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Is it ok to ask your employer for English lessons? I have recently moved to an English speaking country and started working at a software company some months ago.We are at that time of the year (apparently, since it's my first time) where we provide a few objectives to achieve for the next year, some of these objective...	Without any other information then what's in this question I'm guessing this is fine, assuming that the company that hired you knew about your level of English proficiency, which makes this a good self-improvement effort. yes since no one would knowingly hire someone who can't speak the language.
Should I ask for an introduction after I applied? I applied to a startup job on Monday and realized today that the hiring manager is connected via LinkedIn to one of my mentors. I haven’t heard back yet so should I ask my mentor for an introduction? How should I ask my mentor? <Q> I haven’t heard back yet <S> so shoul...	Before considering asking your mentor for such thing, first ask him/her if they are still in touch, to see if this idea is viable.
How to survive as a junior developer in workplace that does not tolerate mistakes? My friend is a junior at a workplace that requires staff to take 100% responsibility for their work. In practice this means no code reviews. Any errors, mistakes or inefficiencies are to be identified yourself. While staff are encourag...	Ask for help earlier, don't wait for the end of the project . As other junior devs are most likely in a similar position (still learning, prone to do mistakes), helping each other is a good way to go. Take a break or switch to other task before reviewing it . It is your responsibility to make sure that code does what i...
Is it okay to give promotion to a senior employee over a person who worked better than everybody else? At the start of the year, I had a discussion with my manager about getting promoted and she gave me a checklist to complete. She promised that if I complete them I will get promoted for sure! Now one quarter to go, ...	I wouldn't make a fuss about it beyond briefly mentioning to your manager and seeing what she says (probably she will say "I don't remember that happening" or something like that).
Is it reasonable to send warning over a phone going off I work as a software developer in an IT service company. Our office has about 50 people. Usually we have our phones on silent mode. Once in a while (approx 1-2 times a month) a phone goes off, since the employee has forgotten to put it on silent mode. Even the amo...	Having your personal phone with you at your desk is (generally) not something you need to do you job nor is an basic employment right like breaktimes etc.
ADHD and desk location are affecting my work/family life, how do I ask to move desks? I just started with my job a month ago. I sit next to my supervisor which makes me very self conscious and triggers my anxiety even though I know I am not doing anything wrong. Also, it's a high traffic area because the trainer also s...	I would recommend approaching your supervisor again, and being up front about the reasons you want to move. Simply stating that the trainer's through traffic is distracting you too much might be enough, too. Unless there are more issues caused by your ADHD and anxiety or they won't accommodate you, you don't have to te...
Incorrect scrum meeting format not allowing for enough participation from developers I recently starting working on a project team for a company that is transitioning to Agile methodologies, and that means daily scrum meetings. The scrum masters, however, tend to hold their meeting format by going over task names and a...	I will talk first to the scrum master in private, to know why the meetings are this way, and then see how can you help (if its possible) without saying that he/she is doing it wrong, maybe you can tell him/her about how you experience the benefits of following the normal format of the meetings in other companies/projec...
I snapped on my boss, when and how should I apologize? I recently snapped on my boss. He's the CEO of a small company. I regularly have scheduled meetings with another boss where you talk about work life, complaints, suggestions, etc. In the last year or so we've been having growing pains. The CEO has general disrega...	I know that this site is dedicated to working through office issues, but with the loaded language in your question: You need to find another job. Apologize for your tone but give him honest feedback. If you handle this swiftly and don't leave it hanging there is a higher chance you can get out of this as smoothly as po...
Is it appropriate for recruiter to ask me to notify him/her if I have another offer? I am currently looking for a job and after almost every interview I get a question If I am invloved in other recruitment processes and then I get a request of notifying the recruiter in case of positive result. I always respond 'of cou...	The only reason to tell them about an offer is if you want to have your application for their opening move along faster. It is also not inappropriate for you to keep this information to yourself should you choose. You don't have to reach out to them.
Ethics when former colleague applies for position So I recently changed my job, and have been given a req for a new hire reporting to me. I may be able to announce the position on Linked In. For ethical reasons, I will NOT be approaching anyone at my former company about this, but what if someone from that company ap...	It makes sense (ethically and professionally) not to solicit workers from your former company. It's actually more of an ethical issue if you bring in candidates for an interview because that means you will probably favour them over other candidates that came in on their own or by other means.
Team managers hindering Scrum transition due to reluctance about developer autonomy My team has been trying to transition to Scrum for some time now, but it seems like the preexisting culture is preventing the team from switching to a new mindset or even causing it to move in the opposite direction. For reference, the...	The Project Manager is absolutely not supposed to be the scrum leader. Look into Agile in general, and try to introduce some of the concepts to your team. In my experience there is nothing you can do really.
