waiting for him to volunteer the information obviously isn't working, try the direct approach. <S> I've done this when there seemed to be some disconnect with my manager <S> and it's generally worked well for me (tech, US). <S> Start from the assumption that you've done something wrong, not that <S> he has misunderstood you, and that you want to correct the problem -- something like: <S> I might be completely misunderstanding, but I have the impression that you're unhappy with me <S> and I can't figure out what happened. <S> If I've done something wrong <S> I'd like to know so I can (a) fix it and (b) not do that again. <S> As an intern I've learned a lot <S> and I also know there's a lot more to learn. <S> Is there something I should be doing differently? <S> Notice that I specifically mentioned your internship. <S> That's <S> because internships aren't just for cheap labor; they're for learning the ropes in your industry . <S> So by asking it this way you're not just saying "hey what's wrong?" <S> but asking how you can improve . <S> It's possible you've done something to upset him <S> but he doesn't want to bring it up <S> (especially if, as an intern, you'll be gone soon anyway as far as he knows). <S> It's also possible that you're misreading him. <S> The only way to know is to ask. <A> That being said, if this is affecting your work experience it's fine to say something like <S> "I noticed that yesterday you were joking with Jane <S> but then when I walked into the room you stopped, which made me concerned. <S> I want to feel like I'm part of the team, so could you please give me some candid feedback about if I've done something to offend you?" <S> (This is using the nonviolent communication format for requests.) <A> I was in a similar position in a previous employment where the owner of the company was fairly cold to me. <S> He'd laugh and joke with others, but when he'd speak to me it was all matter of factly and stern. <S> I wouldn't say he didn't like me, but we were completely different people. <S> I didn't warm to him, he didn't warm to me, but we had a professional relationship and it worked. <S> Personally I don't feel like you have to be friends with every person you work with. <S> Sure it helps, but at the same time you can't force someone to be friendly towards you. <S> It can be disconcerting, but if your manager speaks to you professionally (as in not as a friend) then I wouldn't worry especially if the company want you to stay on. <S> If he was being mean, threatening, bullying you then you would obviously have a problem.
| Have a private meeting with him and ask directly but politely. I suspect that if your manager didn't like you, the company would not keep offering you a position (and especially would not be giving you raises).
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How to ask manager to reduce team size? I started working for a big, multinational company a few months ago, in an intermediate (i.e. not junior) position. A few months after I joined, another member was added to the team. The new member was hired in a similar capacity as me & does not bring any skills or expertise that the team does not have already. The new hire seemed unnecessary to me, because my team could easily manage the workload. I did not bring this up to my manager because I did not know if there would be any future business needs that would justify the hiring & because I was new. Despite this, should I have brought this up to my manager then ? After a few more months, our company announced planned layoffs to become efficient. From internal information, it is highly unlikely, but not guaranteed that me & my team members would be on the layoff list. Either way, I am not worried because I can comfortably look for a new job in a new company & get one "quickly" in case I end up in the list. But, for now, I would like to stay here because I am getting to learn new things. Now, my team's workload remains unchanged, but the individual workload has decreased significantly (say, from 40 hours per week to about 30 something). The individual workload could be improved if the team size was reduced by one team member, either by reassigning a team member to teams/projects that need people or by "downsizing". How do I bring this up to my manager ? <Q> The individual workload could be improved if the team size was reduced by one team member, either by reassigning a team member to teams/projects that need people or by "downsizing". <S> How do I bring this up to my manager ? <S> If you feel strongly about it, you can always volunteer to be let go. <S> You shouldn't suggest that others be laid off, that's not your responsibility, but you can choose to sacrifice yourself. <A> How do I bring this up to my manager? <S> Don't. <S> Do not bring up that the team is too big, because then you might get cut. <S> Instead, I would ask about how you can perform better at your job so that you can stand out. <S> Sure, the individual workload has decreased, but that means you have time now to review your work to ensure that it is flawless. <S> In addition, you mentioned you enjoyed learning new things at your job, so why not take advantage of the time and learn new things? <S> There's a chance that in a few months a major project will come up and you won't have as much time as you do now. <A> It isn't your job <S> Your manager's job is resource planning <S> and he/she has probably already begun that planning. <S> It is not your job. <S> In other words, that conversation will give the impression that you think your manager is dumber than you. <S> And, if your manager is left with that impression, there is a high chance of you being put on the "lay off" list, not the other person.
| You would likely offend your manager with your suggestion - especially if you bring up the fact that you don't believe the new person should have been hired in the first place.
