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How much time/ Is it reasonable to ask for an extension in start date? So I have a company that I interned at for the past year (full time and then part time during school) and I will be joining them for a full time position at the end of a study abroad semester that I'm currently doing right now. It will be over 4 months from now, and the study abroad is not related to my major (just for the experience). My team/manager knows this as well, so they view it as a.. sorta holiday? Currently, my start date is a month after I finish my study abroad due to the fact that it takes some time for the exchange university to send back my transcripts. I would really like to travel after my study abroad experience and in this time, my mother and I have planned to travel internationally. However, ideally I would like to extend it for at least another 3 weeks to a month, and possibly do more international traveling/visit my grandparents (that live internationally). But.. I'm not sure if this is too big of an ask. I know my manager would like me to start as soon as I can (had a conversation alluding to that) and having extra time is more just a favor to me. I could phrase it in terms of "I want some extra time to visit grandparents etc" but that just seems like lying because its not the whole truth. As my start date is already set to 1 month after graduation, should I just forget about it and ask for like a max extension of 2 weeks or something? Or would it even be acceptable for me to ask longer? I just don't want to come off as entitled to the time (because I know I'm not) if I ask for too much, but I'm not sure what would be reasonable. [EDIT] if you are going to down vote, can you please leave a comment explaining? <Q> I'd say, now once you have the offer letter and the joining date planned out already, it's not a very good approach to ask for extension for something that is not critical. <S> Given that this would be your first time working for an organization and you supposedly had a discussion on your joining date previously which you agreed - chaging that for an international travel plan chalked out later does not present a very good picture of yours to the organization. <S> If you need the time for something unavoidable (ex. - health issues), then it'd be understandable completely. <S> If I were you, I would change my plans to join them at the mentioned date, and postpone the travel plan to a later date, but that's my outlook, YMMV. <A> Honestly I think it's too big of an ask. <S> Getting some relaxation time in to refresh after the (typically) hectic period leading up to finishing university/school is certainly a good thing <S> but you already have that - you've got a month off after you finish up your studying abroad. <S> A month . <S> Using the argument that you'd like some relaxation time to ask for another month would look really bad in my opinion. <S> I realize this may sound harsh but my thoughts would either be " <S> They are BSing and just want to go on another holiday" or " <S> Wow.. if they are really that burnt out maybe they can't hack it?" <S> and honestly unless the position was difficult to recruit for I'd start quietly looking for a replacement candidate. <A> Actually, this is a good test, so you can understand how the company will treat you in the future. <S> If they will be nice now, they might be nice in the future too. <S> If they are not nice now, they will not be nice in the future either. <S> I had this situation, when a company tried to force sh*t down my throat - including the rejection of a small delay of the start date, one week if I remember correctly. <S> I refused without thinking twice, and I never had any reason to regret it. <S> NOTE: <S> It might work in your favor to provide the reason behind the request. <S> You can invoke the following: <S> you had some difficult time finalizing your studies, and you need some relaxation; <S> you did not mention this previously, being excited about the opportunity presented, and being happy that you were accepted; visiting grandparents is not usually a good argument. <S> However, if the grandparents are very old, or their health is deteriorating rapidly (I hope they are healthy and happy, though) then you can bring this as an extra argument. <S> Otherwise, business is business - the boss might raise a surprised eyebrow about the request. <S> You might not get the delay you want, but it will improve your chances slightly. <A> Or would it even be acceptable for me to ask longer? <S> Yes it is acceptable to ask. <S> Whether they agree or not is up to them and then up to you to finally accept or not. <S> should I just forget about it and ask for like a max extension of 2 weeks or something? <S> Ask clearly and directly what you need instead of negotiating on your own. <S> I could phrase it in terms of "I want some extra time to visit grandparents etc" but that just seems like lying because its not the whole truth. <S> Initially I would simply frame it as <S> "I request <S> [Not WANT] some extra time for some personal travel I was hoping to do". <S> You can also add, <S> "I understand you need me to join as soon as possible <S> and I would understand if you are not able to accept this request. <S> I will be happy to join [assuming you really will be] with whatever date you finally are comfortable with"
| Just make it clear to them that you are okay even if the extension is less (or none) than what you requested. It is definitely reasonable to ask. Depending on their own situation / plans, they might accept, or they might reject your wish.
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Is it OK to contact a company asking for the closing date of a position? Main Question I am looking at a job opening that has been open for a number of weeks. There is no closing date listed on any of this company's job listings. Is it OK to contact such a company and ask them how long the job opening will be available for? In addition, is it likely such a company might be able to tie this back to my application? Would this potentially penalize me? Background In the middle of March, I saw a job opening at one of my dream companies that I would love to do. This company usuallly has openings for senior positions in the role in question, so the mid level role was completely unexpected. However, given it involves moving half way across the country, and I was happy in the job I was, I decided not to apply, but have kept the tab open. Fast forward a month and I have been promoted at my current job. Despite telling me the salary range for my previous role, and pointing out that I was at the very bottom end of it, the salary increase with the promotion was insulting at best, and almost certainly puts me below the normal salary range for my new position. I have now decided to apply to the job opening I found, but I have made the mistake of not keeping my CV/information up to date during the almost 6 years in my current job (which was my first after graduating), and I am currently struggling while updating it. Knowing the closing date of the position is more than, for example, a week from now, would mean I don't have to rush updating it, and therefore potentially make mistakes. The avenues I can contact the company in question are via a careers@companynamehere.com e-mail address or their @companynamehereCareers twitter account. If it helps in any way, these are softward development jobs. <Q> Is it OK to contact a company asking for the closing date of a position? <S> I don't see anything wrong with inquiring about that information. <S> However keep in mind the following: <S> Many companies, especially big ones , will post a position on a site and leave it there for months. <S> Do not be hurt <S> if your request for information goes un-answered. <S> Some companies will even post positions before the budget for said position is approved. <S> Meaning they believe they will get the money for it and then do not, but do not care to remove the job posting. <S> If your interested in making these inquiries anonymously, I would suggest a phone call if you have a contact number. <A> And if you have questions about this offer, you should ask them. <S> Maybe it is the false way to ask " <S> Is the offer long time open, because I need time to make a CV" : ) <S> But you can ask questions like "When should applicants have to start in this position? <S> " And if they want to know your reasons you can talk about the time afford for relocation. <S> Another positive thing in this: you get in contact with the company, and away of this offer, maybe they are interested in you and your experience. <S> You can see it like an application on your own initiative, so it is not bound to the time the offer will be open. <S> For your "dream company" this should be an appropriate afford I think. <S> Good luck! <A> If you ask for a closing date make sure you follow these rules <S> Don't wait till last minute <S> Make it urgent, don't take your time even if the deadline is in the future <S> Use an anonymous/new account to contact them <S> Focus on your CV, put lots of time and effort into it. <S> You are completely right in leaving your current job if they openly told you that you were at the bottom end of your pay scale it clearly shows they don't value your skills and efforts. <S> As ThiefMaster said in the comments - It is very possible that they don't have an official closing date <S> and they are just looking until they find the right person, but <S> it's best to be sure right?
| Showing interest in a position should never be a bad idea. Many companies will only respond to candidates they are interested in.
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Mistake in years of experience in resume? I have 3 years 9 months of experience but since notice period for my organization is 3 months so I calculated that I will be having 4 years of experience on my last working day. I have mentioned in my resume that I have 4 years of experience . I got Job Offer from different organization which expected me to join in one month. So I negotiated with my higher officials for setting up my last working day within 1 month. This makes my experience as 3 years and 10 months.How should I explain this to new employer? <Q> First of all, never count future dates as part of your experience, that's a lie . <S> You never gained the experiences from the future dates, on the date you are claiming to have the experience. <S> You are supposed to present the existing experience, not the probable future one based on some random assumption. <S> That said, in the current scenario, a 2-month gap would not be much of a problem, given you satisfied other criterion in the job description and cleared the interview. <S> It can be seen as rounded-off or approximated. <S> However, next time onward, count only the experience you have. <S> Will save you some troubled thoughts. <A> It's very easy to explain indeed: <S> it's just a rounded up number. <S> Nobody's asking you how many days, hours, and minutes you worked. <S> For all intents and purposes 3 years 10 months is the same as 4 years. <S> Edit: Of course, as per one of the comments below, if you're prompted for a month count, then you have to be rigorous of your current count of months worked. <S> If you're only asked for a year count, then it's fine. <A> Why calculate your experience for the reader? <S> Quite frankly, the months don't matter. <S> You are either a person with "almost 4 years of experience" or "more than 4 years of experience". <S> 4 years precisely is only relevant on one single day. <S> Is calculating your experience a desirable piece of data? <S> It seems very obtuse when you should have simply written: Company XYZ: June 24, 2015 - Present <S> This would solve all ambiguity and avoid future issues. <S> Another reason not to perform the calculation ahead for the reader is because what if your resume is read a month after you send it so now you have 3 years and 11 months <S> so your resume is underselling you? <A> At least for western companies, a few months of difference won't matter much. <S> What counts the most is your capacity of delivery . <S> Companies are more interested on your potential and energy you're bringing in rather than on how many months or years you stood 9 to 5 doing the same work over and over. <S> You should, however, make it clear this information difference as soon as possible. <S> This way, you'll be able to assess whether the few months would cause any problems. <A> Just say, if they ask, that you base your calculations on the start and end dates of your employment.
| If you strongly desire to calculate your experience for the reader then you will have to add a date stamp to your resume so that they can perform further calculations.
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New hire (closing on 4 months) is inadequate, and I am torn between telling my boss or just keep quiet My company has basically 3 tiers of data scientists:junior, associate, and senior. I am myself an associate. Juniors should be under the supervision of another employee, associates should be able to take a project on their own, and seniors have additional responsibilities beyond the projects they are working on. 3-4 months ago, we hired a new employee right after they finished their masters in data science from a reputable university (they had experience before the masters though) as an associate. I was tasked with transferring this employee my workload as I picked up a new project (along with helping them any way I could). During these three months, this new employee has shown severe lack of understanding of some basic concepts. Not debugging their code, if it runs then that's it. Not checking what the transformations they are doing on the dataset is producing. No testing of edge cases (check point 1 and 2). When asked to debug their code or test the edge cases, etc. They have shown they really have no skill in doing so, I recall for most major problems we had with this project it was me who always found the bug/problem, and came up with a solution. One issue for example is not checking the order of the columns before feeding to a trained model, this has happened more than once, and even after the issue being brought to light.Their problem is less of being fresh (bad code for example, which does not apply to them) or how to use a framework, and more of something that I can't put my finger on. It seems they know the machine learning part but nothing of everything else. I have already tried to gently bring up these issues as a matter of mentoring and guiding them toward better practices. But the fact remains is that I still don't trust their work and I do review the modifications to make sure they contain nothing too obvious. I am supposed to be helping them, and that doesn't bother me. But I will have to let them do things on their own very soon, but their work will be impacting my work (think of it as one project's result can be used in other projects). I feel they are inadequate as an associate, and would be perfect as a junior position. I am torn between staying silent, talking to them, or bringing this up with our manager. <Q> I was tasked with transferring this employee my workload... <S> Since you were factually tasked (by your boss) with giving the new person work, then it would seem, you will have to bluntly and factually explain events on that project to your boss. <S> It's been 4 months, <S> surely your boss has asked for progress reports? <S> Don't forget, "it's not high school". <S> Simply, bluntly, clearly, and dispassionately explain the situation <S> As always stick very strictly only to specifics . <S> Do not make ANY statements "about" the person overall. <S> Simply state factually the issues relating to the specific file or item <S> So for example do not say "Steve is incompetent" or "Steve never tests". <S> Do say "Steve has not been able to port speedy.cpp" or "Steve's output module fails with the v2 input module". <S> That's really all you can do. <S> It is awkward that you are not the person's boss <S> but you have <S> apparently been tasked with supervising him on a project - <S> that's always a tough situation. <A> I am torn between staying silent, talking to them, or bringing this up with our manager. <S> Do none of the above. <S> What you were tasked to do is to transfer your workload to this employee and help them if needed, which is exactly what you have been doing. <S> Continue to do this to the best of your ability and let them eventually do the work on their own. <S> You cannot hold them on a leash forever! <S> but their work will be impacting my work (think of it as one project's result can be used in other projects). <S> This can be the case with any employee, not just this specific associate, and should be dealt with the same way regardless of who worked on the project you are depending on. <S> If their work does not fit the criteria for the project, you let them know so that they can correct it. <S> If your boss asks why things are being held up <S> you let them know that you are waiting for X to correct Y and provide the documentation supporting this. <S> I feel they are inadequate as an associate, and would be perfect as a junior position That is up to their manager to decide, not you. <A> I was tasked with transferring this employee my workload as I picked up a new project <S> Think about it as a software project: <S> you have or create specification: here tasks you need to transfer (A, B, C, D...) <S> you develop: <S> run pair-programming sessions with the new hire, explain, give directions, share links, write documentation etc <S> you write tests: <S> "Hey, new hire X, let's walk through task A <S> so I can see whether my training was sufficient. <S> Show me how you would do B and C" <S> you provide report to the customer, your manager: " <S> Hey, manager, I worked with X on tasks A, B, <S> C. There are still some issues with tasks C and D, I was trying to explain them for two weeks now!" <S> Then your manager (your customer) can decide whether to drop some features ("ok, forget about C, it's your task forever. <S> And D is useless anyways") or invest more, or whatever. <A> For someone that's mid-level, which is essentially what your associate level is, most of this is fine. <S> Not debugging your own code is a fairly junior behavior, but the rest of it sounds like something someone would do until they know they're not supposed to do that. <S> Stop expecting Senior performance out of a mid-level. <S> Do they even know what the edge cases will be? <S> I hate to be the one to tell you this, but a college degree does not make someone good in the workplace. <S> This person is a mid-level associate. <S> You should be mentoring them instead of complaining about their work being lower quality than yours. <S> Also, if your quality of work is this much better than theirs, you should either get a promotion to Senior, or job hop to a different company where you can be Senior. <S> It sounds to me that you're already doing Senior stuff since you're essentially giving the new hire code reviews for no legitimate reason. <S> Correcting numbers is someone else's responsibility. <S> This is the only thing you should bring up with your managers. <S> Aside from that, you have to recognize that Data Scientists are not Software Developers. <S> They're Data Scientists. <S> Your hire, knows Data Science. <S> Stop expecting them to know Software Development fresh out of school. <S> Data Scientists not writing code very well is not an uncommon observation. <S> Give them time to learn.
| Testing edge cases is definitely not something a mid-level would be doing. For me it sounds like your responsibility is to make sure new hire is capable of performing some (previously yours) tasks.
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Should I reveal my mistake after project delivery? I was working on a project, as assigned by my manager. It was completed, reviewed and delivered, and is now under maintenance. While I was searching through code (for a different purpose) I realized that I had made some mistakes. Should I reveal the mistakes to my manager or just keep quiet and correct the mistake? I am in IT industry. <Q> By all means, bring this up. <S> Something like that goes a long way: <S> Hey manager, I think this part of code is sketchy. <S> At first glance it can introduce a bug. <S> I am not sure how it passed tests, so can we double-check? <S> When do you have time to sit down and discuss it? <S> By coming forward early you display professionalism. <S> That should be your manager's decision what to do with this information, and their responsibility. <S> Maybe they'll decide that is not a bug, or that can be fixed later, or decide to push patch immediately. <S> I think that worse case scenario is that there is a bug, and customer will discover it eventually. <S> People will spend time looking for issue, and very well might find that it is in your part of code. <S> Bug happen, no big deal, but you'll have to fix it. <A> So should I reveal to my manager <S> If you have a bug tracking system, write a bug report there. <S> Otherwise, Yes - reveal the problem to your manager. <A> There may be cases where it's not going to impact anything and if you can sneak it into a release with other things, no one will know. <S> Eventually, making it okay to essentially lie is not a good pattern and you will get caught in it. <S> Any facet of life will eventually have mistakes. <S> People may even get upset about them. <S> But it's how we deal with mistakes that tend to show character and impress people more than trying to make them think we are somehow perfect. <S> Admitting your mistakes builds trust. <A> Should I reveal the mistakes to my manager? <S> Yes. <S> Personal accountability should be one of the cornerstones of your career.
| The professional answer is yes, report the error. As long as you don't make excessive amounts of mistakes or repeat the same mistakes over and over, owning up and becoming part of the solution is a good thing.
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How can I deal with a coworker who only yells? This isn't a case of workplace aggression, just some guy I work with who only yells to communicate. He's not mad ever, he just only talks in a super loud voice. Everyone tells him to talk quieter and he doesn't. It gives me a headache when he comes over to my desk and starts yelling at me. What are some things I can do to mitigate this? <Q> "Inside voice, please". <S> Or pull him aside and have an honest discussion. <S> Say "You know.... <S> seriously...you really don't have to use that much volume". <S> Or, start talking about a private conversation you overheard him <S> have with a co-worker from across the room. <A> He may not even realize it. <S> I've been told that I yell sometimes when I'm not intending to, even in normal conversation. <S> I have a hearing problem and some very bad tinnitus. <S> It could be that. <A> You're too loud. <S> You're giving me a headache. <S> Talk quieter or get or go somewhere else. <S> No reason to sugar coat. <S> If others have been telling your coworker this <S> and they're still too loud <S> then they probably don't realize it's serious. <S> Being rude will help them understand it's a real serious problem. <S> Also, the responses above aren't actually rude enough to cause any disciplinary actions. <S> This is also something you can tell HR about.
| You need to simply ask him why he yells.
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Justification for leaving new position after a short time First off, apologies if this has a duplicate anywhere, I looked but couldn't find anything that mirrored the situation I'm in. I'm a recent engineering grad, who just started up full-time at a company that I interned at during my time in university. I spent a year and a half at the company during my internships (cumulatively), and I've been a full-time employee for about 5 months now. I find my work fulfilling and interesting, I get along fantastically with my coworkers, and the office culture is a very good fit with me, however the situation drastically changed about a two months after I was hired back on. Long story short, the company has gotten itself into cash-flow trouble, and has suspended all expenditures except for those that are absolutely necessary (payroll, orders needed to fulfill immediate contracts, etc). Due to this, I am essentially unable to do my job. A large portion of the work I do requires that components and materials are purchased on a regular basis, and this has ground most of my ongoing projects to a complete standstill. The higher-ups say that they are on track to be through the difficult period by June/July, but I'm not entirely sure I believe that this will be the case. I have tried being proactive, and finding my own work to do, but the lab can only be reorganized so many times. I have tried asking my colleagues if I can assist them with anything, but this usually only nets me a few hours of work, and the tasks are usually not engineering work, but grunt work that is not even tangentially related to my field. I have tried talking to my superiors, but there is not usually much they can do for me, as their hands are just as tied by the financial mess as mine are. At this point, my job involves coming in in the morning, twiddling my thumbs for most of the day, and if I'm lucky one of the senior engineers will delegate a small, usually trivial task to me. I am heavily considering leaving, but I'm concerned that this 5 month stint on my resume will come off as suspicious when applying to new positions. Furthermore, part of me feels that if I truthfully answer why I left, I will be seen as disloyal. However, my current situation is far from ideal. Especially as a new grad, I feel that I'm wasting my time (and the company's money to be quite frank), and missing opportunities to grow my career and gain real work experience. What would you do in this situation? I know it's normal for most employees to have downtime, but this seems excessive. Is leaving a good career move at this point? Or should I wait until I've "put my time in" so to speak? <Q> Long story short, the company has gotten itself into cash-flow trouble... <S> Leave immediately: before you finish reading this sentence. <S> You are wasting perhaps the most critical part of your career. <S> Literally every hour spent there is a black mark. <S> Regarding your astute question <S> "Will it look bad on my resume" - not at all. <S> Indeed you must leave a collapsing company. <S> What will look bad is if you stayed until the "last moment" at a dumpster fire. <S> It's a "career killer" if you "hung on until the end" at somewhere which (at that time in the future) everyone knows collapsed. <S> Walk out now. <S> Give them a polite leaving notice and go. <S> They'll be pleased to save your salary. <S> You could play a dangerous game and "hope" the company comes good. <S> But why play poker with a career? <S> Good luck in your next role! <S> Just to repeat: <S> It's actually a bad look to stay at a dumpster fire more than a short time. <S> Every passing week it's more "strange" that you hang around. <S> Don't forget in the future when "everyone knows" it was a dumpster fire, that future is when people will be looking at your resume. <S> Run don't walk. <A> Why do people think that perfectly ordinary circumstances will seem "suspicious"? <S> Companies fail every day. <S> There's nothing disloyal about getting off of a sinking ship. <S> This situation is none of your doing. <S> A reasonable person would see and understand the merit of your desire to find stable employment. <A> Between your internships and the 5 months as a full-time employee you've really been with this company for almost 2 years. <S> I don't think you would be seen as disloyal by your higher-ups at this company. <S> It might look suspicious on your resume, but if an interviewer is concerned he will ask you about your time there in which case you can mention you interned there <S> and things slowed down and you wanted more growth in your early career. <S> But as you've stated, you find the work interesting and fulfilling which is really important (in my opinion) to have an enjoyable career. <S> So with that said, I would recommend sticking it out to see if things really do get better by June/July like your higher-ups claim. <S> If they do get better, stay with the company. <S> If not, seek other opportunities. <A> After being at my first job 5 years, I joined a new company and was there 11 years <S> The job Im in now <S> I have been in 6 months <S> and Im just not happy. <S> Ive tried telling the owner what I need but just pretends to listen and does what he wants anyway. <S> Its a disorganized start up. <S> Its not even terrible - good money , lots of freedom, but I was catfished about the job having administrative support and infrastructure that just isnt there. <S> Im <S> just not a fit nor are they for me - <S> Im leaving at way less than a year. <S> You have to do what you have to do- <S> what is right for you is right for you. <S> Every situation is different. <S> leaving a company before 2 years or even 1 year isnt the issue it used to be 10 years ago. <S> Employers expect you to put your life , sanity, happiness, family, finacial security before the company and as long as it isnt a habit,it should not be a problem. <S> I havent gotten any push back looking for a new job at only 5/6 months during interviews and have been offered several jobs already. <S> I have been applauded for recognizing my worth. <S> Soul search and do what is right for you. <S> Your gut will tell you! <S> Just say ( truthfully) <S> " Im leaving my current position because although I love the company and the people, since I came on board permanently, there have been some financial issues that have lead to a massive reduction in work for me. <S> Im the kind of person who needs to be busy and productive, and Ive talked to my supervisors about it, but there just isnt enough work now or in the foreseeable future for me. <S> I want to put my degree /talent to purpose." and be done with it.
| If a potential employer sees your leaving as suspicious or disloyal then you probably don't want to work there, because it speaks to a culture of fear and blame. Explain the situation simply and honestly. It's important to remain happy in your career and seek development so it is completely understandable you would want to make a change.
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How to positively present "why I want to leave" in interviews with <1 year in current company due to working significantly below my level Related to this previous question - in essence: I was taken on for a senior-level strategic type role but then after a few (about 3/4) months of carrying out that role (not due to performance) I was taken into a project team (with no known end date but will be at least a year in the future) where I am working in the role of a junior C# coder which is a step-back of at least 10 years in my career. (I am getting on for 20 years of experience!) I've asked about alternate assignments etc and been told it can't happen due to the importance of this project to the company. They know that they are now paying me more (as the intended original role) than they would be paying a junior coder and they accept that. (the differential in salary is "nothing" compared to the amount of revenue that the company can potentially gain from this project) Understandably I'm now looking for alternative roles... My question is how could I present/word this "interlude" to a potential new employer when asked why I'm looking again so soon (about 6 months)? I'm not a "job hopper". I'd happily stay a few years at least in a job that suits me and I suit the company -- but at this company which claims to value self-development and such - I'm just stagnating now. I wouldn't have taken this job (I left my old company voluntarily, wasn't laid off etc) if I'd known the role would be "junior web developer" rather than "Architect". ETA: the info is in the linked question, and the Q related to that, but adding it here for clarity: All my time is accounted for with "billable hours" etc. as the assumption is the "junior coders" are directly working on stuff for clients (the software I work on isn't the "product" for the clients, but it's a business-to-business model and our software enables various stuff they do using our website) (so I can't just study on my own initiative in work hours) although I am salaried as such. I could work on personal projects outside work hours, and have done for many years actually, but I'm suffering a strange kind of "reverse burnout" where I actually want to be doing more... and can't seem to get motivated with that. I feel like I'm about ready to give up actually which I haven't felt in all these years! I suspect that it's partly due to me being "across" a lot of projects in the company, and so on the balance sheets as an "indirect cost" rather than if they recruited someone to do this work directly which would then be a "direct cost" to the project and as such it's political. I don't think I can overcome politics like that, especially since I'm relatively new. <Q> My question is how could I present/word this "interlude" to a potential new employer when asked why I'm looking again so soon (about 6 months)? <S> Any potential employer that would fault you for wanting to work in a position commensurate with your education and skills is probably not somewhere <S> you want to work anyway. <A> Explain it exactly how you have there. <S> I wouldn't stick it out with a definitive date either because businesses can, and will, promise their employees the world and give them nothing instead. <S> It costs very little for them to do just that, and employees are very "sticky" overall. <S> This is especially true of employees who let themselves get steamrolled back in to a very junior position from a senior one. <S> Find a new job, you're leaving because of the reasons stated above. <S> Don't tell them how long you may have been dealing with the indignity. <A> I would suggest mostly discussing as you have in your question. <S> The twist, though, is you can present it as the company seeing this as your criticality, not a demotion. <S> After four months, I was moved to a high profile project. <S> I believe they assessed my repositioning based on wanting star players, but this project underutilizes my experience. <S> In this way you've highlighted that you were selected for being so well viewed. <S> Make sure you call out that you're glad they see you in this light and were quite willing to help out as needed, but <S> well over a year in a junior role was closer to a redefinition of job than helping out. <S> Another option would be to present this current position as a contract and avoid the length of stay question altogether. <S> It's a bit disingenuous, but quickly addresses why you're leaving so soon. <A> First I wouldn't explain anything negative about your current role. <S> Do not add that they took you off senior role ( <S> no amount of explaining would look good), do not add that you asked them, and finally do not say anything else bad. <A> I really like John Spiegel's script. <S> This explain that the company ended up changing your responsibilities to fit their needs, but left you doing work you had no interest in doing. <S> I would add that you're happy to be a team player and help out in a pinch, but since this was a long term plan you decided it was best for your career to find another job where your interests and those of the company match. <S> As for your fears of appearing like a job hopper, here are some (helpful) <S> Ask a Manager articles on that topic : <S> leaving a job after three months is it ever okay to leave a job after less than a year? <S> doesn’t “leave a bad job” conflict with “don’t be a job hopper”? .
| Ummm... explain it exactly as you've explained it here. Simply say, I am looking for a role that fits my experience, and expertise and this role with your company looks like a good fit.
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My manager asked me if I wanted to be team lead even though I am interviewing. Would it look bad to take the position and then leave? Recently my manager approached me because our team lead is leaving and asked if I wanted to be team lead for the team. This has been a career goal of mine for some time but I also have been wanting to explore other opportunities and I am hoping to make a move some time this year. I really want to take the position because it has been a career goal of mine but I also feel if I leave within the next few months it would look very bad on me, on my manager, and on my team. I think the thing that keeps me from just taking it is I don't want to burn this bridge if I can help it. For now I told him I wanted to think about it a little more. Would it look really bad if I took the position even if I had the intention to leave? EDIT: For those wondering why I would make this decision, I wanted to add some clarification I don't think the company has a strong future despite all the years I've been there not much has changed; what's kept me there is I feel I was still learning a lot but that is starting to hit a tipping point. The "team lead" role is not very defined at my company so actually I don't think it'll be much different from my current role. In fact "team lead" while is a title internally, is not an official title. It's "what I make of it" role is fine since I have many ideas but also doesn't really entice me as much as I thought it would. Even with the above options I would normally take it but I am currently interviewing a company within the next 2 weeks (which complicates things). I know the manager there because he used to work for my company and left several years ago and he is excellent. The company that I am interviewing with is arguably a dream company (I love their product, feel they have a great company outlook, and the manager I know is great). <Q> What do you want to achieve by leaving? <S> It's a lot easier to move into a lead role within your existing organisation than it is to get hired into a lead role with no previous leadership experience. <S> If this is a career goal then taking the position and working in it for a year or so would be likely to open more opportunities at a team leader/manager level than moving now and reestablishing your reputation to the point where you are offered another promotion. <A> Unless you have a signed contract in your hand, you have no job offer. <S> Unless you have another job offer, don't assume you will leave your current job. <S> Life happens. <S> Dreams shatter. <S> Your other opportunity might disappear, so keep your current job and carry on. <S> Your friend manager might have no budget, company might collapse because CEO lied to everyone. <S> Don't say: I would like to <S> but I think of moving. <S> That is a sign that you don't care and the current company might decide to let you go preemptively. <S> Maybe, you'll get into the new role and discover that you were wrong about current company and will feel much better. <S> Main point: if you don't have a job offer, don't resign (officially or unofficially) from your current position. <S> Finally: <S> I really want to take the position because it has been a career goal of mine <S> but I also feel if I leave within the next few months it would look very bad on me, on my manager, and on my team. <S> If you feel any better, forget that you are interviewing right now. <S> That doesn't matter because you have no job offer. <S> It is your management's job to set up a system that will not collapse if valuable employee decides to move on. <S> and I just changed my role, but I have another opportunity that I am really happy about. <S> Thank you for letting me work here in a first place. <S> Please let me know how I can ease the transition in the next 2 weeks (2 months). <A> In the end, you need to do what's right for you. <S> Look at the pros and cons of staying, or leaving. <S> You need to decide for yourself if a given opportunity is better than a team lead opportunity at your current company. <S> It will often go deeper than money. <S> It may include things like company culture (do you LIKE your current job?), or the hours, or the tasks you would do, or your coworkers, or any of a number of things. <S> You're worried about burning bridges by jumping ship after getting promoted? <S> If that happens that you get an offer you can't pass up just be honest with the boss. <S> Tell him you were already looking <S> but you had not seen any offers you expected to take when you accepted the promotion. <S> Then an offer came along you couldn't pass up. <S> With that, wish your current company luck, and move on. <S> Thank them for the time you spent there, and the experiences you were able to get.
| Accept new team lead position (if you really want it and if is your best job offer at the time ), try to be as professional as possible, when you get an offer, simply say: I know it's not perfect I think the thing that keeps me from just taking it is I don't want to burn this bridge if I can help it.
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How to guarantee commitments made by email appear in a contract? I got a job offer after a successful interview - I then got an email stating that the pay will start at £30k for one month, due to the company wanting to avoid higher recruiter fees. After 5 months it will increase to £33k and finally after this period, provided I'm doing a good job, it will raise to 35k at some point. 35K for this position is about average however, 30K is well below especially for the city. I'm hoping this appears in my contract however I'm worried if it does not, that I could be kept at ~30k for longer than the agreed plus 6 months salary. If this stipulation is not written in my contract, how can I ensure the company advances my salary as was outlined in an email without rescinding the contract <Q> If this stipulation is not written in my contract, how can I ensure the company advances my salary as was outlined in an email? <S> You can't. <S> The company is only bound by what is written in the contract so if this stepped salary is a deal-breaker for you then you need to have it included in the contract. <S> If you receive the contract without the stipulation written, the most graceful way to ask for it to be included is forwarding the original email where they outlined your stepped salary and simply asking them to please add it to the contract. <S> If the company was sincere about their reasons for proposing this stepped salary then they should have no issue adding it to the contract. <A> How to guarantee commitments made by email appear in a contract? <S> Read the contract once it arrives. <S> If it doesn't contain everything you want it to contain (in particular the commitments made by email), then don't sign it. <S> Bring it to the hiring manager's attention that there is a mistake in the contract. <S> Ask that it be corrected before you sign it. <S> If it still doesn't get corrected to your satisfaction, then walk away. <S> If this stipulation is not written in my contract, how can I ensure the company advances my salary as was outlined in an email without rescinding the contract Anything that isn't written into your contract isn't real. <S> The company may or may not give you what the email implies that they will. <S> You are free to trust them and hope for the best, but I wouldn't advise that. <A> I'm hoping this appears in my contract <S> however I'm worried if it does not, that I could be kept at ~30k for longer than the agreed plus 6 months salary. <S> It won't be in the contract. <S> It can't be in the contract. <S> The purpose of them coming up with this scheme is so that they can make the company they have a contract with think you agreed to work for 30K a year. <S> That recruitment company requires them to submit a signed copy of the contract you sign so they know how much you are making. <S> That is used to set the fee. <S> Therefore expect that they may drag their feet when it comes time to honor the email agreement. <S> Normally the advice would be to require them to put in the contract these items they promised by email. <S> But as mentioned above they can't do that and maintain the fictional agreement they are showing the recruiter. <S> Normally the advice would be about how enforceable the email statement might be. <S> In some jurisdictions the email will be enforceable, in others it won't be enforceable. <S> But remember they have shown a willingness to ignore the provisions of a signed contract. <A> I believe this is an issue of United Kingdom law. <S> Apparently it is possible for an email to be considered as a binding contract. <S> There are many articles online that state that email conversations can be legaly binding in the United Kingdom. <S> Important is what is being said/discussed in these. <S> As an example from this article: For contracts to be legally binding, five essential elements must be present. <S> There must be: <S> An offer; Acceptance of the offer; Consideration (i.e., some form of payment); An intention to be legally bound by the contract; Certainty as to what the parties have agreed. <S> In simple terms, two people must reach an agreement between them. <S> So, one email on its own can’t be a legally binding contract. <S> However, there’s no reason why an exchange of emails can’t contain all of these elements. <S> Therefore, an exchange of emails can form a legally binding contract. <S> [...] <S> To decide whether an exchange of emails forms a legally binding contract, you have to look very carefully at the words used. <S> As I'm not a laywer, I can not say if the email in OP's case is yet legally binding. <S> I would presume that you'd at least have to give a positive reply to their email to apply with the 'Acceptance of the offer' element. <S> Perhaps you should ask this question in Law ? <A> If this stipulation is not written in my contract, how can I ensure the company advances my salary as was outlined in an email without rescinding the contract? <S> If it isn't then don't accept the job. <S> If it is in the contract then have an attorney review it and make sure that it's legally binding.
| You can't, so make sure it's in the contract.
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Work requires me to come in early to start computer but won't let me clock in to get paid for it The computers at work take around 5-10 minutes to boot up and have all of the necessary applications for my job to be up and ready to use. I work 9am-5:30pm. But the other day my boss told me to come in 10-15 minutes earlier to make sure that my environment is ready by 9. Which would be fine, but I am not allowed to clock in when I come in early to make sure everything is set up which means I am not getting paid for those 10-15min. They don't leave the computers on and we have to shut them off at the end of the day too. Is this even legal in the state of Ohio, and what would be the most professional way to go about changing this? <Q> Assuming you are paid by the hour... <S> The most professional way of handling this would be to submit your time card, for the hours you actually are working. <S> Doing anything less is typically breaking the law. <S> Then, when you get questioned, if it is by a person that's not your boss, simply reply that your boss asked you to come in early to turn on the equipment and make the office ready. <S> If you get questioned about your time card by your boss, then indicate that while you like your job, it is a job and not a hobby, and you should be paid for the work you do. <S> If you wish to be more helpful, you might also suggest that you come in early and leave early, with someone else coming in late to turn off the computers late. <A> IANAL <S> My recollection of FLSA training is that this is clearly now part of your job and as an hourly employee, it is illegal to expect you to perform a task at company request for company benefit and not pay you for your time. <S> Whether that is part of what the boss considers your core function is irrelevant. <S> The bigger issue is that you presumably want a good relationship with the company. <S> I would not recommend quietly charging time and waiting until it is noticed. <S> Unfortunately, your boss is delusional and in power <S> so you have two battles to fight. <S> Waiting until he notices will only make him angry on top of those issues. <S> I'm quite willing to do this. <S> We need to understand that though it is outside of my normal duties, it is nonetheless a time consuming duty you are requiring me to perform. <S> Any time spent under specific direction of the company legally has to be counted as time on the job, regardless of the nature of the work. <S> You can follow with options (leaving earlier, longer lunch or whatever else). <S> Hopefully, your boss will just not have really considered that this is still work, albeit a different form of it. <S> But you need to consider how to respond if he does not see it this way. <S> He's already dictating you work for free. <S> He does not read on the surface as a reasonable person. <A> Due to hourly pay, every bit of time counts, and those minutes add up over time as I'm sure you're aware. <S> In my experience, waiting for computers to "boot" etc. <S> is company time, not your own. <S> So you should be reasonably compensated for this, however, this is under company discretion. <S> Explain why you're staying late to your manager as well, don't leave them out of the loop. <S> I am also assuming that you can clock out/get paid after 5:30pm. <S> If you are UNABLE to do so, then it looks like you're going to need to find a way to speed up your computer, or get approval from IT to leave your computer on overnight. <S> Good luck. <A> My answer differs from the others. <S> TLDR: It depends what sort of relationship you want / have with your boss. <S> Do you have a good relationship with your boss? <S> Are they the sort of person who makes and remembers agreements and takes good care of their employees? <S> If so, they could be asking you for a favor. <S> You scratch their back, they will scratch yours. <S> If they is a good sort of person, I suggest after a few weeks, you tell them something like this: I am working for you on my free time for a few weeks now. <S> How long should I keep this up? <S> Will this be tied to my promotion/raise/etc? <S> Alternatively, can I save up all these 15 minute blocks for an informal/undocumented day off <S> once every two months? <S> If this works out, you can develop a very strong relationship with your boss - you can ask for favors, and be the closest employee that they look out for. <S> Alternatively, if your boss is not the sort of person to look out for their subordinates, ask your boss to play by the rules. <A> This is a very similar problem to the "Clean Desk Policy". <S> Yes you can automate your PC to start at 08:30, but if you do not poll it with an active alert it may not be running when you arrive at 09:00. <S> I fact if it is a Windows PC, especially Windows 10, and takes an update, it could happily take a while to be usable, hours in the extreme. <S> That is not taking into account issues with Active Directory or the greater network. <S> Is everybody coming in early or are you the canary ? <S> (is this a de-facto health check or just a "be ready for hard slog from the crack of nine" situation ? <S> When I was "on call <S> " I got 4 hours of double time for this sort of thing, being an after hours attendance. <S> Just come in <S> (5) minutes early, switch on the PC and head for coffee, the bathroom, kitchen etc. <S> while it is firing up. <S> By all means get into option ROM to get it going by itself. <S> You should be in five minutes early in any job, just for contingency. <S> What I meant by "clean desk" - they want a clean desk, but don't want to spare 30 minutes either side of the day to pay for it.
| I would recommend to you that you arrive at 9am and clock in, and wait those precious minutes for your computer to boot up (maybe get IT guys to install SSD's, they're amazing and help boot speeds immensely), and stay an extra 15 or so minutes past 5:30pm and leave later to make up for the lost time at the beginning of the day, so that you are actually paid for the time you are working.