Do people actually list the name of the school (within a university) on their resume? I came across this blog post about the Harvard Extension School which says Every student and alumnus at Harvard identifies with the school he or she is affiliated with. And, like it or not, “Harvard University” is synonymous with ...	You are free to list the university name on your resume and leave any other sub-category off. Listing the College of Computing may add more creditability when applying to software engineering roles.
Appropriate condolences for boss at work I'm enquiring about sending a condolence card or note to my boss, whose parent passed away. They are quite a private person, and I'm not sure they'd appreciate having such a personal card passed around our team for all the staff to sign. I'm thinking it might be better to have...	You know your boss isn't open to a group outpour of emotion, so don't offer a "Team" condolence. It's perfectly appropriate for all to sign the card, it's good for everyone to feel involved and show their appreciation and support in this manner. Cards expressing condolences, congratulations and best wishes for various ...
How does changing an employee from salary to hourly benefit an employer? I am what the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) considers a "learned professional" and I meet all 3 of the requirements for being exempt (annual salary). For those who don't know, the FLSA sets the rules and regulation for pay and overtime. So bei...	Since they have switched you to hourly, you are no longer exempt. In the past, companies have designated employees as exempt in order to avoid paying overtime.
Should I provide my boss a list of all the passwords I know I'm a senior developer (relative to this company, by years, and knowledge of how the company runs and knowledge of systems, passwords, networks etc.) in a small business of 8 people including the Managing Director/our boss. I've been at the company for almost ...	There's no need to share the password itself, as mentioned before. The answer to the second one is you don't have to, just write them down somewhere
Company claiming "place of work" legally has to be the company's registered address for contract purposes The company I work for has been acquired by another company - both are very small in size, with no more than ten employees total. It's at the point where we've all been asked to sign new contracts, but I'm reluctan...	You're 100% correct - registered address for a Limited company in no way has to be your usual place of work. As others said, this is either stupidity or intended to trick you.
Work Desk is too Close to the Toilets This question is on behalf of a colleague, Alice. Alice's desk is situated right next to one of the toilets and, as you can imagine, it often gets pretty smelly where she works. This has been made worse by the fact that the other toilet upstairs has been blocked for a couple of da...	Suggestion should be made to management that the building owners be apprised that their toilets are emitting an unpleasant odour. They should be in a hallway or behind double doors.
What is the most effective strategy of addressing a drug-related arrest during my job hunt? I'm a second year Accounting & Finance student at a university which ranks in the top 10 universities in the UK. Last year (age 18) I was arrested and given a conditional caution for possession of a class A (MDMA). It's my und...	All you can do is admit to what happened and don't make excuses - use this as a way of demonstrating how you're going to behave
I'm bored at my new work but don't want to bother my lead every hour, what to do? I am a software developer, my skillset, experience and my previous employer's trust and so on would qualify me as mid to senior-level. At the previous company I was kinda "head of" backend department and I was often tasked with leading p...	I suggest you talk to your boss about doing a passion project.
How to avoid being branded negative for bringing up risks and problems I work in a unit where communication between different people and teams isn't functioning well. That is a problem in itself. But since, after trying for months, I came to the conclusion I can't change the culture in the unit, I wouldn't like to focu...	If you're perceived as the person who only ever says matter of fact, negative stuff about projects or decisions, then you're going to be perceived as a bit of a negative kill-joy (rightly or wrongly.) I use a matter-of-fact tone and factual information when pointing to risks and negative consequences. And you shouldn't...
How to solve this shared resources problem at my workplace? We have some shared resources at my workplace, namely: the dishwasher the coffee machine the kitchen sink and we have a policy on how to use them: Dishwasher If you have some dishes which need washing put them in the dishwasher If the dishwasher is w...	Designate one person each week of take care of the dishwasher, coffee machine, and sink.
Blogging about techniques researched during working hours I am a programmer for an mobile app development company, specifically for the server side. I am wondering whether it is bad to write a blog about techniques learned during working hours. I am not talking about ground breaking stuff here, I did a little project ...	You may or may not be allowed to share code from your company. You are always allowed to share your own thoughts, your own comments, and your own code.
Organization and efficiency of team meetings and 1-to-1 We are a small (5 people) team of geographically dispersed employees in a big international corporation. Up until now, our manager decided not to have 1-to-1 meetings with any of us, but a single weekly 2-hour meeting in which we would all in turn tell about our a...	Setting clear rules for these meetings (e.g. "present a short summary of your important tasks, without going into details, plus discuss the road blockers and help needed from other people") could help too. A problem with team meetings is that many people misuse them to brag and discuss topics just with the manager, top...
Is it commonplace that the project manager and the line manager are the same person? In my division (of a very large company) it seems common that someone's line manager is also one's project manager. Not always but often. This seems counterintuitive to me as if I have an issue with my project manager, then I report it...	Whether or not it is commonplace is more likely to be a function of how the company works and the scale of projects that contributors might work on.