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Should I queue up for the bus when not everyone else does? At my job there is one bus back to where I live, which is around 50 minutes drive away. I don't have a car, and getting this bus is the only way I can get back to where I am living without spending around £40 on a taxi. So every day I leave my job at 17:20 and walk to the bus stop. Apparently there is a queue here, but out of 60 or so people there only 20 are queueing. The others are just standing around at the stop. I just walk right to where the stop is, and I have been doing the same thing for the past year and a half no problem. But in the last two weeks there have been one or two too many people to get on the bus (which is obviously the company's fault), and an unconvincing queue has formed in order to democratize this. I carry on as always, and stand outside the bus stop to get the bus home. On the past three days, a man who works there is very insistent that I go to the back of the queue. He has no authority more than I do. I just ignore him because I don't think it's right that I should stay late to help people, then have to be last in a queue whilst selfish people who rush out early to help themselves get to the front of it. Over the past two days, he has loudly and publicly spoken with me, almost trying to shame me into doing what he is doing. I don't respect him or anyone who tries to control others. Today it has escalated somewhat, where he and some others were physically attempting to block me from accessing the bus, and another person in the crowd smearing chewing gum on my bag. I think this is totally unacceptable, and I will report it to the security where I work. I have to do this five days a week, and tomorrow I am unsure what to do. I could just queue up and let this bully boss me around. Or I am thinking to record the entire altercation on my phone for my own safety. This is at a UK software development company. I know it is very trivial, but I don't want to start queuing outside every day for 20 mintues just because a few new starters decided there would be a queue. But please, if you have any suggestions / think I should queue up and I'm totally wrong, or that I should stand my ground and get security involved. Good advice is appreciated. EDIT: Thanks for the advice everyone. If anyone wondrers how this went I just decided to make sure I am first in the queue by showing up very early. I walked up to the person who was trying to get me to queue yesterday and politely said "I'm sorry about my conduct, I made a mistake." - we shook hands and he said "no hard feelings". So I think the situation is resolved. Also there was no confusion whether a queue existed today with everyone standing single file and nobody cutting ahead. The bus / coach is paid by my employer and not public transport if that changes anything regarding that this is put on hold. <Q> In my experience, people who queue up for a bus have priority over those who don't. <S> You trade comfort (having to stand up next to a road or sign for X minutes) for privilege (the ability to get on the bus earlier). <S> In some cases, where there's plenty of room on the bus, it doesn't matter whether you queue up or not -- everyone gets on. <S> [H]e and some others were physically attempting to block me from accessing the bus, and another person in the crowd smearing chewing gum on my bag. <S> When multiple people are working against you, this is a good sign that you have violated some social norm, unspoken or not. <S> The fact that there is no official rule does not mean that no rule exists. <S> They may have overreacted, but that does not justify your breaking that norm in the future. <S> Unless you want to continue to be ostracized from the group (and perhaps sustain some injury!), you would be wise to conform to the tribal practices <S> : get there earlier and/or get in the queue. <A> "Other people break the rules!" is not a valid excuse for breaking the rules, unfair as it seems. <S> And get in there early, so you never have to worry about not fitting in the bus. <S> Oh, and you probably should report the incident, as well as make a request that the company do something about the fact that the bus does not have enough capacity for everyone. <A> You're jumping the queue but blaming other people who are upset that you're doing so. <S> Then you call the people standing in the queue narcissists. <S> Pot calling the kettle black springs to mind here. <S> In case I wasn't clear, wait your turn like everybody else.
| Just get in the queue.
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Is it rude not to stand up when a coworker enters your cubicle? I don't usually stand when someone enters my cubicle, but I've been wondering lately if I'm supposed to. I'm an intern so almost everyone who comes to see me is a supervisor in some way. Is it rude not to stand? Also, is it rude to offer someone a chair without standing first? <Q> , it's not rude. <S> Nor do I expect my co-workers to stand when I enter their area. <A> Is it rude not to stand? <S> Also, is it rude to offer someone a chair without standing first? <S> Similarly you can offer a chair without standing. <S> On the other hand, if the person entering is a customer (say, you are an automobile salesman), then you should stand. <S> Most work in the US is rather informal these days. <S> If you aren't sure, just notice what others around you do. <S> If you happen to work in one of the few companies that remains very formal and you see others standing whenever anyone enters their cubicle, then simply follow their lead. <A> Otherwise, it's generally OK to remain seated, and you don't need to shake hands. <S> The possible exception might be for members of senior management, if these are people you don't interact with frequently. <S> Gender roles have shifted over time, but it used to be the case that men stood up to shake hands, while women would remain seated (and gentleman would stand up when a lady entered or left a room). <S> I doubt there's any such distinction anymore in the American workplace. <S> I'm a programmer, so I have worked with introverts who don't even turn around in their chairs when you enter their cubes, so there's a wide spectrum of behavior, and every office has its culture.