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Should I add a note for recruiters in my LinkedIn public profile? I'm a lucky person with skills and experience that are currently in demand in my region (working in IT in France, not in Paris ;-)My LinkedIn resume is up-to-date, and the "Looking for new opportunities" checkbox is currently unticked. However, I still receive many invitations from recruiters just saying Hey, I've got a GREAT opportunity for you. Wanna chat ? Sometimes, there's more detail : Hello, my name is [Recruiter], I work at the HR for [company] and I'm looking for someone with your skills for [very short job description]. Call me ! I have no problem being contacted by HR people, since this is what LinkedIn is for, but such lame messages look like spam to me. I'd like to know way more than that, even at the first contact, before replying. Actually, a detailed job offer would be perfect : description of job tools, technologies location team size internal practices / tools salary ... But I guess the 1st contact message must also be short to attract and keep the reader's attention.I'm considering adding a "note to recruiters" in my public profile saying "Give me details or I won't reply" (in a much nicer way than this ;-). Would that be wise ? <Q> Would that be wise ? <S> Maybe Would that be useful ? <S> Unfortunately, no. <S> As you can already tell from the category of the received messages, they are mostly blind attempt at communication and trying their "luck" at getting a response. <S> They are not targeted communication, and anything you put in your note is not going to affect them, since they are not reading your bio / profile anyways. <A> This will save your time. <S> Like: <S> Hi, Thank you for contacting me. <S> I am interested in knowing more details about the position. <S> Please let me know about the description of job tools, technologies location team size <S> internal practices / tools salary in detail. <S> Thanks,Noob <A> You can, but it likely wont help. <S> For a few years, my LinkedIn headline was literally: "Not currently responding to recruiters, please give my inbox a break." <S> It didn't change anything, the constant bombardment continued. <S> Since then I've changed my headline to something more professional, and just stopped looking at my messages. <A> Would that be wise ? <S> You would think that it would, but most of those messages you are receiving are likely the result of some automated process that searches for specific keywords and sends messages accordingly. <S> For the few recruiters that actually take the time to read profiles such a message would be beneficial but unfortunately LinkedIn is full of these "robo recruiters" so it will do little to stop the spam.
| What you can do is make a generic template message that you can send to recruiters you are interested in upon initial contact.
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How do I deal with a coworker that won't assist me when he's supposed to? I've worked at a company for about a year and most of the stuff I support is custom. At this point in time I'm pretty comfortable supporting most of our software to external customers. However, occasionally I have to support something that I still have no experience with. What I'm supposed to do according to my boss is speak with a specific more senior employee. A lot of this software he wrote himself so he knows all of the little quirks. The problem arises when I ask him for help and he is too busy. Typically, I will mention it in the morning and again after lunch. His response is usually "yeah, I'll be right there" or "as soon as I'm done with X". My latest issue has been dragging on for three days because he keeps putting me off. Now I have 2-3 issues stacking up that I need his help with. My gut says to go to our boss so he can tell him to re-prioritize and help me. However, I don't want to be seen as "telling" on him, especially since he's a nice guy just really busy. <Q> Set up a meeting to explicitly go over the things you need to go over. <S> Get it on his calendar. <S> It sounds like your colleague may actually be busy, or at least forgetful. <S> When you get busy, it's easy to brush aside things that don't have definite time. <S> I know I am guilty of this <S> and so are a lot of other people. <S> If I don't have defined time where I need to do something, it is really easy to stay absorbed in whatever I am doing and put everything else off. <S> He will have to explicitly accept or decline it. <S> You will have a definite time to work out your issues. <S> Then he can't leave you hanging. <A> This really doesn't sound like an obedience problem. <S> So, there's nothing to "tell on someone" about. <S> You both have things you need to get done. <S> Some of your things need help from others -- but it's impossible for either you or him to know whether your item should take a higher priority than what he's already doing. <S> It's more than appropriate and beneficial to consult your manager and let them determine which is the better use of his time. <S> Hiding this situation from them helps nobody. <S> It may well be the case that your items should sort low right now. <A> If you go to your boss, you better have some form of evidence that this colleague has indeed been avoiding you. <S> If you have been making all of your requests in person then that will be a problem for you as the colleague can easily play dumb if confronted by your boss. <S> The simple solution is to keep everything in writing. <S> If you need help from this colleague, send an email requesting help. <S> The colleague will either respond that they are too busy or won't respond. <S> In both cases, you have evidence that you can give to your boss if he asks you what is preventing you from completing your tasks.
| Get a meeting on his calendar.
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Feels like I am getting dragged into office politics My technical manager and a Business Development person from my office have differences. They have complained about each other to the senior management. They are indulging in office politics and aiming to knock each other down. Some time ago, the BD person tried to find out more about the internal working of the team I work with. He wanted to know team members' opinions about our manager, but I did not provide any details. Now, my manager has asked me not to even talk with the BD person. He is really concerned while he is out of office that the BD person would again approach me or other team members. All these things are happening unofficially. Both of them are talking these things either face-to-face or over a phone call with me. Neither of them has sent any messages or emails regarding these communications to me. What shall I do in such situation? What if BD person again approaches me? Can I tell him that I have been instructed not to discuss anything with him? Shall I approach HR? (This would really piss my manager off.) <Q> Stay out of it <S> If the BD manager asks about your opinion of your boss or team, say something like <S> "hey, I'm happy to help with any work related stuff, but please direct questions about our team, structure, how we work and organization to my boss, who knows way more about it than I do" If he tries to sneak any extra work on your plate, say something like <S> "I'm happy to help you with this. <S> Please send me an e-mail with all the details and copy my boss on it, so he she has full visibility of my assignments and current work load". <S> If you boss complains about you talking to the BD, use <S> I'm not talking to the guy. <S> If he wants something I just brush him off and send him to you. <S> If you want me do something different, let me know. <A> Don't approach HR unless there is something that directly interferes with you accomplishing your duties, and even then discuss the matter with your manager as much as needed. <S> Limit your interactions with the other faction to what is necessary for you to operate successfully in your role. <S> Favouring the rival over your manager would be detrimental to your relationships as well. <S> Your manager is still your manager, and it would do you no good to favour her/his rival for future political gain. <S> If you did anything that could be linked to go against your manager, your future in that company would be probably compromised. <A> I'd suggest a maybe not so 'professional' answer, but agree with the sentiment of not getting involved Frame it in a way that makes them seem to be unfair by involving you, something like: <S> I can't get involved in this since i'm suspecting that it could come back to haunt me in the future. <S> That said, I do enjoy our working time together <S> and so don't want to jeopardise it <S> That is exactly the answer i've used before in these scenarios
| In such a conflict, be as neutral as possible, staying loyal to the company and to your manager.
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Did I ruin my chances at a job offer by going out of the country for 1.5 weeks? Good news - a company I'm interviewing with wants to move forward to the last round of interviews and asked for my availabilities for next week.(Potential) bad news - I'm going to be out of the country for a little bit (10 days) in a couple of days. They asked about any vacation plans that are upcoming during the initial stage, so I revealed it pretty early in the process. I told them I'd be more than happy to take an unpaid leave or push back the start date if I were to receive an offer before I leave. Obviously that hasn't happened and now it seems like I'll have to interview when I get back. Is it safe to assume that the company will continue to interview others and possibly extend an offer to one of the candidates before I come back? The interviews went well and the company seems to be understanding that I have "prior obligations". I will add that the conversation between me and the company has been mainly positive. I obviously don't want to be mulling over this issue while on vacation but I know it'll eat away at me at least one of the days. Has anyone gone through this issue at all and what was the end result? <Q> (Potential) bad news - I'm going to be out of the country for a little bit (10 days) in a couple of days. <S> It's not a "news" <S> if you had mentioned it earlier, it's an information that the company already have. <S> It should not matter much if you've already communicated about your unavailability. <S> It's business as usual. <S> Is it safe to assume that the company will continue to interview others and possibly extend an offer to one of the candidates before I come back? <S> Even if you weren't going to be unavailable, it's silly to assume you're the only one being interviewed. <S> There would have been other candidates and other interviews anyways. <S> Focus on your interview process and don't bother much about what other interviews are going on. <A> They asked about any vacation plans that are upcoming during the initial stage, so <S> I revealed it pretty early in the process. <S> That's great. <S> Communication is key and be sure you tell everyone <S> that needs to know. <S> Don't assume the HR recruiter would tell the manager of this. <S> He/ <S> She may forget or assume otherwise. <S> Is it safe to assume that the company will continue to interview others and possibly extend an offer to one of the candidates before I come back? <S> The interviews went well and the company seems to be understanding that I have "prior obligations". <S> I will add that the conversation between me and the company has been mainly positive. <S> This is a grey area that I don't think anyone would know. <S> You said interviews went well, so that's a huge plus. <S> However, since you never signed a contract or got an offer/employment, you'll have to assume it's possible they may go with someone better. <S> My advice is while overseas, maybe 3-4 days prior to returning, send an email to them. <S> Explain you are arriving back in the country in X days, and you're still very interested in the role. <S> You're only go for 1.5 weeks <S> so it's not like they're going to hire someone right away. <S> If they do interview someone, most likely that 3-4 days prior to returning will be critical to remind them that you are in fact interested. <A> If you are the better candidate, the company isn’t going to worry about you being unavailable to interview for 10 days — they’ll wait for your return. <S> On the other hand, it’s the company’s prerogative to hire someone whenever they want, possibly telling you (or not) that they did so.
| Given you situation, I don't think your availability (or lack thereof) for 10 days is going to be a problem for the interview process.
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Declining welcome lunch invitation at new job due to Ramadan I am starting a new position next month and I have been kindly invited to a team lunch. I would love to go, but due to the month of Ramadan I will be fasting during the day - no food or drinks allowed. I am not sure if it would be rude to decline their offer. I could ask them to delay it by 1 month but then that is no longer a welcome lunch. <Q> Observing your religion shouldn't be viewed as being rude. <S> Simply respond and explain the situation to them while thanking them for their offer. <S> You can certainly suggest delaying for a month, and they should be happy enough to do this (other plans permitting). <S> They may also offer to go for an evening event instead of a daytime one. <S> They might even go further in going ahead with the lunch event, but choosing not to eat or drink out of respect for you <S> (this is something I'd happily partake in). <A> As Snow suggests , observing your religion in this way isn't rude - and asking for a delay isn't a big deal but <S> if it's not feasible that doesn't mean you have to cancel or postpone the lunch. <S> You could quite easily fulfill the purpose of doing this by attending and not eating or drinking. <A> The purpose of the welcome lunch is not really the food, it is to welcome you to the company. <S> Consider accepting the invitation but explaining that you will be in the middle of a fast and will not be eating. <S> Perhaps in light of that, the welcome lunch will be changed into some other kind of welcome event that doesn't involve food. <A> I suggest that it's not necessary to explain why you can't make it to lunch. <S> You can decline and suggest an alternate date. <S> For example, you might say "I'm grateful for the warm welcome <S> you're all giving me here at CompanyName. <S> Your offer for the welcome lunch is very kind, but I'm afraid I won't be able to accept until after [specific date]. <S> " <S> There are some things that don't need to be discussed in the workplace, such as medical issues, home life, religion and so on. <S> For example, you might not be able to attend a lunch because: You're fasting for religious reasons <S> You're preparing for a medical procedure that requires a specific diet <S> You want to remain available so that you're on call to tend to an ailing relative <S> You have a special diet because you're trying to make some weight loss goal etc etc etc <S> The key is that you don't need to explain why you're declining the invitation. <S> If they can't reschedule, that's fine. <S> None of this is to say that one should hide their religion. <S> It's simply that it's not necessary to explain your reasons when declining an invitation if you don't want to, and even moreso when the reasons are related to things that are typically left private at work.
| Explain that you won't be able to go, thank them for the offer, and also give a timeframe when you would be able to in the future. The point of such a "welcome lunch" isn't really about you eating or drinking things - it's about getting to know your new colleagues in an environment that is less formal than the office or a meeting.
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Quitting for ethical reasons before obtaining a new job At my current job, I have been presented with an unavoidable situation in which I must immediately, continually, and indefinitely act in an unethical manner in order to stay employed. Even if I oblige, there is a good chance this could backfire and I'd be out of a job, anyway. Therefore, I am strongly considering quitting in the very near future. That said, I do not have other employment lined up and am worried about job-seeking without a current job. I have never done that before in my professional life, so I don't know if that will negatively affect my chances during the hiring process. I've already seen questions like this one with highly-upvoted answers that warn against mentioning ethics as the reason for leaving an employer, but I have not found a Q&A that addresses this situation from the perspective of someone who has already left an unethical employer and is currently job-seeking. I think that answering the interview question of "Why did you part ways with your employer?" with something vague like "Not a good fit" leaves too much to the imagination. Typically a career professional does not choose unemployment before looking for another job, but that's exactly what I want to do, and my conscience is making it hard to avoid. How should I go about answering that tricky question? EDIT : The reason why my question is distinct from the question I linked is because there is an additional explicit factor: I will have already quit. It's analogous to asking for a good apple pie recipe vs. asking for a good salted caramel apple pie recipe. <Q> I think that answering the interview question of "Why did you part ways with your employer?" <S> with something vague like "Not a good fit" leaves too much to the imagination. <S> Typically a career professional does not choose unemployment before looking for another job, but that's exactly what I want to do, and my conscious is making it hard to avoid. <S> How should I go about answering that tricky question? <S> It is tricky. <S> And without knowing the specifics of the ethical violations, it's a bit hard to give concrete advice. <S> But if your personal ethics about your situation strongly tell you that you must quit now, then do it. <S> And if you do, then when asked why you left, just explain it the way you wrote it here. <S> Explain that you were presented with an unavoidable situation in which you would be forced to act in a manner that went against your personal ethics. <S> And explain that acting this way was something you simply wouldn't do. <S> Be aware of the risk that you will raise suspicions if you don't give details and context about what you were expected to do. <S> Decide ahead of time how much detail you are willing to divulge. <S> The specifics of the situation (that only you know) will help drive your decision. <S> And be aware that if you do divulge some specifics, a potential employer might disagree with your conclusions regarding the ethics of the situation. <S> I would assume that if you feel this strongly about the situation and a potential employer disagreed, then you wouldn't want to work for that employer anyway. <S> If so, then there is no real risk in this regard. <S> And of course consider the risk that it will take you a long time to find a new job, and consider the resulting financial implications. <S> I normally advise that everyone find their next job before quitting their current job. <S> But it sounds like you have already concluded that you must quit now. <S> So just think it through completely, then proceed with caution. <S> You may consider taking a hard-line stand with your boss and simply refusing to commit an unethical act. <S> Since you are ready to quit now anyway, you might have nothing to lose with this approach. <S> And it might buy you enough time to find your next job before leaving while still not committing any unethical acts. <A> First, be sure that what you're being asked to do is not actually illegal in your jurisdiction rather than just "immoral". <S> If you are a member of a professional body, they may have a "code of conduct" which includes industry expectations of types of behavior and ethical duties. <S> e.g. in the UK <S> the British Computer Society maintains a code of conduct for members: ( https://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/conduct.pdf ) <S> Also bear in mind that Travel and Education/Training can be used as positive reasons for having a "gap" in your CV, rather than concentrating on the negative. <S> It is better in an interview setting to avoid negative language and instead have a positive forward looking outlook. <S> Goodluck! <A> Typically a career professional does not choose unemployment before looking for another job, but that's exactly what I want to do, and my conscious is making it hard to avoid. <S> Good on you for feeling this way. <S> In an ideal world we could stick to our morals and expect the next employer to understand and give us a pat on the back for standing up for something and consider you the same as any other applicant. <S> Unfortunately in the real world people will assume you're lying and think you probably got fired or asked to quit after you got caught doing something terrible. <S> If you ever got to the stage of speaking to someone and you told them exactly why you left you run the risk of sounding like a moral crusader or a kook. <S> Unless your employer is asking you to do really horrible things like trample and burn down villages or go on a rampage <S> killing kittens its probably best to find employment first before quitting, as much as you might not enjoy it. <S> As adults we're sometimes in this position and have to think of our families and our future.
| If a professional body agrees with you on your specific type of ethical dilemma, this should give you the confidence and the official language to talk about the reasons for leaving your position.
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Can my company stop me from working overtime? I have been doing the same overtime for several years, my company now want to stop me from doing this and let other people do it who earn less money. Can they do this? <Q> <A> Yes they can do this. <S> I used to work at a company where some employees were purposefully doing unnecessary overtime work as a means to make more money. <S> The company took notice of this and required any overtime work to be first approved by a manager. <S> The extra hours that these employees were working was not worth the extra salary that the company had to pay them. <S> This is likely the reason why your company is allowing your coworkers that are currently making less money to work overtime. <S> It is a necessary overtime and they want to pay the least amount possible for it. <A> Unless you're covered by a contract that says otherwise, yes, they can do that. <S> The company is not under any obligation to grant you overtime (even if they've granted it in the past). <S> If they want people who get paid less to do it instead, that's their prerogative. <A> You haven't specified a location nor any relevant information from your contract, so we can't say if they can or can't. <S> But in most cases, yes they can, or rather you can't just work overtime unless specifically told to work overtime. <S> In the vast majority of situations whether or not to work overtime is not the employee's decision. <S> Think about it, does it make sense for someone to mow their neighbour's lawn and demand payment for it? <S> No, so then why should it be normal to do work outside your specified hours and expect to get compensated? <S> If nobody asks you to work more than your contractually obligated hours <S> there's really no reason to expect that it's allowed or wanted. <A> No they can't. <S> (if you live in the Netherlands.) <S> If you work more hours then what's in your contract for a prolongued time, then after 13 weeks there's a legal presumption that your actual worktime is longer then what's in your contract and the employer has to schedule you for the average of hours you made in the 13 weeks. <S> Something that is very common in the Netherlands is that in the Care industry a lot of women have 24 hour contracts, 3 days/week. <S> What often arises is staff shortage and you see people on a 24 hour contract working 32 or even 40 hours for years on end. <S> To protect those kind of employees from for instance punishment by employer (I will cut your hours for ....) <S> but also for unemployment benefits. <S> (If you work 40 hours for years but only 24 in your contract, you want to make sure unemployment benefits are calculated on 40 hours work.) <S> I made this answer because you don't specify where you live, and the law is wildly different from country to country. <S> So what you have to do is: consult a lawyer. <A> It's not "your overtime" it is work required by the company for which someone might need to do overtime to complete. <S> So yes, they can allocate that work to whomever they want. <S> But more importantly you need to pay attention to why this is happening. <S> I've seen toxic management use overtime as a bonus for toxic behaviour (like spying on staff on behalf of management and being rewarded with overtime). <S> I've also seen toxic staff hold on to overtime and "hog <S> it" not letting other staff have a chance of getting it for a bit of extra money. <S> When overtime is involved a lot of corruption can happen. <S> Your manager could be avoiding potential corruption allegations by sharing it around rather than let you have all of it.
| You need to check what's in your contract - but broadly speaking if this is overtime in the sense of being outside of your contracted hours then yes they can.
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Can I put on my resume the experience I got while I was in school? For the last 2 years I have been working as developer. Coming September, I'm going back to school for ~4 years. I will be studying and working as a part-time developer. After I'm graduated, can I put a total of 6 years of professional experience as a developer on my resume? <Q> After I'm graduated, can I put a total of 6 years of professional experience as a developer on my resume? <S> When people think 6 years experience they think 6 years of full time experience. <S> I would not advertise myself as having 6 years of development experience when most of that time has been with a part-time job while also being a student. <S> 6 years for a developer can turn into Senior-level roles which you probably aren't ready for. <S> I would avoid listing the amount of years of experience on your resume and instead list out the jobs on your resume and for <S> the part time job put either that it was part time or put how many hours per week you spent at that job to avoid confusion. <S> It can be difficult to try and quantify <S> how many "years" of experience you have when part time jobs are included. <S> Avoid the calculation yourself and let the companies decide how valuable your experience is <A> (In the US, at least) a resume usually has a section where you list each job you've had, when you had it, etc. <S> You should list your part-time work on that resume, but you should make it clear that it was part time. <S> If it was for 20 hours a week or more, I'd be explicit about how many hours you worked a week, as that represents a lot more experience than someone who worked just a few hours a week. <A> Can I put on resume experience I got while I was in school? <S> No. <S> Usually the work experience is considered based on a full-time position. <S> So without any mention of the part-time work, simply adding up that time to the overall experience would not be the correct thing to do. <S> Can I put on resume experience <S> I got by working part-time while I was in school? <S> Yes, you can. <S> Just make sure to mark the tenure of work as part-time somewhere in the resume.
| I would not describe yourself as a developer with 6 years experience, as that would be misrepresenting the truth.
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Why are companies interviewing for roles in bad faith? Is there a sudden trend for companies to interview people when they're not a position to offer a job ? I've had 3 interviews in the past 6 months where everything went really well, got positive feedback, got a verbal confirmation that they intend to make an offer, give them all the paperwork and then nothing. Always with a similar story of the role got pulled after a review, or something along those lines. These are medium to large companies with significant financial resources. There is a material cost to me attending these interviews and they've acted in bad faith by running a recruitment process without the intention of offering anyone a job. Is this now a common thing and is there anything I can do to recover costs from these companies ? <Q> Think of it this way: the company is also investing equivalent (if not more) amount of time and effort interviewing you (and may others), so if they have no intention of hiring, this would be a loss for them, too. <S> So, to answer: <S> Is this now a common thing and is there anything I can do to recover costs from these companies ? <S> No, this is not a common thing, and apart from the usual agreed upon cost-reimbursements cases (food, travel, lodging) <S> - there is usually nothing more that you can get reimbursed for. <S> That said, a note: Not all the time companies convey the actual reason behind rejection. <S> Also, another probable thing to consider, irrespective of the financial state of any organization, everyone wants "cheap n' best" solutions - just sayin'. <A> The answers here are pretty good <S> but I did want to offer an alternative from my experience that could explain things. <S> I have worked for a couple of IT consulting firms that appeared, from the outside, to have strange interviewing and hiring tactics. <S> These tactics make more sense once you are on the inside. <S> The first company never ever had a concrete open position to fill.. <S> They subscribed to the "Hire really smart people and let them do their thing" mantra.. <S> The business model was to get clients to pay for consultants by the hour <S> so it was never "we need a web developer <S> " it was " <S> can we justify billing over $200 an hour for this person"... <S> If the answer is yes, welcome to the team, if no, we dont need to create a position for this person. <S> We would let just about anyone into the hiring process since the only requirement of "getting the job" was to impress the hell out of everyone in the interview. <S> The second company was similar except that they would get a request from a client and then scramble to fill the position. <S> I interviewed with both the consulting firm and then the client. <S> All went well except when I got the call back, the consulting firm informed me that their client was pulling out of the deal for an unrelated reason. <S> The "open position" vaporized instantly. <S> I incurred some expenses since this firm was in another city <S> but I handled it well... <S> they called back a year later and gave me a spot at a different client with no second interview. <S> I agree that this kind of example is pretty rare but also, I think, an understandable situation depending on industry and business type. <A> Is this now a common thing <S> Assuming it indeed interviewed in bad faith (which is a big assumption), it is not a common thing. <S> However, it is not unheard of as well. <S> One reason from my experience is just to please the a referral. <S> I was referred to positions in past by one of the senior executives. <S> They interviewed and I thought I did very well <S> but they simply declined me next day. <S> I learnt later that they already had some other plans with that position but since I was referred from higher up, they wanted to complete a formality. <S> So there could be weird reasons like that in large companies. <S> is there anything I can do to recover costs from these companies ? <S> Other than your travel & living cost <S> (If you did travel and if they did agree earlier to pay for it ), no you cannot recover any other cost. <A> As others point out, hiring managers rarely want to waste their and their team's time on a hire they have no plan of making. <S> To round out the possibilities, I'll add a couple scenarios, but neither would explain why they'd go so far as to suggest they're going to offer you a job. <S> It's conceivable that meeting legal or corporate policy requirements might be in play. <S> Say you are in a jurisdiction that has anti-discrimination laws. <S> A company might interview from certain demographics to give the appearance of not discriminating, even if they already have a candidate in mind or (yikes!) <S> actually are discriminating on illegal grounds. <S> There are even anecdotes that might be true or might be conspiracy theory like companies using "failed" interviews to demonstrate they need to be allowed to sponsor a visa or permanent resident because there are no viable local candidates.
| The most likely explanation is bad luck.
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can i add my current one month job experience in resume? I have been joined in a company as a software engineer fresher and worked for a month. I want to apply to other companies which are doing more exciting work and paying better. Can i add my current job as a experience in resume? How will it effect my resume? One point to mention is, i have not worked in a project yet, just have completed few assignments. N.B : i know there are few questions like this and i have gone through them.but none of them answered exactly for my case. <Q> Your questions were, <S> Can i add my current job as a experience in resume? <S> Certainly you can <S> How will it effect my resume? <S> If you're really trying to ask, "how will it affect my chance of getting hired? <S> " <S> then there's some unfortunate news - employers who see that you have little history and are trying to jump after only one month will consider you a flight risk - what's stopping you from immediately leaving them after they've hired you? <S> If you do manage to land an interview, you need to be ready to answer questions about your short tenure, while inspiring confidence - you need to help employers understand that you're interested in a relationship that will be beneficial for them, and that you're not a poor planner. <S> It's also important to consider this a learning opportunity. <S> What about this employer do you not like? <S> What can you do during your job search to ensure that you're not going to make the same mistake again? <S> If you feel so strongly about your current job that you're willing to leave so quickly, make sure you're taking the opportunity to focus on employers who won't leave you feeling the same way again and again in the future. <A> Can i add my current job as a experience in resume? <S> Certainly. <S> You can add any experience that you think will help you. <S> How will it effect my resume? <S> It will add very, very little to the strength of your resume. <S> And it would likely raise some red flags regarding leaving so soon. <S> And of course it will raise the obvious question of "why do you want to leave this job when you have only been there for a month?" <S> Hopefully, you have much better reasons than just "doing more exciting work and paying better." <S> Since you obviously knew how much you would be getting paid a month ago, the followup would be "then why did you take this job in the first place?" <A> Yes you can put it on your resume- <S> I mean you did work there for a month after all <S> so its not like you're lying. <S> Some employers might find it alarming that you're applying to jobs just one month after joining a new company and it will almost be guaranteed to be brought up in an interview- <S> if you get one. <S> It can be a potential red flag to some employers.
| - your resume is yours to write, you can put anything there that's truthful and helps represent your experience. In many cases, someone with a very short history, and who's looking for a new job after only one month will just get discarded from the search, unless there's some obvious or special circumstance.
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Abbreviation for bachelor's degree with minor When describing the degree one has obtained or is pursuing (for example in an email signature), is there a way to include information about a minor in a cleanly abbreviated manner? For example, someone who is working towards a degree in Mechanical Engineering would list their degree as BSME . If they were also pursuing a minor in Electrical Engineering, how would one go about listing this? Furthermore, in the situation where one is still pursuing the degree and sending emails primarily to university faculty and potential employers, is it even commonplace or helpful to include this information about pursuing a minor in the signature? Edit: Here's my current signature format for reference. Currently I have it along with the school name and graduating year, not directly after my name. --First Name Last NameUniversity of XYZ ’21 BSMEemail | (xxx) xxx - xxxx <Q> When describing the degree one has obtained or is pursuing (for example in an email signature), is there a way to include information about a minor in a cleanly abbreviated manner? <S> B.S in Mechanical Engineering with minor in Electrical Engineering. <S> is there a way to include information about a minor in a cleanly abbreviated manner? <S> There isn’t a universal abbreviation for a minor degree. <S> Furthermore, in the situation where one is still pursuing the degree and sending emails primarily to university faculty and potential employers, is it even commonplace or helpful to include this information about pursuing a minor in the signature? <S> I don’t typically think listing unfinished degrees is worth while. <S> I would only list what degrees I was pursuing on a resume. <A> You posted your signature for reference in an edit to the question, and it looked like this: -- <S> First Name <S> Last Name University of XYZ ’21 BSME email | (xxx) <S> xxx - xxxx <S> When I read signatures in this format, I naturally assume that the name of an organization in the second line would be the organization that the author is employed by , not where they went to school. <S> So, I think it’s confusing. <S> Plus, part of the point of an email signature is to make it easy for recipients to identify and contact you. <S> If I pick up my phone and dial University of XYZ’s main office telephone number and ask to speak to the name in the signature, is the receptionist there going to be able to transfer my call to you? <S> I’m guessing not. <S> If you haven’t completed a degree yet but are looking for jobs where it is relevant that you are studying something (e.g. internships?) <S> , then you can explain that in your cover letter, resume, or CV. <S> Your email signature should contain information that can be used to identify and contact you, e.g. your name, company, phone number, mailing address, etc. <A> sending emails primarily to university faculty [...], is it even commonplace or helpful to include this information about pursuing a minor in the signature ? <S> Signature is the last bit of information anybody going to notice. <S> People do often add "Joan Smith, PhD" or "John Smithsonian, MD" to their signature, but I have never seen "Dardeshna Secondname, BS, Physics" and especially not "Dardeshna Secondname, BS, Physics, minor in Music". <S> In academia, focus on writing good cover letter that clearly explains what you want from the person and why they should care to read your CV. <S> Then, in CV, list your degrees, and degrees in progress: Academic University (USA) <S> BS Physics, minor in Music ..... <S> 2016-today or College of Sciences (UK) <S> BS Physics ..................... 2016-today
| I would not list anything about your education in your signature.
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Negotiating salary after job offer I have received a good job offer, but it is at least 10k below the market rate. At the time I stated my salary expectations, I didn't know what the market rate was but do know now. I have since asked the org if the offer is open for negotiation so that it is more in line with industry rate and waiting to hear from them. Following questions: is it seen as negative doing this, could it result in a withdrawn offer immediately? is it better to do this now then wait until you are in the role, then negotiate? From experience, I have found that salary increases are hard to come by once in a job. I have not accepted the original offer yet. Update Following a mature amicable professional discussion, organization have increased their offer, and I have decided to accept it. <Q> "At the time I stated my salary expectations, I didn't know what the market rate was but do know now." <S> I assume that means that you now want more money than you initially stated. <S> That's not good: they negotiated in good faith and now you are moving your target. <S> That's your mistake, not theirs. <S> This may or may not work, but in any case it will also damage your reputation. <S> You come across as someone "who doesn't know what he wants/needs", "doesn't do his/her homework" or "goes back on a deal" <S> Suck it up and work for the salary that you initially agreed to. <S> Try to make your work speak for itself and work your way up in the job. <S> This may take considerable amount of time and you should check out internal salary policies to see how this could work. <S> Just move on, learn your lesson and do better next time. <A> While it would have been better if you stated a market rate initially, provided you are willing to accept some risk, you can still do so now. <S> You've already explained the basic information, you just need to improve the presentation when stating it to the company, something such as: <S> I was very pleased to receive your offer of [] position with []. <S> While I believe this is a role I would greatly enjoy, as my job search has progressed I've become more aware that typical compensation for someone of my experience performing such a role in our area is in the range of [] to []. <S> While I am happy to keep your offer in mind, because it proposes lower compensation than other conversations I have ongoing towards more market rate possibilities, I do not feel that I will be able to accept your current proposal within your requested timeframe of []. <S> Of course, sending such a response entails some risk - if you do so, you should really be pursuing those other possibilities, or be prepared to stay wherever you are for a while longer while seeking them. <S> But at the same time do not accept a role where you will feel undervalued <S> - it would have been better to state a higher expectation initially, but once you have signed on you indeed drastically reduce your chance of soon catching up to market rate. <S> And do not accept a verbal promise of an early review, either. <A> From the comments: Did they meet the salary expectations you stated? <S> – <S> mhoran_psprep 1 hour ago <S> Yes - then I found out I had sold myself short with regards to market rate. <S> Since informed them what other companies are offering and the market rate. <S> – bobo2000 56 mins ago <S> That means that they will want to know why you now want more money than you originally said. <S> Your best hope of getting more salary is if they fall short in some other area, and you can say you need more salary to compensate for less vacation, or less 401K matching or less useful insurance... <S> You would then be able to say "can you bump up the salary a bit because your offer has <S> a week less vacation and an increase in salary would make it easier to accept" Of course <S> if you are too demanding they could say they want to move in another direction. <S> You are essentially rejecting their offer and making a counter-offer. <S> You have to decide <S> is it worth the risk. <S> If you wait until you start, then all the risk is on you. <S> If you have started then if you say I want 5K more a year, you have to accept whatever decision they make, unless you are ready to be unemployed if they reject your request. <S> Now before you sign, if you can't accept their offer, and you can live with them cancelling their offer, then go ahead and make a counter-offer.
| Your options are Try to push for a higher salary.
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How long can I delay my job decision? I received an offer from a company and I need to respond back regarding my decision. However, I'm still waiting to hear back for 3-4 orher companies regarding my applications. I was wondering how late I can delay my decision? Does 2 weeks seem reasonable? <Q> Rather than ask for a deadline, it is better to state the time you will need to make a decision, or even better than that simply state that you will be unable to make a decision until you have received and compared all of the offers you are currently expecting. <S> The reason is that if you ask them to set a deadline, you invite them to state one which does not work for you. <S> There is of course some risk in any course of action, but it is likely that if you are a strong candidate for the first position they will exercise some patience - or at least if they cannot, then they will reply with a specific requirement and its explanation (ie, that they actually have a second choice they will offer the role to). <S> How late you can actually delay depends a lot on information that you have not stated and may not be known. <S> For example, if they are hiring multiple people into a pool of similar staff positions from which project assignments will then be made, there's likely a lot of flexibility. <S> Similarly, if you are uniquely suited to their needs, they will probably work with you. <S> On the other hand, if they need one relatively interchangeable person for a specific task in the near term, then they'll probably want to soon move on to someone else who can quickly give them an affirmative answer. <A> E.g. for my current job, I received the job offer via email with a disclaimer that it is only valid for three days. <S> I totally forgot about it until, after a month or so <S> , I was approached by the company saying that they needed an answer NOW. <S> I responded with asking for another week because I hadn't made up my mind yet, and then accepted the offer on the last possible date. <S> This was for their graduate program so they in no way needed a new hire immediately. <A> No one can say. <S> Depends on the situation (urgency) for the company, how valuable your skills are and the type of position. <S> E.g. if you are a very programmer who will work in a big team, the chance to delay it may be larger than if you are a highly specialized person who would start to work alone on a specific project.
| My advice is to just ask for a deadline and, depending on what you think about the professionalism of the company, be open about waiting for other company's responses. While if you state your own deadline in advance, you may find yourself unable to meet it.
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I got a new job, and a friend turned hostile because of it. How to manage friendships professional network? A friend of mine used to be a few steps ahead of my in his career. I was very happy for him, and I saw him as a trustworthy person and a future leader. He got into senior management in some startup, I was happy for him. We maintained a professional relationship when interacting for work, and we tried to avoid talking about work as much as possible during our spare time. I got a new job, and he turned hostile. He congratulated with me sarcastically, stopped answering phone calls and started badmouthing me, turning times I asked him for support or advice into ammunition to slander me. I know he is in trouble in his current job, as the mentor who hired him got sacked and he wants to leave. I sent a couple of high-paying jobs his way and gave him advice on transferable skills, and I never found signals our friendship was in trouble. This concerned me in terms of managing my network. Assuming that it's normal to have people turn hostile just because you got a new job, how can one prevent trouble later on? Never having people in your professional domain become too close? Always maintaining superficial relationships? I just don't know who to trust at this point, I have a new enemy and I did nothing to hurt him. I want to prevent this in my career. <Q> If somebody gets the hump with you because you are improving your situation in life, then they were never your friend to begin with. <S> Never put other people's feelings ahead of your own wellbeing. <S> They aren't going to pay your mortgage or care for your kids or look after you when you're sick. <S> At the same time there's no point in not being friendly with work colleagues. <S> Most people aren't assholes, you just happened to come across somebody who became one due to whatever reason. <S> There's no point in over-analyzing or stressing out about it or allowing it to affect your relationships with others. <A> Only you can decide how to handle betrayal. <S> It's hard. <S> The reflexive action to having your trust betrayed is to never give your trust to anyone ever again. <S> But never trusting anyone ever is a very hard way to live. <S> That said: Assuming that it's normal to have people turn hostile just because you got a new job, how can one prevent trouble later on? <S> This is a huge assumption and almost unequivocally wrong. <S> Don't let this one fringe experience paint all future experiences for you. <S> Most people don't turn hostile when their friends achieve something. <S> Either you are underplaying the degree to which your friend is in a bad way (and their bitterness at your success is a reflection of their own failings) or they were never a very good friend. <S> This is one person. <S> Move on if you can. <S> Maybe they will realize their bitterness and make amends. <S> Then you can decide if you want to repair things. <S> Bad things will happen to you sometimes that you can't always be prepared for. <S> No one expects a friend to turn on them, but it happens. <S> You have to find a way to heal from that. <A> Much of this situation is out of your control. <S> Your colleague has chosen to behave in a hostile way to you. <S> It's his choice, not yours. <S> How would he ask this same question about you? <S> Would he ask, "I've damaged an important professional relationship. <S> Will it cause me trouble in future?" <S> What's in your control? <S> You can, if you choose, ask him if you have given him offense in some way. <S> (Trying to read somebody's mind generally works poorly.) <S> "I'm puzzled by your anger toward me. <S> Have I done something to hurt you? <S> I value our friendship and I hope it can continue. <S> " <S> And, when you know the situation you have a chance of patching it up. <S> You can stop worrying about this person. <S> You're letting him live rent-free in your conscience right now. <S> Your career, and his, will both last for decades. <S> This incident, however unpleasant it seems now, will fade in importance. <S> And, choice 1 above is always available to you.
| Don't try to patch up the situation by trying to do favors for him (like offering referrals to jobs) until you know the cause of the situation.