As an early-career software developer, how important is first employer "brand recognition" to my resume? I am a Computer Science Master's student in the US, and I am in the good position of having choices of jobs to take after graduation. On the one hand, I have interviewed with a few local companies. I think any of t...	There are numerous more important things you should pay attention to, like salary, location, management quality, interest in job description, interest in technologies... Personally, I don't care who you worked for -
Where can I get affordable, good-quality career counseling (career advice, career coaching)? I've been looking for a new job for about 6 months now. I've sent more than 100 applications. I've participated in more than 15 interview processes. In several cases, I got to the fourth or fifth stage but was always rejected. ...	Call up a old coworker from your last company and open communications with them.
How to handle confusing communicator? For context: I work in a retail environment as a merchandiser with someone who is not so much a supervisor as a counterpart who works in buying. She purchases, I merchandise. We both have different supervisors. We recently began this working relationship, but I've worked with her b...	Present the discussion as a way to find a method of communication that everyone agrees on. The only thing you can do in this situation, is to have everything that can touch her in any way on the record.
Will switching out of IT hurt my chances of getting into IT later? I've been in my company's IT department (the company is in transportation, US based) as a software developer for three years now, but my manager approached me recently about a job opening on the business side which deals with customers more, but require...	If you haven't done anything relevant in the last 2-3 years you can expect a difficult time getting back in.
Professional relationship with close friend, who may be acting illegally It is not my main job, but as way to increase my knowledge in a different field, when I was asked by a close friend to assist him in his business of selling consumers products (he promised me some money under the table as well, but for me the impo...	If you know or suspect that your friend is acting illegally, the first thing I would do is make it very clear to them that you are terminating this working relationship immediately and that you will not be providing any further assistance in this area.
How to professionally and politely turn a one-way conversation into a two-way conversation? When working in organisations with a very indoctrinated culture of bureaucracy (e.g. large organisations or government departments), it is not often to encounter people who are unable to think or respond outside a very limited r...	Never directly speak with an individual about this, because you may accidentally upset the person, which could make them be MORE intimidated about answering future questions (if that's the problem), or they could accuse you of bullying. You can seek help in asking the question:
What to tell the senior staff about dietary restrictions of my team, for a welcome party? I manage a team in which some people have dietary restrictions, religious and cultural. These people are new to my team. I am located in France. Senior management is planning a party for the newcomers, including the people who wo...	If it's possible or likely that there are specifics you aren't aware of, then having the organizers solicit dietary restrictions directly from attendees would be best. In any European country I have ever been, providing food alternatives is no problem at all.
How do I approach my new boss in my new job about major changes in my working environment? I have very recently started a new job as a Software Engineer. Hardware consists of a pretty good windows 10 notebook (i7, 1TB SSD, 32RAM, 3 x 24" screen) in a "dev network" independent from the regular company network. In order...	In other words, don't simply complain , but constructively offer some options for a fix.
My agile team was enhancing an existing feature and found serious bugs in the original code. Is it our responsibility to fix them? We estimated the effort to accomplish our software enhancement on the basis of the original feature working as designed. When testing we found it had significant defects and did not work as...	It may make sense for your team to fix and test rather than wait for another team to fix existing bugs. Nothing as part of the team you can do, or should, i guessThere is no such things as extra work :)
Telling your boss you're leaving due to loss of faith in the company I work for a small team. There are only 26 total employees. In the past year I'd taken on major management responsibilities and put in a huge amount of overtime.This gave me the impression that it was a good time to ask for a raise. However when I wen...	You don't want to leave unnecessary hard feelings in your wake. Some places offer or require an exit interview. If you feel you must include a reason, say something like having more potential for growth at the new company or something.
How to handle a customer who has my personal number I have a customer who somehow got my personal number instead of my work phone line. Since this individual has my number they believe that the office hours no longer apply to them. This person has been contacting me late (after 8pm) expecting me to pickup the phone, an...	Blocking the number should be an absolute last resort and you shouldn't do it without having a discussion with the customer and your immediate supervisor.
What is an acceptable way for an American to apologize to a Korean coworker after critizing them in front of other coworkers? Imagine you work in a United States office where some employees are from the USA and others from Korea. What is an acceptable way for an American employee to apologize to a Korean employee when ...	Going forward, if you need to critique or otherwise need to give negative feedback to this colleague, I suggest a private conversation .
How to stop overthinking emails and messages I discover that a big chunk of my time goes to composing a small number of emails or direct messages. I always overthink the message and try to balance it not to feel too bossy and cold, and also not too lenient or chatty. It can take me 20-40 minutes to write up a small ...	I have this issue, a strategy that works for me is: I type everything up quickly. Then go through it deleting or editing anything that is unimportant or overly verbose. If you are nervous about starting an email chain then it would probably be best if you speak to the people you are sending it to to explain what you wa...