| As someone who's worked in a rather small cubicle for the last 5 years, and a couple of years in a previous role, I have to say no The only exception may be if the co-worker needs to sit to type something on your computer, such as to install software or make some sort of configuration change or the like. In the US, in general, it's fine to remain seated when another employee enters your cubicle. If you're being introduced to someone for the first time -- a new colleague, a customer, etc., you generally stand up and shake their hand.
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How important is it to get software developing experience after graduating as an engineer? just finished my master in Software Engineering and got a very nice job offer from the company I’d worked at part-time during my studies. I took the job as it was a sure thing. The thing is, this company sells more software then it builds. I'm just about the only developer they have in my country. I was promised that I would be doing software development, but I've mostly done Powershell scripting.The perks are great pay, nice location, very nice lunch, extremely flexible hours (if I don't want to come into the office, I just put it in my calendar) and good health insurance. So, I guess my question is, how important is it to get developing experience as a young developer? Am I spoiled and throwing away a great job? I feel like I am missing out on working as part of a team, to talk about code, and general "real world" software development experience. My fear is that it will haunt me for the rest of my career that my first job was an IT Pro-ish job. <Q> How important is it to get developing experience as a young developer ? <S> This experience can be acquired at work but also at home. <S> You can learn and practice alone at home. <S> Find a fun project to code and do it. <S> What can I do for my work ? <S> You are in your first steps in a company, this is pretty normal to not jump directly in adding new features to their product. <S> Usually you will receive small tasks to learn the environment. <S> Possibility A - You still not receive any coding task <S> You may be stuck with PowerShell scripting. <S> In this case, you can go to your manager and discuss with him. <S> Tell him in which direction you would like to go. <S> Prepare yourself - He may ask you to still do PowerShell scripting. <S> If it is the case, ask yourself if you like working like this or if you want to quit. <S> Possibility B - You receive coding task Good for you ! <S> You like the work environment and now you also like the daily work. <S> Note <S> The experience you get while doing those scripts will never be lost/useless. <S> Every experience is good to have. <A> Don't rush to judge the job based on how it is when you are just starting out, it's not unusual for it to take a while before you get some "real" development work to get your teeth in to <S> and it's really not going to "haunt" the rest of your career. <S> Overall it sounds like it's a pretty good work environment (I'd have killed for my first post-university job to have been half as good as yours sounds, I scraped a living as a website salesman for a while and it didn't harm my development career any!) <S> and while I wouldn't call you spoiled I do think you are at risk of falling prey to a case of "the grass is always greener" so my advice would be to stop worrying about what you feel you're "missing out on" and instead focus on what you've got and the opportunities and experience this role can give you. <A> It is extremely beneficial to work on a development team where you can receive mentorship and learn good teamwork skills (working with others in a version control system, writing readable, reusable code, going through code reviews). <A> Am <S> I spoiled and throwing away a great job? <S> It sounds like you have great benefits and at least a decent office culture. <S> Your first gig out of college isn't lining up with your expectations, and that's okay. <S> You (ideally) aren't going to be there forever. <S> Were I in your shoes, I'd bring up these concerns with your immediate supervisor and base your next step on their response. <S> How important is it to get developing experience as a young developer? <S> In our industry, learning / getting experience is quite literally the most important thing you should be doing. <S> If you aren't constantly learning, you're falling behind. <S> That said, you can pretty easily find learning experiences anywhere now. <S> Find some open-source projects on GitHub that use a stack <S> you're familiar with, check out their open issues, and start making pull requests.
| The developing experience is very important for every developer either you are young or old. The job you have sounds nice, but it won't help you grow and improve as a developer and get a better development job in the future.