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How do you deal with a coworker who seems provoke you constantly? I just switched jobs (I work on Qt based display codes; currently assigned to fixing assigned issues/bugs) in December. I was assigned to a project; good manager, okay-ish work, a polite client. All in all, everything was fine. Now, a guy was transferred to my team. His old project was canceled and my team was lacking one person, so he joined in. The problem was that his expertise wasn't exactly in the field my project is in. Then again, not a lot of people like working in this area. He made it quite clear that he was one of them. My manager made it quite clear that since his old project was scrapped, this is the only available task they have for him right now. A couple of months passed by and my relationship with this guy worsened. His tone was always confrontational. He kept trying to find something wrong in my code. I asked if he'd like to review it formally; but he refused. I tried to ignore him, but then he got pissed. I tried to listen to him, but realized that he was talking utter nonsense. I approached my manager who said that he'd talk to him. Not sure if he did, but he calmed down for a week and then came back with a vengeance. Recently my code broke his fix (I can make mistakes too). It was a mistake which I fixed within 30 mins of detection. The thing that got to me was how he was speaking. He kept trying to find something else to say which might be wrong. Kept leading down different paths by telling this is failing, that is failing which on testing, I found was false. Later on he started ordering me to not touch some bugs. I got a little pissed and we had a small confrontation. In the end I completed my work, and left for the day. The thing that keeps irritating me is that he keeps clamoring about how the requirements are incorrect. He won't bring them to the manager. Neither during the scrum. I ignore him but he just keeps speaking. The requirements by the way are correct and his analysis of them isn't. I don't want to correct him only to start bickering again. Overall, how do I deal with this guy? Did I mention that he sits just behind me? I don't want to escalate the issue. I also don't want to hurt his ego. P.S. Something a lot of people have asked me to do is stop calling everyone sir/ma'am. Stating that it tends to fill some people with hot air. Personally, I loved Coach Carter. In my books everyone who has the ability to stand on their own two feet (get a job) deserves to be respected. <Q> I see these kinds of questions a lot, and in my opinion, this is exactly what a manager is for. <S> You have a situation where someone is having a negative effect on your work. <S> Not to mention their behaviour means they aren't focused on doing their own work, but criticising yours instead. <S> You've spoken to the manager once and said things seemed to improve for a short period, but have now regressed. <S> Arrange a meeting with your manager again. <S> If possible, give some estimate on how much time this behaviour is costing you each week. <S> Depending on the type of person your manager is, you may also mention that this is causing you a lot of unnecessary stress. <S> If they are a manager/company who cares about your wellbeing, it's one extra reason for them to take action. <S> Bottom line is that managers are paid to deal with these issues, you aren't. <S> Some people might say this action suggests a personal weakness, but I disagree. <S> Managers exist to ensure teams work together effectively. <S> Don't do their job for them. <A> Imagine your child (or a child in your family or friend's family) approached you and told you they were being bullied. <S> What would be the first words out of your mouth? <S> I know for my son, the first thing I asked him was <S> "Did you tell your teacher?" <S> I think we forget this when we grow older but <S> the reality is you must talk to your manager again, but only use facts. <S> When your code broke his fix (this happens even when you are a sole developer, it is not a "mistake" in my opinion, just part of the job) <S> you mentioned that he made claims that other things were also not working so <S> , this is an easy point to start with: <S> He mentioned that features X, Y, Z and B were also not working because of my code. <S> I individually tested each feature, taking an average of 30 minutes per feature to fully test and as documented on JIRA-xxx1, 2,3 and 4 none of them were an issue after testing. <S> He has ordered me to stop debugging, not sure if this is something he ran past you as you haven't mentioned it to me. <S> Can I check if the requirements have changed? <S> He has been mentioning that they are incorrect so just want to make sure his concerns had been addressed and whether we need to make any changes. <S> Those are some simple enough points to bring up with management... <S> Don't fret or stress, it just makes it worse for you... <A> This is hostile behavior and with any hostile behavior, you need to have a deterrent to counter it. <S> Since nothing specific he does is likely against the company rules that will not be the option. <S> They are a new addition to the team though. <S> So one deterrent you can try is trying to take a proactive role in their training. <S> It will cost you extra time <S> but it's a trade-off for your peace of mind. <S> Make sure your manager is aware of this and backs you, maybe something along the lines of "I think his lack of familiarity with our process is causing issues. <S> Maybe I can help address that if it is fine for me to devote some time showing him the ropes" <S> Now if he gets frustrated and lashes at you, he will be in trouble so he can either do that and give you ammo to use with official channels, or he can learn to mellow down. <S> Both options would help with your problem.
| Provide examples, but try to make sure they don't come across as being petty. Tell them that, although things seemed to improve briefly, this person is now affecting your work output again.
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Cancelling an non scheduled arranged meeting A couple of days ago, I had this conversation with a client: Client: Did you want to have a call? Me: Yes, I'm available on Monday morning (9-12). Client: Let's do it at 10. Me: Ok. Now, even though we talked about having this meeting, I haven't received a calendar invitation, as it is usual that he schedules the meetings and sends the invitations.Today in the morning, I arranged a meeting with another client for the same time. I only remembered the conversation with the first client just minutes before I joined the (new) call, and since I didn't see the slot in the calendar I just had the call with the second client. How should I handle this? Is it rude to say 'hey I'm in something else', we didn't schedule anything? Or you can't cancel a meeting that wasn't scheduled? <Q> Although you didn't get a calendar invitation, this meeting was scheduled. <S> You had a date and a time, and you both verbally committed to it. <S> The client won't be happy, and with reason : you didn't pencil this appointment in on your end <S> (so you forgot about it), and you didn't try to contact the client to ask if the meeting was still on after not receiving an invite. <S> So apologize profusely and own this mistake. <S> Explain that there was a mix up and that you were already in another meeting. <S> I wouldn't mention that you didn't get a calendar invite, since in the end you could have done it or at least contacted the client instead of just forgetting about them. <S> Just apologize, say that this never happens and you'll make sure there won't be a second time. <S> If this should happen again (which I hope it won't), the same goes : say that you are busy in another meeting, apologize profusely about the mix up, and tell them you'll call them as soon as you're able to to either have the meeting or to reschedule it. <S> Take this as a learning experience to be more proactive : next time, make a note that a meeting has been planned and you're waiting for the client's invite, and if it doesn't come after x number of days send a short e-mail to re-confirm <S> the meeting (this is where you can mention you didn't receive a cal invite like they usually do, hence the check up). <S> Or if it would be acceptable, just send the invite yourself. <A> Client: Did you want to have a call? <S> Me: <S> Yes, I'm available on Monday morning (9-12). <S> Client <S> : Let's do it at 10. <S> Me: <S> Ok. <S> That tells me the client proposed a meeting for Monday at 10. <S> And you accepted. <S> Thus you have a scheduled meeting. <S> Today in the morning, I arranged a meeting with another client for the same time. <S> I only remembered the conversation with the first client just minutes before I joined the (new) call, and since I didn't see the slot in the calendar I just had the call with the second client. <S> So your forgot about your prior commitment. <S> How should I handle this? <S> Is it rude to say 'hey I'm in something else' <S> , we didn't schedule anything? <S> Or you can't cancel a meeting that wasn't scheduled? <S> You should apologize. <S> Then you should offer to hold a new meeting at the client's convenience. <S> This time, if you say OK to a proposed meeting, make sure you have blocked time off on your personal calendar. <S> If for some reason the client doesn't send the kind of formal followup meeting calendar that you have come to expect, don't assume it was never agreed to. <S> Instead, take the initiative to call the client and ask if the meeting is still on or not. <A> Since you can't cancel the non-existing invite, you'll have to reach out some other way. <S> You could either call the client or send an email saying something along the lines of <S> I'm sorry about the short notice <S> but I'm afraid I'll have to cancel our meeting. <S> As an alternative time, I'm free tomorrow at 9 or Friday at 2. <S> You don't even have to mention the reason for cancelling. <S> also miss the rescheduled meeting
| What you should not do: not cancel and leave the client hanging blame the client for the missing invite
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Drug Testing and Prescribed Medications What happens if you take a prescribed drug and it shows up on a drug test? Should you tell the person giving the drug test about the prescribed medications? <Q> What happens if you take a prescribed drug and it shows up on a drug test? <S> That depends on the goals of the test and of the specific prescribed drug in question. <S> In some cases you will "fail" the test. <S> In other cases, it won't matter. <S> Should you tell the person giving the drug test about the prescribed medications? <S> Yes. <S> When I was drug tested, the form specifically asked that you list all prescribed medication you are currently taking. <S> Note that you are never required to tell anyone what medications you are taking. <S> Many prescribed drugs wouldn't impact the test at all. <S> You could choose not to disclose your medicines and hope that it doesn't cause the test to be failed. <A> Absolutely . <S> First, you should be telling them the total list of every medication you are taking, just because that's usually a good idea when dealing with medical professionals. <S> Second, you should tell them so you can directly ask them whether any of these drugs will cause false-positives for any of the tests they are running. <S> At the very least, if you are explaining to HR "I failed the meth test because I take Metfromin", you are much better off if HR looks at the drug test report and it says right in the report "patient claims to be taking Metformin, which would generate a false positive for meth". <S> Otherwise HR is barely aware that can cause that, and is more likely to just assume you're on meth and say "Next!" <S> It also helps the lab. <S> There are several ways to screen for a drug. <S> If their usual test confuses Metfromin and meth, and they have an alternate test which distinguishes them, you have given them a heads-up to use it. <S> In some cases that is simply impossible; an example is medically necessary steroids vs. the anabolic steroids that are prohibited in high competitive sports. <S> (Maybe you're interviewing at a sports company with a high sports culture). <A> Someone (likely HR) will contact you to let you know you've failed the test and ask for an explanation. <S> This is when you would bring in your prescription bottle and explain why it shouldn't be an issue. <S> They may ask for a doctor's note to confirm, but that's not very likely. <S> The person administering the test doesn't particularly care what medications you take. <S> They just need to make sure you take the test according to the process and provide results to your employer (their client).
| Before taking the test, you should tell the drug tester about any prescribed medications that you suspect might influence the test.
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How to deal with a difficult boss? I am around 2 years experienced Software Developer in a small company. I have this boss in my company who is in this company since 2001 (that's also his first company). Now he thinks that the only way to improve any junior is to scold him and hurt his ego. He made me a team lead of 3 people. One of the girl, who was my subordinate was not performing well. She didn't even know how to operate a computer. When I told him about her, he instead of listening to me scold me rudely and said you just don't have the skills to lead people. He also told me that when he was of my age, he had made many people champions in software development, who didn't knew anything about Programming. He advised me to hurt the ego of my 3 subordinates so that they can also grow in their careers. Meanwhile, sometimes I feel really stressed on being scolded just before going to home. He also scolded my subordinates badly when I was on leave one day and as a result, one of my fresher subordinate was looking to resign and move somewhere else. I calmed him down and told him that I'll try my best not to make this happen to him again. I told him to ignore the words of our boss since he is just like that. Also, my boss always gets angry on extremely small issues. For example, if he is discussing something with me and I asked him to repeat some statement again, which I don't understand. He gets very angry and says to everyone that even the peon of our company can understand this in the first place. One day, I told him that my salary is quite low, then he said that people who run after money belongs to the lowest category in his eyes. My mental state has become very frustrated due to this and I'm generally not an argumentative type of a guy. That's why, When he scolds me, I generally stay silent as I don't want to waste my energy over that moron, who thinks that he knows everything and he is the most intelligent person in the world. I've started preparing for switching the job. Also, I can't leave the company immediately as I have to feed my family financially. But until then, how can I deal with this boss? <Q> Ideally, this can turn into a healthy relationship, but the fact you need a job puts you at a huge disadvantage in helping that to happen. <S> The fact that he is a failure as a leader does as well. <S> There are ways of still improving this, but they have some risk. <S> Given your question and primary goal are to survive until you land a better job, I’ll speak to survival. <S> Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice dog’ while reaching for a stick. <S> Lay low. <S> This is more about your mentality than his. <S> Build on what you’ve said above. <S> Pick up any leadership book. <S> I’ve never seen one that espouses belittling and berating your subordinates into success. <S> There’s a wide difference between being strong and being a jerk. <S> He doesn’t see that. <S> Once you fully own that belief, his psychological impact on you drops. <S> If you’re lucky, you’ll even reach the point of finding this buffoon comical. <S> The next step is to practice keeping the smirk inside while looking professional on the outside. <S> Pretend you care. <S> Pretend he matters. <S> Follow his instruction to the degree you can. <S> And try to shield your employees. <S> That is, as Frank Hopkins points out, part of a leader’s job. <S> It will one day become an excellent point in an interview. <S> “Tell me about a difficult time in your career.” <S> “As a leader, my role is to empower my team. <S> Part of that is to shield from distraction. <S> One specific case…” Also, given your timeline there may not be a lot you can do, but start saving as much money as you can. <S> The less you need this job in the short term, the easier it will be to not care about it. <A> Other than that, part of your job is to shield your team from upside pressure, <S> so they can actually get work done. <S> If he gets angry again, tell him that's not professional <S> and you won't work with him like that. <S> Leave his office and tell him you'll be back in an hour <S> so he has time to calm down. <S> Rinse and repeat. <S> And never let him imply it's you who is the problem <S> , he get's emotional and unprofessional, he is the problem. <S> Note down any confrontation where you think he was over-aggressive and personally attacked you, preferably with witnesses, so if 3rd parties get involved, like HR or the boss of the company or a court, you have factual evidence. <S> However, mind that speaking louder is not aggressive by itself. <A> It's time to move on. <S> One day, I told him that my salary is quite low, then he said that people who run after money belongs to the lowest category in his eyes. <S> Oh the classic. <S> He doesn't value you. <S> I honestly hate people who act as if they are doing you a favour employing you, when the reality is they need your skills which is why they've hired you to begin with. <S> It is a two way street, and it is only fair people get paid what they are worth according to the going rate of the market. <S> He can talk as much as he wants about money, but he is not working for free, and is not running a charity. <S> It is a commercial enterprise to make as much money as possible through the products they are selling, where he is using your skills as a resource to make this happen. <S> I've started preparing for switching the job. <S> Also, I can't leave the company immediately as I have to feed my family financially. <S> But until then, how can I deal with this boss? <S> Try to take his negativity in one ear, and out the other. <S> but when needed protect your team by trying to coach your boss on the importance of having high team morale. <S> Use this as motivation to accelerate your job search, and before you accept your next job make sure you do some due diligence - Glassdoor etc. <S> Leave now before the situation worsens. <A> It seems to me that your manager isn't particular patient enough to teach you how to advance in your career to be a manager. <S> I think it's a really unfortunate situation for you to be in. <S> Looking for a new gig is the right choice. <S> For surviving while you are hunting for a new role. <S> Ever heard of the phrase? <S> Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions <S> I really hate this phrase personally, but many managers including yours (from your description) operate this way. <S> They don't really want to hear just about the problems you have, but rather what are your solutions to the problems you find. <S> For example, when you bring up the situation with the employee that doesn't know how to use the computer, talk about the techniques you propose to get her productive and have your manager sign off. <S> Or just do it. <S> Some people just value results more than your methodology
| So you will need to learn to stand up to him if you stay around. With that kind of boss, show him you're a better manager and leave - with your team. Keep your distance by avoiding office politics and be non confrontational
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How do I gracefully opt out of my workplace hackathon? I'm a new developer at a tech startup (I've been there a few months) and the time has come for the regular internal company hackathon. This is a 48hr window where developers work to build ostensibly "whatever they like" within the parameters of the business' needs. They are touted as a fun experience and great camaraderie. I've decided however that I'd rather not go. For one thing, I don't see doing all-nighters and overtime as a perk, but more importantly in the past I've found that hackathons bring out all my worst qualities, which are exacerbated by high-stress, low-sleep environments. I don't really want to expound on what these are, but I take them fairly seriously and worry that if I attended, I might act in ways that damage my standing with my new colleagues. But how do I bail out from a company hackathon without sounding like a wet blanket? These are team building exercises as much as anything else and I want to show that I'm a dependable and approachable member of that team. But they make me utterly miserable and I don't really want to be the person I become under stress. What's a simple, honest, but firm way to state that I don't want to take part in this hackathon - even for the daytime? It is not mandatory but I think it would make small waves if someone appeared to boycott it. <Q> What's a simple, honest, but firm way to state that I don't want to take part in this hackathon - even for the daytime? <S> Sometimes simple, clear statements can go a long way. <S> No need to give detailed explanations, a simple <S> "I do not want to participate in this year's Hackathon <S> " should do the trick. <S> If someone asks (which they shouldn't, as it's not their business) you could explain to them the reasons you exposed here, and that such events make you uncomfortable and physically unwell. <S> Alternatively, as this is an optional Hackathon, there must surely be some sort of registration process. <S> Not filling this form or process would be another way to opt-out, without having to give explanations or excuse yourself. <S> You could also consider probing around with your coworkers to see if someone has opted-out in the past, and ask for their feedback on how they did such thing or if it harmed them in any way. <A> At my company we have something similar but it runs over a week. <S> There are a lot of different behavior patterns: <S> Planning months in advance and working long hours every day <S> Spending regular hours on a project Using the time to catch up on documentation or something related to their "day job" that might not be part of the regular backlog Prototyping something small in a new language or technology <S> they're interested in Working on their "day job" like every other day (though without the benefit of the rest of their team and QA etc.) <S> Any and all of these are acceptable in our business culture in any combination, ymmv. <S> If none but the last appeal to you, I'd just wait until a few days before the hackathon and mention to your boss that you prefer your normal routine and just want to catch up on some tickets. <S> If he asks, just be honest that you don't enjoy the environment; everyone is different and a reasonable person will be cognizant and allow you flexibility. <A> Answer : You can just say "No." <S> Background : <S> Yes I participated once at my company's hackathon. <S> It was fairly large scale and involves a local university. <S> So it sounded fun. <S> I instantly regretted it the first hour I came in. <S> It took a lot of self discipline to not just get up and leave or have a fake medical issue. <S> Some folks actually stayed into Saturday morning. <S> I actually left at around 12:30am <S> the Saturday but worked all day <S> so in reality I stayed in the office for nearly 16 hours and came back that Saturday morning and worked for nearly 8 more hours. <S> We actually "won" second place with a panel of judges (who were our managers) and we got some cool gadgets. <S> The managers did not stay around before, during, or after. <S> They just came in for an hour to judge then left promptly. <S> So I can't complain too much about it in the end. <S> The following year the planner of the event (a person in PR) wanted me to come back to it. <S> She actually sounded sincere and wanted me to be in it since I was at it last year. <S> and she stopped asking entirely. <S> The following year and the years after that I didn't even need to say no as they never asked nor did I shown any interest. <A> Don’t provide an explanation. <S> This seems like one of those things that separates “team members” from “employees.” <S> Some people love to soak up the company culture, spend time with coworkers outside of work, and attend lots of events. <S> Others prefer to keep their heads down, get their work done, and leave. <S> There’s nothing wrong with being in the latter category, as long as you actually do get work done. <S> When you took the job, you didn’t agree to pull all-nighters and endure crazy amounts of pressure to win some competition. <S> Some people find this exciting or enjoyable <S> but you’re obviously not one of them <S> and I think your managers should be able <S> understand that without you having to explain.
| You might get a raised eyebrow or two from a coworker, but I doubt anyone will judge you too hard for opting out. I simply said, "NO"
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How to avoid making self and former employee look bad when reporting on fixing former employee's work? A former employee in good standing has changed jobs. Unfortunately a lot of their work just prior to leaving did not satisfy some acceptance criteria found by QA, and had other bugs. I'm picking up the slack in fixing them. I expect some of it to not be trivial for me to begin fixing (due to my skill/knowledge being lower), and to have to work through this for a while, and what is the best way I should talk about this during daily stand ups? My goals are not to make it sound like I'm speaking badly about the code or the former employee that left, whose work I'm fixing. to try not to make myself look bad as I'm going to be busy fixing something that didn't pass muster (I think it looks bad when you push things that are found to have issues when tested), for at least a single sprint, wherein I may not be contributing as much to the new work we've pulled in. not to sound like I'm trying to deflect responsibility for fixing it, but certainly I wouldn't want to be mistaken for the source of these issues. Edit: To clarify the tickets bounced our QA process as they didn't satisfy all the acceptance criteria within them and some other bugs were found, so perhaps saying they only had bugs isn't precise. (The code's already merged in behind a feature flag though.) <Q> You are worrying about nothing. <S> Software has bugs, that is inevitable, and everyone knows it. <S> QA finds bugs, hopefully puts them into a bug tracking system, and you take one bug from the bug tracker, fix it, then the next one and so on until you are finished. <S> There is no need to mention where this bug comes from. <S> Nobody cares. <S> If someone asks you why there are so many bugs, you say “because QA is doing a good job”. <S> If anyone actually complains, ask here again and tell us about their complaint. <A> Yesterday, I worked on bug #532 about the widgets being the wrong colour. <S> Completed that <S> and it's ready for the next deployment. <S> Today, I'm going to work on bug #536 about the crash when trying to order more widgets. <S> Potentially blocked because I don't understand the interactions with the back-end ordering service. <S> Who can I talk to about that? <S> Anything else is out of scope for the stand up. <S> Beyond that, someone (your team lead, your manager, whoever assigns you work) has asked you to work on these issues so they already know where they've come from and why you're not contributing new features to the sprint. <S> Let them worry about that. <A> I'm fixing. <S> Well, you talk about the problems in the code, without mentioning the why (or whom) part, bugs are there and they need to be fixed - that's it. <S> 2) Try not to make myself look bad as I'm going to be busy fixing something that didn't pass muster <S> (I think it looks bad when you push things that are found to have issues when tested ), for at least a single sprint, wherein I may not be contributing as much to the new work we've pulled in. <S> Not your job to worry about the assignment. <S> Once you're assigned something, only thing you should bother whether you're completing (or at least making progress) <S> your assignments as expected or not. <S> Why you are working on something, is almost always above your pay-grade. <S> 2.5) <S> Not sound like I'm trying to deflect responsibility for fixing it, but certainly I wouldn't want to be mistaken for the source of these issues. <S> Why do you think this way? <S> Code is written by someone else, QA check has been done by some other one, you're the one fixing it. <S> No one will think you as the source of problem here. <S> So, finally, to answer: <S> what is the best way I should talk about this during daily stand ups? <S> Just the same way if the bugs would have been found from someone else's code who's still working in the team. <S> You're done. <A> There are some underlying concepts of Scrum that are not being effectively honored in the situation you describe that are leading to the concern you have. <S> 1) <S> A particular feature is only done once it is implemented, tested, and potentially releasable to the standard of the definition of done. <S> You mention old work vs newly committed work, but this is committed work that the team has not finished. <S> You are helping the team complete this work. <S> This should definite not reflect badly on you nor should it be viewed as old work. <S> 2) Development in Scrum is adaptive. <S> Often times we need to refactor or "fix" things not because we screwed up before but because things have changed since then. <S> This is normal. <S> 3) <S> We are human beings and perfect mastery of any skill is impossible. <S> Scrum requires us to strive to be a team who can identify mistakes and improve how we work without it being a personal attack, not be a team that avoids those conversations. <S> If you feel like saying that you are fixing a mistake someone made is considered bad, that's really a deep psychological safety challenge in the team that very much needs to be addressed. <A> Just report to the company bug tracker and your superior what is the current status of the code by telling the simple truth and without hiding anything. <S> When filling the bug tracker, try to avoid mentioning the former dev's name as much as possible and also avoid adjectives (bad, poor, shitty...). <S> Just focus on facts. <S> Have a meeting with your superior and or the team explaining the situation and the needed resources to go through the whole fixing: maybe you need a few more weeks, maybe another dev is needed, maybe a training for you etc. <S> Your superior knows you and your strengths so if a bug needs some knowledge you don't have, he shouldn't blame you.
| 1) Don't make it sound like I'm speaking badly about the code or the former employee that left, who's work A bug is found, you're assigned to fix it, state the progress you made yesterday and state the plan for today; also mention if you need any help from the team to get over any obstacle you have. The whole team is meant to own the completion of work. In the stand up , you should just state the facts:
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Manager quitting, should I ask boss to take new responsibilities? I've been working for some months for a very small startup with a bunch of remote employees and interns. I work remotely, mostly doing non scientific research to be published in the company blog. Manager had a lot of responsibilities, but now has delegated everything to other people. I feel these people are interns or low level employees, but actually I don't know them, I just see they are members of the Slack group. I want to do other tasks besides what I'm doing now, like content curation. Does it feel unprofessional if I directly ask the CEO about it? I chatted with the CEO only 2 or 3 times, and he seems to be a nice guy. If you feel it is OK, how would you approach it without sounding unprofessional? <Q> Asking for more responsibilities is a very good thing to do, provided you have been covering your existing responsibilities well. <S> Going to the CEO directly may or may not be a good thing. <S> In general, you should RARELY go more than 2 levels up or down in an organization for anything. <S> Going higher than that can come across as disrespecting your management structure. <S> Going lower than that can make your direct subordinates feel "bypassed" and reduces their authority in their teams. <S> So if you're a fairly flat organization, and the CEO is just 2 'levels' up, this may be a good idea. <S> If you're a line level employee and there's a VP and a director between your manager and you, then you probably want to talk to your director. <A> Quite frankly it seems to me that a lot of (maybe even most?) <S> people out there seem to want to reduce the amount of responsibilities they have - somebody going out of their way and actively asking if they can do more for the employer is always a positive. <S> You could approach the CEO and just straight out that since X is leaving the company, you would be more than willing to take on any additional responsibilities. <S> Even if they don't have anything for you to do at the moment, they could find additional tasks for you to attempt in the near future. <A> In fact, most leaders (the good ones anyway) will be quite happy with you for it. <S> They like employees who take the initiative to develop themselves. <S> Stepping up to volunteer for the tasks your old manager was doing actually makes their job easier; now they don't have to go figure out who is going to do that work. <S> Be prepared to explain why you are the right person for the task; they will want to make sure you are qualified to do it. <S> But beyond that, there isn't anything special you need to say to ask for this. <S> Just set up time with them and go for it.
| If the CEO is your next-in-line in your report structure now that your manager is gone, they are the person to ask. There is nothing unprofessional about asking for more responsibilities, nor is there anything wrong with asking for duties that will help you shape your career to what you want it to be. No, it wouldn't be unprofessional.
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How to deal with relatively technically incompetent coworker? I'm a software engineer. I work in a mid-sized startup that is growing very, very fast. Overall, I love my job, my coworkers and the atmosphere. One thing about my company is that most staff have technical background. Even our product managers, QAs, customer support, sales team have engineering background. This may sound ridiculous and unnecessary to some people, but it makes a lot of things very easy for me. I can just go to a support member and explain the bug/feature/algorithm in engineer-speak and they'll immediately understand and respond to the customer in the appropriate human-speak/business-speak language. This enables product managers to design a good tech product. E.g. one of our product manager is EE engineer by education so it's very easy to talk to them about various aspects of my work, they understand the difficulties, priorities etc. There is one coworker in QA team that unfortunately frustrates me though. I've been working with them closely last few months since we're making a brand new product and I'm the tech lead of one of the parts. Their job title is "Hardware QA engineer". They do know basic things like how to use terminal, read code, basic electronics etc. But whenever we go into more tricky topics like debugging non-trivial stuff, they seem a little helpless. I end up debugging with them for extended periods of time. At some point, they dictate me what they're trying to test, and I run (manual) tests for them. These parts aren't even related to my part of the pipeline. My work is tested and working, but there are other issues elsewhere and to make sure my work isn't buggy I need to understand bugs in other parts too, and since they do it inefficiently, I end up doing the work. I must also say that I'm definitely not talking about a coworker who's slacking off or anything like that. (and even if they did, I wouldn't care since I'm not any higher position than them; in fact, I'm more junior). I'd imagine for a QA position they have more than enough technical expertise. They understand technical concepts and can perform tests. It's just that they seem to bottleneck the development as everyone else, even in less technical positions, have more knowledge in the field. This frustrates me. How should I approach this situation? I believe since they're doing everything right, I should correct the way I approach this issue? I just want to make sure I respect my coworker and improve my and company's productivity and make the best product we can make. Any ideas? <Q> I end up debugging with them for extended periods of time. <S> At some point, they dictate me what they're trying to test, and I run (manual) tests for them. <S> Please discontinue doing that immediately. <S> It seems somehow they want to depend on you <S> are <S> you are (unknowingly) helping them to be dependent on you. <S> I'd imagine for a QA position they have more than enough technical expertise. <S> They understand technical concepts and can perform tests. <S> It's just that they seem to bottleneck the development as everyone else, even in less technical positions, have more knowledge in the field. <S> This clearly indicates that they are not suitable for their role. <S> You have to either Learn the knowledge / qualities required for a job / position <S> Make way for someone who is qualified. <S> Suggestion ( in the given order ) <S> STOP helping them for all the tasks. <S> Let them work it and prolong or fail. <S> Try to visualize the overall bottleneck without finger-pointing, to your manager / boss. <S> Also, make a list of occasions where you helped them to achieve the outcome, over and above your expected schedule / jurisdiction. <S> (ex: any training / orientation session that can be conducted to bring them up to speed). <S> Finally, re-affirm the fact that due to the bottleneck, the overall team productivity is lessened. <S> If the upper management is sensible, they should be able to get the "hint" and take necessary actions. <A> They're a hardware engineer. <S> You're lucky they can even write code. <S> That's not a software focused role. <S> If it's supposed to be a software focused role, it needs to be made clear that a hardware engineer isn't going to cut it. <S> People take a while to warm up to being good at their job too. <S> Try giving this coworker some time. <S> QA doesn't mean not junior. <S> After being corrected on what a hardware QA engineer does, this person just sound like a junior. <S> For a junior, this doesn't sound like a big deal. <A> Either it is the case that Developer's assisting QA is an expected part of the Hardware QA process, or it is not. <S> If it is the case that Hardware QA should be self-sufficient, this gap in technical capability should be reported to this Engineer's management as a drag on project velocity. <S> Either way, from your description, it sounds like you're spending a lot of time testing that someone else's code <S> works on hardware. <S> You're the wrong person to do this. <S> The person to do this should be the developer working on that code, not you. <S> It should be part of any development process for Development and QA to work together to some degree to make sure the product is tested, but that doesn't mean some arbitrary Development resource, it means the actual author of the code being tested, or at minimum, an individual whose recent work has been focusing on that part of the codebase. <S> Spending time with QA trying to test someone else's code from a part of the product you don't normally touch is fundamentally inefficient, this particular Engineer's expertise aside. <S> Try to fix that problem first. <S> After addressing that, if the extra effort to support this individual is still a huge drag on development resources, try to see if you can get this individual to pair with someone else in the QA org for more in depth debugging or reproduction efforts. <S> They will likely benefit from instruction/knowledge transfer from someone who is used to looking at things from the same perspective, and solving the same general sorts of problems.
| Communicate the solutions you can offer Occasional chat / help is understood and appreciated but that should never reach a point where you're doing someone else's work for them. There is no excuse for being not qualified for a role / position. Direct this Engineer to work with the Developers who are directly responsible for the functionality he's trying to test. If they are completely unteachable, then that problem will naturally bubble up to the places in the management structure that are best suited to address them, and if they aren't, they'll learn to be self sufficient and you'll no longer have the problem.
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Appropriate ways to speak about commitment vs. involvement I work in a software organization that has implemented a variation of the scrum methodology. One manager has shared the chicken and pig metaphor on multiple occasions to describe how the team members (developers + QA) are responsible for the approaches, tools, and methods used, and the results accomplished. In various meetings, he has said things like "I'm a chicken. You guys are the pigs, so to speak", to emphasize the difference in roles. I appreciate hearing the analogy- it demonstrates a valuable principle. But I think that repeatedly referring to ourselves as 'chickens' and 'pigs' in a professional workplace, in an off-hand reference to this analogy, doesn't communicate the highest sense of respect and trust. What other approaches/metaphors/language could be used to encourage commitment and not just involvement? <Q> What other approaches/metaphors/language could be used to encourage commitment and not just involvement? <S> I am put in mind of this diagram, which is on a slightly different (but related) subject: (From here ) <S> Build a culture that provides them with intrinsic motivation that will make them want to do a job well, and feel proud when they've done it. <S> In particular, give those doing the work and empowered to make decisions about how it should best be done, a direct and personal connection to the stakeholders who are awaiting the output of their efforts. <S> Help people understand why they are doing what they are doing, to appreciate the problems they are helping to solve, and a sense of shared camaraderie. <S> Don't call them pigs or chickens, or any other silly and potentially insulting names created by grey-suit-wearing drones in some corporation they've never heard of. <S> Commitment to a project isn't achieved by metaphors. <S> It's achieved by empowerment. <A> It's not just the metaphor that's weak, it's also the underlying dichotomy <S> I have never heard the ideas in this metaphor expressed in this way before. <S> I think there are better metaphors, but in order to find and understand them it's better to abandon the phrasing of "involvement vs. commitment. <S> " A light reading makes the whole thing sound like you should turn your office into some sort of crazy suicide cult to get the breakfast made. <S> That's actually the opposite of what it's supposed to convey, that the "committed" should exercise more say over how things get done than the "involved. <S> " It sounds like that's really what your manager wants people to feel, but being compared to livestock probably paints the wrong picture. <S> Instead of a dichotomy, just focus on the thing you really want: <S> Empowerment <S> It ultimately does not matter if some people are merely "involved" while others are "committed", you need everyone to start acting like thinking adults who can make decisions. <S> In order to do that, they have to feel like they're allowed to make decisions. <S> The common management buzzword for this is empowerment , that they feel empowered to decide things. <S> The best way to do this, is to take an attitude that lets employees know that they actually get to make the decisions, by making them make decisions. <S> "What tools are we allowed to use for QA?" <S> "You tell me. <S> If you need us to buy it, let me know <S> and I'll get some budget allocated. <S> " They'll understand it once they realize that, they're allowed to decide and that deciding leads to things actually happening. <S> It's hard to explain it to people, it's something you learn through action. <S> If you still need metaphors because you feel the need to explain this to people, use ones that put the burden of deciding or acting on the employee <S> Here's a bunch: <S> "You're the one in the driver's seat" <S> "You guys are the boots on the ground here" "It's going to be your scalpel, not mine" -- specifically for something tool-related. <S> In all of these, the burden for acting is shifted to the employee; driver must steer, the soldier has to attack the enemy, the surgeon has to do the cutting. <S> The problem with the livestock analogy is that livestock doesn't do anything besides stand around until it's time to get butchered. <A> A great many relationships can be metaphors. <S> Offhand, the following come to mind: Parent and most any role of a child (learning to drive, <S> student, sports) Teacher and student Minister/Officiant and bride or groom Tattoo artist and customer Artist and canvas Stream and <S> canyon <S> I'd say start with what works with chicken and pig. <S> Two main things come to mind for me: Finality. <S> The pig is clearly and finally committed. <S> The chicken is involved but unattached. <S> Abstraction. <S> Guessing <S> this is a scrum context or other business relationship metaphor, the point in part is to steer away from connotations of a superior and an inferior person. <S> These roles are all important just different in nature. <S> Considering especially that second point, the stream and canyon might work. <S> Water may dry up and come again, but the canyon/landscape are forever invested in the result, whatever interaction happens. <A> Wow: a manager says he is certain to survive the project (all he has to do is "lay an egg") <S> while his people won't (you'll become the "bacon" via the slaughterhouse)! <S> To put it mildly, that's a strange way to try to motivate people. <S> He should consider going back to manager school, and definitely back to metaphor school. <S> If this is what he learned at scrum-master training, he missed the whole point. <S> (tl;dr don't take his motivational speeches too seriously.) <S> But that's not what you asked. <S> A far more appropriate metaphor is midwife and mother . <S> You and your colleagues are doing something very challenging ("giving birth") to deliver something wonderful and new ("baby"). <S> The manager's ("midwife's") job is to guide you, clear away obstacles, and give you comfort and support when you need it.
| If you want your team to feel commitment to the project, provide them with the power and the tools to make meaningful decisions about the project that affect its successful outcome - let them choose how to do it, and support that choice.
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Can a company back out after accepting a signed offer A firm sent me and offer, I accepted the offer and this acceptance was acknowledged by the firm After a few weeks, I got a call from the firm informing me that the offer is still pending approval ? <Q> Yes it is possible for a firm to back out of an offer. <S> This might be breach of contract, but notice the following points: <S> There is usually an initial probationary period which can be terminated with notice of a week. <S> (It might be argued that the week's notice only applies after you have started, but that would depend on the exact wording of the contract.) <S> If you hadn't agreed a starting date, you didn't have a contract - you were still negotiating the terms. <S> Even if they have breached the contract, your losses are, at most, one week's wages (because they could have waited till you started, and then let you go). <S> It is unlikely to be worth suing them for a week's wages - if you have sued an employer, you will be less attractive to other employers. <S> I presume you have given notice at your previous company. <S> I suggest you return to job hunting with renewed vigour. <S> I wouldn't try to return to your previous company - but it might be worth investigating if they would be interested in employing you as a short-term contractor (it depends how valuable you are to them). <A> If the offer was either unconditional or you've met all the conditions specified in the offer than it became a binding contract when you accepted it - if they withdraw it now you <S> can sue them for breach of contract but it would be difficult to prove losses of more than the wages you would be owed for statutory notice period (1 week unless the contract specifies more) if there are unmet conditions <S> then they can withdraw it freely. <S> Is it worth suing for that week's wages? <S> Maybe - it's not going to be a fast process nor a cheap one and you might not come out any better off. <S> Depending on the circumstances you may be able to do more than this - if you have evidence that a withdrawal of an offer was due to discrimination (specifically for a protected characteristic ) then you can take them to an employment tribunal. <S> Hopefully this may not actually come to the point of a withdrawal (assuming I'm reading your post correctly <S> it's only referred to as "pending approval" at this point) and things will work out. <A> I have had two related experiences in the U.K.: One, at a major company they made an offer, then the budget was cut. <S> The opinion of the managers discussing this was that they prayed the offer wouldn’t be accepted, because they would have to hire the person and someone would be in trouble with their budget. <S> Two, at one company they hired someone and before his starting date, the whole department including the manager hiring him were laid off. <S> The guy arrived and nobody knew who he was. <S> He stayed there for six years. <S> Making you an offer without having approval is bad. <S> It’s reckless and a major red flag. <S> (Both cases I mentioned the hiring was approved and then things went wrong). <S> I’d strongly recommend that you continue or restart your job search. <S> And if you have given notice, talk to your old company. <S> They might be happy to keep you longer. <S> Or they are not, but worth trying.
| If they cancel the offer more than a week before the planned starting date, then that is an end of it.