Should I highlight mistakes in an email I work in France for a multinational company, in a worldwide department. A new hire joined the team, so an announcement has been issued (pdf, to print and display in our offices around the world), and our assistant has sent an email to everyone, saying: 'Please find jointly a...	Your time is probably better spent at doing your work than fuzzing about whether to interrupt someone's day or not, notifying of such a harmless error. I would just leave it alone. It is generally understood that you give a fair amount of "Slack" (tolerance) to grammar and spelling issues when someone is working outsid...
If a job application has a fixed expected salary field (not a range) and the company offers that exact salary, can I still negotiate the salary? I received an offer from a company recently. The application had an expected salary field (it was required). I knew the range I was expecting, but the field didn't allow a ran...	It won't come off nicely for sure if you want to push for more after they already provided what you wanted.
Personal assistant; directors and boss keep interrupting my work to ask me to make them tea/coffee I'm a personal assistant and have been at this company for over a year now. It really bugs me when directors interrupt me while I’m working and ask me to get them tea or coffee. I really don’t mind doing the drink round ...	You can express your desire not to get tea and coffee if that is your preference.
coworkers unwilling to do code reviews At work I've been temporary lent to another team this quarter because they have too much work on their plate. I'm here to work on subject X for this team, that is kinda stand-alone but would benefit the team overall and was required by them. The way we work with code in my compan...	It is time to take this to management, if you have one, and indicate the team is blocking your work because they refuse to do code reviews, detail your efforts to get this done and ask for help to push this along. Explain the benefit of what you're trying to convince them to do.
Dealing with Boss's Son irregular work I have a issue within the small company (under 10 employees) I work for and need some advice. I have been employed with the company 10 years. During this time I have seen the boss's son come and go many times due to disagreements, arguments, or him simply taking 1-2 weeks off at ...	Start looking for another job. So while job searching is on the cards in general, I wouldn't do it out of pique just because the boss's son returned.
Email etiquette - when to reply/threads and cc'd chains I emailed Joe in a different department for help/lots of questions on a new project. Basically "do you have info on this or do you know someone who does"? Joe responded saying "I'm sure Liz can help you, she knows all about this. I've cc'd her on this email" How ...	Instead I'd reply to Joe only, tell him thanks. I found people just ignore chain emails when more people are cc'd as the conversation grows.
Asking about job location I am soon to be college grad this May. I have received a very good job offer from a very respected company as a part of a rotational program. The only problem I have is that the offer is for the one location (out of 6 that they are hiring for) that I did not want. I was wondering if it is un...	But If you truly don't want to work at that location, and the other terms of the offer don't change your mind. It is in their interests to have you happy, so I see no reason not to tell them.
Been in the same company for 5 years but in that time it changed its name 3 times - how to display this on my CV? I work as a UX Designer (Senior Level) in a company I joined 5 years ago. It just got renamed 3 times (!). Currently, I am updating my CV and am asking myself how to display the name changes. I don't real...	I think the best approach for this would be to write the current name of the company for the whole time you have been employed and include the former names in parenthesis. If the renaming is the result of a merger with another company that was founded recently, then I personally would list it as something like "XXX in ...
My manager wants me to extend my working hours I have recently joined an organization. Like every other organization, we also have nine working hours a day. But ever since I have joined, my manager wants me to stay late and work extra hours in office. I don't see any reason to do so as my project has not yet started. ...	Let him know that it is not possible for you to stay late hours every day unless it's urgent because it takes a long time to travel.
Talking to employer about low performance due to new baby and lack of sleep I'm a senior software developer at my company. My boss has always been really happy with my work and we've got on really well. I've always got good performance reviews and been confident in my abilities. 5 months ago I had a baby girl and I to...	I don't see anything in your post indicating your boss thinks you are doing a bad job or has expressed concerns about your performance. If nobody else says "your performance is bad", then you should definitely not start bringing it up. Or they are aware that you have a young baby who needs your attention, and they are ...
Is it unprofessional to resign from a contracting company without notice? I work for a contracting company in a contract-to-hire position where I have almost no contact with the contracting company- I send them time cards, and they send me checks. Today I was offered a position at the client company which I accepted, ...	As far as being unprofessional, no... that is what a contract-to-hire position is there for. And if you need to cut it short, a notice period is normally expected - two weeks is traditional in my locale.
Do tech companies care about GPA from PhD applicants? I was just curious to see if anyone knows if big tech companies (e.g., google, apple, facebook, etc..) care about the GPA you got as a PhD student? I heard they care for Bachelor's degrees. Not sure about master's, but I imagine they'd care. <Q> It's one data poin...	If your GPA is high enough, typically you get an honorific attached to your diploma. Most interviewers are interested in your achievements: Not what you have done, but what the result and impact of your work was.