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How do I make an intern understand the importance of reporting issues? So, I have an intern/junior at work (the positions are rather fluid) who hardly reports back when issues come up. For example, they had a bunch of task where a script essentially halves the workload per task. One day I randomly chat with them to see that they aren't using the script but instead doing things by hand, introducing technical issues and significally slowing down their output. I asked "Why aren't you using the script?" and they said "Because it isn't working. I didn't want to report it to you because I thought you were busy and I didn't want to bother you." I said that it was just a quick fix for me and that it's always worth asking me when running into issues because they are usually quickly resolved and that they should never be afraid to ask - especially because not asking can cause even more problems. They still continued to just "work around" issues they ran into. I'm not the person responsible to quality check their work, in fact we currently have no one in place for that, so the only way I find out is when subsequent departments come to me to ask me why the task is done unusually or incorrectly. (I'm the unofficial go-to person for all problems my collegues run into, whether it's related to my tasks or not). Now my supervisor has tasked me with introducing them to what is essentially a quality-checking task. The whole point of the task is to report when you run into issues. On the one hand I hope that this could be the right practice to condition them to report things back correctly, on the other hand I fear that we will run into a lot of trouble if they again silently decide to just "fix" a problem themselves. I will point to the importance of reporting everything back when I brief them, but I'm not sure if it will be enough. Do you have any suggestions how to best convey the importance of this communication and how quality can be ensured if it's not my job to check their work but I have to fix their issues when their tasks are sent back from subsequent departments? Update: They approached me telling me that they are nervous of having a QA task, aware of their shortcomings. Which to me shows that they are willing to work on it and communication will improve. I ensured them I'm there for all questions and make sure that they'll learn it. So the solution in this case came by the intern taking the initiative - but thank you for your quick and helpful answers! <Q> There's a distinct possibility here that the intern/junior is trying to avoid being seen as the person that can't handle any issues on their own and needs babysitting through everything and that they have simply gone too far. <S> It's a difficult line to walk when you are new and inexperienced and them not quite getting that right needn't reflect on their overall quality. <S> What I would suggest you need to do is ensure that they feel safe to bring any issues to you and that if they can't resolve an issue themselves within a reasonable timeframe (obviously this isn't a fixed number and will vary depending on the task) that it's absolutely the right thing to do to come to you and ask for assistance. <S> Explain that yes you are busy and that sometimes you won't have a lot of time to spend helping them but that shouldn't prevent them asking and that even if you have to say you can't help right now you'd prefer them to raise the issue and ask so you are aware of it. <A> When people I mentor start to hide problems and come up with creative workarounds rather than asking for help, I know that I haven't done enough to make them feel safe to make mistakes and ask for help. <S> To bring them around, I check in more often, ask about their accomplishments, and work alongside them on a portion of the task. <S> If necessary, I will spend the day at their desk working on their project. <S> Yes, it does mean evening work for me, sometimes. <S> If they mess up, I explain that it's my fault for not being clear and rehash the task (even if it's the 5th time) <S> - it's not their job to know what I don't tell them. <S> It is my job to make sure they understand the task, how to do it right, and how it fits into the project. <S> I also reinforce why I want things done this way. <S> If they continue to deviate from process, I try to uncover why they think their way is better. <S> I also ask them to suggest process improvements and ideas for new processes. <S> A fresh perspective is invaluable! <S> Basically, I try to make them feel that their job is as important as mine and that when they do it well, they help me immensely. <A> Someone will probably write a better and more complete answer but here is a start. <S> I will go for something along setting who is responsible of <S> what . <S> You can't know if you have to report something or fix it yourself if you don't know what you're responsible for. <S> You are the one responsible to deliver that script that is supposed to do the job it was written for. <S> If that script doesn't work it is your responsability to fix it, and unless they got approval from someone, that is probably not them, that have the authority to say "work around it", they're not permitted to do so. <S> In an organisation, with QA, it is important that everyone keep to their role and don't start to walk on others without even telling them. <A> I suggest a daily e-mail status report. <S> When appropriate, thank them for bringing an issue to your attention. <S> That will reassure them that reporting issues is the right thing to do. <S> If they have to e-mail you anyway, they may not feel inhibited by not wanting to bother you.
| I stress that their task, while small, is important and that it is their responsibility to do it right, even if they have to ask me for help every step of the way. You can give them a skeleton that has headings for things like problems encountered, and when you were notified of the problem.