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Incorrect date of birth in Job Offer I have recently been provided with a written job offer from a German company to sign. While applying for the job during the application process, there was an issue with the website so I was only able to select the first of the month in the DOB field. Suppose my date of birth is April 15, I could only be able to select April 1. I didn't bother much since I was applying to many companies in a hurry. Now, after all the interviews, the company has given me a contract with incorrect date of birth which has to be signed within a week. I have to ask the HR now to modify the DOB in the contract. I am already feeling so embarrassed to ask HR about it. My question is do HR have to make a new contract and get the sign of my manager and director again or can this be rectified simply by writing a note on the same contract. Any advice would be appreciated! Update : I have talked to HR. She asked me to fill a form on joining date and she will make the corrections. Sweet! Thanks for help! <Q> I have to ask the HR now to modify the DOB in the contract. <S> I am already feeling so embarrassed to ask HR about it. <S> You had to input an incorrect date because of a problem from their side. <S> There's nothing for you to be embarrassed about. <S> My question is do HR have to make a new contract and get the sign of my manager and director again or can this be rectified simply by writing a note on the same contract. <S> We cannot say. <S> They would know what they need to / supposed to do. <A> You're making a too big fuss about this, I would say. <S> I would consider it a typo and ask the HR to correct it, just phrase the email/letter in an ambiguous way as where the typo arose from, like: <S> (Thank you for the contract.... <S> blablabla polite stuff) <S> The month and year are correct, but the day is incorrect. <S> It should be 15 April 1888. <S> ... blablabla polite stuff. <S> This way you don't blame anyone, typos in contracts/forms/... appear all the time and people are used to correcting them. <S> Considering informing them about the bug: Either you are not the first and they should see the pattern even without you informing them, or it was a bad match of your PC and their website, in which case it's probably not really worth dealing with. <A> Your date of birth is not an integral part of the contract, and could easily be corrected by writing the correct date and initialing it with a pen. <S> But let HR know that you've signed it, but that the DOB needs correcting in the HR system. <S> Don't sweat it!
| Unfortunately, there is a typo in my date of birth. Bring the issue up to HR and follow up with them.
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How to deal with a job interview if you are not sure you want to switch jobs? I've been with my current company for just couple of months. The job itself is great. But since we don't get along well with my direct boss, who mentioned that we might need to part ways, I started searching for a new position and - to my surprise - landed first interviews very quickly. In the meantime the boss has started being nicer to me and I'm not sure whether I should consider changing jobs so quickly. What is the best tactic here? Are there reasons why I should cancel the interviews? During the interviews, should I be clear about my not being sure about switching yet? If so, how should I explain why I've even applied? The question linked is different since I don't just want to practice interviews. I'm not sure whether I need a new job and my reasons for that are quite specific. <Q> An interview is a two-way street, allowing the company to evaluate a potential employee, but also allowing the applicant to evaluate a potential employer. <S> I have never walked into a job interview with total certainty that I'd take a job if offered - <S> how could I without knowing if the offer is any good? <S> There is no reason to bring up the fact that you might not take the job if offered, as that should be expected of anyone they offer a job to. <S> If you are certain that you would not take the job if offered, then you should cancel your interview since it'll be a waste of time for everyone. <S> That threshold will vary from person to person, but if you don't feel like you're wasting your own time with the interview, then you're not wasting theirs, either. <A> In the meantime the boss has started being nicer to me <S> and I'm not sure whether I should consider changing jobs so quickly. <S> Is there any guarantee that your boss won't turn the other way again, soon (once you stop looking for other jobs)? <S> I'm not sure whether I need a new job and <S> my reasons for that are quite specific. <S> Remember <S> , they are the one suggested you to look for other opportunities - if I were you, I'd take that advice seriously, find a new job and move on. <S> As you've already started the process, continue on that and get yourself a new job. <S> If asked for the reason in the interview, you can avoid getting into details and use one of the canned-comments, like The work expectations are not met <S> and I realized I'll not be able to unleash my full potential. <S> I'm looking for something more challenging. <S> At least, you would find a better manager. <A> But since we don't get along well with my direct boss, who mentioned that we might need to part ways, I started searching for a new position and - to my surprise - landed first interviews very quickly. <S> If I were you I would definitely find a new job if a boss mentioned something like that to me <S> What is the best tactic here? <S> Are there reasons why I should cancel the interviews? <S> During the interviews, should I be clear about my not being sure about switching yet? <S> If so, how should I explain why I've even applied? <S> I wouldn't cancel the interviews unless you are certain you want to stay at your current company. <S> In that case- <S> you'd be wasting both the company's time and your own. <S> As far as explaining why you're applying for different jobs I would NOT say anything related to not getting along with your boss or not being sure if you want to switch jobs because you're unsure of which job you will have. <S> You can say something like <S> I am interested in pursuing new opportunities and was excited by the prospect of working at [insert company here] because of [insert reasons related to the company here]. <S> Reasons being reasons including company values, <S> type of work/projects you'd be doing, work environment, more challenging atmosphere, etc. <A> As noted in other answers, both the candidate and the employer enter an interview with uncertainty -- you don't know you'd take the job before you can learn more about it, and they don't know they'd hire you before screening you. <S> If you're entering with good faith, meaning you might take the job depending on how the interview goes, there's no need to cancel. <S> You said you've only been at your current place two months. <S> They will ask about that (in particular, they want to know if you'll do that to them too) <S> , so that's your opportunity to "spin" your search. <S> When they ask why you're looking so soon, you can say that the position you just took turns out not to be a good fit <S> so you're exploring options, because your goal is a long, mutually-beneficial working relationship.
| As long as you approach the interview in good faith, meaning there's some reasonable chance you'd take a job if offered, then there's no need to cancel.
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Two recruiters both claim to have exclusivity on a role Recruiter A called me a informed of an available role and mentioned that the role would not be live for a few days until they get sign off. They also mention they have exclusivity on the role and so I replied to an email saying I'm happy for recruiter A to represent me going for this role. Recruiter B calls and tells me about exactly the same role; I explain that I've already been put forward and that I cannot proceed with another recruiter. Recruiter B then states that they have exclusivity on the role and that my previous application wouldn't go anywhere. The fact that recruiter A said the role wouldn't be live for a few days and that no one else knows about the role implies that they are lying over exclusivity and that I don't have a chance of getting the job. If this is true, I've given my legal consent to be represented by recruiter A whom is unable to represent me - something I cannot prove. Has anyone dealt with this scenario? Should I forget about this role at this point? It's a shame the recruitment industy is in such a state. <Q> Has anyone dealt with this scenario? <S> Should I forget about this role at this point? <S> I suggest that you consider pursuing other job options, as this situation here seems a bit fishy for me (or at least seems like two recruiters fighting over a candidate). <S> Don't discard this opportunity yet; see how this situation evolves and if you eventually have a chance to land an offer. <S> It could be that the job ends up looking promising, and it's just the recruiters that are acting unprofessionally. <S> However, don't rely solely on this chance, and keep job-hunting for alternatives in case this negotiation falls down. <A> Often, the recruiter has: a maximum of candidate that he is allowed to present set by hiscustomer, like 1 or 2 a deadline <S> So multiple scenarios can happen ... <S> Here one: <S> The recruiter sign you up, but another candidate look better, because the limit is 1, he present the other candidate and even if this candidate is declined, you are no more allowed to apply with another agency even if you were not presented. <S> Here another one: <S> The recruiter customer is a large known company. <S> They have multiple departments and because they promote self management team, each department use the recruiting agency that fulfill their needs. <S> You got a call from recruiter1 for a position in department1, later, you get a call from recruiter2 for department2 with the same generic position title at the same company but it is not the same position even if the job description match. <S> Conclusion <S> Scenario1 show there is a lot of trust with recruiters. <S> You never know if they represent you or not and if everything they say is true: how they present their customer, the position, salary/rate expectation. <S> I recommend to deal with the only one that you trust. <S> Scenario2 show there is a lot of job in the market, <S> when you accept a recruiter represent you, I suggest to ask him to write down the ID of the position given by his customer in your contract/mail. <S> This will allow you to be presented by two agencies for two different positions at the same customer. <S> At this point, I would I will forget about this role, getting represented by recruiter B may lead to legal dispute and if this happen, you need to be a super star or having rare skills in your field to not let be dropped by the customer. <S> You may ask some clarification from both recruiters to get a feel from them for the next opportunity. <S> At first glance, I would not believe both recruiters because A seems to have lie while B seems to badmouth A and seems to gamble by pushing you to get represented twice at the same company which may get you in some troubles. <A> Talk to recruiter A. <S> You only have recruiter B's word for it that he has exclusivity. <S> Ask <S> recruiter A <S> what's going on, and if he insists that he still has exclusivity, tell him how many days you're willing to wait before you drop him. <S> He did say it wouldn't be live for "a few days". <S> Presumably those few days will run out relatively quickly. <S> If you've waited enough days that it should have gone live and the recruiter should have been able to make something happen, you can assert a reasonable belief that the agreement was entered into under false pretenses, and switch to recruiter B. Possibly make sure that recruiter B can give you some clear assurance of their own legitimacy before you tell A to take a hike, though. <S> Regardless, the standard advice of "don't stop looking until you have offer in hand" most definitely applies in this case. <A> IANAL I would not weed yourself out of the role because HR and recruiters don't have their stories straight. <S> That may say very little about the overall company or division you'd work in. <S> Do keep that in mind when interviewing. <S> The safest option would be to reach out to the company's HR and explain the situation. <S> This comes with a few benefits: <S> You have an actual reason to talk to them, not just circumventing their hiring process. <S> It's a small shot at making an impression other candidates don't get. <S> You will show yourself to be upstanding. <S> The issue can be cleared up. <S> I've heard of companies tossing out candidates submitted by two different recruiters just to avoid any legal battle over it. <S> In that light, I'd very much talk with their HR before telling a second company to submit you. <S> I have been told by a recruiter they had an "exclusive" after another <S> had already contacted me on the same role. <S> Some of these recruiters are unscrupulous. <S> Sometimes, they can guess who the hiring company is and try to get someone in ahead of the competition. <S> Often there's probably just a miscommunication.
| Expressing a desire to do the right thing by a prospective employer is unlikely to do you any harm. Depending of the negotiation between his agency and his customer, they may have a exclusivity period like 24H or 48H where the customer must accept or decline the candidates, after the deadline, other recruiting agencies may send candidature. It's possible that both are lying to you.
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Interviewing with an early stage startup - how to find the expected work/life balance without seeming like one wants to just clock in and out? I’m in talks with an early age startup (would be joining as employee number 2). I do realise that working in a startup is not a classic 9-5. I understand that there might often be deadlines which will require me to put in more work than that. I understand that and am ok with this arrangement - obviously I will want to put in those hours because once on board I will want the product to succeed. But I also understand that in a startup there is potentially unbounded amount of week-to-week work which means how much one works is largely determined by what the company founders expect. I value having time off, not only because of hobbies, social life etc, but also for mental health’s sake. And so if they expect that I should have no life and spend 100 hours a week on this project like they might do, then it’s easier to know that before getting on board rather than finding out later, quitting and wasting everyone’s time. So, how do I find out what is the average normal time committment expected of me, roughly, while also not making it seem like I expect to be simply clocking in and out? <Q> Asking a question that makes the interviewer think "Nope, not hiring this person" doesn't automatically mean it's a bad question! <S> Imagine if you went to a job interview and the person asked, "Would you be willing to donate 30% of your salary to Habitat for Humanity?" <S> Probably not - 30% is a lot of your pay. <S> So you might think that's a bad question <S> - it would immediately make a lot of applicants decide they didn't want the job. <S> But it's actually a great question, <S> if the workplace wanted people willing to donate heavily to charity: they're weeding out the people that wouldn't be a good fit - which is the entire point of an interview question! <S> So, should you ask a question about work/home balance? <S> Absolutely! <S> If the manager thinks, "Ugh, this person isn't going to fit in with the amount of hours <S> I'm expecting them to be willing to commit" <S> - you want the manager to weed you out, because you're not going to be happy with the position that's open. <S> Getting rejected for a job opening isn't automatically bad! <A> If they decline to allow this, that is a red flag and I would not bother continuing talks with this company. <S> Regardless, keep in mind that startups where the founders expect all the employees to have no life and work 100 hour weeks seems to be the norm rather than the exception. <S> If work/life balance is that important to you, I wouldn't bother with a startup unless you were founding it yourself and setting the precedence. <A> Here's the thing: I do want to work eight hours a day and no more. <S> And I do a good job in eight hours. <S> I know I wouldn't do any more work in ten hours, so that would be pointless. <S> Now whether the startup thinks spending time in the office is necessary to prove your dedicated, or whether they just think they want someone to do the job reliably, that's up to them. <A> Read "Slicing Pie" about wages vs equity in a startup. <S> If you're getting paid 100% of your market wage, you get no equity; if you work for free, you get your wage equivalent in equity, and everything in between. <S> The important thing is, this should be laid out before you start. <S> This approach accounts for the different needs and expectations of a startup's employees. <A> I think you can clue in on the environment or just the building they're in. <S> Do they have a open office where it seems like everyone can see what everyone is doing at any given time? <S> Is the office in a small place like a converted hanger or factory floor? <S> Also you can ask simple questions like if they have the product out yet? <S> What is the status of the product like? <S> Are there coworkers or partners in different time zones? <S> You can also view their website. <S> How long have they been a start up? <S> What clients they have right now? <S> I think these questions might give you a clue on what sort of environment you're getting into <S> and you can assess yourself if that's something reasonable to commit to.
| Ask the founders if you can speak with the other employee about the company, to get a feel for how everything is.
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What to do when no company is offering reasonable salary because of the past company? I'm new in the workforce. I have been working as a designer for past one and half years. The problem is the city I live in doesn't have much opportunity (actually not any) in the profession and my first employer was a startup in my town. They paid me half of the minimum acceptable wage for designers in my country from the beginning. They said they were paying the same to everyone else and that is what they can afford. I also didn't push thinking this is the first opportunity and I will have experience at least because I didn't go to design school and so I have less experience to brag about regardless of my skill and knowledge of design. Later after talking to other employees, I got to know everyone was getting paid at least two or three times more than me. I left the company last year because their business failed and at the end they were not able to pay salaries to employees. Now the problem is not a single company will offer me a reasonable salary. I did apply in other cities. They all are asking my Cost To Company in the previous organization and deciding an amount based upon that which is not even enough to sustain my life and pay bills, rent etc in another city. The latest was a company in the costliest city of my country (where the cost of life is 72% higher than my home city) offered me a reasonable amount but then changed it to an absurdly low amount after seeing my previous offer letter. Other companies I negotiated with are imposing ridiculous conditions to just pay the average minimum salary, regardless of which city they are based in, like work 65 hours a week and such. The problem is they all are offering reasonable amount to other person of my skillset and experience but offering me less from the beginning because they think I'm cheap labour. I don't know if my approach is wrong... What should I do? UPDATE: Employers are now asking to provide a mandatory form 16 (certificate from employer which says tax has been deducted on the mentioned salary). Thanks to my previous employer from the startup, I wasn't in the tax bracket. So the form was not needed. And I didn't get paid my salary of the last months because the employer went broke and unreachable later. Providing a tax-form is a distant dream. Anyways, I'm pretty sure I'm not legally bound to provide that sort of information in my country or under any democratic country's laws. But the employers are like asking with a gun on my head "provide that, or we don't accept your acceptance of the offer" (one literally said that). The last company who lowered the offer, confirmed what my role would be in their company and the sum they are willing to offer during interviews. I also told during interviews that I was underpaid in my past company and it has very little to do with my skill. Upon hearing that, they repeatedly said "No problem, send us your documents. Will amount X will be reasonable for you?" I said "yes sure. But I would like to see the offer letter before I make any suggestion." As I provided my documents after 3 rounds of interviews during a whole month, bam! They even changed my job position. Offered me a position lower in hierarchy and I didn't even apply for that. I applied, interviewed, and completed their assignment for a different position. Now they are saying I didn't state my expected ctc (well but you did!) and the responsibility is same just the name is different (so not true). It is like asking a clerk to do the manager's job for a clerk's salary. Is it even a legit thing to do anywhere in the world?This is just becoming a practical joke. I'm truly feeling harassed now. <Q> You said (in the comments) that you were not required to show them what you earned in your last job, but that you would not want to outright lie to them. <S> It would be no lie to simply respond 'no' to their request for that Information. <S> In my personal experience, a firm 'no' in response to a request for personal information is accepted in most situations. <S> Of course, there is the possibility that companies who want to short-change you in regards to your salary anyhow, will not offer you a job if you refuse to share that information with them. <S> But I'd call that a dodged bullet, to be honest. <A> "I'm not interested in talking about my old salary - I'm interested in whether this position would be a good opportunity for me and my growth, and whether I'd be a good fit for your company." <S> HR wants to know your prior salary for two reasons: <S> They want to make sure you're not someone who expects more than they are willing to pay for the position <S> They want to offer you the smallest amount you'd reasonably accept. <S> So if you were making 15/week before, they're not going to offer you30/week, when they could realistically expect you to accept 18/week. <S> It's in your best interest to simply not give them an answer. <S> I recently applied for an opening via a company website, because I felt my salary was below my rate/worth. <S> The app page asked for my ending salary at each of my prior jobs. <S> I tried to leave it blank. <S> It errored out, highlighting the fields in red, indicating they were required . <S> So I simply put a dash character in each of them. <S> Which worked (if it hadn't, I would've simply put a zero.) <S> The HR person reading it obviously could tell that I wasn't going to answer that question... ... and they still contacted me to set up an interview. <S> And because of how I handled it, they couldn't use my current salary as an achor/baseline for what amount they would offer me. <A> I can only speak in concept as it seems the US and India have very different employment laws. <S> I would suggest waiting until documentation of your prior salary becomes required. <S> In this way, they've already judged you as the professional you are. <S> Before you then provide the documentation, I would state something like the following: " <S> This position is definitely interesting to me and one that I am clearly qualified to fill. <S> I will gladly provide documentation of my prior experience. <S> You'll surely note that the salary I accepted as a fresher at a startup is considerably lower than this role's value. <S> The figure reflects a struggling company's inability to pay and nothing of my skill or value. <S> I will happily be an asset to this company and <S> in return only require that a salary commensurate with the role is provided." <S> Or perhaps you can staple that to the letter. <S> The point is, wait <S> until they've seen that you are valid for the role in question then clarify that your only requirement is simply that you get judged by that vs. a former mistake. <S> UPDATE <S> It's not terribly surprising for a company to ignore a statement as above. <S> On one side, many companies are thick-headed and their HR, accounting or other dept. have too much control in picking talent they know nothing of. <S> Overall, there's a little merit to the idea because it keeps rogue managers from running the company out of business. <S> On the other, there's a chance this is a bargaining tactic. <S> They may be thinking they can get you cheaper by saying "it's policy". <S> Either way, you need to decide whether you're willing to walk away from this offer or not. <S> If they're just hoping to get you cheaply <S> and you are willing to walk away, you might have a chance at something like, <S> "Thank you for the offer and I understand you have a policy. <S> I have a policy of being paid reasonably for the value I am providing, which I believe the process up to this point has demonstrated. <S> I would gladly consider an offer that reflects my actual value to you. <S> Otherwise, I thank you for your time and wish you luck in filling the role." <A> Job Hopping <S> Warning: This only applies to India. <S> I had a discussion about this practice with an Indian colleague who is a team lead in India. <S> Unfortunately it's common practice. <S> People with few experience will switch jobs often. <S> Sometimes you can negotiate a counter offer, then you should take it, but only to get a better number for the next job - rather than staying there. <A> Not sure of how your contract looked like and if it is a common practice in India, but a lot of job/B2B contracts in Europe straight out forbid disclosing salaries to other companies for a certain period (1 year for example), and saying "I am sorry, but due to my last contract's limitations I cannot disclose this information" would be a perfectly reasonable response here.
| Redirect if possible, and be firm in saying that you're not interested in disclosing your prior salary. The only way to get more salary is to take the best offer you can get and start job hunting again.
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Is it a breach of confidentiality for a UK manager to tell others of my resignation? I resigned in writing from my position yesterday afternoon and have been working away from the office and my colleagues today. I received a message today from a colleague saying they are sorry to hear I’m leaving. I questioned where they had heard this and they say our manager has told them. I’m annoyed that this gossiping has happened and wondered if this is a breach of confidentiality within the UK workplace. I’ve still got 4 weeks notice to work so am surprised that everyone will now know before I’ve had a chance to tell them and this has made me feel awkward now. <Q> Keep in mind that your manager now has to balance your workload among your colleagues <S> so it is good that they know as early as possible. <S> In the future, if you wish to personally tell your colleagues about your resignation then do not resign while working remotely or kindly ask your manager to allow you to break the news to them. <A> I’m annoyed that this gossiping has happened <S> It might have been gossiping, but it doesn't seem to have been. <S> I questioned where they had heard this <S> and they say our manager has told them. <S> This seems normal, especially in the context of e.g. a team meeting. <S> You have no right to confidentiality about your resignation. <S> It is an official company issue, and representatives of the company may inform whoever they wish, for any reason. <S> In some cases they will be required to do so, such as tax office. <S> In other cases, it may be necessary for planning. <S> Usually there is some etiquette around resignations, which varies by region and company internal culture. <S> In my experience, often managers will respect a request that you inform colleagues first, and will either allow you to announce it yourself or share it themselves equally in some group meeting. <S> In some cases, managers prefer to keep a resignation quiet until a "good time". <S> It is possible your manager has breached etiquette for your company or region. <S> But they haven't breached any right of confidentiality purely by mentioning that you were leaving. <S> Even if you explicitly state that your resignation should be kept confidential, this has no real weight except that the manager might agree to your request. <S> If there is extra information around the reason for you leaving, that might be protected. <S> And it would be poor etiquette to frame it as you being fired if you had not been for example (in some cases this could be slander, or libel when written down assuming it is not true). <S> You don't go into detail in the question, but that does not seem to be the case here. <A> No, it is not a breach of confidentiality, especially if this is within the normal notice period. <S> What did you expect? <S> That your manager keeps your exit secret until your last day and then 3 hours before you are leaving says "ok, do the handover now". <S> That wold be truely unprofessional. <S> If it is clever to tell the whole team immediately or not is up to the manager who has to deal with replacing you.
| Unless you explicitly asked for confidentiality with regards your resignation and your manager agreed to it, your manager informing your colleagues is not a breach.
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Recieving new offer but no matching title and salary Three years ago I started as a helpdesk employee. (salary scale A) At my company we currently have 4 helpdesk employees and 3 application managers. I received good/excellent reviews 3 years in a row now. When I started there were 4 application managers, 1 of them switched to another role and most of his tasks were transferred to me. I do these things while still doing all the tasks I signed up for three years ago. I talked to my manager and made it clear there is not much for me to learn anymore at my current position so we agreed I would help out our BI department to see if is my cup of tea. At the same time we agreed I would join our development team. We spoke about it after a few weeks and we agreed that in my 'new' function my workload would look like this: 1 day resolving tickets for support that my other co workers cant figure out.2 days working at BI2 days at development My manager will sit with HR next week to discuss my new role. But between the lines I read that she wants me to keep working under my current title but then under salary scale B with my new responsibility's (BI and development) listed as my job descriptions responsibility's. This does not feel right with me. The people I will work with at the BI/development department do have appropriate titles (lets say BI developer, Application developer). Also I feel like for at least 1,5 years now I have done most of the work an application manager usually does. They also have a salary at least in scale C. I think i deserve a new function(title) given the situation. The salary scale is debatable but honestly i will only be doing my 'old' job 1 day a week, and even then only picking up the niche/difficult tickets that would otherwise escalate to an application manager or supplier. Am i being unreasonable? I think i would be more fair if i would simply get multiple/a split title. Imo my 'old' title does not represent my workload and tasks. FunctionA/FunctionB <Q> This is pretty common. <S> Companies don't want to give you a new title and more money and then see if you can hack it as the next level up or not. <S> Instead, often they want to see you perform at the new level prior to doing that. <S> I don't remember the last time <S> I got a raise directly with a job title increase either, it's usually in a later raise cycle or whatnot. <S> Now, sometimes this leads them to take advantage of you by <S> not revisiting that in an appropriate manner. <S> It's fair of you to set expectations with your manager. <S> "OK, so if I perform this new position to your satisfaction, when would we be looking at formalizing the title and increasing my salary commensurate with that position?" <S> The most likely answer is not "now!" <S> The most likely answer is "After 3-6 months we can get you the title, and then you'll be in a new salary band <S> so when annual raises come around you should get more." <S> That's the standard answer. <S> It's not a great answer, as it can tend to leave you behind the curve if the company's not aggressive about it, <S> which is why folks often change companies to get significant increases in salary. <A> It sounds like your manager may be trying to keep open the possibility of you moving back to your old position. <S> Your question makes it sound like you are exploring different options, not committed to a particular path nor experienced with either of the new positions. <S> Given that different skill sets are required between helpdesk employees and application developers, your manager may see this as a kind of informal probation to see if you are capable of doing the job and wish to continue in one of the new positions. <S> Depending on the company, once your title changes it may be difficult to go back to your old title and salary, so failure could lead to dismissal. <S> They may not wish to lose someone with "excellent reviews", as you say. <S> In the long term it's not okay to be working under the wrong title, but for the short term I think a situation like this can be acceptable for someone trying to gain experience in a new field. <A> Am i being unreasonable? <S> No, you're not being unreasonable. <S> Speak to your manager about what an appropriate and reasonable title change and salary increase would be. <S> If they have no plan to adjust your title and/or salary then you should expect that they never will. <S> My intention with this answer is not to be a pessimist, but a realist. <S> Companies that value their employees and care about the growth and success of their employees will work with you to find a "happy medium". <S> Companies that don't value their employees or care about the growth and success of their employees won't work with you to find that "happy medium" and will give you as much responsibility and duties as they can without also giving you the corresponding job title or salary. <S> Use this opportunity to figure out which type of company this is. <S> If it's the latter then it's better to find out as early as possible and move on. <S> Your career success is your responsibility. <S> Never let the company you work for dictate your career to you.
| You can choose to continue on at your current company, but my suggestion would be to start looking for other opportunities for a person with your skill and experience level.
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Dealing with a collegue with habit of spitting I am a junior android developer. I work in a startup. I have one colleague in android department . He has a habit of spitting . If he does not like somebody's opinion. He spit on on the floor in front of that person. He does that to express his disagreement. Suppose He makes an android app. He asks you for your feedback. If your feedback is negative. He will spit either in the air towards you or on the ground in front of you. If someone is not supporting him in his sick schemes. He spits in the air towards a person. If he is offended by something you did or said . He spits. When someone asks why he did it. He says He was chewing tobacco or something else. Or he cannot swallow his saliva. Or some other clever cover up. He is the only colleague who has this habit.It is very disgusting for someone siting next to him. It upsets me. It makes sick. I am unable to do my task properly. I do get distracted. How should I deal with this? What should I do? Edit: what have I done so far ? I tried to convince my colleague to not to do that. But he did not change his habit. I said "please Do not spit in office. It is not professional. It is highly inappropriate" . But it did not work. Edit 2: How should I report this behaviour to my superiors? Edit 3: Is this common behaviour? Edit 4: what would you do if your colleague does same? Edit 5: Is it common that someone spit in office? <Q> How should I deal with this? <S> What should I do? <S> IANAL, nor I live in India, but a quick Google search seems to indicate that not only is this unhealthy, but also seems to be penalized by Indian law, so this is surely something this coworker shouldn't be doing at all. <A> As a fellow IT engineer from India, this is absolutely disgusting behavior. <S> It is neither common nor professionally acceptable. <S> I would advise you to take the below steps: <S> Ask him to stop. <S> You mentioned you have already tried this with no effect. <S> Talk to your manager about this. <S> Tell him everything you have told us. <S> If manager doesn't do anything, talk to HR. <S> If after all this nothing happens, then find a new job and leave the company. <S> (I would say, transfer to a different project/account/department; but as a startup they probably don't have many positions for an Android developer.) <S> A place that does not value cleanliness and professionalism won't teach you anything worthwhile. <A> His behaviour is beyond unacceptable. <S> When someone asks why he did it. <S> He says He was chewing tobacco or something else. <S> Or he cannot swallow his saliva. <S> Or some other clever cover up. <S> If it were me, I'd directly confront him on that. <S> Sorry, <S> but that's a lie. <S> If you really feel the need to do it, take yourself into the bathroom first and do it in private. <S> Some people simply need someone to stand up to them in front of others, and then they'll become rather embarrassed and stop. <S> ... <S> but I also realise that not everyone is able to be that confrontational. <S> In any case, you definitely take it to your manager, and you also need to start making a log of every time this happens - note down dates, times, and the run up of events immediately before. <S> When you've got a log over a few weeks, submit that to your manager and/or HR as evidence.
| If you have already asked your coworker to stop this in a polite way, and did not work, you should take this to your manager/superior , so they can sort this out the way they see fit. You're doing this every time someone disagrees with you, whenever you get negative feedback, or whenever you feel someone has offended you. It's beyond unprofessional, it's unhygienic, demeaning, and quite frankly disgusting.
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Can I adjust my previously stated salary expectation in the interview? I applied for a Data Scientist position in a company in Germany, and I found out that the salary expectation I've stated in my application (it was required) is 10K below what the company usually pays people with profiles similar to me. Now, I'm supposed to have a phone interview with the HR in a few days, and I wonder if/how I can say that my salary expectation should be 10K more than what I stated in my application?! Would it be considered as an amateur/naive move? <Q> I found out that the salary expectation I've stated in my application (it was required) is 10K below what the company usually pays people with profiles similar to me <S> Other people's salaries should not be a factor in your negotiations. <S> However, knowing that your potential employer may be willing to pay more than you've asked for can be. <S> I wonder if/how I can say that my salary expectation should be 10K more than what I stated in my application? <S> Now is not the best time to do this. <S> You have stated the lower bound of your desired salary in the application, but it does not mean you must stick to that number. <S> Attend the HR interview and all subsequent interviews when/if they follow. <S> Get a better understanding of the job requirements, responsibilities, and challenges, of other benefits and perks available to you, of how well you think you and your potential employer fit each other, and whether they really want you (and therefore are willing to negotiate further). <S> If in the course of these interviews you are asked to confirm your salary requirements, you can choose to either to try and defer answering such question until later in the interviewing stage, or, if they absolutely insist, state your "updated" figure. <S> When/if the job offer comes, and it does not already state your desired X + 10K salary, then you can propose a counter-offer with the higher salary; at that point you should have better arguments supporting it than saying "oh, sorry, I made a typo". <A> I wonder if/how I can say that my salary expectation should be 10K more than what I stated in my application? <S> Seems to me that you already stated a number. <S> Your move is already done. <S> Saying <S> "oh, I intended to write X+10k in my application <S> " would not be a recommended move. <A> You certainly can revise your previous figure to be 10k higher - you've not even reached the offer stage yet <S> so no-one is committed to anything but you need to be aware that you'll be doing so from a relatively weak position and that you might be risking your chances of getting the job by doing so. <S> If you decide to try this the best time to do so is after <S> you've had the interview (or at the end) <S> and you've had chance to impress them, this increases the chances that they will be willing to consider you at the higher rate and also gives you a tenuous but viable opening to interject the higher figure in: After learning more about the role and the sort of work I'd be doing <S> I'm very excited by the prospect <S> but I underestimated the complexity/responsibility <S> and I'd have to revise my minimum salary to be <S> Y instead of <S> X Given that you are taking away what a benefit for them <S> (employee at huge discount) <S> it may be wiser to make Y be slightly less than X+10k (perhaps X+8k) <S> since that way they are still getting you "cheaper" than comparable candidates and <S> therefore that still gives you an edge over others and they can still feel like they are "winning" as it were. <A> If it gets you 10k more, it's not an amateur / naïve move. <S> And they are going to hire you as a Data Scientist, not as a salary negotiator. <S> In the end, the company will offer you what they think you're worth. <S> “Now about the salary... I think what I filled out in the form was much too low. <S> I was advised to put in a really low number to get an interview, but then I thought about it and it seems that was really bad advice, and I should get an offer for what I’m worth”. <S> Worst case answer “and what if we told you you are not worth more than you stated?” <S> Your answer: “That would be unfortunate, because I would have to look for a better paying position elsewhere”. <S> Yes, you are not in a good position. <S> Doesn’t mean you can’t try.
| You should have tried to find about that average salary for your profile before making an offer; unfortunately in this situation you found it afterwards, so there is nothing you can do to revert that.
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Can my manager threaten me with firing over not collecting enough email addresses? I work in sales. Every time customer makes a purchase I have to ask if the customer would like an electronic receipt. Most customers do not want it, and as a result I have only taken 10% of email addresses from 2000 transactions in the last month since I can't force a customer to take the electronic receipt. This morning my manager pulled me into the office and said that she is warning me because I have not achieved 25% of electronic receipts last month and if this happens again she will be forced to hand me a P45 tax form. In the UK you get a P45 when you leave your job or when you get fired. So my manager saying she would give me a P45 was basically her saying she will fire me. Now I am wondering, was my boss out of line as I never signed anything about this and it's also not mentioned in my contract? I did not want to say anything as being honest I have been quite emotional from this threat and I don't know if there is anything I can do. <Q> In the UK, a P45 is a document an employee is given when leaving a job or being fired (for those who missed the explanation in the comments. <S> For US readers, this is not "pink slip", but a final payslip; the termination is implicit). <S> You're basically in sales <S> and you're not meeting targets, <S> so, yes, you can be fired for this. <S> It's harsh and unfair, but that's how it is. <S> Another commenter suggested pointing out the opportunity cost of enforcing this (i.e. losing future business of customers who find being pestered for details irritating). <S> I think your argument will fail, as your manager probably also has targets. <S> Sorry, Virshdee. <S> Meet those targets or look for another job. <A> First up you have my sympathies - it's a stupid thing to metric employees' performance on since you can't force customers to provide their address when making a purchase (and I'm one of those customers who doesn't give it!) <S> , fair enough if you weren't asking the customer for it <S> but it sounds like you are. <S> Unfortunately though it is something that they can choose as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) <S> and if you don't meet it they can let you go. <S> It's not fair <S> , it's not right <S> but it is what it is. <S> Probably the best strategy at this point is to keep doing what you can in your current job and start hunting for a job somewhere else (preferably somewhere that doesn't have such a stupid policy in place). <A> Yes, except in very specific employment situations, employers may fire you for not meeting defined targets of the job. <S> They have clearly expressed that you need to gather 25% of customers' emails, so that's one of the things they expect you to do in that position to keep it. <S> So you need to get your percentage up. <S> This is an opportunity to improve. <S> Ask your boss. <S> Roleplay with her. <S> "I ask them like this <S> and they say no <S> ... <S> How can I get more of them to say yes? <S> " <S> Ask and/or observe other employees. <S> They're hitting their target unless they're all getting fired too. <S> How are they doing it? <S> You can use the Internet. <S> Why, you could ask "how to get more customers to give you their email address" here. <S> You could read one of the many online articles about that same thing. <S> It sucks, but instead of focusing on how to get out of it, you need to focus on how to hit that 25% number. <A> This morning my manager pulled me into the office and said that she is warning me because I have not achieved 25% of electronic receipts last month and if this happens again she will be forced to hand me a P45 tax form. <S> Yup, she's saying she'll fire you if you don't meet a 25% target. <S> Perhaps she feels that you should be more "persuasive" in offering email receipts, or you're not actually asking everyone. <S> She's well within her rights to do this (unfortunately), however unfair it is. <S> If you feel that target is unrealistic, then it may be worth looking for employment elsewhere now rather than waiting to be let go at a later date.
| You will succeed in the workplace by understanding what's required of you and focusing on exceeding those expectations.