Is it ok to tell the interviewer you're physically uncomfortable? I know this sounds strange and it's related to an interview that went bad a long time ago . After the interview I received feedback that I never had before, nothing to do with technical skill but the interview was cut short as the interviewer found I wa...	You should let the interviewer know you are having some existing "pain/sprain" in the uncomfortable part and that they should excuse you if you move a bit in the meeting to adjust your seating. Apologise if you get drowsy, and try to do your best not to let it show.
I like my job, but dislike the type of clients and work we choose. How do I change this? I took a job at the beginning of this year at a digital agency. As the title says, I generally enjoy everything about the job, except for the type of clients we work with... The longer-standing clients we work with have business mo...	When you start looking at potential new employers, make sure you dig in enough to understand how they choose their clients.
Should I present my improvement suggestion during usual meetings or during special one? My current company is young and lacks very much structure. I would like to discuss with my line manager, who is the CTO, some possible improvements. Should I write an email and request an extra meeting excluding the usual one we h...	If you think discussion of your idea will be a quick exchange within the typical time limits for contributions during your meetings, you can do it during the meeting.
Rejected job offer after salary negotiation but HR reached out again with another offer I am looking for a job change and I have been contacted by an employer. I had several rounds of interviews, I was offered a job and we began salary negotiations. The offered salary did not suit me - I had clearly indicated one figu...	This is probably a situation where they needed additional approvals in order to offer you the salary you desired.
How can I plan a Christmas party when there seems to be no suitable date? So I've been asked to plan a Christmas party for my department (roughly 40 people). I have three requirements: The party has to be before December 25th. The main boss has to be available on the date I choose. It has to be on a weekend. ...	There are many ways in which you can vary or relax the requirements, but before you do that, you need to talk to the people who will be attending .
Can Company A be upset at an external job offer in the same field? Some company (company B) found me on LinkedIn and sent me a job position and asked if I wanted to apply or if I knew of someone who did. I looked into it, got the interview and an hour later got a call with the offer. I informed my boss and my two super...	Any potential legal recourse against you depends on the contract you signed with them, your local laws, and how much Company A actually cares. Yes of course Company A can get upset. Most decent employers understand that employees come and go over time, and that it's unlikely that an employee will work for them their en...
Working in a non IT firm as a developer I started working at a place just a couple of days ago, I was working as a freelance web developer but applied and got selected for the job. The firm is not an IT /development firm but required developers for their website. The website is core to the working of the firm as it gen...	If this is a job that you want to develop and make a real contribution to this company, then forget your resume filling criteria and concentrate on your job (doing this will reflect positively on your resume anyway).
Wanting to acknowledge a co-worker in my resignation letter My co-worker has been the biggest help to me in the past few years I'm in the company. His capabilities are far above the senior employees (there are solid proofs to this). Although we've never officially talked anything about mentorship, I strongly feel that ...	While you want to do the acknowledgement in your resignation letter, I suggest that you may want to thank and acknowledge your co-worker in person which is far more appropriate and sincere.
Is it wrong to prompt for an update on offer letter when I have a deadline with another offer pending? I have two offers, one from Company A for a high salary, and one from Company B, for a lower salary. Company A made me an offer the other week and would like to hear back by today, EOD. Company B recently made me an...	Absolutely it is not uncouth to prompt Company B to find out where they are.
Unable to visit the head office for an interview due to outrageous B1/B2 wait times, what should I tell the hiring manager? ( NB: Although this question touches on issues of immigration and travel, its pith lies in understanding the way hiring managers and recruiters think, which is why I belive Workplace is the right ...	I wouldn't work for free, but see if you can land an easy job working for smaller money, yet hopefully related to your field in the US while you are working out the details for the job you want.
Future colleague has infantile and vaguely inappropriate websites I have recently been offered a job as a software developer at a small company. I was excited about this position - the colleagues I will be working with all seem clever and motivated, which is what attracted me to the job. I will be joining a small team,...	I'd advise you not to take the job as your coworker would certainly be the one who would be worse off, having to deal with being spied on and constantly judged.
Is it unprofessional to contact an employee who left for help? I am a software developer who recently left for a new employer. In my last few weeks I met with a lot of people and did knowledge transfers to help with projects I had worked on that may need work in the future. You can only go over so many things and ultim...	If there is no conflict of interests from either employer, there is nothing unprofessional about it.
How to persuade company to offer relocation with transfer The Situation My department has undergone radical transformations in the past few years, moving from 9 Regional departments to a set of geo-redundant departments, one in our headquarters on the East Coast, and one in the Southwest. Last year, they closed the la...	In requesting relocation reimbursement, notify them that you simply don't see how you will be able to afford the relocation without it. The one and only secret to negotiation is: you must be prepared to walk away. There are two types of relocation: Relocation Reimbursement, and Relocation Bonus.