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How do I express meeting time to international recipients? I occasionally coordinate virtual meetings across multiple timezones. Due to differences in recipients' email clients and resources (e.g. time to calculate or double-check timezone differences), I include the time in all relevant timezones in the body of the email. Previously I would express times like this: Can we meet at 07h00 EDT (11h00 UTC, 12h00 BST, 18h00 JST)? ...but it turns out many people don't know or recognise the obscure abbreviation for their own time zone so they'd email back to confirm. And on reflection it is difficult to read, and comes across as centric to my own timezone (which is inappropriate for a virtual meeting). I was thinking of the following instead: Can we meet at 11h00 UTC (7am New York, 12pm London, 6pm Tokyo)? This maintains an unambiguous universal expression, and more readable local times. Tackling this made me wonder, are there any formal ways or de facto standards for expressing a coordinated meeting time across multiple timezones? (For human readers who don't want to calculate or look things up.) <Q> I frequently schedule international gaming events with teams from Europe (and, in the past, the Middle East). <S> The only way I found that works is to Display the time in all participating timezones <S> Have each representative confirm their time <S> Do that in a way that takes care of Daylight Savings or other unpredictable timezone changes <S> The tool I use is time.is , particularly the compare function . <S> For example, to set a meeting with London and New York for later today : Things I've learned to look out for: <S> Not everyone can read timezone codes Having read timezone codes, not everyone can reliably convert to their own timezone <S> Timezones <S> do not follow logic <A> My take: <S> At least for an internal meeting, use the timezone which applies for most people as the "primary" time. <S> For example, if you've got a meeting with 5 people in the UK, you in the US and one person in Japan, list the UK time first, but then add times for the other participants and probably UTC as well. <S> For meetings with external people, you may want to use their timezone as the primary time and expect your internal people to handle it. <S> I'd be perfectly happy with a three letter timezone code, but maybe that's because I'm a programmer. <S> I think it's both <S> a formal and de facto standard... <S> but if it's not working for the sort of people you work with, then you definitely should use something else - and your suggestion of listing cities seems sensible to me. <A> Can we meet at 11h00 UTC (7am New York, 12pm London, 6pm Tokyo)? <S> I have been doing this as well for about a decade. <S> Nobody has complained about it so far. <S> Don't overthink this. <S> Just use the city name. <S> Don't go looking for universally agreed human readable timezone representations. <S> Clarity is more important than correctness. <S> For convenience, you could use a desktop app that quickly shows the time in multiple timezones. <S> This also takes care of DST updates. <S> The default calendar app (on Windows and Linux) is adequate. <S> If you have some attendees who permanently work from home in a city where your company does not have an office, you could include their city as well, but this is purely for courtesy, and not obligatory. <A> I usually just send it with my own timezome abbreviation. <S> The first time you do this people might ask you what it is, but after that they should be able to figure it out. <S> So something like: <S> Can we meet at 07h00ADT? <S> It can be confusing when you send out multiple time zones because then people have to look for their own. <S> If you only send one, then they should know that they have to convert it. <S> You could even write it all out the first couple of times like this: <S> Can we meet at 07h00ADT <S> (Atlantic Daylight Time)? <S> After seeing that a couple of times, they should be able to figure it out on their own. <A> Use the internet to select mutually acceptable times for different time zones <S> Online Meeting Planner <S> And then send a link when you've selected a time Meeting link for various cities Which gives you: London (United Kingdom - England) <S> Wednesday, 16 August 2017, 11:00:00 BST UTC+1 hour Geneva (Switzerland - Geneva) <S> Wednesday, 16 August 2017, 12:00:00 CEST <S> UTC+2 hours <S> Milwaukee (USA - Wisconsin) <S> Wednesday, 16 August 2017, 05:00:00 CDT UTC-5 hours Corresponding UTC (GMT) <S> Wednesday, 16 August 2017, 10:00:00 And work from there. <S> There's various websites around for this kind of thing.
| Or if everyone is using Outlook, just create a meeting - all recipients will see the time/date in their own time-zone.