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Is it professional to answer questions about self evaluation? In our company during interviews or evaluation processes, there are situations that you are asked to evaluate some specific skill of yourself: What are your strong and weak points? Between 1 and 10, how do you evaluate your communication skills? Do you think you are good at managing people? Give a score 1-10 etc. To these kind of questions, I always respond as follows: None of the companies emphasize the weak points of their products voluntarily. In fact, if I admit I am weak at some point on paper, I certify myself as weak but I may be wrong about myself. Moreover when I fix my issue, my self-negative-certification will last forever. So I never evaluate myself to others, but always to myself and always kindly accept evaluations from others Is it acceptable to avoid self evaluation? <Q> Is it acceptable to avoid self evaluation? <S> Why does that matter whether it acceptable or not? <S> What you need to know is why they ask of this - in first place. <S> My experience: Company does not need to ask you for your weak points, to figure out a way to get rid of you. <S> If they want, they'll get it one way or another. <S> Usually the point of these questions are to find out the shortcomings in you, as a professional, and then try to mitigate them by arranging for relevant sessions, training and/ or courses. <S> To improve on a shortcoming, first you need to know and admit there is a shortcoming. <S> That's what the questions are meant for. <S> Yes, if you're worried that providing a weak point will wreak havoc on your performance evaluation or pay-scale then there is other problems about the performance expectation which needs evaluation and inspection. <S> So, to circle back <S> Is it professional to answer questions about self evaluation? <S> Yes, very much. <A> So any answer that avoids carrying this out is pretty much a "wrong" answer. <S> Looking at your evasive answer specifically (and I'm sorry if this sounds blunt or harsh) <S> it's pretty awful really. <S> when I fix my issue, my self-negative-certification will last forever <S> Basically translates as "I can't evolve" and I never evaluate myself to others <S> comes across as "I will always hide my weak points and never admit that I was wrong." <S> To be honest if I were interviewing you and you gave that speil in response to any of the questions you suggested you'd be on a (likely) one-way trip to the bottom of the list. <A> An answer like that is not going to help your performance evaluation process. <S> It just comes across as negative an uncooperative. <S> Instead, talk up any strong points. <S> Word any weak points as opportunities for improvement and not as faults. <S> Where there is opportunity for improvement, bring out how you think that may achieved. <S> That way, you will come across as a can-do person who wants to improve their performance. <A> Self evaluation is a proxy for self reflection. <S> Broadly speaking, teams of people work well when each team member knows who they are, what they're capable of and what to contribute and when. <S> Assuming you employer is acting in good faith, then the question here isn't: "Are they trying to get me." <S> but "Do I understand my skills and my contributions and can I grow as a professional?" <S> Broadly speaking what the questions do, is try to gauge your disposition as a team member. <S> Get a sense of where you are and what your skills are. <S> No one can be good at everything, so it helps to lay out what you're good at and <S> if your employer agrees, it helps them better define your role and tasks. <S> It also Controls expectations. <S> To use a tech reference. <S> If someone asked me what I was weak at I would say <S> Well, I'm not a front end developer. <S> I'm not comfortable with JS technologies <S> I am a weak front end developer. <S> I am very strong with C# and SQL." <S> and then I could follow up with... <S> " <S> Depending on what the team needs, I'm more than happy to be stronger at front end, however many of my current tasks are SQL / C#. <S> So those are the places where I have developed a lot of expertise. <S> If the team needs me to transition to JS tech, I can do that. <S> There will be growing pains, but it's absolutely doable <S> and of course, I would need my tasks to either change or include the new tech so I can keep my new skills fresh." <S> Final note: <S> What are your strong and weak points? <S> Between 1 and 10, how do you evaluate your communication skills? <S> Do you think you are good at managing people? <S> Give a score 1-10 etc. <S> These are not "gotcha questions", these are simple questions about your confidence in your abilities.
| The point of asking these sorts of questions generally isn't about the specific weaknesses - instead it's to see if you have the sort of mind/personality that can self-identify weaknesses and work towards improving them.
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Why should HR post the job ad. again on social media before conducting the interview(s)? I've been invited for a phone interview scheduled for a few days from now (Germany), but I noticed the job advertisement was uploaded again on the social media yesterday (Xing, Linkedin). Is this a typical act expecting from the HR especially for big companies to keep posting the ads. again and again every 2 weeks? or it means they do not really rely on the candidates they have invited for the interview? <Q> They probably have a closing date for all applications and are just "refreshing" the advert to catch as many as possible. <S> The outcome of the interview may not be told to you at the end of the interview - you may be the 75th candidate interviewed so far... <S> So, expect to be contacted at some time after the final close date when they have made their final deliberations. <A> This might be because there are only a few candidates. <S> The job market for anything software related is so sucked dry in Germany right now, that for some ads you can be happy having a candidate at all. <S> It might be because they look for a specific skillset and all the candidates come close, but not really hit it. <S> It might be because they have multiple positions to fill, although it's only one ad because all the positions are basically the same. <A> Posting job ads on social media comes with quite a high fee, often for a fixed time. <S> If the time the ad stays online is over, the company can either pay again so the ad stays online the whole time <S> or they let the ad expire and start a new term with a new upload of the same ad. <S> The second option brings more value to the company, because a new upload pushes the ad to users of the network (e.g. in a newsletter). <S> This is probably the reason the ad was uploaded again when the hiring process was not yet completed sucessfully.
| There are several reasons that can be summed up as follows: The candidate pool is not large enough or skilled enough or a combination of both that they feel confident there will be enough people to hire.
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Salary Negotiation: Recruiter raised basic pay but removed signing bonus So I have this ongoing negotiation with my recruiter. The original job offer included a signing bonus (of a significant amount) and the basic pay is 15% short of my expected salary. Eventually they bumped up the basic pay and is now 10% short of my expected salary, but they removed the signing bonus. How do I deal with this? <Q> Do the math. <S> Figure out how many months you'd have to work at the increased pay to make up for the lost signing bonus. <S> If you intend to stay at the company for at least that long, then it's worth it. <A> How do I deal with this? <S> If their offer is below what you need, you reject it. <S> If necessary, you simply walk away and attempt to find a different employer who will give you what you need. <S> If their offer is below what you want, you make a counter offer and hope for improvement. <S> At some point you'll either conclude that the offer is satisfactory and then accept it, or conclude that it will never be satisfactory and then walk away. <S> It's all up to you. <A> It's always possible they will come back with a counter-offer that matches your expectation, but it's not a guarantee. <S> Don't put too much weight on the signing bonus -- even if significant, the bonus is a one-time event. <S> Plus, you'll have to pay taxes on it, which further reduces its value. <S> Companies are more likely to give away bonuses than salary increases, because a salary increase is an ongoing, perpetual obligation for the company. <S> The fact that they increased your base pay is a good sign. <S> Also consider that your base pay is what you'll take to your next employer for future negotiations. <S> You can't do that with a signing bonus. <A> I'll add one tip: <S> Ask yourself!! <S> Are you happy with the increased basic pay? <S> It's still 10% less than you expected. <S> The one time bonus amount is just that - one time. <S> It'll not be repeated and your fixed salary will be what you'll be entitled to get for the long-run. <S> Even with the one-time bonus - will it be enough to match up your expectations in the long run? <S> How long before you realize you're underpaid and lose motivation? <S> In my opinion - unless you need that signing bonus for some urgent purpose, do not bank on it. <S> Rather negotiate to have a fixed remuneration as per your expectation. <S> Bonus - if any, can be considered over and above your fixed salary - not as a part of it. <A> If their offer is below your expected salary, and your expected salary is reasonable, then don’t accept the offer, unless either you are absolutely desperate for money to come in (and you start looking for a better place immediately), or the place has some huge benefits that are not part of the salary.
| If your expected salary is non-negotiable, then you'll have to decline their offer. As with any other negotiations, you decide what you need and what you want.
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Should I justify my "bad" GPA in my application? I'm in the last year of my bachelor studies and I'm looking into writing my bachelor thesis at a company (hopefully abroad). Preparing my applications is do struggle a bit about my resume: My current GPA is a bit lower than 2.7ish (unable directly convert my german grade) which is, compared to most other engineering graduates, not considered to be outstanding. What is a caveat about the situation is that my course of studies, Engineering Physics , is considered to be a bit more challenging than more common engineering studies and that most of my fellow students are even worse than me. Therefore my GPA isn't easy to compare to the average engineering student but the person who reads my application does not know it. Including an explanation for my GPA in an application feels like desperate excuse so I do not know who to deal with it. I do strive for a industry with a lot competition (aerospace) so getting a position won't be easy.Nevertheless I'm currently doing an internship at a well reputable and internationally well known company in the same industry and I do actually have responsibility there. (However I did get that position through knowing someone who knows someone who can forward my resume to someone and not through the official application process) TL;DR: Should I justify my GPA in an application and if yes which would be the most professional way? EDIT: It is known in Germany that there is a "inflation" of good grades at universities but my university or more particular my course of study does not participate in the handout of good grades for just trying. <Q> Should I justify my GPA in an application and if yes which would be the most professional way? <S> You need not, you should not. <S> If you say that it is known that the course of your study yields on-average lesser grade points as compared to other fields, and an organization which will be suitable for your knowledge and experience, you can also expect that the organization to which you're applying are aware of the fact. <S> If they have employed / trained students from the same course of study, then the grade point average are known to them and based on the course of study they will not directly compare your grades against someone coming from different course. <S> If they don't (have the knowledge about your course of study and the average grades) - that indicates that they really do not know much about your specialties or field of study <S> , do you really want to go ahead with a company like that? <S> EDIT: <S> If you feel that the course of study is ambiguous and be mistakenly be considered as something else which is more common, you need to make that clarification in your cover letter. <S> A cover letter is a very useful tool - use it efficiently to point the reviewer of CV/application and/or the interviewer to the right direction. <S> However, once again, you should not be justifying about the grades in the cover letter either. <A> There is an accepted rule that you provide in the CV only the information which is favorable to you. <S> Otherwise, leave it out, and have an answer prepared for the case that they ask. <S> It is going to be difficult (I guess) to find a job in aerospace without experience - also depending on the job you apply for. <S> Maybe you try to get some experience in other sectors, with less concerns for security and standards. <S> Bottom line <S> : since you do not even publish the "bad" information, you also do not publish the reason behind it. <S> Note : If your admission requires certain pieces of information, you have to present them even if they are not (very) favorable. <S> Have answers prepared if they ask about it. <A> I think a lot of work places tend to be leery of gpas and what universities/colleges someone went to. <S> Of course this is all speculations based on my own empirical evidence having been working for nearly 13 years. <S> My advice is to concentrate on understanding the material. <S> That would be far more impressive than any degree or gpa. <S> I seen people with perfect grades and can't write simple programs. <S> I seen people with barely an associate degree who can write programs that functions wonderfully with minimal bugs, if any and normally 1 off cases. <S> I see people who can articulate very well and barely have high school degrees. <S> So gpa isn't that impressive to a lot of folks and it makes it somewhat amusing to talk to someone with a perfect grade and cannot explain the simplist of things.
| Do not take extra-steps by yourself explaining in written.
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What should I do about the 3-4 months gap in my employment history? I quit my previous job earlier this year because I got a freelance job which was paying much higher and had flexible work hours. I was able to travel a lot during these 4 months and also worked on a couple of long due personal projects during free time. Now that I am done with the freelance job, I want to start looking for a full-time job again. Now my question is, when employers ask me about this gap, what should I tell them? Should I be honest and tell them that I quit my full-time job for a higher paying part-time one? Wouldn't that give the impression that I am only bothered about making money and may quit this new job too if I get another high paying freelance job? Or should I say that I quit due to some personal reasons like to take care of an ill relative or simply to take a break from routine work life? Would that seem like an obvious lie and even make them think that I was fired from my previous job? I would also be launching one of the personal projects I worked on during this gap on Play Store within the end of this month. The other project is for personal use only and won't be released anywhere. Note that the domain of work of the freelance job is the same as the previous job and the jobs I would be applying for in the future. But it does not have a work experience certificate from the client. <Q> First of all, there is no "gap", this is pretty straightforward scenario. <S> You got a better job opportunity (money as well as other benefits, ex - flexible work hours) as a freelancer - <S> you took that. <S> Now you want to get back to a full-time position. <S> Everything is normal. <S> You can also showcase your expertise gained in the freelancing work as it is in related technology / field. <S> In case the proof of work is needed, and your latest employer did not give you a work experience certificate, you can ask for one, or produce (part of) <S> the contract and the final relieving / closure letter (as applicable). <S> That said, Wouldn't that give the impression that I am only bothered about making money and may quit this new job too if I get another high paying freelance job? <S> Whether someone was a freelancer or not, this is always a possibility. <S> A freelancer is not any different than a full time employee switching to another full-time job, in this regard. <S> Not to worry too much about it. <A> Never lie. <S> That is rule #1. <S> But you also don't need to tell them you did it for the money. <S> it seems you did a few things during the gap: 1. <S> freelance work. <S> You enjoyed the flexibility. <S> 2. travel. <S> You broadened your horizons and met a lot of interesting people. <S> 3. <S> Developed some personal tools, showing a deep interest in things you are passionate about 4. <S> Published an app (semi) commercially. <S> That is a full and rather impressive four months, filled with things that are worthwile goals in and of themselves. <S> Focus on those things, and if they ask about how you financed this break you can mention how well-paid the freelance job was. <A> It seems like there are two questions here: <S> A) <S> How do you handle moving from the full-time job to the part-time one, and B) <S> How do you account for a 3-4 month gap in your work history. <S> A) <S> You mention that you moved over for higher pay and better hours. <S> I would think anyone would do that. <S> I am sure there is something (tech, benefits like hours, subject matter) of the part-time job that were more interesting to you than the old one. <S> Every hiring manager is also an employee that has changed jobs for reasons more trivial than what you are describing. <S> B) <S> I understand the concern, though. <S> It seems to me that you were able to work on new technology and subject matter that you wanted to learn about that you couldn't explore in your other positions. <S> Therefore it seems you took the initiative to learn these new things on your own. <S> Now that you have this experience in building an app from scratch without any team behind you, you most likely have a greater appreciation of how to work as a valuable team member. <S> I wish you the best of luck with your job search. <A> Honesty is the best policy. <S> You can say you chose to do freelancing so you would have more spare time to work on personal projects and travel a bit (not a lie). <S> Then you have completed your personal projects so you are looking to go back into full time employment. <A> Now my question is, when employers ask me about this gap, what should I tell them? <S> You certainly should not lie, but you're not required to give them any details about this period of time, either. <S> None of those details are relevant or pertinent to them hiring you. <S> You were freelancing and working for yourself. <S> You don't need to give them any details about your reason for it, how much work you were doing, how much you were making, etc., etc.
| There is no need to try to make anything up. You may have been underpaid at the full-time job or simply interested in learning about new problems to solve that the part-time one offered. "I was working as a freelancer during that period of time."
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My new job gave me a Macbook for work, but I have no idea how to use one I recently landed a great job in software development. The only problem is they gave me a Macbook. However, I have zero experience using Mac. At home I use Linux and at my current job, I use a combination of Linux and Windows. This company is very "millennial", and I am a millennial, so I know they're trying to be cool by giving out the Macbooks. They are a startup that wants to be cutting edge, which I appreciate. As a new employee, I don't want to stir the pot, but I'm not sure how I can do my work when I can barely work with the operating system. Should I bring this up to my boss and try to get a different computer? Or should I just try my best to learn Mac, but suffer from being unproductive for a while? <Q> Learn to use the Mac If you're in software development, you will be tasked many, many times with learning new systems, new languages, new platforms, etc. <S> This is just another thing to learn. <S> If you can't handle learning new things, you may want to rethink your career choice. <S> Don't ask for special treatment <S> As a new hire, it's important that you 'fit in' culturally with the rest of your co-workers. <S> Asking for special treatment (especially for this reason) will set you apart and not in a good way. <S> You might struggle for a while until you learn the idiosyncrasies of the Mac, but it will come quickly. <A> You are a software developer. <S> It should not be that hard to learn to do stuff on Mac, which is heavily based on Unix, which you are already used to. <S> Just let your employer know that you will need some time to get up to speed because you have never used such device. <A> You're a new employee - you're going to be unproductive for a while anyway, as you learn the codebase, the business procedures, where the restrooms are. <S> Jump into learning, and this is just one more thing you'll need to learn. <S> There is never a time when learning is going to harm you, and at the beginning of a job, where you're expected to be learning and less productive, is the best time to take on more learning. <S> You might mention to your boss that you're also learning the OS, so there is some understanding. <S> But don't give any indication that you're unwilling to take on a challenge or learn something new. <A> This is a bit of a negative answer, but you really shouldn't ask to be accommodated unless there are others in the same boat. <S> Reasons are: With languages and build tools, you can be exposed to different warnings/errors/quirks that others are not exposed to. <S> You'll have to spend time to deal with them, and you'll never know if these are issues others are having or not. <S> You may not have access to the same IDEs as everyone else. <S> People may not easily be able to sit down and help you through issues as they themselves are not familiar with the IDE. <S> You may not have access to the same in-house tooling as everyone else. <S> Plugins and scripts that other people have written may be useless for you without modification. <S> You'll look like you're difficult to work with. <S> You may not be, but asking for big concessions from day one may be an issue <S> You run the risk of becoming specialised in Windows, which may not be a bad thing <S> Raise your concerns with you boss <S> Having said all that, you can feel free to let your boss know. <S> If they expected you to hit the ground running, they probably should have asked some questions during the interview process. <S> With most employment, it is accepted that it takes a little while for employees to become productive. <S> My experience <S> I changed jobs 8 months ago. <S> I went from developing Windows server applications with Visual Studio and TFS, to developing embedded applications with git and XCode on MacOS. <S> It did feel a little daunting at the time, but in the long run, it worked out fine. <A> Whether you can ask: <S> Should I bring this up to my boss and try to get a different computer? <S> Or should I just try my best to learn Mac, but suffer from being unproductive for a while? <S> Yes, you can ask your boss to provide you with a different laptop / computer / OS to work with, as long as that meets your work criteria. <S> At best, you'll get a replacement system which which you're comfortable with. <S> At worst, you'll be refused (companies have their own guidelines for providing systems - tech support is one of them) and you'll fall back into the second part, "learn (how to use) Mac, but suffer from being unproductive for a while". <S> However, at least then your boss will know you're trying to learn your ways around the new OS and can have some delays expected/ planned for your work assignments delivery. <S> However, my suggestion will be: Get familiar with the new OS. <S> I don't want to stir the pot, but I'm not sure how I can do my work when I can barely work with the operating system. <S> Just the way you learnt operating Windows, or Linux, or your Android /iOS smartphone - practice and learn. <S> The best part is: This way you'll convey your willingness to explore, learn and adapt to new things, which is a very positive sign for you as an individual and your career. <S> As they say: If you never do anything new, you'll never get anything more than what you've already got.
| It'll be a new learning, and given that you're familiar with Linux, learning your ways around Mac will not be too difficult and time consuming IRL. Don't ask for special equipment Using the same platform and tools as your co-workers has many advantages - you can share tips, learn from each other, mutually solve problems, etc.
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Does a career change mean I would have to take a pay cut? I am currently a mobile developer and have been that for about 7 years now and I have been in IT for about 10. So I'm an experienced IT professional. I'm considering changing careers to either cyber security or computer forensics. But I would have to take an entry level position for cyber security or computer forensics. If I am at 95,000 a year as a developer would I be able to ask for the same or would I have to accept whatever the entry level pay is for one of those 2 careers? <Q> You will probably take a pay cut. <S> You can't ask for the same amount of pay as someone with 10 years experience in your new field. <S> If you're applying for an entry level position you will get entry level pay. <S> If some of your current skills are transferable and you bring value to the business that another person normally would be unable to, then after some time you could ask for more pay. <S> But for your entry level job you will need to be competitive. <S> Expect a pay cut as part of that. <A> I needed to answer this because no one else said the magic words: Transferable Skills . <S> If I am at 95,000 a year as a developer would I be able to ask for the same or would I have to accept whatever the entry level pay is for one of those 2 careers? <S> Yes, however there's a lot of value in transferable skills <S> and I would argue software development has a truckload of transferable skills. <S> Research, communication and management are all just baseline skills. <S> Will you make what you make now? <S> No. <S> Will you make the same salary as an absolute newbie? <S> I doubt it. <S> There's a lot of value in the sorts of skills developers acquire in their careers. <A> Specifically, you asked, If I am at 95,000 a year as a developer would I be able to ask for the same or would I have to accept whatever the entry level pay is for one of those 2 careers? <S> What you made as a developer is essentially irrelevant. <S> The thing that matters is, what is a typical salary for an employee in the position you're seeking? <S> If your skills in security match what an "entry level" person typically needs, and an entry level security tech makes 50k (or 100k, or whatever the number is), then that's what you should expect to make. <S> As with any career path change, be sure to prepare for inevitable questions in interviews - why are you making the change? <S> What research have you done about the new role? <S> What have you done to prepare yourself? <S> How will your old skills help you in the new role? <S> In addition to proving that you're a good fit for the new role, you should also be ready to show that this is a carefully considered and prepared-for change, and not something you're doing on a whim. <S> Employers are leery of career-path-switchers who act like they may be a risk for continual change - you don't want to come across as someone who's going to try out the new role and then jump back to your old stuff after 6 months, or leave for something else totally new. <A> PenTester with training/experience in forensics here. <S> The skillsets required for these two (but especially forensics) are very different to standard development work. <S> As such, you will probably take a pay cut. <S> HOWEVER: <S> As with all things IT, the ability to automate things is very valuable. <S> Most forensic toolkits use Regular Expressions (a complex form of search query that usually looks like garbage to most people) and some scripting language (usually a form of Python) and depending on what area of forensics you're going into (PCI testing is a great example), these are VERY useful. <S> With penetration testing, scripting and automation will be limited to little time savers. <S> However, dev skills will be a MASSIVE bonus if you want to go further <S> (think Red Team engagements), as you will end up trying to create your own payloads <S> (publicly available payloads are also publicly available to antivirus companies too). <S> My point is, you can easily carve yourself a niche and USP with your dev skills. <S> Once you have a bit of training in your chosen field, you can start commanding your old pay rate or even more. <S> You can easily carve yourself out a niche within any forensic or penetration testing team <A> However, there are situations when a pay cut is unavoidable. <S> E.g., when changing your work from something you know to something in which you have no experience. <S> Extreme example: I am a programmer and I decide to start working in the shoe-making business. <S> Of course, I will be a complete beginner, and salaries of shoe-makers are smaller than the salaries of the programmers, so a pay cut is unavoidable. <S> Now, the extent of the pay cut in your case, is another discussion. <S> It depends on a lot of factors, and is a matter of negotiation between you and the employer. <A> There is no right answer to this question I'm afraid. <S> To give you an example, I moved from Application Support into Project Management and received a substantial pay increase instead. <S> If the company you apply for to work in cyber security is mainly a mobile development company, they may pay you more since you not only know how to secure their product but understand how it was built, which helps you know better how to break some of the features, so you have an advantage over other people. <S> If instead you apply for a company with no mobile presence in a completely different market you have worked in, then the only benefit to the company is your cyber security knowledge, which as you have pointed out, might be lower than other candidates that have been working in the field for a while. <S> Be prepared to negotiate, but most importantly, if it is what you REALLY want to do, job satisfaction is more important than your salary (if you can afford the cut)
| You should expect your pay to be based on how well your skills and experiences fit the requirements for the new position. In "normal" career development, taking pay cuts is not usually a good choice.
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Introducing software management practices in poorly managed company I believe the company I work for has very poor software&people management practices. I want to approach upper management about this. I believe I should have a concrete explanation on what the problem is and what possible solutions could be applied. A few years ago, I've joined this company where I expected the work to be mostly related to mechanical/electrical engineering. The manager and director of the department are former public employees who worked in the field. They are used to managing project schedules by asking suppliers about their delivery times (I mean to say they do it poorly). They don't take part on the actual work being performed and don't enjoy managing people. Often, they fail to communicate very basic things to employees. I'm currently under the impression that if someone needs to hear something from our managers, I need to schedule myself a meeting with the manager, the other someone and myself to ensure that the thing was said. More recently, the company has been turning to software development activities. However, the bosses have only professionally worked with small FORTRAN software pieces, they never used a versioning control system themselves. They know nothing about scrum, agile or whatever similar management approach. To make things worse, most employees are recent graduates (including myself) and some are interns. Furthermore, a lot of code being developed by people from mechanical/electrical engineering backgrounds. Because managers rarely explain things clearly and openly, nothing and no one around here resembles a tech lead, a scrum master, a product owner and so on. Rarely anything has clearly one responsible person. It is not uncommon that some employees will spend hours talking loudly about non-work related subjects, never to be approached by the managers about it. This leads to very poor practices by the team, no rules being enforced, not so critical decisions being the reason for very heated disputes, project advancements being "overly optimistically" reported to managers, the few rules in place not being respected, not so few people quitting the company and so on. Ultimately, I'm concerned that the deliveries won't be met, and meanwhile the workplace environment is becoming more and more toxic as good people leave and deliver pressure builds up. I have made complaints to both the manager and the director of the department. Their responses range from "forgetting" whatever I requested to be addressed or considered, to even poor attitudes with handling people. For example, I once complained that I was concerned over some issues with the code being developed by another team, and gave software pieces from an employee who had already quit as an example. I asked back then that the managers should do some following up and possibly inspecting randomly pieces of code and documentation (they don't even access the repositories used for code development). Instead of doing so, they reported my complaint during a department meeting (mentioning my name) and tasked a recently graduated recently hired employee with developing a document with guidelines to avoid similar issues (who considered ignoring the assignment, then did it poorly, while the managers have never read nor tried to enforce such document). Quite a few people have reached the director asking to be "pseudo-managers" within some projects. Some of them had some temporary title (which was never really enforced by the managers on daily life). None actually got a promotion, nor did a good job. I do believe that a couple of them have overstepped what a non-manager coworker should do when treating colleagues. I believe most of these people actually thought they would soon be promoted as a natural consequence of their temporary responsibility. The lifecycle of each project is quite long (2 years+), so allowing someone to try crazy ideas so he/she can later be judged by end-results or customer feedback are both out of question. I'm considering reaching out to the CEO (who claims to be receptive of any order of complaints), but I'd like to avoid telling stories about past issues, and to be able to propose a few solution options. It would be also nice if I could provide some reference on how good companies manage this kind of projects. My first suggestion would be to hire a consultant to develop and enforce good practices (i.e. establish a good VCS is properly used by the whole company, establish and enforce tech-lead and product owner roles and so on). Much of the work is very field-specific, so there is hardly any chance that an outsourced senior employee could replace either the manager or director and perform well. I don’t expect the CEO to have the time and patience to coach the director and manager to improve their management and communication. Due to several reasons, the CEO cannot fire any of them. I work in an industry where finding jobs is not exactly easy, and I enjoy the work itself, but this is really worrisome and I'd like to find approaches to improve this situation. <Q> I believe the company I work for has very poor software&people management practices. <S> I want to approach upper management about this. <S> I believe I should have a concrete explanation on what the problem is and what possible solutions could be applied. <S> Your intention is noble. <S> You are seeing problems and you can describe a path towards a solution or at least a better place. <S> The problem is that you are talking about change in an organization. <S> That's a very difficult thing to do, even for a CEO, let alone someone in the middle of the organization. <S> It doesn't matter what kind of change you talking about. <S> What matters is the size of the org and the scope of your change. <S> There are models for how change occurs. <S> It is not easy and it takes A LOT of time, more time than you think. <S> You need to overcome organizational inertia and network effects that grow non-linearly with the size of the org. <S> The name for this theory is called "diffusion of innovation." <S> See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QnfWhtujPA <S> As you might have noticed, a well-stated fully logical case in favor of your ideas for change falls flat. <S> You're not going to be able to pull the CEO or other <S> exec aside and convince them no matter how right you are and no matter how airtight your argument is. <S> Miraculous epiphanies aside, things just don't go down that way in real life. <S> Start small with small projects that are robust to failures and learning experiences and that don't have visibility to the larger org. <S> This means finding "innovators" who are willing to take risks just for the excitement and learning rewards it brings. <S> Use these to develop adherents to your ideas and then keep working in a positive, non-confrontation way towards larger acceptance of your ideas. <S> You'll have to eventually target other groups of people that aren't motivated by newness for it's own sake, but are looking to some material advantage to your new ideas. <S> Eventually, you'll need to gain management's approval and backing. <S> At that point, your ideas will have momentum, and if you're lucky will evolve to something that looks like success. <A> All the way to the last paragraph, my main thought was 'polish up the old resume'... <S> Your company seems to be heading fast for the proverbial brick wall. <S> There are have been several rounds of badly-run companies making an appearance here recently. <S> The consensus was that the most effective thing you can do is set a good example. <S> Setup some good version control software, use it religiously, and find some good tutorials to pass around to the interns/junior people. <S> Have some theoretical articles handy so you can defend your work methods. <S> And the management will probably be atrocious till the bitter end. <S> Grassroot education can at least bring some improvement. <A> Maybe those managers can understand the value of backups. <S> Having a single place for code repositories would mean that it would be easier to make backups of potentially very valuable code. <S> Maybe some third party service provider could do this so there would be no need to have some expert in house. <S> This is assuming that those bad practices include not taking care of backups. <S> Having those code repositories would at least be one small towards better practices. <A> I'll second what @GeorgeM said in passing: <S> start looking for a new job. <S> If things are as you described, then the company itself is being put at risk because of the inept management. <S> So you are in an industry where the job hunt is slow, and your current ship is slowly sinking. <S> JUMP SHIP! <S> You can enjoy the work at a competitor, hopefully with less drama.
| But you could setup a meeting with those of your peers who are interested, and discuss things like agile methods and how you can use them in your personal work if nothing else, explore communication/project management tools and report to each other about them etc. The most practical thing you can do is to gain the cooperation of like-minded people.
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Structure for client visit we have a very important client visiting our office. One key aspect of this visit is the client’s desire to interact with our staff at all levels, ask questions, understand what they are working on etc. There are 8 client executives visiting. One thing we are struggling is how to structure the interaction in a way so it is natural. One idea is to just have the client executives meet with everyone on the floor. However, if there is no structure to this interaction, this can go either way with either too much conversation or too little conversation. So my request is – what ideas do you have on how we could execute this. This will have a huge role in decision making of the outcome of this pursuit. <Q> The information of the training should include: which programs to be shown on the computer screen, and which not; close "secret" programs whenever non-employees are around; which questions they can answer directly, which questions should be forwarded to a superior; how to answer questions without giving away sensitive information; define what is "sensitive information". <S> This kind of training should not take more than 1 hour, since the information is pretty much obvious. <S> The preparation of the materials for the training might take more, of course. <S> Once that is implemented, anyone can ask anything and look anywhere, there will be nothing available to compromise the business. <S> The above is necessary when dealing with strategic customers , which must be kept happy at "all" costs. <S> For regular customers , just tell them that it is the company policy to keep customers away from the staff. <A> If you structure it then it won't be natural... <S> However, you can't just let them roam free... <S> So, small meetings with parts or representatives of each level or team. <S> Demonstrations of some techniques to show experience / quality - depends on what you class as "in-house" secrets though. <S> Even opportunities for them to have a go... <S> if safety / insurance conditions are appropriate. <S> Showing them how to weld or equivalent... <A> You could have your staff / teams each do a short presentation to summarize their functions to the visiting executives; with some time to allow for questions to be asked.
| The best way to handle these encounters is to have the employees trained for this kind of encounter.
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Should I send a "thank you" message to someone who forwarded it to a colleague? I would need some advice about the customs of answering with a "thank you" message to someone who forwarded my mail to a colleague. To give you more context, I was contacting this person for the first time to ask him some advice. He answered that he could not help me, but copied in a colleague who could help me. Now my question is: should I say thank you to the first person, or wait for the second to answer? Should I answer the first person, but not including the second person in the mail? Thanks for your help, I am lost with the business codes (and my desire of avoiding spamming people) <Q> Usually, only "Thank you" emails are considered unwanted by some people. <S> If you want to convey your gratitude, while making the communication useful, extend the communication so that the person who is supposed to help you also feel interested in helping you out. <S> You can respond to the email (which your first colleague forwarded) saying: <S> Thank you first colleague for your support. <S> Dear Second Colleague, if you need any further clarification to my request, please let me know your availability <S> so we can discuss more on this. <S> Which shows your Gratitude Assertiveness Willingness to help someone to help you <A> I'd say wait for a reasonable amount of time if you're not able to speak to them directly, as they are available only via email. <S> The reasonable time to wait will be dictated by the nature of the question, and time that you can wait for without stretching the deadlines for whatever you're working on. <S> A lot of employees get many emails within their inboxes, and frankly a short email stating how glad you are to colleague one for referring you to the right person may have the opposite effect than you want it to. <S> A thank <S> you is also always better in person, and when you're a new employee it is a way to start a conversion. <A> should I say thank you to the first person <S> Yes, of course. <S> And if you copy in the second person, it may motivate them to help a (thankful) person.
| A quick "Thanks" can never hurt.
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What should I wear to go and sign an employment contract? I've finished my interview sessions with a company (2 individual interview days), and also discussed the first draft of the contract with them. They offered me the job, and I've accepted their offer.Now, I need to go there once more to sign the last version of the contract and start working there from the beginning of the next month. During the interview sessions, I presented myself there wearing a suit and tie! But, I noticed the company does not have any dress code as most of the employees (even senior ones) wear casual. So, I was wondering if I can step down from the suit now and appear in normal clothing when I go there to sign my contract? P.S.: It's an IT company in Germany! <Q> Personally, I believe that overdressing is never an issue. <S> Wearing a suit may be overkill if the position has already been offered, but perhaps khaki slacks and a button-up shirt would be ideal. <S> No need for the full suit and tie treatment, but formal enough to continue a good impression and appear professional. <S> Growing up as the son of an HR Director, he always preached that first impressions are key. <S> Perhaps you'll be meeting the CEO or a manager that you'll be working under when you go to sign the contract. <S> In that scenario, I'd recommend a more formal attire. <A> If you're only going in to sign the contract, you've won the war already. <S> Your employer won't change their mind about hiring you at the last minute just because you show up dressed like everyone else rather than in a suit. <S> You're fine. <A> I always prefer to wear business casual at the least on the first day. <S> Never know if there was a special reason people were wearing casual clothing on the day you interviewed. <S> Work a day or two <S> , maybe ask what a dress code is, and go from there. <A> Smart casual <S> Basically what you would wear if you want out to the movies with friends or whatever, but a small step above that. <S> Namely: No offensive clothing No dilapidated clothing <S> You are not going in to work, you are going in to sign some paperwork. <S> Consider it a part of a day off, like going to the post office, or shopping. <S> The vibe you are trying to give off is one of a person who is neat and tidy when they are in casual attire. <S> You are not trying to give off the vibe of someone who dresses up to sign some paperwork. <S> On your first day, you should pivot more towards business casual. <S> During the contract signing, you should feel free to ask the representative what the dress code is. <A> Assuming that this is a office type position, wear what you would wear when going to work. <S> If it's something else, smart casual. <A> Given your observation, though there is nothing preventing you from wearing smart casuals, signing a(ny) contract is one event where you may want to wear the formals, once again. <S> It's not about you or <S> anybody else's choice of dressing <S> - it's the event that matters here. <S> Just like, you can wear smart casuals in a board meeting, but usually people chose to dress up in formal attire. <A> Obviously, most of us have been through something like this. <S> Button on shirt, khaki, navy, gray, or black slacks, etc. <S> You don't want to stand out in any negative way. <S> That said, there can be exceptions. <S> This has happened to both me and my wife: <S> we got a call in the middle of the day asking us to come in and sign papers that day. <S> OK (hell yes!!) <S> , but that does mean I'm going straight there in blue jeans and a hoodie.
| My take on it is that it is fine to dress down some , but you still want to present a fresh and professional appearance. You'll never go wrong by overdressing a bit.
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How to like somebody who you dont like at work? I guess its the most natural of all feelings, some people we like, others we dont. But at work, wanting to be professional and to the advantage of the business, I believe collaboration is best when you like each other. So when you feel you don't like somebody but you want to work well together, how can you (perhaps maybe even force yourself to) like this person? Are there any strategies or skills I can learn to better deal with this? <Q> One point I'd recommend: <S> Stop focusing on the "person" and start focusing on the "job" or "post" or "role". <S> This means <S> If you do not like someone - no one is forcing you. <S> When you need to work with them, ask yourself "Why do I need to meet / talk to / work with them?" <S> someone - it's not needed and not worth of. <S> You need to communicate to them in a professional environment and in a professional capacity - that's about it. <A> Talk to them. <S> Work with them. <S> Over time you will be exposed to some of their more positive (and negative) aspects which will usually change your opinion of them for the better. <S> If, after a certain amount of time, you find that you really don't like the person then ask yourself why. <S> Sometimes it will be for silly reasons, in which case you are the problem and you should work on solving it (hard to comment without knowing specifics). <S> More often, though, it will be because you don't trust the person. <S> In this latter case I would suggest that it is dangerous to "force yourself to like the person" because there is a reason that you don't trust them and ignoring it could make you more vulnerable. <A> I think you are getting something very wrong here. <S> You don't have to like the person, you have to be able to tolerate the person and <S> collaborate with the person. <S> I believe collaboration is best when you like each other. <S> Yes and no... <S> Collaboration is best when you have a common goal, if your friend worked with you, your common goal would be to complete project X in time. <S> You may be motivated to help because you like your friend <S> and you want him to succeed. <S> You don't have to have the same interests, but you do need to have the same goal. <S> If the person you dislike and you have to work in a project together, if they are unwilling to help or simply don't want to work on the project, it doesn't matter if they are your Nemesis or your lover, you're not getting that project done. <S> I have worked with someone who I despised before, I can't put into words how much his personality was just...intolerable for me. <S> I trained this person many times and worked night shifts and weekend shifts on my own him, we still performed above expectations. <S> Sometimes you go to work and make friends, you love the work environment, <S> the job, the salary. <S> Sometimes one of this fails, but the others are true. <S> If too many of them fail, you need a new job. <S> You can work somewhere, where you love your work, the work environment is great, the salary is great <S> but you have no friends, just colleagues. <S> That is completely fine as well! <S> Don't fret about it, just be professional and make sure you treat them the same way you treat others.
| Do not force yourself in trying to "like" (or dislike) , you do not need to like someone as a person, you just need to make sure you can communicate and work with them - basically to be in sync with the work they do. The answer is your objective - focus on getting that achieved. The more time you spend with someone the more you will share in common.