Is it appropriate that my boss asks my teammate to validate my data work, and CC's me on the email instead of addressing it verbally? My supervisor requested that my teammate does a quick validation on my work. He didn't ask me to explain my logic or even talk to me verbally about my teammate and I validating it togeth...	That's pretty standard for the industry.
HR employee sent me code test but not know open .c file. Serious problems? In 2017 I applied for an iOS programmer position with a company, they sent a code test and a survey about different IT technology (most not relate direct with iOS). The code test had three questions like below and stated that any programming l...	You probably dealt with a HR employee who wanted to print out the candidates CVs and code to discuss and select in a meeting with the manager and/or tech lead, or something like that.
Is it frowned upon to quit a second successive job after only a short amount of time in both positions? In my career so far, I have had three jobs. My first position, I was a data analyst for a software house. My second position, I was a software developer for another software house, but I stayed for a brief time. Fo...	Yes it is, it doesn't show anything positive, all the connotations are negative.
Is my unrelated Master's degree worth anything if I want to get into software development? I completed my MS in Geochemistry from a recognized university in Canada. I have been working in my field for the past year, and in short, I really don't enjoy what I do. I am now trying to evaluate my options. I was in Compute...	Personal projects are useful; another approach is to find a para-technical job like QA testing and use it as a springboard into the industry. But it is not worth nothing, and is obviously more valuable than a non-comsci bachelors. Many developers are self taught; in fact some of the best programmers I know don’t even h...
How should I tell a customer about typographic mistakes? I am working at a company which sends millions of SMS for all sorts of customers. Many banks are among them. For some customers, we have stored message templates in our database. Every once in a while, the customer contacts us and asks to modify some of their tem...	In other companies, a quick note to your company's client support person would be appropriate. Even if you see common typos or very elementary mistakes, I would always come back to the client with the suggested corrections before putting them in the database. When we see an error we are instructed to leave it alone.
Travelling with a friend or relative on a business meeting to foreign country? I have a face to face interview with a company in a foreign country. The company will provide me with flight tickets, airport transportation, visa fees, hotels and meals for one day interview and 2 days extra, to explore the country(Thailand...	And you don't want to burden your potential employer with your mother's needs either. This trip is about business, not pleasure. The person you are traveling with should either meet you after the interview day or be comfortable being on their own. If there are days at the start or the end for you to explore the area, i...
How to Prioritize General Maintenance tasks when new tasks are always highest priority I work in a small company that is expanding quickly, as a result there are many high priority assignments that come up with very quick turn around. I can't complain about the assignments, they have very good visibility, I get the res...	Gather how much time per week or month you need to do for certain tasks.
Applying for a job I don't really want, at a company I like as an "in"? I recently (a couple of weeks ago) sent a speculative application to a company I like, asking about a role I'd love to work in. It's a locally founded coffee company that's soon to expand to nearby cities, and I applied for work in the roastery. I ...	The job you want may never eventuate, and the 'in' is unrelated and of dubious worth if any at all.
Contacting a sick employee to ask for confirmation on an event I am interested in whether (and if yes, how?) you would go about contacting an employee on sick leave in this very specific situation: There are three people involved: CEO Carl, Manager Mike and Employee Eric. Eric calls in sick on Monday. Mike and Carl h...	Consider giving him a call in case there is a chance he won't see his email. In my estimation, the "we heard that" does not violate privacy laws; if a person is away from the office on unscheduled vacation, the common thing to hear (at least in my experience) is that the person is sick. Any way you look at it, no quest...
Talking about accepted offer during a job interview I accepted an offer and after that got an interview opportunity from my dream company. In the interview they had asked me if I have deadlines coming up. I informed them that I had to accept another offer since the deadline was before they invited me to the interview. ...	Most likely you will no longer be considered for the job, as you explicitly told them you already accepted another offer in another company.
Would changing my job title on my resume make me fail my background check for a bank? I would like to change my job title on my resume from something like "Business Analyst" to "Product Manager" (sorry cannot give exact details).All other details are correct - Name of organisation, duration, educational qualifications ...	Putting it in your resume as "PM" is fine, I'm assuming that in your work you actually did work that was PM related (ie you're just changing the title to reflect what you actually did to get past the various HR screens, as opposed to inventing work you did). For this kind of change, this is a "No".
What point does company's generosity during the interview process have? I've applied for a job with a startup - young but, judging by the number of job ads published, quickly growing company. They invited me to an interview, paid me a flight in first-class, a really good hotel and booked me a chauffeur. I'm not kiddin...	It's simply good business for a company to treat interviewees
How to handle deteriorating situation with manager? I’m team lead of a group of 8. We’ve had a new manager for 3 months. When he first came in I was genuinely enthused because our previous manager, while lovely, hadn’t been very good at management. Now it seems that this one isn’t particularly good at it either, but he...	A collective group discussion with HR about your concerns should be considered or discussed privately, then you can organise an 'action plan' about how this should be dealt with by HR and senior management- as they have a right to know. Stop doing things that show an active distrust of the manager.