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How to "let go" issues, blocking my mind? This is a problem I'm facing already during the entire course of my career (I'm 45 years old now): regularly I get stuck with something. I look at the problem and I can't find a solution. As I don't find a solution I ask for a collegue to help me out, and at the moment that my collegue arrives at my desk, I see the solution. It all comes down to the ability to take a step behind and let go of the problem, but I have the impression that I'm bound to my problems like with an elastic band: I try to take a step behind but my mind keeps on getting the focus on it. When I give up and I decide to ask a collegue, my mind gets at ease, the elastic band gets broken and I see the solution. Let me give you a typical example: I had compiled a program but it did not start up. This was due to the fact that I had compiled as a 32-bit program while the program was 64-bit.So, I re-compiled as 64-bit and copied the result again to the right directory (in a command prompt, using the "Arrow-up" key, but it was copying again from that 32-bit directory): so silly are my mistakes, and only after having asked a collegue I realised the issue. Does anybody knows any tricks for easing my mind so that I can "let go" of my problems and see those easy solutions myself? <Q> If anyone had a problem that they couldn't figure out (much like your ones), they'd go an describe the problem to the bear. <S> Doing so sometimes highlighted something missed, or another solution came to mind. <S> You don't have to use an actual soft toy, just talk it through in your head as though you're explaining to someone else. <S> Back at the start of my career, I used to annoy the team leader a lot by asking for help on things, only to supply the answer as part of my explanation. <S> I find that sleeping on things help too. <A> You end up discovering the solution yourself simply by talking to someone (or something) about it. <S> From your example I'd guess you're a developer or engineer of some sort? <S> It can happen a lot in our field. <S> Unless it's the same problem repeatedly getting missed, nobody should think less of you for doing it. <S> (Dan's comment beat me to posting!) <S> If I'm dwelling on a problem too much, I find if you have opportunities to leave your desk for short spells, maybe to stretch your legs or go grab a coffee, they can help. <S> I don't get a fix from coffee, but having my mind on another task and being away from my desk helps significantly. <S> This can also lessen your stress over the problem and thus allow you see the solution easier next time around. <S> You'll be looking at the problem with fresher eyes. <A> I have this problem in spades. <S> What all the advice you are being given comes down to is: <S> Remove yourself from the situation, and regroup. <S> The rubber duck thing works, the plush toy thing works. <S> For me, I get up and get a cup of coffee, or just go for a walk, or talk to someone not in my department. <S> That is the reason that all of these solutions work. <S> You need to remove yourself from the mindset that has you blocked. <S> Try one or more of these suggestions and see what works for you.
| The important thing is to step away from the problem for a few seconds so that you get out of the mode of trying to fix it. Talk to the Bear A previous project manager of mine told me that in one of his previous jobs, there was a teddy bear in the office. I've heard it described as the 'rubber duck' way of problem solving.
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In a job interview, should I mention the fact that I didn't start a job after I accepted the offer and set a date? I have an upcoming interview for a job that is very interesting to me. The job is in another country. The problem is that the last year I found another job in this country, accepted the offer, got a visa, set a date and in the last moment I didn't go, because I got some family health issues at home and it cought me completely off guard. So at the moment I decided not to go. I have regretted this decision ever since everything at home came back to normal, but what's done is done. My question is: should I mention this fact during the interview? I guess that there is a posibility that this fact can come up during my next visa application process (if there will be one). Should I be honest or should I just not mention the fact and tell them another reason for leaving my job a year ago? <Q> The question you might want to ask yourself is why would you want to mention it ? <S> Do you think it would benefit you in any way ? <S> I don't really see why you would want to tell this during an interview. <S> Don't get me wrong, if they choose you and you start the whole visa application process, this would be the kind of technical information you would mention, as its bound to surface at some point in time. <S> However during the actual job interview why talk about something that is just going to raise questions from the employer and not help in any way? <S> Mention it as late as possible. <A> If the job is in another country, the interviewer might ask you anyway, 'How prepared / willing are you to relocate to our country?' <S> This is where you could mention that you had already committed to do this on a previous occasion, but a family emergency prevented you from following through. <S> It would reinforce that the move is not an issue for you personally and put their mind at ease. <S> It may depend on the country, but it might be worthwhile mentioning anyway in case there are indeed complications in the visa application (or reapplication) process. <S> Transparency on your part will go down well when the interviewer is considering you. <S> I cannot think of a major reason why this information should be withheld. <A> I wouldn't answer that question unless it's asked directly by the interviewer. <S> Job competition nowadays is of course very competitive and as such interviewers will tend to put more emphasis on ironing out irregularities in your cv (No matter which country you are applying to work in). <S> Bottom Line <S> Good luck in your interview.
| If it comes up in conversation by all means be prepared to back it up with a reasonable explanation (which you have already provided). The fact that you were able to secure a visa without issue before may put them at ease as well.
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