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How to handle work with a lot of bureaucracy? My work has a number of bureaucracy. For a request, a number of approvals must be made, and after approval, my request will go to different teams for implementation. All those approvals and implementation by each team is sequential, meaning that if there is a bottleneck at some point, it will delay the subsequent process. Even for one request, it can take more than one months to do it. After all teams are done with their implementation, I will start doing my part of work. I'm looking for advice on how to improve this situation to be more efficient. I've been asking the person that is handling the task like a few days after they are assigned (i.e. if 2nd team is assigned, then I will ask regarding the progress a few days after 1st team has completed the work). I'm not sure whether they will find me naggy or something, but I really need to get the job done before the deadlines, and I don't want my work to miss the deadline just because of these kind of bureaucracies. When being asked, some of them they just say that they are busy with their work and can only get back to me like the week after. But here is the problem, if 1st team is busy on the first week and hence can complete on the 2nd week, and the 2nd team is busy on the second week and hence can complete on the 3rd week, then it's very difficult for me to finish it as soon as possible. <Q> This sounds like a systematic problem in the way you company is run. <S> You have a huge chain of events that all have to complete before you even get the work, and any single hold up anywhere in that chain is going to mean that it's late, perhaps catastrophically so. <S> You can hassle people all you want, but when there's this many opportunities for a project to slip it invariably <S> will at some point on the line. <S> Unless you have the power to alter that bureaucracy (it sounds like you don't from the question), then you need to focus on managing expectations instead. <S> So when you're given a task with a deadline, then I'd say something like: <S> Sure, I'll fire that off to the relevant teams today so they can start the process. <S> However, I have to warn you that in my experience there's often a delay with (x or y team), so it's possible we won't be able to meet that deadline. <S> I can meet it no problem so long as they get it back to me by (date), but if it's after that I'm afraid that deadline is very likely to slip. <S> You've then made them aware of the situation, shown that you can uphold timescales from your end, and given a firm date you need to have the work back by if you are to meet that deadline. <A> One of the things you can do is to keep a tab with "current ETA". <S> When you finish it and send it to team A, it should contain: "Current ETA", "Deadline" and a tracker with ETA changes where you can add a comment for the change. <S> Something like "Team A received on 17/05/2019, expected response on 19/05/2019, actual response 21/05/2019, adding 2 days to ETA". <S> If you continue with this and send it to the teams with a disclaimer that current ETA is subject to the team getting back to you within 48h,72h of whatever you choose. <S> The reality is what you are doing would be the job for a project manager, therefore, if that isn't your job then don't worry about it. <S> Do what you can do and keep records of it which is what matters. <A> Improving your company's processes is "above your pay grade": you probably do not have the authority to do it on your own. <S> Even if you did have the authority, that kind of change would require a lot of time, persuasion, and hard work, <S> For your everyday work, others have made good suggestions. <S> Ask the teams who must do the work for you, "When can I expect you to complete this work?" <S> And, ask them, "When may I follow up with you so you can tell me how it's going?" <S> In other words, ask them to give you realistic expectations of when they will do their work. <S> Have realistic expectations of when your own projects can be completed. <S> Carefully communicate those expectations to whoever sets your deadlines. <S> Put your expectations, for others' work and your own, on a calendar. <S> Politely follow up at the agreed time. <S> "I'm following up on (whatever), the task you agreed to do on (whatever date). <S> You said you would finish on (finish date). <S> Can I still expect that to happen? <S> It's all about communication, and knowing what's going on. <S> The more you know about each job's progress, the better expectations you can set. <S> And, keep these things in mind: <S> A deadline of "As soon as possible" is meaningless. <S> Be specific. <S> Only ask people to do rush jobs when it's absolutely necessary. <S> "Our customer XYZ has a deadline of (whatever) to get this project from us, so they can be ready for (something). <S> " You may have to explain this repeatedly. <S> Now, this process presents a good opportunity for improvement. <S> If you know an executive who's interested in improving things, you can ask for some time and have a conversation about it. <S> "I'd like to be part of making this better. <S> Do you have any suggestions for me?" <S> But if you're going to try guerilla process improvement, be careful! <S> You may stomp on some toes.
| Be prepared to explain exactly why it's a rush job.
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how can I help my team be included in company social events? I manage a small team of myself and 2 others. The other software engineering teams at my organization tend to all get along and interact with each other socially a lot, while my team members are excluded. For example, an employee recently left the company and the other teams in my department all took them out to a farewell lunch. My team was not invited. I'm a bit more of a introvert and less concerned that I personally was not invited, but I worry about my team members becoming demoralized since they were not included. What can I do to help my team feel more included? <Q> If there is a regular meeting of development team managers, that would be an excellent forum to have a discussion about events across teams. <S> If you don't already have such a meeting, you might consider trying to get one started. <S> This can help with communication across teams regarding technical, business and informal activities. <S> These meetings help keep all teams aware of the other teams and what is going on in other parts of the company and can reduce not being noticed or remembered. <A> It's only 3 people. <S> Why don't you and your team, or just you, invite one or two people from one of the other teams out to lunch every so often? <S> Maybe you'll be remembered more. <A> I don't think this counts as a full answer, but it's too much for a comment!
| If your company makes use of email aliases, see if there is a "development" one and make sure you and your team members are on it.
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How to handle hourly employee taking unauthorized overtime? I have a hourly employee in Texas who has taken to milking the time clock: the employee will stay a few minutes late to complete a document that came in towards the end of their workday, or they were taking their lunch at their desk and if someone interrupted them, counting that as overtime (OT). We had a period of several months where the workload was increased, and there was legitimate overtime, and I think they got used to the extra money in their check. Since then we have back filled, and there is no need for the OT anymore - in fact, no reason whatsoever for there to be unauthorized OT. They have stated every week during our touch point that they are not overwhelmed or too busy, yet I see OT getting clocked on every pay period, and their teammate has extra capacity to take on more, so there's no excuse/reason. Our company has a policy related to authorized OT, but laws around it still overrule. This employee is taking a hard-line stance on their hours (recording every minute worked), while still enjoying all the flexi-benefits that are NOT part of their contract (such as telecommuting and working non-typical business hours). We all signed an employment contract when we were hired. Telecommuting is NOT a benefit of that contract, just the office environment. I've taken the stance that they cannot work more than their 40 hours unless authorized, and that if they cannot complete their work in that 40 hours, then we will need to adjust their telecommute and business hours worked. I've also engaged our HR group to be on the safe side. This employee has other issues as well (attitude related to the client and coworkers, not performance of tasks). I am attempting to coach the communication issues, but the client is not a fan of this employee, therefore, any excuse they have, they are starting to press my company. Not overtly yet, but I'm trying to head that off as I do not have the capacity to also do this person's job. This is otherwise a good worker, but they feel they have been "shorted" and taken advantage of by the company (they are at the very top end of the pay scale for their position, but feel they are owed more due to work). While I don't entirely disagree with the fact that their compensation is low for the tasks, on the other hand, there's nothing I can do about it other than request a bigger raise (which I have tried, and got shot down). In the meantime, reality is, the company does not want to be paying overtime. Our financial group and client are being strict about OT, and do not allow it with other employees. Most hourly employees in our group are fine with booking their 40 hours and enjoying the flexi-benefits that come with the roles we have. This employee is not okay with that (and legally they have the right to operate this way) so I've had to return their hard-line stance with my own. Do you have suggestions, besides formal discipline, to help mediate situations such as these? <Q> This employee is taking a hard-line stance on their hours (recording every minute worked), while still enjoying all the flexi-benefits that are NOT part of their contract (such as telecommuting and working non-typical business hours). <S> I'm sorry, but what do these "flexi-benefits" have to do with getting paid for time <S> worked? <S> An employee should be paid for all time worked. <S> If you perceive that there's some financial benefit to the employee for these flexi-benefits, then adjust their hourly rate accordingly... and then pay them for every minute they work. <S> Offering flexi-benefits doesn't negate your responsibility to pay the employee for every minute worked... at whatever hourly rate they're at. <S> As for the overtime, if you don't want employees to work overtime unless it has been expressly authorized then state that clearly and unequivocally in a written policy document and then consult your legal team on what recourse you have if employees disregard this policy. <S> Also, you mention that this is an employee <S> but then you also mention their contract. <S> Are they an employee in the legal sense or are they in fact an independent contractor? <S> If the latter, you'd do well to research what local and federal laws govern employee/contractor classification so as to not put the company at potential legal and financial risk due to classifying your workers incorrectly. <A> If the employee works overtime, you have to pay them, regardless of whether you approved the additional hours or not. <S> It sounds like informal requests that he stop working overtime have not worked, so your only option left is formal discipline. <S> If you don't want to do that, the employee will likely just keep ignoring your stipulation that overtime must be approved, since there will be zero consequences for working unapproved overtime. <S> You are currently allowing this person to ignore you, so this is a disciplinary issue at this point. <A> Do you have suggestions, besides formal discipline, to help mediate situations such as these? <S> This really depends on what you want the outcome to be. <S> This sounds like you have a good employee who is underpaid, knows it and is unhappy about it. <S> The overtime discussion is just a symptom, you need to attack the root problem. <S> There are three different option: Get the employee's pay up to market rate. <S> Make the employee somehow satisfied with the low pay. <S> But it's a long shot. <S> Put your foot down and hope he doesn't quit. <S> Even if he doesn't leave, he will be unhappy <S> So if your desired outcome is "I want people to accept low pay and be happy about it", you have a tall mountain to climb. <S> That's very unlikely to happen. <A> They CHOSE to sit at their desk <S> - I have instructed them to leave the work area during break. <S> If they are at their desk, they are perceived as being available I used to have a rule that I cannot book continiously time, for example, from 9:00 to 15:00, I must leave out half an hour for lunch, regardless of where I am. <S> It is related to some regulations (Finland). <S> Since your contract does not include flexi time anyway, you could try to negotiate a rule like that.
| Say that you care about their relaxation and instruct to ignore incoming work calls during that time, even if they are at their desk. You could try to discuss whether there are any fringe benefits that would offset lower compensation.
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My interviewer asked me to do a coding challenge in a framework I've never used. Red flag? As the title suggests, I did a 20-minute phone interview for a remote software developer position. One of the questions was "have you used any frameworks with X language, specifically Y framework?" My answer was "no I haven't used Y framework, but I have experience with Z framework." The rest of the interview went fine and he explained that the next interview would be related to theory, followed by a short coding test with Y framework if I passed the theory interview. Maybe I should have brought up the fact that I don't have experience with Y framework again, but I didn't think about it until after the interview. The job posting had wording similar to: We use Y framework, but are always on the lookout for the best technology for the job. I took this as it being possible they just want a good developer, not someone necessarily experienced in that framework. However, if that's the case I don't know why they would give me a coding challenge that uses it. Obviously, I most likely won't do well. Is this a red flag? Also, he set me up for the interview next week. I could study up on Y framework, but I think it might be a waste of time. If I don't get the job, I won't use it and if they want someone experienced in that framework I won't be able to learn it thoroughly enough before the interview. <Q> I don't know if it's a red flag, but there's clearly a communication problem here. <S> Rather than simply showing up to the next interview, or making assumptions, you should contact your interviewer to verify what the expectations are. <S> On the other hand, if the interviewer expects you to be proficient in framework Y, you'll both be disappointed. <S> Make sure you and the interviewer are on the same page, before the interview, so no one's time is wasted. <A> It doesn't sound like a red flag to me, but you might have a different threshold than I do, so you really need to evaluate it yourself. <S> I see two important factors in what you reported: <S> They use Y framework. <S> They gave you advance notice of a short coding test using Y framework. <S> The language in the ad suggests to me that they'd like people with experience in Y <S> but if you have something else that's close enough, that's fine too. <S> They are going to ask you to demonstrate that what you know is close enough. <S> It's a short coding test, not a huge project, and if it's interactive (collaborative editing tool) <S> you can ask questions that are specific to the framework if needed. <S> Not solving the problem isn't necessarily an automatic failure; if they hire you you're going to be figuring out Y on their dime, so it's reasonable for them to want to see how you approach it in a small exercise. <S> I was once in a similar situation -- I applied for a tech-writing position, they said there'll be a short coding exercise in my choice of languages A, B, or C, and I chose one that I've used and then brushed up on it in the week before the interview. <S> Could I flawlessly do all the likely questions they might ask me? <S> Definitely not. <S> Did I think I could show reasonable results (calibrated for the position, which wasn't a developer role)? <S> Yes. <S> I had to spend some time brushing up. <S> You would have to spend some time learning the basics of Y framework. <S> Some companies or positions aren't going to be worth the effort; I had other reasons to consider the position I was applying for to be a good fit, so I was willing to spend some extra time on it. <S> There are definitely companies for whom I would not have done that, and then I'd decide whether to do my best with what I currently know or withdraw from consideration. <S> They're trying to test the waters with you and a framework <S> you said you don't know, when you said you know another one (implying there are transferable skills). <A> So they know you've never used Y framework <S> but they still want you to come back for a followup interview and a code test. <S> They told you in advance what they would be testing you on and are giving you some time to prepare. <S> This sounds to me like you made a good enough first impression that they're willing to look past the framework and give you a chance based on your intelligence and general knowledge. <S> What they're testing now is your ability to pick up new skills and adapt to new situations. <S> I'm sure they don't expect you to become an expert on Y over night <S> but it's fair for them to ask you to learn the basics and to be able to effectively leverage available resources to get things done. <S> So, if you think the job is a good fit, spend some time studying the framework and do the best you can. <S> If not, thank them for the opportunity and move on. <S> Frameworks come and go but strong minds are a rare commodity and it sounds like the interviewers understand this. <A> The rest of the interview went fine and he explained that the next interview would be related to theory, followed by a short coding test with Y framework if I passed the theory interview. <S> [...] <S> However, if that's the case I don't know why they would give me a coding challenge that uses it. <S> Obviously, I most likely won't do well. <S> Is this a red flag? <S> I think that they were explicit enough, what you had to do was to learn it, if you wanted the job, then do the test. <S> Obviously if you don't want to learn what everyone else is using they won't change their way to accommodate you. <S> It's up to you to adapt yourself and then propose possible improvements once you're in. <S> They are no red flag, it was stated in the description that they were using that framework and you applied, this was to be expected. <A> That's exactly how I got my current job. <S> They want a good developer who can easily learn new stuff.
| It's possible that the "short coding test with Y" is simply a training exercise to see how well you catch on to coding in a new framework. I don't see any red flag at all. Everything you're asked, or asked to do, in an interview is relevant to the person asking it, but that doesn't mean that there is one correct answer and anything short of it fails the interview.
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Planning to move next year, wanting to stay with the current company My partner wants to move back home (across the country) to be near her family, so I told her we could do so in the next year. I am currently a Lead engineer at a good company with a great salary, equity, etc. with three direct reports. When I move, I really want to stay with my current company, but they don't have any remote software engineers on staff. Many of the end users for the software are in office, but we do have a pretty flexible WFH and PTO policy with no restrictions. I know that expecting a remote employee to be a good "Lead" in charge of other engineers is a stretch, but I would be happy with just being a Senior engineer if I could swing that. What is the best way to propose becoming a remote engineer if I am willing to take a demotion, pay cut, travel for work as much as they need, etc? I was thinking of proposing this 60 days before we move to give enough time to either let them decide, or start looking for new jobs myself. Added Context: I don't want to change jobs, lose half my equity, or have to lose the momentum I have with this company. I also hate interviewing, and I'm not confident in being able to just walk into any other place and work. By the time I move next year, I will have worked here for three years <Q> This is hard to answer without knowing the culture of the company and what your relationship with them is like, and I think that goes to why people are conflicted about when you should talk to them. <S> How good your relationship is there will probably need to govern how much you tell them. <S> If you're not sure, I would suggest that you tell them you are thinking about moving in the next year instead of telling them you've already decided. <S> Tell them what you've told us, that you enjoy working for this company and want to continue, and ask if they'd be open to discussing the possibility of you continuing in the role remotely. <S> I wouldn't tell them it's a set thing, but I would bring it up now. <S> You want to give them as much time as possible to discuss it. <S> These wheels can turn slowly and if you rush the decision it'll likely just be "no". <S> I would definitely not suggest a role change or pay cut or anything up front. <S> You absolutely can lead a team remotely. <S> I have been both a line manager and a director managing multiple remote teams. <S> Both teams that were entirely remote, mixed teams, and teams that were entirely co-located <S> but I was still remote. <S> It can be done and well. <S> That said, be sure you're ready for this and truly committed to it. <S> Remote work is great when a company does it well, but it's not always great when you're the only one remote, or one of the few. <S> You will have to do all of the heavy lifting in maintaining your relationships with others in the company, and you will have to work extra hard to stay in the loop. <S> Lots of discussions and decisions will be made in-person and you may not find out till much later if you're not on top of that. <S> Scott Hanselman has written a good bit on this and you may find his blog posts about it helpful in thinking through this. <A> I know that expecting a remote employee to be a good "Lead" in charge of other engineers is a stretch, but I would be happy with just being a Senior engineer if I could swing that. <S> That, my friend, is not entirely true. <S> Many good leaders and managers oversee and manage geographically distributed teams, from different cultural backgrounds and work ethics. <S> So, not being physically co-located is not considered a restriction for being in a leadership position. <S> Question is : are you confident enough to carry out the responsibilities while working remote? <S> If not, you have some time to invest on developing some communication skills which are essential for remote collaboration. <S> Be prepared from your side. <S> I'd say, put the proposal forward for remote work - have no mention about the stepping down from your current role. <S> Let the company get back to you with their answer. <S> I can understand they don't have any remotely working employees yet , but unless there's something in company norms / contacts/ security agreements which prevents from working remote - you may still have a chance. <S> Flexible WFH (extended) and travel for work combined together can be a viable solution which works for both you and your employer. <S> Regarding the time to start the discussion: Well, I would not advise to inform the company of the movement plan beforehand - plans change. <S> Wait until it is close enough to the notice period or the max time <S> you think you'll be needing to find another job - and start the discussion. <S> If you can find a solution , it's fine. <S> Otherwise, you need to search and get a new job. <A> What is the best way to propose becoming a remote engineer if I am willing to take a demotion, pay cut, travel for work as much as they need, etc? <S> I was thinking of proposing this 60 days before we move to give enough time to either let them decide, or start looking for new jobs myself. <S> Why give up anything if you don't have to? <S> Use those concessions as a bargaining tool if needed. <S> Why wait until you're 60 days away from the move? <S> If you know about it now, and it's a foregone conclusion, then I see no value in waiting. <S> You want your employer to know that you are conscious of the impact this will have on them and want to give them as much time as possible to put together a solution that's mutually beneficial. <S> Many people in management do so with employees who are remote. <S> Why should the reverse not be the same? <S> There's nothing about managing remotely that needs to be different other than geography. <S> Too often we see our relationships with our employers as adversarial. <S> Look at it as a partnership. <S> Present this in a way that lets them know that you value and want to continue this partnership and that you want to find a solution that's mutually acceptable and beneficial.
| Usually, it all boil down to company policies - whether they (can) allow remote work or not. Don't offer to make any concessions... initially.
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Unrealistic duration for the task: refuse or start with understanding I will not do in time? The size and complexity of the task I have just received (days only) does not match the firmly set deadline, when it should be done. How should I respond? Simply say I cannot do this in time. Agree to take the task and start working on it. It willnot be done in time. Which of these two approaches would do less harm to my reputation? <Q> Not sure if either of these is the right approach. <S> IMHO, you should reply back with a breakdown of the project into smaller tasks and give a rough estimate for each sub-task and then provide the grand total of the project and explain why the current deadline seems unrealistic. <S> This breakdown would show your "employer" the hidden aspects of the project and compel them to reconsider the timeline. <S> They could also come back to you with their opinions regarding some of the timelines; perhaps the expected result is not as complex (or advanced) in their expectations or the employer might have something that simplifies some of the tasks or maybe they would consider adding more manpower for menial but time-consuming tasks. <S> This advice would apply to you no matter at which level of hierarchy you belong to. <S> If you're a senior (or an independent contractor), this would open a door for you to discuss the project <S> and you could present your concerns, perspective, etc and if you're a junior, this would help you understand the project better and also allow you to open up the same discussion with your seniors. <S> Hope this helps, good luck. <A> You need both approaches at the same time, and a third approach as well (together with the other two). <S> 1) Tell them in clear and no uncertain terms that it cannot be done in the time they want, and why. <S> Otherwise, they could later use you as... a sacrificial goat. <S> They could put the blame on you, through complaining that you did not warn them ahead of time. <S> If a manager thinks that his position might be endangered, he will throw any of his underlings under the bus without a second thought. <S> And if your manager was one of actually honest and good ones... <S> well then you probably wouldn't have been in your situation in the first place. <S> You need a <S> >> written << (email or something) record that you did warn them. <S> 2) Accept the task, after doing the (1), as in, telling them it cannot be done in time. <S> You want to keep your side of the bargain as much as possible - not only because of professionalism, but also to keep yourself free of any blame that might result. <S> 3) <S> If they don't want to accept the fact - that their wishes are impossible - don't tell them that you will quit. <S> Just suck it up and quietly look for another job. <S> If they don't want to accept the reality of the situation, then the only other info they should get from you is your two weeks notice after you have the next job locked in (as in, an offer on paper, signed by both sides, and with the start date and everything else agreed upon). <A> Do the inform that the task cannot be done in set timebracket ask if you should carry on with the task <S> inform <S> what part/percentage/stage of task will/could be done in set deadline. <S> set a realistic deadline for finishing the whole task <S> ask, again is you should carry on with the task with point mentioned above in mind. <S> Write those in an e-mail. <S> If any of the points is not answered reply with the question again. <S> Ps. <S> "I don't care, just do it" is not an answer.
| You do all you can, but never ever let them think that it will actually be done in the time frame they asked for. If they turn to be unreasonable, start looking for another job, while doing your best at the job you have.
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How would a developer who mostly fixed bugs for years at a company call out their contributions in their CV? Looking at several CV writing blogs and tutorials, everyone suggests to call out your contributions something like this: Developed project X with 50$ million profit. Developed this application saving support team 100s of hours. Is there a way for a developer who had been mostly fixing bugs for years at a company, with some bug fixing saving the company a vast amount of money, to call that out in their CV? <Q> "Maintenance and support of project x, including major refactoring yy modules to allow integration with zz. <S> This allowed the company to progress with MI reporting solution / comprehensive unit test framework / some other usefulness, resulting in a reduced total cost of ownership, a saving of approx $4m." <S> Repeat per project. <S> Mostly fixing bugs Spin and emphasize (without lying) <S> all the stuff that is not bugs in the same way. <S> Did you show anyone else how to fix it? <S> That's team leading / mentoring (but don't lie). <S> Don't think of what you've been doing as defect resolution; think of it in terms of business benefit. <S> Aside - fix any spelling mistakes ("there", "their"). <S> They will leap out far more at anyone reading your CV than bigging yourself up in the text. <S> Your CV is a sales brochure and needs to be polished. <S> UPDATE <S> A number of commenters have pointed out that a developer would likely not know the $ value of their contribution, or maybe even the project as a whole. <S> @puck points out that it may be detrimental, as an employer may not want their costs made public. <S> These are all valid points, and I generally agree, but note that as $ was mentioned in the original post, I included it in my example. <S> For anyone uncomfortable with putting financial figures, try using another performance metric, e.g. (from my own CV): <S> Reduced database transactions from 4bn/week to 2.8bn/week leading to a direct reduction in hosting fees. <S> [I know exactly what that represented as a cost saving, as the CEO of that client was publicly ecstatic]. <A> Is there a way a developer who had been mostly fixing bugs for years at a company with some bugs fixing saving company a vast amount of money call that out in their CV? <S> I can assure you that someone who has spent years maintaining business critical software, keeping things running, saving the company a vast amount of money is exactly the type of engineer most companies would fall all over themselves to hire. <S> Bug-fixing is very skillful, crucial, high-impact work, and it's hard to find people who not only can do it well, but are happy and engaged doing it. <S> You don't say what your goals are, but if you are looking for similar types of work in future then I would go all-in on pitching yourself as an effective, proven bug-fixer and maintainer. <S> Most teams need an engineer like this, and you're in a very niche talent pool because not many people pitch themselves like that. <A> , so you have a chance to show off some of the stuff you are familiar with. <S> For example: "Maintenance and support of project X, a > 1 million line distributed Java application, using Hazelcast, Kafka, and MongoDB, to collect realtime web usage data..." <A> Tracking down and correctly fixing bugs is quite often not trivial. <S> Writing new code quite often is. <S> In addition to probably being able to debug code, you will have a better than average 'gut feeling' when confronted with a new bug - and you can read, understand and correct others' code. <S> Any reasonable employer would recognize these skills as valuable on any team. <S> Assuming you now embrace your bug-finding skills, the question is whether you will be satisfied with being the bug-fixer or also want to participate on greenfield projects. <A> Be all about the specifics . <S> What TYPES of bugs? <S> I'm sure they weren't all typos. <S> Did you develop a procedure for checking/fixing? <S> Or refine an existing one? <S> How many people or teams' bugs were you looking at? <S> Were they in a variety of languages or other things showing that you can understand and switch between multiple things? <S> Maybe sometimes it was a functionality fix, sometimes it was about improving security? <S> Use strong verbs : https://insights.dice.com/power-verbs-for-your-resume-and-cover-letter/ <S> has some good ones under both the Technical and User/Technical Support sections. <S> From https://theinterviewguys.com/action-verbs-to-enhance-your-resume/ has these near <S> "debugged" Clarified, integrated, modified, overhauled, redesigned, restructured, transformed, adapted, debugged, regulated, restored, fabricated, remodeled and some by "solved": Capitalized, enhanced, expedited, stimulated, maximized , solved, strengthened, settled, reconciled, eased, elevated, negotiated, standardized, influenced, arbitrated, boosted <S> I also tend to like SquawkFox, here's their verb list: http://www.squawkfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/resume_action_words.pdf <S> One thing I notice on all of these: "Debugged" is a good, specific word! <S> Hiring people probably are quite happy to see that this IS your skill/experience. <S> Don't feel it's "lesser" than other programming. <S> It's a cool skill-set, and those who need it will appreciate the thought you've given to explaining it well.
| Yes - by simply calling that out as directly as possible! To build on @Justin's answer, not only should you say what you did, you should spend a few words describing the project (what it does, what technologies it uses, how it is architected, etc.)
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I want to ask company flying me out for office tour if I can bring my fiance, entirely at my own expense Here is my current situation: I am a student graduating in September who is looking for a full-time job. A company located across the country from me interviewed me (remotely) and extended an offer. They said they would be willing to fly me out in a month so I can tour their office and meet my prospective coworkers before coming to a decision. They are paying for my flight and my hotel accommodations. Here is where my question lies: I want my fiance to come with me, so we can both check out the city and look at apartments (neither of us have ever been). I am about 90% sure I am going to accept this job offer, and it would be great to have some idea about what areas of the city we would like to live in, etc. He would book for and pay his own tickets, and we would either offer to cover the full price of the hotel room or make up the difference in cost between a room for one VS two people. My question is whether this is an appropriate thing to ask of my prospective employer in the first place, and if so, how I would go about phrasing this question. I would ideally want them to send me exact details about the flight so my fiance could book a ticket on the same one, and ask about how we should go about paying for his portion of the hotel room. <Q> Your specific question was, <S> My question is whether this is an appropriate thing to ask of my prospective employer in the first place, and if so, how I would go about phrasing this question. <S> Given how eager the employer is to support your decision making process, it seems perfectly reasonable that you would want to bring your significant other along - they clearly play a role in the decision to move across the country to an unknown city. <S> Assuming the employer is doing the booking, you might phrase it something along the lines of, I appreciate your generous offer to fly me to your location and tour your facilities. <S> It will certainly help me get a feel for the city and your corporate culture. <S> Since this relocation is a big decision for me personally, I would like to bring X, my fiance, along on the trip - we are willing to pay all costs associated with X's travel. <S> Could you please provide me with the details of the booking you've made for me, so I can coordinate X's travel to be on the same flight as mine? <S> If the employer expects you to book the travel and then submit an expense report for reimbursement, it becomes even easier, since you can choose to only submit your expenses (and not your fiance's). <S> At that point, you can simply disclose that your fiance is coming along, in case the employer is planning any after-work social plans that they may want to include them in (i.e. taking you out for dinner or something): <S> Attached is the itinerary I've booked. <S> Also, I wanted to let you know that my fiance, X, is joining me for the trip as the potential relocation will be a decision for both of us. <S> We're happy to be considering this change! <A> I'd be a little surprised if the company want to book the ticket and the accommodation from their side. <S> In general, for these sort of visits before you become an employee of the company, usually they use the reimbursement model. <S> That means, you'll have to pay for the expenses now, and once you submit the voucher / invoices, they will pay you the agreed upon cost as reimbursement. <S> As you mentioned already, inform them about your plan, and ask the same questions - if you submit the invoices for only the expenses incurred for your travel and stay - whether they are OKay to accept that or not. <S> Most likely, they would not disagree. <S> In case you can have separate expense invoices for you and your partner - it should not matter anyways. <S> If they are on single invoice for some reason - you just have to keep the company informed - that's all. <S> After the edit: Based on the emails we have been sending back and forth, they plan to book the ticket on my behalf instead of the standard reimbursement model. <S> After the clarification: My question is whether this is an appropriate thing to ask of my prospective employer in the first place, and if so, how I would go about phrasing this question. <S> I would ideally want them to send me exact details about the flight so my fiance could book a ticket on the same one, and ask about how we should go about paying for his portion of the hotel room. <S> Yes, it's acceptable to ask. <S> Phrase it <S> just the way you phrased it here. <S> They will have to send the flight and hotel details anyway. <S> Your partner can book the ticket on their own just fine. <S> For the hotel room - check with the contact person in the company whether they would be OK to offer you a twin-sharing room booked for you and your partner, or, if they have budget for only a single occupancy room, and if the twin-sharing room costs more than the former one, you can offer to pay the difference and book a twin-sharing room. <A> In my case I had the same thing come up. <S> What I ended up doing is going alone for the interview trip or what ever you want to call it. <S> During that time, I told them me and my wife would need another trip up here to find housing. <S> They had no issues getting us both a plane ticket and hotel for 3 days to find housing. <S> I would think they even expected it.
| Since you're willing to offer paying their expenses (versus asking the company to pay them), it doesn't even seem like you need to ask the employer if they're OK with you bringing them along - it seems more appropriate to just inform them of your plan and politely ask for the coordinating details.
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There is a large spider above my work desk, does my employer have any obligation to get rid of it for me or move me? There is a large black spider located above my desk location. I am terribly afraid of spiders, to the point where I can't work without being afraid of it jumping down and if I lose sight of it then I am definitely unable to stay at this desk. Does the employer have an obligation to get rid of it for me or to make my area of work free of such creatures? If not, what is the way to go about it? I can't kill it myself as I am likely to scream and/or drop the hoover onto my laptop or screen. It is an open office. My question - who to ask, how to ask and on what basis? <Q> I assume that most companies by default take care of daily cleaning the floors and the bathrooms, and periodically the windows. <S> However, some "small, occasional inconveniences" cannot be caught by these routine activities. <S> In this case, you have two choices: <S> Deal with the problem yourself, if you want to and if it is in your abilities. <S> Ask a colleague to do that for you, if anyone wants and has the abilities. <S> Tell the employer (through the dedicated department / person) about the problem and ask them to take care of it. <S> Such occasional problems include: the removal of a spider web; replacing a non-functioning light fixture; making adjustments to a window, for a proper thermal insulation; anything else. or move me? <S> It is extremely unlikely that the company would keep the spider web safe by finding you another work place. <S> Unfortunately, it is almost certain that a certain spider will become homeless. <S> Even worse: lifeless - depending on its luck. <A> Can't you just ask a colleague to move the spider? <A> Your should first try with a colleague: <S> Hey there is an spider in my desk what I do? <S> Either he help you get rid of the arachnid or suggest what should be the next action. <S> Maybe point you to the Janitor or another colleague with more arachnid handling skills. <S> If neither of you know what to do then you should ask your boss. <S> In my case I have handle a few spider myself, just a piece of paper and then put it outside the window. <S> Also have to handle a bird invasor, that is more difficult you have to open all the windows and try to scare it from the other direction. <S> I also can change the water bottle if need and once I use a fire extinguisher in a computer with faulty fans. <S> ( I still think I deserve one month in the calendar for that) <S> But my limit was a snake coming from a 10 meters high roof. <S> In that case we had to call for the building maintenance crew, but not because I was scare of snakes (well maybe a litle) <S> but because was too high to reach and we need some ladders.
| In the most of the (civilized) world, it is in the obligation of the employer to provide a clean and safe work environment.
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Experiencing a desire to play a more technical role I am currently a Product Manager at a large software company. I have been doing it for 3 years after a career change from sales. I do not have a technical or business degree but have been able to excel at the role. I mostly play the role of the Product Owner on scrum teams but am part of strategic decision making. I really enjoy the more technical aspect of the job and enjoy working closely with the engineering team. I like to understand how the product works so much so that I have been learning to develop my own software applications on my spare time. I really enjoy this and feel challenged. I am a little bored at the Product Owner role right now. I feel like I have it down and am not learning as much as I could be. It seems like a common path is moving from engineering to product management but I have been feeling the opposite. What advice would you give to someone in my situation looking to get into a more technical role without a formal background for it? What options are there? <Q> One really important challenge you'll face if you try to move your job title to "developer" is that you'll be moving from a relatively senior role into a junior one. <S> You'll have/surpass many of the skills a senior developer needs in navigating the business, but to be a senior developer you'll need to learn most of the skills a developer uses when making software in a team (which are really important, and hard/impossible to learn by working on personal projects). <S> This might make it difficult to move into that role with your current employer. <S> You'll essentially be asking for a big demotion. <S> It's important to realise that a junior developer is likely to get paid a lot less than you do now as well (for reference, as a junior developer I earned about 25% of my current salary as a senior developer). <S> Having said all that, given that you work in an agile shop there may be an opportunity to pick up and work on less complex stories without changing your role when it suits you and your team. <S> You could gain experience that way without sacrificing your salary <S> but you'd be taking on a higher personal workload. <S> That would be something to discuss with your team. <A> You asked, What advice would you give to someone in my situation looking to get into a more technical role without a formal background for it? <S> What options are there? <S> All of the general advice about career changes would apply here, <S> the fact that it's non-technical to technical is just a detail. <S> Make sure you understand the field you're getting in to, pursue education or training to fill in gaps in your skill set, be sure you understand which of your current skills are transferable, and expect to encounter bumps and surprises along the way. <S> Further, and more specifically for the switch you're considering, keep in mind that there's more to good software engineering than just understanding how the product works and knowing how to code. <S> Software engineers are as much experts in process, structure, and lifecycle management as they are experts at understanding functionality and knowing how to program. <S> This is probably the biggest handicap that people who make the switch informally without education or experience will face - it may seem easy for you to write code that does what it needs to do, but it may seem hard for you to "follow the rules" and write code that makes sense to others, and is sustainable and efficient. <S> Many latecomers to software engineering end up as "cowboys" who can shoot quick and solve problems, but once they've moved on to their next project, the engineers who inherit and maintain their products end up thinking geez, this is a mess. <S> The way you avoid this is by making sure you're not just focusing on how to write code, but focusing on how to think in a process-oriented manner and consider the overall structure of what you're doing against your employer's goals for sustainability, performance, and maintainability. <A> Some remarks, from somebody who's done both jobs (but still loves and does dev). <S> Make sure your current supervisor knows about your ambition to learn more work skill. <S> Frame it as "more and better skills" rather than <S> "I'm bored. <S> " You may get good advice and support from that direction. <S> Product management / product owner work is really good work. <S> It gives you a broader scope and bigger opportunities to advance than dev work. <S> You have more visibility into customer needs and your business's operations than you will as a dev, in any but very small companies. <S> If product management has become humdrum for you, consider doing more customer interviews, dreaming up new product lines, or whatever. <S> Ask your supervisor for more responsibility. <S> And try to go to a Pragmatic Marketing training course in product management. <S> Your eyes will be opened to the broad scope of product management work. <S> You're learning development skills. <S> That's terrific. <S> You can also check out online training: <S> Free Code Camp, Udacity, Udemy, the list is long. <S> Some of them have organized sequences of courses leading to specializations like SQL developer, Data Scientist or React developer. <S> You could choose to use your own time to learn, or you could ask for some work time to do it. <S> Whatever you do, get yourself some SQL chops. <S> You'll need to learn some stuff before changing jobs. <S> If you have the time and money to do a dev boot camp or even get a M.S. degree in CS or IT, that is also a good way to learn a new trade without starting out as a programming n00b. <S> With product management skills and some developer skills, you'd be a valuable member of a startup or small company. <S> Is that a direction you can consider?
| And, of course, expect to enter your new career at a level that matches your skills and experience - in other words, you may take a "demotion" to make the switch.
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What to say and what not to say to a recruiter when he or she is checking in? I have never known what to really say or not to say to a recruiter when he is checking in after assigning me. If everything is going well, I usually just say that and often follow it up with "does the client have any feedback about me?" I don't know if that question is appropriate, but what do you say to a recruiter if everything seems to be going along fine, but there are tasks that you find daunting or have never done before? I guess what I am asking is, how much can you confide in a recruiter? What do you say, what don't you say, when they are checking in. For example, if you are moving along nicely, but you honestly have no idea how you are going to solve a very needed fix, but you are working towards figuring it out. How do you present that? Or do you not present it at all? <Q> A recruiter has no business knowing about your work assignments, or difficulties thereof. <S> They cannot do anything about that. <S> They can help you in getting in touch with open positions - keep that in mind while responding to their question. <S> They ask the question because they want to know whether you are OK in the setup / environment in which you are placed and whether you'd be giving them a call about further switch or not. <S> So, choose your answer. <S> If you're having difficulty in one task, but you're happy overall <S> (compensation, benefits, team, manager, office / work location - overall),a <S> If, for some reason the employment relation did not work out to the best of your expectation, and you want to move on, you can let the recruiter know you're open for opportunities. <A> I guess what I am asking is, how much can you confide in a recruiter? <S> Confide? <S> No <S> You need to remember / realize that a relationship with a recruiter is primarily a business relationship. <S> By that I mean that your recruiter's loyalty is to their career, their employer, and the client. <S> Not necessarily in that order, but <S> at least one (probably two) of those loyalties come ahead of their loyalty to you. <S> They act like a friend would, but they are in sales and that's what good salespeople do. <S> Note that I'm not trying to belittle them, or you. <S> For it to be more than business, you have to work for them a while <S> (years, not months). <S> What do you say, what don't you say, when they are checking in. <S> They are calling to chat with you either because it is time to do so or because you screwed up. <S> And you have to screw up bad for that to happen (you will likely <S> already know what you did wrong if this is the case). <S> Unless something is really wrong, <S> you should tell them everything is fine . <S> That is what they are expecting to hear. <S> That is what they want to hear. <S> The work environment is sort-of the recruiter's business. <S> I do not mean minor stuff like <S> they go out to lunch and never invite you , I mean <S> If people aren't friendly or treat you as a second class citizen because you're a temp/contractor, you can mention that to the recruiter. <S> It is good for them to know. <S> If you got a bad review from a superior and you can explain the reasons why that person was wrong, consider mentioning this. <S> (They'll likely hear about it anyway.) <S> Otherwise, "Everything is fine, thanks!" <S> They are expecting to hear that everything is fine. <S> They don't want to hear a bunch of minor stuff. <S> If you can't do the job because it is hard for you... don't tell. <S> It is supposed to be hard, that's why they're paying you. <S> On the other hand... if you've missed deadlines (and other people aren't missing their deadlines) <S> it would be time to say that you aren't happy... and are there other jobs? <A> Act like you've been there before. <S> That's what developers do -- figure out how to solve problems. <S> My response might be something to the effect of "It's challenging, but I'm enjoying it." <A> They have three things they are interested in: <S> Did I damage the recruitment companies reputation by sending adud <S> How likely am I that I can get another years commission outof this guy? <S> Is it at all possible they might be hiring againsoon? <S> Their questions will be aimed at answering those for themselves and your answers should only be minimal since the recruiter really doesn't care about you as a person.
| simple "Yes, I'm good" should suffice. If you are having trouble with the people you work with, you can mention it. Suck it up and do the job they're expecting you to do.