PTO (Hourly employee) and starting a new job On January 7th, 2019, I am starting a new job. However, before this happened, I had already booked time off from December 21st, 2018 until January 4th, 2019. The company I work for does not have a notice period, so I can basically tell them the same day that I am leaving. ...	It depends on your contract, but normally if you already had the PTO approved you should be able to take it and get paid for it even if you resign immediately afterwards.
How to politely request for the interview to be conducted in English? I speak both English and French Fluently. Yet, Since, I studied in a British University and the whole structure of my course was in English, I find it easier to answer all the technical questions in English. Is there any way to request this without s...	If you are interviewing for a technical position in a country where English is not the first language, then there may be a preference or expectation that technical discussions be conducted in the local language, as opposed to English.
What to do after an employee leaked our algorithm? One of my company's internally developed algorithms was published online. It's a complex algorithm that took years to develop, I have a pretty good idea of which employee leaked it based on the team who worked on it and personal information on the blog, but I want conf...	If the specific employee in question does not come forward after the team meeting, there is little you can do without proof of identity - you can of course hire an investigator to see if they can uncover proof, but then all of this really comes down to what course of action are you intending to take if you do discover ...
Dealing with non-existent telephone policy I'm in a new job at an university. I sit with three other colleagues in a room. The office location is new as well as the team composition. We recently got phones. The other three team members have rather organizing/marketing roles while I have a software development role. The...	If you want to set expectations properly (and I suggest that you do), you should let your colleague know that the phone will normally go unanswered because you're busy.
How to phrase award winning work on CV? I was a team member for a Product that won an award where I Product Managed it, is it misleading if I express this as 'award-winning' or have experience working on award-winning Products? Thanks <Q> is it misleading if I express this as 'award-winning' <S> If you worked on ...	You might want to detail what kind of award that your project won.
Does "probation period" means the employer is not sure about the quality of employee? I have one year working experience. Recently, I joined a new company and started my career in the position which I have skills, and experience on it. But, the employer considered 4 month probation period for me. I always thought, th...	The characterization "the employer is unsure about my qualities" is true in some sense, in that they are exercising caution about a new hire, but Yes, but that's only part of it.
Is it alright to invite subordinate co-workers over to a holiday dinner? I'm considering inviting a few of my coworkers to an annual Friendsgiving event that my wife and I host for several of our friends this year. This is not a small affair, we host something on the order of 30+ people with this event and mostly consi...	In some places and times it's even kind of expected for managers to be inviting people to events at their home. Every small business in the US does this pretty much without exception if the boss wants to. While there is nothing wrong with it, the dynamics would seem inadvisable to me.
I have an interview for an internal position that I no longer want. Wondering if it is appropriate to cancel I'm in an awkward situation. I applied for an internal position at my company for a slight promotion from my current role. It would be within the same department. The management structure of my department sudden...	However if you proceed with the interview, only to tell them you're not interested, this might look bad for you. Email my director and HR rep this weekend to announce that I am no longer interested and would like to retract my application, and explain
Can they fire me due to being sick? I work in the deli area or the fresh produce at Walmart. I had to call in to work for a week due to me being sick with a nasty cough. At this time I had no idea what it was. I was congestive through my nose and throat. I was barely able to talk. When I called in to work the day befor...	If it's at will they can fire you any time they want. When I called in to work the day before my doctors appointment one of my employee told me that my manager was gonna fire me due to missing so many days for being sick.
Is it professional to walk directly to manager or send a email I work for a reputed multinational corporation. We have open work area with small cubicles (2-3 person per cubicle). My whole team (me, my team, my manager, his seniors) sits very near to each other (1 or 2 cubicles apart). My manager "Bob" is very friendl...	The preferred form of communication depends on the manager.
My co-worker and I are quitting together. We should give notice together too? My co-worker and I will quit our current jobs to join another company soon (First work day is next year). We are experienced members of our project and there are many unexperienced new people working on the same project. We have to give not...	Given the fact that you both work on the same project, are leaving on the same day and are going to the same company giving notice together may well give a strong impression of this being a co-ordinated move. Spreading it out by a week or two will give them the time to prepare/reflect on the same.
Too many bad practises. Should I leave ASAP or I should to try to push my opinions? I was hired at an iOS position for a project, that has started 2012, which means a lot of legacy logic.The salary increase was good, and I had a good impression, that both guys working on this project are there for a very long time (7 a...	Learn to hold your standards high in such an environment, and use that as an asset for your career down the road. You can comment your work, document stuff and show an example, but at the end of the day the onus is not on you to do more than that.