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No update after 1st round of interview After attending the 1st round of interviews for about 45 mins, they told me they will call for the 2nd round in the next week, as they wanted to interview few more candidates. After the week, when I checked with HR, HR told that I will be updated by next week. After repeated mails also still the HR replies "Still no updates". Now almost a month has passed after my first interview.What should I do now? Should I still continue sending mail to HR regarding the status or let it go? <Q> NEVER get your hopes up when job hunting. <S> A company could say you have the job but until you sign the contract, don't assume that you are safe. <S> Keep applying elsewhere, keep interviewing and just pretend the other company no longer exists unless they contact you. <S> Or they are putting it off, which also makes you think if the company is worth working for. <A> Rather than chase, I tend to send them a polite email that wraps it up from your end. <S> Something like: <S> Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to interview at your company. <S> If you'd like a 2nd interview let me know. <S> If another opportunity comes up in the future please consider me interested. <S> That will then prompt them to inform you either way, and you will stick in their memory for the future. <A> You probably need to let it go. <S> They know from your reminders that you're interested and will be in touch if they decide to take it further. <S> From their reluctance to take the initiative, you should probably assume that they won't be back in touch - it's a shame that they've not been honest enough to just say so directly, but there is nothing you can do about that. <S> Then, if they do get back in touch, that will be a pleasant surprise. <A> This is what I would do. <S> Follow up with weekly emails for the first 2 or 3 weeks. <S> After that depending on how badly you need that particular job you can send an follow up email may be one more time. <S> That's it. <S> I had employers reach out to me even after a month to see if I am available. <S> Possible reasons given are: They were looking for better candidates <S> They put the recruitment process on hold <S> The recruiter hiring manager or recruiter went on long leave <S> They have a large candidate pool & need to comb through everyone. <S> As the other answer has said, if they really need you, they would have reached out to you. <S> Meanwhile keep applying, till you land a job. <S> You only need one job, its a numbers game. <S> Once you land the job, it feels much better to reply to the companies that ghosted you for a while and then suddenly reaches out to see if you are still available. <S> At that juncture you can reply something like the following : <S> "I joined a new company. <S> Lets keep in touch for future opportunities" PS : Always be polite on email. <S> Hang in there, you will get a job soon enough
| If HR is replying "still no updates" then they are clearly looking for more people for the job, still interviewing, and therefore they are not happy they have found the right candidate.
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How to deal with a colleague who is being aggressive? I’ve found that a relatively new addition to our team is being needlessly aggressive and I’m not sure if I should speak to them or our mutual manager about this face to face, or try some other technique while working to reduce her aggression as it is affecting my concentration. When she first started she came in all guns blazing - she criticised my work to my face on several occasions, pointing to errors that didn’t exist (or were by someone else). I calmly pointed out where she was mistaken, but this did rattle me as she’d come with a glowing report and it would look bad on me as a long term employee of the company if I really had made so many errors. Even if I hadn’t the fact that people would see her ‘pulling me up’ would also look bad. I hoped she was just settling in. She did seem to calm down and become more friendly though I admit I was always inwardly tense when speaking to her (though I tried to exude friendly professionalism throughout). Recently however one of my colleagues told me that she informed them that I have something against her (I don’t know what this is specifically referring to). And yesterday she went from 0 to 100 about an issue: swearing, raised voice, very intimidating. I stayed outwardly calm but inside I wasn’t sure if I was boiling or quaking. A few minutes later the issue (a simple one) was resolved and she started chatting to me like we were best friends. The change was so abrupt I was quite caught out. I don’t know her well but I sense she has a form of OCD from some things she’s mentioned about herself and I don’t know if she’s agitated whenever she perceives something isn’t right? I also think it may be ‘normal’ for her to kick off when it suits her. However this isn’t something I’m comfortable with. I feel that we should always convey info in a calm way to each other. Anyway, I am still striving to maintain the professional exterior but I am now extra tense whenever she speaks to me incase it blows into confrontation that I have to diffuse. I feel that I don’t trust her as a team member. What should I do to try to create a better atmosphere for me at work? I know she’s had run ins with other staff but for some reason I seem to be getting it the most. Of note she has been making a lot of mistakes herself and I’ve been pointing them out in the most gentle way I can, taking extra care not to appear vindictive or pleased in her eyes. Edit: Just want to say thank you all! It’s really helped me get my head straight on what the most sensible approach is. <Q> We learn not to yell at other people at our mother's knees. <S> This is not acceptable behavior anywhere in public, let alone in a professional setting, and she's probably well aware of it. <S> Anyone older than 6 or so should be. <S> Your coworker seems to be accustomed to getting a pass on this behavior (for various reasons not worth discussing here), and speaking to her about her shortcomings is probably not going to go well for you, especially in a one-on-one setting. <S> What you should do - and fast - is contact your manager, and request a sit down. <S> Prepare a list of instances when she has yelled at, or otherwise been aggressive with you (or other team members in your presence). <S> List dates, times, the people present, and the context of the encounter if possible (if you can't remember these instances, start keeping track now). <S> Then pass him the list of documented events. <S> Express a desire to work calmly alongside your colleagues, and that if someone finds and error in your code you'd be more than happy to address it in a friendly manner, but that her attitude is unacceptable, and disruptive to the team. <S> Most likely there are others in the office who have taken notice of her terrible behavior (or more likely been targets), and this will not have been the first time your manager's had someone mention it to him. <S> Hopefully having a concrete list of events will spur him into action. <S> If your manager asks you why, in your somewhat supervisory capacity, you haven't addressed this with her already, tell him that you fear an escalation on her part, as she has proven to be quite volatile in the past, and that you're requesting his involvement. <S> Maybe offer to sit in on any meetings between management and this employee, but don't face her alone. <S> She already has a propensity to spread rumors, who knows what she'd say transpired in a one-on-one meeting? <S> Be a little paranoid. <S> It'll serve you well in this situation. <A> The worst thing you can do is keep it to yourself as she's already started badmouthing you to colleagues. <S> Bring her behaviour to the attention of your manager. <S> This may be paranoid, but it might be a good idea to start writing up your interactions with her, either in hardcopy or emails. <S> If you do have to interact with her, try doing so where another colleague is present. <A> You can use this situation as a starter of discussion: <S> And yesterday she went from 0 to 100 about an issue: swearing, raised voice, very intimidating. <S> [...] <S> A few minutes later ... she started chatting to me like we were best friends. <S> Even if this person has personality issues, or uncontrolled bursts of anger, they owe you an apology and maybe even an explanation. <S> You have every right to bring this up, starting with the fact that you don't understand what prompted anger, and that you don't understand what prompted change in attitude. <S> In that situation <S> you should stay close to home base, and only talk about how you feel , not about how she is unprofessional. <S> After all, there is a chance you are making a mistake (this is not gas-lighting, but this is a subjective situation). <A> We are reading a one-sided report, but if what you say is accurate, then it sounds like your coworker has some mental issues and at a minimum anger management issues. <S> And yesterday she went from 0 to 100 about an issue: swearing, raised voice, very intimidating. <S> Regardless of anything else in your post, this type of behavior is completely unprofessional and should not be tolerated in any work environment. <S> Personally, I would escalate the issue to include HR as having a toxic and abusive unprofessional situation must be reigned in and documented. <S> I wouldn't tolerate it for a second. <S> You need to communicate your concerns with your manager, who must manage the problem his employees are having. <S> Not being able to maintain healthy working relationships and a professional demeanor is failing to perform job duties in a satisfactory manner. <S> Normally, you could talk to your peer about your concerns to come to an understanding, but this behavior crosses professional lines. <S> It's time to escalate. <S> Being aggressive, berating, and swearing creates a toxic and abusive environment that nobody has to tolerate. <A> I belive <S> if you are thinking of making atmosphere more comfortable, you are on half on right way. <S> But there is one not obvious thing. <S> Contacting to people like that, it is very important that she see you peacefully speaking to all your colleague. <S> You should not just sitting in the corner or you will be her victim. <S> That type of people are aggressive liers. <S> But more important, that they ... paranoid. <S> When they lies dirtly, they affraid of the same. <S> For that reason, if you will speak to every of your colleague frendly from time to time, peacefully, she will be affraid that you are speaking about her and that will protect you. <S> It will also improve atmosphere. <S> Do not give her many of your attension. <S> Do not think of her at all. <S> Improve your social proof and she will be just not able to attack you.
| When you speak to your manager, outline that this new employee is making erroneous claims as to the quality of your work, is being rude, verbally abusive, and that working with her makes you uncomfortable, as you never know when the next confrontation is going to erupt. Perhaps even avoid being alone with her in order to avoid a literal he-said she-said type situation.
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Internship without work to do I've been in a coop program for 3 months and there are 3 months left. The company is the one that I highly esteemed before I came. Unfortunately, it seems my manager doesn't care about my internship and told me at the very beginning that my mentor will manage all tasks. However, my mentor didn't plan any project for me, and I am doing this internship with some work to do then totally idle for 4 weeks, then some little work then idle for another few weeks. 50% of the time, I just sit here and do nothing. I asked my mentor several times about assigning me some new tasks, and every time he just fobbed me off with words like "Yes we should think about it" or "Oh sorry too busy I should check your code first then we talk about it." Sometimes he said we need to talk to the other team, and just leave me What should I do? I am totally depressed and I really wanted to get a good review before I started. I gave up a Google internship for this because I thought it is longer and I can learn more stuff. This is totally unexpected. I am in deep depression each day and almost got me melancholia. Should I quit? Should I complain to HR? or the manager of my manager? <Q> Maybe there's another group on your floor that could use some help or there's another employee who is more interested in teaching a student. <S> It may not be exactly what you got hired to do, but you'll probably learn something interesting and expand your list of potential references for when you graduate. <S> Also, it takes the pressure off your manager who may have been surprised with having a student. <A> I wouldn't quit. <S> An internship is still an internship and it's a good addition to any resume. <S> It's definitely possible that there's nothing for you to do, but that's the fault of the company. <S> They brought on a junior-level employee without really needing one. <S> While you're waiting around and/or in between tasks, I recommend doing some online courses or reading about topics related to your field. <A> Should I quit? <S> Do you have any alternative internship lined up? <S> Unless you have, you will be losing whatever good you get from the internship for nothing. <S> Should I complain to HR? <S> or the manager of my manager? <S> Absolutely not if you want a good review. <S> You have to realize that people working there have their work to do and are not ignoring you just for the sake of it. <S> Going to HR or your manager's manager to complain that your mentor is not sidelining his main work (the one your manager wants to be done) in order to guide you... <S> well, they may have some sympathy for you wanting to work, but their priorities are clear and jumping the chain of command is likely to label you as a potential troublemaker. <S> I would approach your mentor and try to explain your situation to him, and ask him permission to go to your manager and ask for work directly from him or even to assign you another mentor that has more available time. <S> If your mentor promises to take more care of you instead but it does not change, then maybe you could consider going to your manager about the issue without your mentor permission. <S> But if your manager does not solve the issue either, then that is the end of it (unless you quit). <A> Showing initiative is a great trait in any employee, but especially in someone new to the work-force or the company. <S> Look around at the projects and processes in your department. <S> See if you can identify a problem that you can solve, maybe a utility for data management, an improvement to the build & deployment process or something else to help the department. <S> Do some research or create a prototype to share with your mentor and manager. <S> Ask for permission to complete the project as part of your internship. <S> Researching and prototyping will be critical skills later when you are a full time employee somewhere. <S> Being able to describe the project you researched and completed will be great for interviewing when your a looking for your first job.
| In my experience with coop (I've been a student and hired students), when there's nothing to do in your team, try and see if your manager will let you branch out in the office.
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Open office space - complaints for noise - how to respond I work in a big corporate office and a slightly more senior colleague of mine under a different reporting line, with maybe ~25 years in the industry, Alice, has twice complained to me about how loud I speak - or it could be my actual voice. The first time I was giving instructions to a colleague of mine and getting him some data to work on. At the time, I felt that it was warranted but still somewhat rude to say "Please keep it down - it's really bothering me" - it is an open office corporate space after all, not a library. That said, I did apologize and kept it down, making a conscious effort to tone in down since. The second most recent time, an immediate colleague and I were discussing about our company and Alice, visibly annoyed, got up and reached for her in-ear headphones. Trying to be a good corporate citizen, I asked, "Alice, are we bothering you?" and Alice responded "a little bit but..." with something mumbled at the end. Anyway, I, again, adjusted and all went fine. I find myself being bothered by this attitude. I am not the only one talking and when I am distracted from the technical work I do, I just get my headphone. I've never had someone complain about my voice or loudness and I need a way to respond in an assertive, strong way to basically say, I will try to keep it down but this is a corporate setting and you should get used to it. EDIT: I wanted to add two more things. 1st - I don't speak loudly. My normal tone was bothering her - not me yelling or having a heated argument. It's the same tone that distracts me and I tolerate in the open office I work. 2nd - When I say "all went fine" - it basically meant that I ended up whispering or stopping the discussion altogether. That's not sustainable hence my question. <Q> That's one typical problem with open office culture. <S> Someone's communication is someone else's distraction. <S> So, let's analyze the situation <S> : Someone requested you to change the level of your voice, and you were actually able to do that. <S> That indicates, you could have started and continued in that tone itself which would not have caused any problems. <S> In other words, you tried to adapt to the suggestion, and it worked for both of you: <S> The colleague who complained, were not getting bothered anymore. <S> You were able to continue and complete the conversation you wanted to have with the modified tone and get the work done. <S> Different people have different choices, one solution does not fit to all. <S> If keeping your voice in control keeps your co-worker happy, try to achieve it - there's no harm in that. <S> If they are being annoyed and you don't like them to be annoyed - don't provide them with a reason. <S> For future cases, take either of the preventive action listed above before someone else can come up with another complain. <S> Oh, and a request made like <S> "Please keep it down - it's really bothering me" is not rude, it's very gentle. <A> Tell her something alike: that you understand her and that she should kindly remind you, when being too loud is the case, because it's not your intention to bother anyone. <S> That might be the most easy resolution to get along. <S> Such territorial issues (exactly alike some may have them with their neighbors) always bring up the aspect, of who was there before (even if no regulations would catch, but HR might wish for a certain harmony)... beside that, I can only tell from experience, that having to actually program besides someone who performs loud phone calls is close to torture. <A> An open space forces many people to live in the same environment; the tolerance for distracting elements may dramatically vary among different subjects . <S> While there are people that can cope with the constant noise fairly easily, there are others (like me, I have full-blown diagnosed ADHD) <S> that suffer a lot from environmental noise and chatter . <S> Also the concept of "normal voice tone" varies a lot: I have had colleagues whose "normal tone" was a boomy, resonating voice that pierced even through earphones, while other voice types seem to blend more into the background. <S> What I feel to suggest is: <S> assume that, most probably, it's your duty to keep the efforts to regulate your tone you cannot ask a colleague to be "less sensitive to distraction" <S> ; it's something that you can't help <S> don't assume that "grabbing the headphone" is a given. <S> I would not have to resort to the headphone if people made a conscious effort to be quiet (that includes also using vibration instead of ringtones on their phones, etc.) <S> on the other hand, grabbing the earphones with an annoyed attitude may suggest that Alice tends to lean now towards passive-aggressive responses . <S> This is maybe wrong on her side, she could simply ask again with a smile. <S> It seems that you both would profit by communicating on a calm and reasonable level. <S> You have to do your best to keep your voice down, or maybe call people apart for long talks, but she has to confront you with a proactive attitude, and understand that sometimes it's unavoidable to have to talk. <A> I have Low Latent Inhibition, ADHD, and particularly good ears. <S> For all practical purposes, a workplace should be viewed as a library. <S> People are trying to work! <S> It is a lot easier to whisper than it is too cut off other people's hearing, particularly when, as in my case and likely 1% of the population, they literally can't tune noises out. <S> Perhaps find a conference room, rather than require that your co-workers, who are likely looking up definitions of sound torture, be subject to what is causing them pain? <A> Alice might simply be the type to get easily distracted by sounds - I often wear closed headphones just to block some of the sound in room - mostly when I really have to concentrate on something - perhaps she is working on something important and even a minor distraction bothers her? <S> In my opinion you should try to ask her if this is the case and come up with a solution together. <S> One solution would be just asking her beforehand if the conversation will bother her, and if she is doing something important - you could try moving the conversation to other coworker's cubicle or just inform her it is important and you will try not to be too loud. <S> If you are on friendly terms , another solution could be politely suggesting her to get ANC headphones (something like: <S> "I see you're often bothered by people talking loudly nearby - <S> have you ever heard about active noise cancelling headphones? <S> They work magic for a friend of mine, maybe it would be worth checking them out in a shop?.") <S> - a lot of people use them in open space offices here.
| How to respond If someone has already complained (like the case you mentioned), apologize, and then either Actively try to keep your voice level in check while having conversation Pick a meeting / discussion room or conference room when you need to get into a lengthy discussion. What is acceptable to you, may not be a suitable solution to someone else.
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How are you supposed to get any work done when the whole day is meetings? I'm in a very small department, about 15 people, and we spend most of the day in meetings that aren't necessary, either all together, 1 on 1s, or 3-4 person groups. I usually only get about 30 minutes at my desk between 9:30 and 5:00 to get any actual work done but people will ask me for updates on projects as if I've had much more time than that. Even if it's someone I've been in meetings with all day, they'll ask if I've made any progress since this morning and then get mad when I say that I haven't been to my desk yet. What can I do about this? <Q> First it's important that you make it clear that this is an issue . <S> So raise the point to everyone and especially your manager that you have too much meetings and need to get work done. <S> Then, decline meetings . <S> If there is a big meeting you feel only partly relevant, ask if you are fine not coming and simply read a report. <S> Sometimes, it is hard as there is peer pressure about participating to meetings, but if you feel some meeting is unnecessary or comes at the wrong time, it's most of the time OK to say you won't participate and that it's not negotiable. <S> It's also important <S> you ask or provide alternate ways to communicate that aren't synchronous and can get the less urgent communication happen without interrupting your work: this is what mail, ticketing, chat etc. are made for. <S> This will allow to further free you from 1-1 that could have been a mail, and because writing requires more effort, it will also reduce communication noise. <S> Finally, you should realize some meetings are important. <S> Sometimes, the company undergo change that require synchronization, and participating that can be more valuable than your work output. <S> So it's good to <S> accept that some days, you won't be able to do as much as you would like . <A> You can try declining invitations to meetings you don't think you need to attend. <S> Especially if you are in a senior position this may be a good solution. <S> It should be mentioned though that, as a general rule, the more senior role you have, the more meetings you will probably need to attend. <S> If you are in a junior position you can try discussing it during your 1:1 (sic!) <S> with your boss. <S> Maybe they don't know about the situation? <S> But honestly, the fact that you are expected to sit in so many meetings and your boss still expects you to work shows something is probably wrong with the organisational culture. <S> I've worked at organisations at which there was plenty of meetings. <S> I've also worked at some that were actually well-functioning, result-oriented organisations. <S> The distinction was always clear. <S> You can try observing how your colleagues deal with the problem. <S> If they stay longer to deal with the workload, you have your answer. <A> Make a weekly plan of all the meetings you have, try to see which ones are mandatory and which not and with that you can have a good idea of how much "extra time" you can get. <S> With that planning, you can talk to your manager to explain the situation, show your calendar and see together if you can skip some meetings and re-do your calendar so you have more time to focus on your desk job. <S> With this, you show that there's a problem, <S> why does that happen <S> , how does it affect your work and how it can be solved. <S> If your manager doesn't care you should start thinking about if that work suits you, because it will look like they want you to do extra hours to get your work done. <A> If you have the ability further out in your schedule, try blocking off 8 hours of your time per week with a fake meeting. <S> I personally block of my afternoons on Tuesday and Wednesday <S> so people looking at my calendar think I am busy. <S> You will have that time available if something urgent comes up and you need a meeting, but for the most part that time will be for you. <S> I prefer larger chunks of time to be blocked off <S> so I can gain momentum and finish projects. <S> Sometimes only blocking an hour off is useless because by the time you start gaining some traction on something you have another meeting to go to. <A> Is it necessary for you to attend each meeting? <S> I find that when people schedule meetings, they tend to include anybody that could potentially have an interest in whatever is discussed, not because they really need you to attend. <S> If they really need you to be there, they will let you know. <S> If at that point they still insist on your presence, you might want to talk to your manager about how you should divide your time between meetings and actual work.
| What I would do is explicitly decline the meetings that you think don't need your presence, and perhaps send a vague "no time" message.
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Manager pushing acting manager aside when she is about to go on maternity leave when the pregnancy is a secret Asking for a friend, I will try my hardest so it doesn't appear as a "what choise to make" question, sorry about the long post but it is an interesting scenario: The setting is a highly political government agency in the public eye. They do a great job but the office politics makes it a snake pit to work in. Two ladies, lets call them Anna and Bekky, they also have a boss lets call her Charlie. Bekky is newer in the job than Anna but has shown great talent at it and works very hard. Bekky and Anna used to work together at the same location. After a while Anna got a promotion as an "acting manager" and went to a different location, less desirable area and the commute is longer. Due to the nature of the job the work is also much more difficult since the public they have to deal with in this area are different. In short no one likes it there. Bekky meanwhile also got a promotion and became acting manager in the first location where she used to work together with Anna. Anna then (since she was on the waiting list for promotions longer) got a promotion and will no longer be "acting manager" but will be "manager" and she has been offered the role Bekky was filling in for as acting. Anna is thrilled to be coming back to her area and to work with her friends again. Here's the twist: Anna is pregnant and hasn't told anyone yet. She will be coming in literally for 3 or 4 months and Bekky will be bumped right back down because of that. Charlie, the boss, doesn't know Anna is pregnant and is hoping Anna can bring some stability to this team that has had 4 "acting managers" in the last 2 years. Bekkie knows Anna is pregnant. Bekkie is also very resentful that she will lose her spot as acting manager and maybe even get pushed back down or possibly even get sent to the undesirable location Anna is coming from. Bekkie is especially resentful that Anna will be going on maternity leave for at least 6 months for which she could have stayed in this spot. Bekkie's friends are telling her to tell the boss Charlie that Anna is pregnant and only coming back for a couple of months. She is considering it at this stage but isn't sure what repercussions might arise from this. Would Bekkie be better off letting Anna just come back for 2-3 months and accept her fate or say something? What would be the potential harm? tl;dr manager pushing acting manager aside when she is about to go on maternity leave and she is hiding she is pregnant, what could be the damage if acting manager tells the boss what is happening? Edit: What Bekky wants: Anna already has the position, Bekky just wants Anna to stay put for 2-3 months so she can cover Anna's absence as well as "acting". <Q> Telling the boss that someone is pregnant and therefore shouldn't get an assignment is a bad, bad, BAD idea. <S> Either the boss will act on it, in which case Bekkie is part of something that is probably illegal (discrimination based on pregnancy) or the boss will be annoyed, in which case she'll take it out on Bekkie. <S> Bekkie needs to keep her mouth shut. <A> Going to the boss will not win her anything <S> It would turn this into a huge case of office politics and I suspect Bekky will lose. <S> It seems Anna is very well liked. <S> It seems Anna will be in charge of Bekky at some point, unless Bekky relocates. <S> It will easily seem like Bekky is doing this to spite of Anna, which will look bad. <S> Talk to Anna directly <S> Something she could do however is talk to Anna directly. <S> I think the concern Bekky has is very valid and probably shared by their boss as well. <S> I think it's make perfect sense to go to Anna and say: " <S> Hey Anna, I'm super thrilled you're getting back! <S> This team however has had a lot of change in management and due to your situation that would happen three times in a short period again if you decide to start before maternity leave <S> and I really don't think that's the best solution for anyone. <S> I'd suggest you have chat with Charlie about this, because I think it would cause him concern if disclosed later. <S> I look forward to working with you again." <S> The important part in this structuring of the sentence is the sandwich method:compliment, serious conversation, compliment. <S> That way she may avoid sounding jealous or like she wants to stir up trouble. <A> This question has an utterly clear and directly applicable answer in the form of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act . <S> This act amended title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, basically with the goal of including pregnancy in the scope of sex discrimination. <S> Basically, it makes it illegal to discriminate based on pregnancy. <S> Specifically, employers cannot make decisions about hiring, firing, and promotions/demotions simply because someone is pregnant. <S> If they have given someone a position, they can't take it away and give them a lesser role, simply because they've found out the person is pregnant. <S> So, regardless of the ethics of whether any of the people in your scenario should or should not tell anyone else whatever juicy secrets they have, if the employer changes the terms of Anna's promotion simply because she is pregnant, the employer is breaking the law. <A> Bekkie knows Anna is pregnant. <S> Bekkie is also very resentful that she will lose her spot as acting manager and maybe even get pushed back down or possibly even get sent to the undesirable location <S> Anna is coming from. <S> Bekkie is especially resentful that Anna will be going on maternity leave for at least 6 months for which she could have stayed in this spot. <S> Understandable. <S> This isn't really about Anna though, so much as Bekkie not getting the permanent position that she wants but does not yet have (which is completely not Anna's fault). <S> Bekkie's friends are telling her to tell the boss Charlie that Anna is pregnant and only coming back for a couple of months. <S> She is considering it at this stage but isn't sure what repercussions might arise from this. <S> This is a very poor idea. <S> It is unkind, betrays trust, and isn't likely to work (other answers explain this excellently). <S> Instead, Bekkie should think about the opportunities that this creates. <S> For example, Anna's previous position is now open. <S> It might not be "fun" but it is a legitimate position that will further her career. <S> If Bekkie isn't prepared to do the same job as Anna then she should think carefully about whether or not Bekkie really deserves the promotion she wants <S> (clue: <S> no, certainly she won't have worked as hard for it). <S> Another opportunity would be to wait out the 4 months of Anna's reign of terror. <S> Once Anna goes on maternity leave Bekkie can gracefully step back into the acting manager-ship. <S> In this respect Anna's pregnancy actually represents a huge opportunity for Bekkie. <S> If Anna was not pregnant then Bekkie's job would be gone for good. <S> However, thanks to the pregnancy the role will become free again. <S> Not ideal <S> but it provides an extra 12 months of responsibility in the "fun" role that wouldn't have existed if either a) Anna wasn't pregnant or b) someone else got Anna's job. <A> You should not reveal personal information if you work at a job where teamwork is the key, ever, especially if it is done for personal gain. <S> Both from ethical and job prospect point of view. <S> Lets say you didn't know that Alice was pregnant, and Bekkie told you 'I have some information which will cease Bekkie's chance for a promotion, so that I could possibly be promoted further down the line. <S> " What does that say about Bekkie? <S> Nothing good. <S> If the rumour spread then Bekkie would not have a good reputation at her workplace no more, as she alienated herself from other colleagues by going behind Alice's back, with literally no confirmation if this will actually turn out into a promotion for her. <S> Also, if her promotion is cancelled due to pregnancy, that is quite a clear case for a lawyer I think. <S> The company is unlikely to risk it.
| Definitely don't tell the boss, that would be a very bad move.
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My employer signed an NDA on my behalf I work for the US government in a research facility. I basically cannot sign anything on my own and definitely am not allowed to sign an NDA without written authorization from my supervisor. Yesterday I attended a meeting at our facility with an industry representative. At the meeting I was told by both my supervisor and the industry rep that a 2-way NDA had been signed and that I could talk freely about my work, but that I was not allowed to talk outside the room about anything I heard from the industry representative. Is this typical, or even legally binding? How can I be sure I don't violate an NDA that I have not seen nor signed? <Q> In the US, it is very common for corporations or other entities to sign NDAs - for instance, a manufacturer may sign one with a vendor or supplier they use. <S> The NDA exists at a corporate level, and each entity it's signed on behalf of is responsible for enforcing any terms they've agreed to. <S> In other words, your employer is responsible for things your employer signs. <S> If your employer has signed something that specifies who you are or are not allowed to disclose certain information to, then they are responsible for communicating that to you - and it sounds like they have. <S> Effectively, your responsibility as far as the NDA is concerned is to behave as your employer is instructing you to, with respect to sharing information with or about the third party representative. <S> Often, these corporate-level NDAs don't name specific employees; your employer may not have literally signed it on your behalf (meaning, you are named in the NDA) - more typically, they've signed it on behalf of all employees. <S> In effect, the employer signing the NDA with the industry representative (instead of asking every employee to) is an administrative necessity. <S> A given employer may have hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of employees, and hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of NDAs with third parties. <S> If they tried to maintain a policy of every employee signing every specific NDA, things would get out of control quickly. <S> So, employers often require employees to sign some sort of blanket NDA, or other corporate policy, that basically says "don't give away our secrets or those of our third parties" and they are then responsible for providing guidance on specific third parties who you are interacting with, as they have done in this case. <A> Absolutely normal. <S> I have an NDA with my employer essentially preventing me to talk about my work with anybody which i am not asked to by my employer. <S> And my employer signs NDAs with companies where they specify to whom my employer allows me to talk. <A> Saying things that the NDA wouldn't allow you to say (if it was legally binding to you) can mean major trouble for your company, and they will hold you accountable for it. <S> So the third party can most likely not sue you for damages that you cause, but they can sue your company, and your company can fire you and/or sue you if you caused them damages. <S> But the NDA may also cover trade secrets, which is a different thing. <S> If you give away trade secrets of the third party, that may be criminal, whether you signed an NDA or not. <S> So I would strongly recommend that you follow what the NDA says, even though you didn't sign it. <S> But obviously, if your employer (or the third party) doesn't show you the NDA, then you can't be expected to divine what's in it. <S> Still, you don't want to end up in court, so don't tell anybody anything you learned. <A> You are not bound by the NDA. <S> However, you are likely bound by something that the NDA addresses. <S> Likely what's going is something along these lines: When you were hired, you were told that you are not to reveal confidential information without authorization. <S> Your employer signed an agreement with another entity, and that entity agreed to not reveal anything. <S> Your employer is now satisfied that this other entity won't reveal what it's told, and therefore has authorized you to tell them confidential information. <S> So you're still prohibited from revealing information without authorization, but you've received authorization, and you've received that authorization because the entity signed the NDA. <S> Your employer has also agreed to not reveal information it receives from the other entity. <S> So now any information the entity gives you falls under the category of "confidential information", and is covered by your original agreement with your employer to not reveal such information. <S> The NDA your employer signed with the other entity does not directly apply to you, but it does prohibit your employer from revealing information, and obligates your employer to instruct their employees to not reveal information. <S> Since you've agreed to follow your employer's instructions regarding confidential information, their instruction is binding on you, and since the instruction is due to the NDA, the NDA indirectly applies to you, through your original employment agreement.
| You are every much bound by your employment contract. You are not bound by the NDA directly, because you didn't sign it.
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How long should I take to tell an employer my decision? I'll have my first face to face interview soon and I have a few questions. Do I have to accept or reject the offer on the spot or is it okay to ask for some time? How long do you think I should take to reply? <Q> Do I have to accept or reject the offer on the spot or is it okay to ask for some time? <S> It is OK to take some time to decide. <S> Most (all actually) interviews I've had have been this way. <S> How long do you think I should take to reply? <S> It is highly probable that they will tell you by when they expect your answer . <S> You should then make up your mind and decide by that time, so you can convey your answer by the date given. <S> You will then have until that date to decide among the other offers or options you have lined up. <S> Some useful posts that you may consider reading, regarding the handling of multiple offers, some with different expected times of response, etc., include: <S> How do I coordinate the process of pursuing multiple job opportunities at the same time? <S> How can I delay job offer acceptance? <S> How long can I wait to respond to a job offer? <A> Do I have to accept or reject the offer on the spot <S> Offers on the spot are quite rare. <S> Typically you talk to a number of people and they need some time to integrate the data (means "talk about you"). <S> They often run multiple candidates and don't make a final offer until they have interviewed them all and ranked them. <S> Then they will offer in order of the list. <S> It's much more likely that there is a significant time gap between the interview and an offer, decline or simply just nothing. <S> Even if they want to hire you, there is often also a bit of back and forth on the details (timing, comp, benefits, relo, equity, contracts, ...) <S> before the formal issue gets offered Getting an offer on the spot is a clear indicator that you are very strong candidate, so it's a good problem to have. <S> is it okay to ask for some time? <S> Yes. <S> One week is fairly normal and can often be extended with the right reasons (and candidate). <S> However, it's better to analyze the situation up front and make sure that you know what your own decision criteria are. <S> Primarily you should take this time to study the details of the offer, carefully read all the contracts and agreements you are supposed and work through any adjustments and/or misalignment. <S> Blanket Advice : never sign anything that you haven't carefully read and that you are sure you fully understand. <A> My experience (the Netherlands, Belgium). <S> Normally after interview, employer takes one week to decide. <S> After that he sends you a contract, or in person. <S> You take one week to decide/draft changes to the contract (always draft changes, even if they are just secondary. <S> You meetup to sign the contract, or do it digitally. <S> Up to the signing part you can still refuse the job offer (as long as you didn't say anything verbally or writtenly that you would accept the contract).
| Normal is one week to think about it, longer might be seen that you're not so interested. If you have done your up front research properly and nothing overly surprising happens at the interview, you should be able to make a decision quickly.
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HELP! I shared a confidential offer letter from job A with another company (job b). Will I lose my offer? I recently was given a very generous offer from a well known company (Company A) that I was thrilled to get. At the same time, I was interviewing with job B, which was taking some time, even after mentioning other interviews, since people were out of office. I got an offer from job B, but it was a third less of Company A. When I spoke to the recruiter, I mentioned my other offer and that I would like a more comparable salary. I offered (she didn't push) to prove that I had the salary I was asking for from Company A. Then, I did probably the most stupid thing I have ever done. I took a page from my marked confidental offer letter from company A and forwarded it to company b as proof-I didn't want them to think I was lying to try to bilk them for more money. Now, I am completely terrified I will lose both offers and, perhaps, I deserve to. Company A will find out and rescind my offer for not trusting me (which, I suppose, they shouldn't) and Company B might realize I'm a total fool. I did this in good faith-I really loved both teams/companies and I didn't want to reject Company B because of the lower salary or make it seem like I was lying for more money but I really overthought it. I'm scared company B will email someone at company A and I will lose both offers. Please help. <Q> I didn't notice the confidental part as it was in very small wording on the last page of the document <S> and I only sent the first page to confirm what I said about salary was true. <S> I then went through all four pages, just to review it, and saw it <S> You had no binding obligation to keep the offer confidential. <S> You never reached an agreement with Company A to keep it confidential. <S> They never offered you consideration for keeping it confidential. <S> You had no ethical obligation to keep the offer confidential. <S> They never informed you that they wanted it kept confidential. <S> This is not the type of information that an ordinary person with your skills would recognize as a trade secret and treat as such even if not marked. <S> WRT to fine print on the last page, that is not notice to you. <S> At best it is a reminder to their own HR staff not to share it with anyone except the recipient. <S> You have done nothing wrong. <S> Company B will surely not see you as having done anything wrong, since the page you shared didn't carry any markings. <S> And Company A has no one to blame but themselves, for not discussing confidentiality and gaining your assent. <S> In fact, if Company A had asked you to keep it confidential you would have had every right to push back. <S> Offer letters are meant to be shared, that's why they are in writing on company letterhead. <S> For example, renting an apartment requires proof of income, which the offer letter satisfies. <A> Then, I did probably the most stupid thing I have ever done. <S> I took a page from my marked confidental offer letter from company A and forwarded it to company b as proof <S> -I didn't want them to think I was lying to try to bilk them for more money. <S> Now, I am completely terrified I will lose both offers and, <S> perhaps, I deserve to. <S> Company A will find out and rescind my offer for not trusting me (which, I suppose, they shouldn't) and Company B might realize I'm a total fool. <S> I did this in good faith-I really loved both teams/companies and I didn't want to reject Company B because of the lower salary or make it seem like I was lying for more money <S> but I really overthought it. <S> I'm scared company B <S> will email someone at company A <S> and I will lose both offers. <S> Please help. <S> Yes, sharing items marked "Confidential" was a big mistake as you now seem to realize. <S> But it's not clear what the end result will be. <S> To be honest, if I were the hiring manager in Company B, I wouldn't hire you. <S> I would never hire someone that I couldn't trust. <S> I would have to assume that you would feel free to share my confidential information as well. <S> But it seems unlikely that they would tell Company A about this. <S> I know I wouldn't. <A> We cannot predict the future, but it seems unlikely that someone from the one company would go out of their way to inform the other that you've violated their trust. <S> In the future, don't ever do anything like this again and take it as a learning experience.
| Be prepared to admit your mistake if confronted by Company B. Perhaps if you appear sorry enough and if you appear to have learned from the incident, they won't hold it against you. At this point, there's nothing you could do about it anyway. There's nothing you can really do about this now, so I strongly recommend that you simply continue with your job search until you've accepted a formal written offer and passed any and all conditions upon it if they apply (such as a background or reference check).