Dealing with a coworker making snarky jokes I work as a (male) data scientist in a small company (around 10 people, all males). My job is to provide tools for my coworkers to quickly get the information they need from our data to do their jobs. I have this coworker, lets call him Bob. Bob and I are both relatively yo...	A good way to deal with snarky behaviour is to address it head on in a tactical way. Being direct with Bob is the only way to address this situation.
How to motivate team to be proactive on daily scrum? My question is related to this one but it is not the same actually. The context is the following: I'm the new manager of a new team, with 2 technical senior members. The rest of the team is new. We've started a sprint two weeks ago and we are trying to have a 10...	I believe that scrum retrospectives are a good place to fix daily meetings issues. Ask someone to start then go around the room.
Am I obligated to use a coworker's nickname? I have a coworker named "Bob" (not his real name) who keeps insisting that I call him "Shah". I don't think it's right that I be required to use what seems to me to be a silly pet name; the guy is already extremely creepy. He says that he "feels like he's being punished" whe...	You should just call him the name that he prefers to be called.
Should I point out that a tool update will break our builds in the future? We have a build server at work that handles our software releases. It runs a particular version of the tools. I have updated my tools and noticed that my builds were failing locally. I investigated this further and I know the problem is caused ...	Do inform about your findings, and document them if possible. Quite probably I would just resolve it and wouldn't even mention it as it is a fairly common issue with simple resolution strategies, no need for any drama.
Salary expectation and negotiation after a gap in career I am an Indian female who was into software development for quite a few years and later took a break of six years. I plan to come back to the industry now. I have learnt the latest technologies that are used these days, latest versions of languages/tools that I...	I think you need to incentivise them to pick you - and the most obvious way to do that is to make yourself "cheaper" by dropping your expectations. You may be able to step into a new role tomorrow as if you've never been away - but there is a substantial risk that you may be rusty in some aspects, six years is quite a ...
What if I don't have earbuds for my online interview? I'm doing an online interview soon and they requested I use earbuds. I don't have any and I don't have the money or gas to go out and buy some. I do have access to larger headphones, big clunky ones that cover your ears. It's all I have though. Will it work or will ...	Just wear your headphones and they will probably think nothing of it.
Can you safely go to HR about issues with management? I work in Maryland, USA and have been working with a company for almost 10 years. For about the last 3 of them, I've been warned about, a newly hired regional manager that had eyes on me by my direct manager. Never mentioning anything about my issues with said indiv...	I don't think complaining about management to HR will help. It's unlikely that they would directly fire you since this creates an even bigger legal exposure risk: Getting fired after making a reasonably well founded harassment complaint is frowned upon by most judges. You have very little to lose by going to HR, and co...
What is the way to give back stolen money to my boss? I am working in a company for 2 years now. The owner is my father in law. Last year I was having money problems. My father in law trusts me a lot, so I was able to steal some money from the company in a way that nobody knows where that money has gone. But now I rea...	Put the cash in an envelope, add an anonymous note telling of your regret for this theft and drop it off in his mailbox.
Is this a silly reason to want to be better at my job? I recently started a new position as a software/electrical engineer at a mid-size tech company. I have a dual degree in Computer Engineering/Computer Science (BS CECS), and a Masters in Education (M.Ed). I left the tech field almost 10 years ago to become a middle ...	There isn't anything inherently wrong with wanting to be the person with all of the answers as long as you realize sometimes you won't have the answers and be willing to learn from someone else. Become the best at something and you become that guy by default. That is an excellent aspiration, and you should never give i...
What will motivate management to address operations shortfall? The business I work for is a restaurant (franchise, one of 80+.) In 3 years it has rarely operated with a full staff because attracting workers to this location is difficult. My question is about how to best handle the problem of seeing that all the work t...	If they are incentivized toward profits, they will attempt to maximize profits.
Childcare and remote working I work at a small company and am part of the internal development team (10 of us). Our team structure is as follows: 1 manager 2 testers (1 remote, 1 office based) 6 developers 1 product owner A tester recently joined our test team after a promotion from another team within the compa...	Your perception of them being distracted may reflect that they're working on other tasks and may have nothing to do with the child. If this person is an issue to your own tasks, then report those exact issues to your manager, and let him decide what to do.
Should I convince a recently recruited colleague to use the technical tools everyone else use? I've recruited a junior profile, recently. So far, so good, tenacious, learning and willing to stick the hours to do so. However, one thing is a bit irritating to me and the other members of my team : He doesn't want to use...	In bigger companies, there will be an approved tool set, with a process for evaluating new tools when people ask for them.
I’m 38 and still no career. Times, running out. Please give advice As the title says, I’m 38 and still haven’t found an IT profession where I’ve excelled in. I’ve been battling with depression a majority of my life which has slowed my progress in life down to make something of myself. I hate the fact that I have this t...	Chances are if you enjoy your work you not only will excell in it but also will become sucessful. Do two things: Try to learn to interact with people with self-confidence also out of the interview context.

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