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Removing long term experience off CV My first role upon graduating was working in a start up for 4 years as a Software engineer. Unfortunately things really soured with Senior management after the 4th year causing me to resign and move on. Senior management were extremely vindictive during this period, by putting me on an unrealistic Performance improvement plan with the view to building a case to kick me out by setting impossible deadlines and trying to humiliate me. I left with a first written warning. Since then I have gained 5+ years experience elseware and have not had any problems with any of my other employers. If anything, they are all extremely happy with my performance, with many willing to rehire me if the opportunity arose. I am now seriously considering removing this work experience from my CV because I feel that it adds no value to my CV given that I cannot get a good reference from them. I am worried that by keeping it on my CV it may lead to future job offers being withdrawn if I need to provide a reference from this company and it comes back negative. Many reference forms ask very detailed questions. I have tried to mitigate this by trying to come to an agreement with the company to not provide a negative reference, but they are not interested in negotiating or compromising. Given I have over 5 years experience since leaving this firm, can I remove this from my CV? <Q> Given <S> I have over 5 years experience since leaving this firm, can I remove this from my CV? <S> Yes. <S> You can omit whatever you choose. <S> After I changed careers, I gradually omitted all older jobs that were no longer relevant to my new profession. <S> Look over your resume without this job. <S> Decide if it is strong enough without this job. <S> Make sure the remainder supports the kind of jobs you will be seeking. <S> Decide <S> if it shows an obvious gap between the conclusion of your education and the start of your work life. <A> First off, putting anything that's blatantly false on your CV is a major risk. <S> If your potential employer does some searching around and finds you were at this company when you claim not to be, it raises red flags over both why you want to hide it, and your honesty. <S> That will kill any chances you have. <S> Secondly, four years is a very long time to explain away by other means. <S> If you say you freelanced, the question will be "who with?". <S> If you say you were long-term unemployed, that looks like you were unemployable. <S> Your best option is to put the employer on your CV, but if asked for references give other people. <S> You already have at least two employers since who would give you a good reference, which is plenty, and new companies will put most weight on the most recent experiences. <S> OK, you may lose out on the occasional one who goes into forensic detail, which sucks, but can't be helped; you'd probably lose out on them anyway. <S> Edit: in reply to <S> how can people find out about it , easy - your interviewer calls up the reference at the previous company and asks "why did user3754111 leave?" <S> "Oh, he went to EvilCorp". <S> Or calls the reference at the subsequent company and asks "how did you come to employ user3754111?" <S> "Oh, he was unhappy at EvilCorp". <S> Cover blown. <A> The CV/resume is an advertisement for you. <S> You shouldn't lie, but you don't have to include every job you had. <S> People tailor them for applications all the time. <S> If a company has an opening for a role that will require years of experience as a person who can calculate satellite orbits I stress certain projects, but if they want somebody to lead a technical team I stress other projects. <S> Now if the only gap that you have in your resume is an obvious 4 year gap, then expect that everybody who interviews you will ask about it. <S> So have a truthful answer, that won't make them concerned. <S> if you stumble over an answer they will be concerned. <S> If you change the subject, they will be concerned. <S> In a comment to the question you say: Freelanced on small projects, worked on my own idea in my spare time. <S> All of which is true. <S> Expect they will want details. <S> They will need you to answer questions about the projects. <S> Also realize that for many companies they not only call the carefully crafted list of references, but also HR at all the companies you list on either your resume or the application that says list all the companies you have worked for over the last X years. <S> In general large companies will only provide the basic information: dates of employment, and job title. <S> They won't provide anything else, because HR has no idea who you were. <S> But for a small company that can be more problematic.
| There is no requirement to include every job on your CV/resume. Be prepared with an honest answer if asked about that gap.
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Coworker told me I'm distracting, what steps can I take to be less distracted and be less distracting to my collegues? A bit of a different take on the: "My colleague is distracting, how can I resolve this?" Maybe a bit of background. I myself am a young developer, autistic and am working my first full time job. In my internship and often other places I have always had the comment that I barely spoke. Although I now feel very comfortable at my own work, I distract myself often enough that it is annoying to myself. Often times talking with my coworker next to me and being a distraction to others. We have an open office, islands are close to eachother. The dev team does have to communicate a lot and laughter is appreciated, there is a fine balance between having a fun place and disturbing others around me. What steps could I take to distract myself less? I have tried the following: blocking all sites non work related that I catch myself drifting too, installing a strict workflow plugin, taking a breather outside when I'm feeling anxious / annoying. How can I reduce myself being distracting to others? <Q> Tell your coworkers to be explicit. <S> For non-spectrum people communication about annoyance will be subtle and non-verbal. <S> You are probably are not that great at either of those things. <S> There is no harm in just telling them "hey people, if I am ever annoying you, that is not my intention <S> so just tell me, <S> I'm not great with hints, I promise to not take offence" This work best if communicated in private to a few people who sit closest and maybe your teamlead/direct manager. <S> And when people tell you, take it seriously. <S> You might have built a web of social rules around yourself that will mark this as "sarcastic, ignore" or "a joke, laugh at" but it is important to step back, breathe, and take this communication at face value. <S> (caveat, I don't know you, where on the spectrum you are or your cultural context, just relaying what I myself, a not-autistic-but-not-great-at-social-things-either know about this) <A> Try to . <S> You're admitting that there is a distraction problem with you. <S> That's 50% of the job done because you're conscient of it and will work on it. <S> There is no perfect technique to be less distracted, but here are some suggestions that helped me when I was a young worker, full of energy: Plan some breaks and bring you coworkers with you : if you take breaks at fixed hours with your colleagues, you can teach yourself to stay focus for some time, then allow yourself to chat, make jokes etc. <S> A fixed planning is not what make you focused, but create a structure which could help you get focused more easily <S> Browser off <S> : Close your browser as soon as you don't NEED it to work. <S> If you let it open, you will be tempted to go on some funny websites and then you will be tempted to talk about it to your colleagues. <S> The farthest temptation is the more avoidable. <S> Your phone : <S> Don't put it on the table, but somewhere more difficult to reach for. <S> It is a big distraction <S> If working is not enough, try to listen to music, or find something distracting enough to ease your urges, but not enough to slow down your workflow ! <S> It is hard to find balance between working and cooling down, but I'm sure you'll get to it :) <S> EDIT <S> : I see that the main problem is not being distracted in itself, but the noise you can do by laughing. <S> My advice are still relevant, I think, but I would like to add that I myself have a friend with a laugh strong enough to revive deads : there is no great solution to that <S> i'm afraid. <A> Unless you have an incredibly loud/distinctive laugh, I think it may be saying more about your colleague(s) than you. <S> Open plan offices have disadvantages, this is one of them. <S> On saying that, might be worth following the suggestion to ask more explicitly what the issue is. <S> It might not be quite what you think e.g <S> you might not be picking up on cues that a colleague is particularly busy, or not in a mood to talk <S> /joke <A> My nephew is autistic. <S> Just a few weeks ago he told his entire class that he's autistic. <S> They responded in some really cool, accepting ways. <S> They also realized there's a reason that he sometimes acts a bit differently than them. <S> Only thing I can add to the excellent answers already is to consider telling your co-workers you're on the spectrum if you haven't already. <S> I'm guessing they probably already know, but if they don't, you might want to make them aware--as it can explain some of the behavior. <S> In time, your coworkers will value you and learn how to interact. <S> Everyone has their quirks, and they'll just come to realize you're like them in many ways.
| If you can't control it (do try, work on it and try to control your voice tone when you're too enthousiast), just present apologies to the people you distracted and go on : that's not a big matter really, and I personnaly feel less pressured when someone around me is laughing from time to time. Isolate yourself : If you are busy, you are not distracted.
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How should I sell the self-learned skills that I have not used in my previous jobs? Almost all positions related to Data Science are asking for skill and experience in some specific tools/software/frameworks etc (besides the relevant theoretical knowledge). As a matter of fact, I have the experience of working with some of them during my current or previous job/study. However, there are few software/frameworks that I learned in my spare time, but I haven't done any work-related projects related to them. So, if they ask me technical questions about them or even give me a task to do during an interview, I can handle it quickly, but I cannot claim that I used them in my previous work experience. Especially for job positions which directly ask for excellent expertise or knowledge in these tools, can I state that I do posses such qualifications or not? <Q> Take it simple, no need to lie or hide anything. <S> If you have the experience with a certain tool / framework, feel free to list it as one of your skills. <S> If they question how you came to posses the skill since you have no work experience related to the skill, tell them you studied and learned on your own, in your spare time. <A> can I state that I do posses such qualifications or not? <S> Absolutely. <S> Normally, in a German standard CV, your work experience and what you did in which job is a separate block from what skills you possess and how good you are in it. <S> So yes, put it in. <A> Add them under a section to your CV called "personal projects" or something like that, and describe there how you are applying that skills. <S> For example, let's say you have created a personal project for learning Spring Boot. <S> So, under the section "Personal Projects", you could add an item called "Exploring Spring Boot capabilities", then put an one line description of it, followed by a link to github, gitlab or similar public repository. <S> Not only you will be advertising your skills but will also be providing evidence of them.
| You don't need to associate it with any of your work experience, it's just another skill that you have, which is listed in the Skillset block of your resume / CV. If people ask where you used it, just tell the truth.
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What does a 'resume' for a US company in Europe include? I am wanting to apply for a job at a US company based in Europe (Switzerland). On their application site they ask for a resume. I am used to uploading one document with CV, certificates, references as a single PDF. The 'resume' they ask for is quite limited in size. Do I only upload my resume/CV or should I include certificates, etc. as well? Thank you for any hints :-) <Q> You asked, Do I only upload my resume/CV or should I include certificates, etc. <S> as well? <S> If they ask only for a resume, you should upload only your resume. <S> In the US, "resume" is essentially equivalent to the CV you're used to in Europe, and it does not explicitly include certificates, diplomas, portfolios, letters of reference, cover letters, or other materials. <S> Employers who want those additional materials usually either ask for them separately or otherwise indicate how to submit them. <S> When in doubt though, it may make sense to reach out to a recruiter at the employer <S> you're interested in and ask. <A> In short it should not contain any information about your age, gender, race, nationality and so on. <S> If you are a young person with little experience you can include more extensive information on your education. <S> Otherwise, if you have more than 10 years of experience, American employers don't care about your education beyond knowing your education level: "Master of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute" is enough. <S> If they care about specific education requirements, it will be included in the job description. <S> There are many Resume examples online to look at. <S> You might get extra points for making an effort to send an actual Resume rather than CV... :-) <A> When hiring in the US, I've seen many resumes and a few CVs. <S> A resume is organized by sections, such as Contact, Goal, Skills, Experience, Education, Patents and Publications, and so forth. <S> Its point is to be read quickly for the high points. <S> Think of it as a sales brochure for you. <S> It says what you know, what you've done, and why those things will be important when you get the job. <S> A curriculum <S> vitae <S> (CV) is generally a chronological list of events and achievements in your life. <S> It gets longer as you do more. <S> I guess an American firm in Switzerland often receives CVs and knows how to read them. <S> Still, you may want to write a resume for them. <S> In your cover letter you can mention "CV, certificates, and references upon request." <S> There are many examples of both on the intertoobz.
| Resume is different from CV in a sense that it should not include any information that can be used to discriminate against a candidate - information that American employers are forbidden to ask for by law - and that European CVs often include. Resume is focused primarily on your work experience and relevant skills as they were applied in your previous employment.
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When should you inform your employee that they are getting a raise I've got a 10% raise for an employee approved, but it starts from when he is going to make 1 year with us (which is in a couple of months). But the usual compensation talks period for the whole company is this month. Should I have a meeting with him now and inform him that he will get a raise? Or should I postpone this meeting closer to the date he'll actually get it? <Q> It depends on the company policy. <S> Usually you will get confirmation from HR or your management on when its OK to share. <S> Once you have the confirmation, you can discuss. <S> Since you have mentioned the usual period is this whole month, just double check with HR/ Management once and communicate this. <S> If no one replies to you, in that case, its better to communicate that raises have been approved but avoid the numbers or quantum of approval till you get a confirmation. <S> It may also be helpful to talk to some seasoned managers in the organization to confirm what has been the norm in the past for the communication. <S> It is common for the raises to be shared a month or two before they are applicable. <S> However, a go ahead is only given once the budget has been approved by the senior management, typically at CEO level. <S> One more thing to check is when other members of your department are getting the communication. <S> If everyone else knows their numbers ( that should also include you if you are eligible) and you skip your direct reports, it will also lead to unnecessary tension. <S> People will assume they are not getting hikes. <S> So its important to share the communication around the same time when everyone else is getting it. <A> I disagree with other answers on telling him early or telling him now. <S> Unless you can give him a official revised salary letter indicating the new salary and raise, you should just tell him that his compensation will be discussed when he completes an year. <S> Do not indicate raise leave alone the amount of raise. <S> While 2 months is short time, it could be long enough for financial decisions to be reversed due to some unforeseen circumstances. <A> If HR has given you orders, do what they say. <S> Otherwise, everyone will know that raises will be discussed. <S> The new employee may assume that they are the only one left out if you don’t talk to them, with negative consequences for motivation, jealousy and so on. <S> Easy to avoid by giving them the news at the same time as everyone else. <A> Nothing erodes trust in management as quickly as a broken promise. <S> But leaving him entirely in the dark is likely to make him feel overlooked or ignored. <S> I would suggest you schedule a short meeting in which you ensure that he has all the details that you can give him (reiterate company policy, etc), without risking a broken promise. <S> HR should be able to advise you on this <S> *. <S> If you can't give him a certain answer today, schedule a second meeting around his anniversary. <S> It is the best you can do for him, and he'll probably see it as an honest and respectable gesture. <S> *HR and payroll will have more details about the process. <S> If the raise is already approved and processed, so that he is guaranteed to get it automatically after his 1-year anniversary, then you may be able to tell him safely. <S> If it is subject to his performance in the coming months, or if a policy change could lead to the raise being scrapped, then you must be careful.
| Kindly ensure that you communicate the effective date of the raise to avoid any confusion, particularly with the new joiners who may not be aware on how the raises work in your organization. During the initial meeting you only tell him he's being considered for a raise (and under what conditions he may or may not get it).
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Group manager threw me under the bus to save her friend I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do. Back story: I was put on a project that was far behind and was very low developer quality adhering to no set of standards or practices. The project was not following the company's Standard Operating Procedures even the most essential like code reviews. I had begun communicating that in our messaging application to the team and kept trying to push for change in a positive way. Sadly, the team manager refused to listen was actively combative and would do the opposite or disagree for the sake of disagreeing with me, it was a rough scenario. I persevered and made changes to the standard where I could and the other developers came to rely on me and I was able to help them finish their sprint goals and aid them in their coding while doing my own and the improvements when time permitted. Later on another developer came onto the project as an architect and was able to tell the team manager to implement the changes I proposed. Flash forward to yesterday. I have a review with our group manager, the team managers long time friend. I am told that my communication was distracting the other team members and I am responsible for sprint delays despite having a mountain of evidence to the contrary and the project being further when I joined. She, the group manager, had proceeded to tell me she had told this to upper management. When asked how my core job capacity was I was told everything was fine. When asked if she could point to a message that was distracting or non-constructive she would not. I was then told that all of the changes that I was able to get implemented thanks to the architect were all the architects credit. She was also unable to provide any means of improvement for my core job capacity. Now I fully intend to tender my resignation, but I do not want to leave with upper management thinking that I was incompetent or the cause of them losing a few hundred thousand dollars. I have all the messages and I even have proof that the two managers were lying to upper management on the reason why some features were just ignore. I do not know if I should go to HR with this first or email the department manager with examples show casing everyplace he has been lied to along with examples of my supposed negative communication. There's also a possibility of letting it go but that would leave a bad taste in my mouth along with a stain on my professional career which I am proud of. <Q> I do not know if I should go to HR <S> First of all, that is not going to help in your case, HR is not your friend . <S> What you should do is to Collect <S> whatever proof you have or you can for the suggestions you made and were rejected earlier (before the architect joined in). <S> Collect all the incidents where you helped the team to achieve their goals. <S> then ask them the same question again: <S> "I was told that my communication was distracting the other team members and I am responsible for sprint delays <S> - Can you help me understand it in detail? <S> Can you supply me with example events / scenarios where I went wrong and how can I improve myself?" <S> There is a high possibility that the situation will improve. <S> However, if they insist on their version, without providing any information to support their "claim" - they probably don't have a valid reason. <S> In that case, you need to bring this to the notice of the higher management. <S> In a way, this is indirect bullying - which has no place in a healthy workplace. <S> Create a MoM (Minutes of Meeting), and circulate the summary in writing. <S> Based on the situation mentioned above, you may need to include the appropriate higher authority in the email loop. <A> Once you have your new position lined up, then hand in your resignation and see the senior manager on the same day giving the evidence and explaining why. <S> They may or may not require you to work the notice period, but in many cases they take you to the door and pay you out. <A> You didn`t mention your location, so my comment can be a bit out. <S> In my experience almost all of he places with more than one level of bureaucracy have favoritism. <S> Unless you have a "pull" in the chain of command, there is a chance you will be scapegoated, especially if you outspoken, sad i know, but that`s <S> the way it is. <S> This kind of place can be treasure for some and extremely toxic to othersIn these places, HR is your way of making your voice heard, not much of the influence thou. <S> As i see it , you have only one choice: <S> Document everything locally on your home machine and personal phone. <S> I cannot emphasize it enough, corporate resources are not in your control and can / will be changed according to whatever needed. <S> Line up your next position,shield yourself as much is possible from any misconduct accusations and report to HR inappropriate behavior. <S> I am sure in company directory <S> you have several level of authority accessible to you, use them all in BCC or even CC fashion, also CC you personal email to show that material is going to be stored off property as well. <S> And Good luck, toxic places need to be left as soon as possible to avoid the mental strain <A> I think what you're looking for here is a reference from your current employer. <S> What you want to get out of this is, "I'm going to look for another job anyway, but when my future employer asks my current employer about my performance, I want a good review". <S> Given that you've tagged the question united-states, I presume this company is in the US. <S> I am neither a lawyer nor American, but my understanding is that there are various laws in place in the US which would prevent your employer from giving a review of your work to a potential future employer at all, positive or negative; by law the only thing they are allowed to say is whether or not you actually worked there and had the job title you say you did for the dates you say you did on your resume, and that's all. <S> So they're not going to badmouth you to prospective future employers <S> , that's not how it works. <S> Nor will they praise you, not even if you are able to convince them that you did all these great and wonderful things. <S> What you should do is drop it. <S> You know what you did, they know what you did <S> (even if they won't admit it). <S> You are doing the right thing by getting out of there as quickly as you can. <S> Just keep doing what you're doing, because you're on the right track. <S> If you want recommendations to present to future employers, you should get those from your coworkers on an individual basis, not writ-large from "the company". <S> Perhaps before you leave, perhaps after, or if you can figure out a way to get recommendations from your coworkers without telling them you're leaving (or maybe with telling them, maybe you don't care), contact coworkers you know who will have a good impression of you and ask them, one-on-one, for a recommendation. <S> That will give you the results you are looking for.
| Request for a formal meeting (in writing), again, with your group manager and team manager, for a follow up on the review discussion and present all the evidences you have gathered. Do make sure that your positive achievements are shown with proof.
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Is it OK to bring delicacies from hometown as tokens of gratitude for an out-of-town interview? I've been invited for an all expenses covered out of town interview from Singapore to one of the states in Australia. I'm wondering if it is common practice for candidates to bring some of their local delicacies as a symbol of gratitude to the interviewers? While I understand that it is a professional interview (it is my final round with this MNC) , I would like to show some form of gratitude to them for this opportunity (after all, they did just spend a few thousand dollars flying me over just for a half day interview). Update: I heeded the advice of fellow stackexchangers and did not bring any food over for the interview. But I'll be bringing some of them over (Packaged, processed and with sensible contents) on my first day since I've accepted the job offer. Thanks everyone! <Q> I'd suggest, take the safe route, don't bring any gifts now , the intention may be misinterpreted. <S> If you bag the offer, you'll have plenty of opportunity later to share some of your local delicacies with the team. <S> I would like to show some form of gratitude to them for this opportunity <S> Show them gratitude in another way, make sure you are prepared enough for the final interview and the time and money company invested in hiring you ends up having a positive outcome. <S> Win-Win for both parties!! <A> after all, they did just spend a few thousand dollars flying me over just for a half day interview <S> They inviting you (and paying for the trip) isn't a gift. <S> It one of the costs of hiring, which are part of the costs they pay so that they make more money from their workforce. <S> This doesn't mean you shouldn't be thankful for the opportunity to interview with them, thankful if they offer you the job, etc. <S> , it just means that you should understand this process, and your employment with them, as part of a business relationship. <A> It is not common practice as far as I am aware. <S> The key is doing so in person first and not waiting until you are back home to thank them via email. <A> This is going to be a difficult and fairly opinion-based question to answer. <S> Some people may receive your treats as a sign of gratitude, others may assume you're trying to bribe them or influence their decision. <S> It's certainly not typical for candidates to bring gifts in interviews <S> I've done, even when the employer is paying significant travel costs. <S> Which would be worse, doing something unconventional and having it cause a problem, or sticking to the norms and not risking it? <S> When it comes to interviews, you want to focus on getting the job because you're the right candidate - you want to stand out in ways that are meaningful to the employer's goals. <S> Standing out in gimmicky ways or unexpected (and potentially irrelevant) ways can run the risk of being perceived negatively. <S> In terms of unconventional ideas like bringing treats, the best approach is almost always a conservative approach - stick to the norms, don't bring gifts. <A> It's not common to bring food to interviews in Australia, though I do know of some people who have brought food items to interviews (if they are interviewing with a company of less than 20 employees). <S> The biggest issue you are likely to face however is bio-security restrictions, both on entering Australia and on entering the State the interview takes place. <S> As an example, Tasmania is much more restrictive than the mainland States and typically only allows commercially prepared foodstuff through. <S> If you want to go ahead with preparing food for the interview, then I recommend these guidelines: <S> Prepare it once you are in the State; Consider something easy and not messy to eat i.e. small cakes, biscuits, etc; Interviews around 10am to 11am or 2:30pm to 3:30pm are ideal time periods to bring food; Avoid strong-smelling foods; <S> Refusal of the food by the interviewers does not indicate offence at the offer; Avoid common allergens, e.g. nuts (these don't have to be consumed in order to cause an allergic reaction); What matters most though is your interpersonal skills, how you interact with the person you meet on your arrival at the interview and how you react to the unexpected (such as delays). <A> You can't be sure if everyone will like what you offer, and it might cause an awkward situation if one of the interviewers is allergic to something or unwilling to eat sugar or gluten, for example. <A> It would probably work against you. <S> I used to have this problem a lot when I was working for a large US computer company with offices in Australia <S> whose Asia Pacific office was Singapore and we also handled Greater China. <S> Asians, particularly Chinese had a tendency to provide gifts for all sorts of things which were very hard to refuse. <S> The problem was that this put me in a horribly uncomfortable position of being obliged to refuse - which would insult the gift giver. <S> Or accepting the gift which would bring me into difficulties with management and would leave me feeling under an obligation to the gift giver. <S> I generally avoided contact with anyone who put me in such a position as much as possible thereafter. <S> Its sort of like the girl who asks you on a date who you refuse, but then have to see again. <S> Awkward. <S> Just say thank you to them for their effort. <S> This will suffice. <A> In my part of the US the standard practice is to send a thank you card to the interviewers, thanking them for the opportunity to talk to them, and possibly mentioning something memorable in the interview. <S> This makes you stand out without taking the chance of impropriety. <S> If you have a card with you, you can write the card, address the envelope and mail it immediately after the interview.
| If you absolutely want to give some sort of gift ( which I would not recommend ) you just need to make sure that the gift is small/insignificant enough that it will not be considered some sort of bribe towards landing the position. If you want to show gratitude for the opportunity make it a point to thank them in person both before and after the interview and let them know how much you appreciate their gesture.
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How to break the cycle of being a "load bearing employee" because of no time to cross-train others because of constant deadlines? Edit: I considered this question (How to protest a deadline that is too short?) as a suggested duplicate, but in my situation there is no realistic way to 'protest' a deadline, since there's no real way for it to be moved. Logical arguments to project managers etc don't change contracts or regulatory requirements. Another edit - It's different from "bus number = 1" (in the suggested duplicate question " getting hit by a bus " in that there are people available to delegate to ( who don't currently have their own workload, they are just waiting around to receive something to do as they are meant to be 'working for me') but I haven't been able to hand over to them. (Although maybe this reduces to the same thing.. what do you think?) This question is focused on "is there any way to break out of the cycle" rather than "how to deal with the situation where I'm the only person in the company who does this" (which essentially treats those people I could delegate to as "non existent"... well, that is an option! Which on reflection is what I've been doing so far.) TL;DR - I'm currently the only person that can do what I do, and I have to meet hard deadlines (compliance/contracts) that can't be negotiated. I have people I could possibly delegate to, if they were trained and capable, but there just isn't the "bandwidth" to do that training due to intensity of workload. And I'm not sure it's even possible to train up the people I have. There's a much longer story leading up to this, but I tried to reduce it to the essence of the question (which I hope can also help other people): In a nutshell - Deadlines Our company has repeating (mostly quarterly but some are monthly or other cycles) deadlines, which are 'hard deadlines' in that they are externally driven by compliance and contractual requirements. Essentially we couldn't blow that deadline without a huge amount of fallout (massive financial penalties, compliance implications, etc). There are multiple overlapping cycles of these deadlines, e.g. one has quarterly deliverables at the end of Jan/Apr/Jul/Nov and another on the 15th of Mar/15th of Jun/15th of Sep/15th of Dec (These are examples to illustrate) There are a total of about 6 'cycles' (of varying frequency) of these deliverables Each "deliverable" requires a substantial amount of work (similar to filling in a tax return with an associated set of accounts, for example) it isn't just a case of "pull the report and email it out" It could take, perhaps, 2 weeks (or more) full time equivalent work. Due to the overlapping deadlines, I'm working on multiple "work streams" at once. People I am a "key person" in meeting these deadlines. I used to be one of 3 "key" people but through attrition I'm now the only one remaining. (The others left voluntarily for better opportunities, presumably much better pay -- not laid off or fired) 2 other people have been recruited to be my "subordinates". I don't have full Line Manager responsibility for them but in theory I'm able (and expected) to delegate some of the workload to them. I am more like their 'team lead' The 2 new people are well-meaning but not very capable and would require extensive training (and still may not have the aptitude actually) to be able to carry out the role. The company didn't recruit the "calibre" of people needed due to: -- the salary they were offering which was far below what someone "ready to hit the ground running" would need -- location (lack of availability of people). We are near a big city, but far enough away that 'big city' sucks up all the good people due to the much better opportunities. I have tried to delegate stuff, particularly the easier tasks, but ultimately had to re-do most of it myself due to lack of knowledge and also careless mistakes (no attention to detail, presumably due to not caring!) The situation I'm becoming increasingly overworked and am a "load-bearing employee" (if you haven't come across this term it means the same as a load-bearing wall in a house: the one that everything rests on!) Due to constantly having one deadline or another I can't get any time off as I can't delegate/offload to the new people. There just isn't enough time or opportunity to train those people, as the deadlines are such that everything is "urgent" and has to be completed as fast as possible, as the deadlines are actually unrealistic and I'm pulling efforts above and beyond what many people would do in order to meet them (working stupid house etc), but that's another story. I do realise the value in cross-training, delegating etc and I'm not in any way (even subconsciously as far as I can make out..) 'hoarding knowledge'. I really wish I could offload and rely on these people but the fact is... I can't. My boss doesn't trust my 'direct reports' to be able to handle anything that comes up so is reluctant to approve any time off (and as stated there isn't really a "quiet time"). If only I could break out of this cycle and find the 'slack time' to train these 2 people on "most of the work" (on the 80/20 principle) it may help but there just isn't the time available as I am constantly "getting it done" myself and working at an overcommitted speed all the time. I have tried having them "shadow" me, getting them to "drive" while I give direction, etc. Ultimately this just slowed down the process (so I had to work at an even more unsustainable pace later to make up the time) and they didn't seem to retain that information for the next cycle anyway, so (shame on me) I didn't bother next time and just did it myself. I see that this isn't sustainable (for me or the company). At this point I know I could leave (like my original 2 "key" colleagues) for something much better organised and better paid, but unfortunately I feel a sort of commitment to getting it done! Questions How (or indeed 'is it possible') can I carve out the time from an impossibly demanding schedule to train and babysit others to carry out these processes? Should I expect more support from my boss? (boss doesn't know ins and outs of what I do and mostly just acts as a 'coordinator', most she has expressed is sympathy to me being in this position!) If I'm asking the wrong questions, how would you (question-answerers) suggest I address it instead? I'm not sure what question I should be asking. How do you break a cycle when you can't get 'outside' it! <Q> Ultimately, this is a CYA scenario. <S> You haven't had training others specified as part of your role, and haven't been given the time to do so in any case. <S> If your manager responds positively, then fantastic - work with him and see what you can do to lighten your workload and ease the bus factor (and don't be afraid to say you need a bigger budget to hire better people.) <S> But if not, then it's not your problem. <S> Work your hours, don't when you're sick or on holiday, leave if you want to leave. <S> If they complain, point them to the correspondence above. <A> I'm afraid there is no magic answer to your problem. <S> Your employers simply have to change the flow of work so that you have sufficient slack to train your co-workers. <S> If they can't find competent relief for you, that may mean they have to give up some customers or business opportunities. <S> It sounds like you've made reasonable efforts to alert them to this, but they haven't listened so far. <S> That may indicate that your employers are exploitive jerks prepared to work you into an early grave if it provides a marginal benefit to the company, or they may simply be penny-wise and pound foolish. <S> It isn't within your power to fix either of those, and it isn't your duty to save the company from management's stubbornness or lassitude . <S> It's a job, not a holy crusade. <S> You might give it one more shot: tell your manager in writing that the current arrangement is not sustainable, and the company is headed for a brick wall. <S> Unfortunately, if it comes to that, you should simultaneously start you search for your next position. <S> If they are being exploitive then they will find some way to pin the inevitable failure on you. <S> The one potential flaw I see in your behavior is that you may be selling your subordinates short. <S> In my experience you really can't learn a job until you actually have responsibility for it. <S> Every pilot has to make his first solo flight, and every surgeon has to make his first incision in a living patient. <S> Your subordinates will make mistakes, and some of them may be serious, but you may be exaggerating how many would be catastrophic for the company. <A> Ask your boss to hire someone able to “hit the ground running” on a short-term basis so that you can get the time to train your reports. <S> If he won’t, start looking for a new job, then quit and wash your hands of the matter once you find one. <S> If they take significant legal or financial penalties as a result of it, not your problem.
| So you need to make your manager aware of your concerns in writing, then if it hits the fan, you have evidence that you raised the problem and nothing was done.
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Coworkers talking on cell phones in the bathroom I work on a floor with approximately 120 people sharing one set of bathrooms (one men's and one women's with approx 6 stalls each). There are a couple of people on the floor who feel absolutely no compunction about bringing their cell phones into the bathroom with them while loudly talking to unknown third parties. Today, we reached a new low in social etiquette when someone walked in and proceeded to change the call to speakerphone while doing their business. I sat in the next stall with absolutely no clue how to deal with the situation. I'd like to be able to use the toilets in peace and know that my potentially embarrassing sounds will stay as private as possible. How do I address this? I don't know who all the people are who do this but phone calls in the bathroom definitely happen on a regular basis. <Q> Personally, I'd have no embarassment whatsoever, and may even consider it a challenge to make interesting noises. <S> I would think the person on the phone would be more embarrassed than you. <S> Not sure you can really do anything about people that are willing to talk in that sort of space. <A> Today, we reached a new low in social etiquette when someone walked in and proceeded to change the call to speakerphone while doing their business. <S> I sat in the next stall with absolutely no clue how to deal with the situation. <S> Make as many noises as possible, fake or otherwise, embarrassing the person in the process. <S> In addition, feel free to loudly ask him if he'd kindly pipe down as you're trying to poop in peace. <S> However, I get that some may be a little more self-conscious than I. <S> If you want some practical ideas from that standpoint, and you're prepared to go out of your way a bit to not feel as self-conscious: <S> There's probably various times of day when the toilets are busier than others. <S> If you can figure out when that is, you can hold it a bit through the busy times, and go when there's likely to be fewer people in the bathroom. <S> This is especially the case if it's only a couple of people as you describe. <S> Not all floors may be like this - it certainly seems like unusual behaviour to me en-masse. <S> Try a bathroom on another floor. <S> Bit more out your way, sure, but if it were me I wouldn't mind the extra leg-stretching every so often. <S> Simply wait for them to finish their phone call and leave before you do your business. <S> I wouldn't really complain to anyone unless there's no other option <S> - it's a bit of a bizarre thing to complain about, and you may receive a somewhat mixed reaction. <A> I'd like to be able to use the toilets in peace... <S> This is a legitimate gripe. <S> What's to be done? <S> Ask the person to take it off speaker or talk softer <S> Bring headphones into the stall and listen to music/podcast <S> Note that all of these—except the first one—are completely under your control. <S> This is where you have the greatest chance of success. <S> You have no control over other people, so you can ask politely, but you have no way of ensuring a desired outcome. <S> As with most things in life, the trick is figuring out how you can learn to live with an uncomfortable situation by taking care of yourself.
| Find another time to go to the bathroom Accept that you get to listen to your coworkers' private communications -- maybe even enjoy it! Find somewhere else to go to the bathroom Do your business as quickly as possible so you aren't subjected to the conversation
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Not being assigned work by teammates I've worked at the same position and same company for two years. I work with two team members. Other employees have always admired my work and gave my supervisor positive feed backs. But these two guys on my team don't buy me at all. They don't assign me any important task, which bothers me so much. I've talked to my supervisor a few times and explained, indirectly, that I stayed idle most of the time; and that led me to get some tasks from my supervisor. But the main job that I'm supposed to do should come through these two guys. I don't know how to resolve this problem and why it's like that. I have some guesses that it may be due to two reasons; First, I'm a girl. Second I'm a foreigner and maybe disliked for my poor English. I have thought a few times about quitting my job but there's no guarantee that the new workplace could be better.Is there anything I can do to make such bothering situation a little more tolerable? <Q> Two points are important. <S> First, be proactive and ask them for new tasks as often as you need something to do. <S> Also, if you have dailies/ weeklies, etc. <S> use every opportunity to say you will be happy to help when someone talks about their projects or complains about their projects. <S> Always frame it positively, e.g. Hi Bob, do you have anything I could help with? <S> I find what you are working on quite interesting. <S> The odds are at some point they will be so bored with you asking that they will give you something just for you to shut up. <S> And if they don't, at least nobody can complain you've been passive, hostile or lazy. <S> With growing work experience you often start to see potential where something could be done/ improved. <S> That's one way to get new tasks. <S> But I understand in your case that's not an option yet. <S> The second point is you should try to establish a good relationship with your coworkers. <S> As a foreigner and a woman, it will be more difficult for you than for an average man and a native speaker. <S> This doesn't mean it's impossible though. <S> What can help here: <S> self-confidence with which you should go about it showing interest in your colleagues' lives <S> (if that's a topic discussed in your company, since that's very culture-dependant) and tasks having something that's attractive to them. <S> I don't mean physical attractiveness of course. <S> I mean e.g. access to some resources (e.g. important connections out of the team, participation in a side project <S> everybody is interesting in), an interesting hobby, expertise in some area or similar. <S> Your colleagues' behavior can have a few possible causes: They don't like you, see you as a threat, don't care about you, etc. <S> By doing the above you are addressing the most obvious causes. <A> It is not a good place to be <S> and I can relate to your feelings. <S> I don't know what kind of industry you are in, so I will try to be generic. <S> As @BigMadAndy said, offer help whenever possible. <S> One alternative option would be to ask if you could follow them when they are working, saying that you wish to learn more about what they are doing. <S> For example, "I never really understand how to do that, could I follow you while you work on that?" <S> Another possibility would analyse the current work and process and try to come up with small improvements. <S> Is there anything your colleagues complain about that you can improve of fix? <S> that would be a good start. <S> In IT, for example, one could add more tests, refactor code, offer to do manual testing and self-assigning <S> any bugs found, etc. <S> Just be careful to not seem like you want to change everything at once <S> , people usually don't like major changes. <S> If you are not secure to propose changes, you may use your research of the current way of working to ask questions about the reasons something is done. <S> Of course, all of this may fail, in which case a new job probably should become an option. <A> What you have been able to identify is the problem of task management. <S> You have a team, it sounds like four people. <S> That is one supervisor, yourself, and two team members. <S> Before we can get to task management, there are a couple more systemic problems. <S> I.e. Do your other three team members get the benefit of when you do work? <S> Is it less for them to do, do they get paid more? <S> If not then they won't ever be motivated to share work. <S> If I get paid them same and promoted equally irrelevant of whether I "give you task", why would I spend the extra time to do it. <S> Personally this isn't how I think, but I can understand the perspective of your team members. <S> Put yourself in their place. <S> If there are already "team goals" for the completion of these tasks, then it is a matter of task management. <S> In general how are tasks assigned? <S> You need to prevent it from being something that your other team members get to decide for you. <S> Instead your team of four, should decide how best to break up the work. <S> For me personally we use what is called a Kanban board. <S> That means all tasks go on the board, and when someone completes a task, they take the next one on top. <S> The supervisor can create all the tasks, but they have to go on the board. <S> This creates an agreement of the work which needs to be done and acknowledges that everyone can do it. <S> If there is no motivation for you to do the work, i.e. what happens if you come into work and do nothing, will you be fired? <S> If the answer is no, then I suggest learning some new things yourself.
| Start asking other supervisors what you could be doing for them and if they need an additional person, or if you really want to be doing anything, find another job.
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How do I explain a 2 week job overlap? I was working in this Organization X when I got an offer from other Organization Y. The joining for Organization Y was in 45 days but the notice period for Organization X was 2 months. Here is where things get complex. I put my papers and asked my manager (X Firm) to release me early, to which he agreed initially; as a result I completed formalities for Y firm. After a month, the Manager denied to release me and asked to serve full notice period, which I couldn't as I had to join Y in 15 days. I anyhow worked for the extra 15 days after which I left X and joined Y, post which I had a word with HR of X and got my experience letter. The issue is that in my offer letter from Y, joining date in 15th of May, however in my experience letter, my Last Working Day is reflected as 31st May (2 months of notice period). I am concerned about how should I explain this to any future organizations. Will they listen to me? Will this pose a problem in Background Verification? <Q> If this comes up in interviews or pre-screening calls. <S> I would simply explain it to them much as you explained it here. <S> This seems like an easily understandable predicament a person would find themselves in. <A> Read it straight: There is no overlap in practice. <S> That is just a mismatched documentation which needs to be corrected. <S> You can leave out the exact dates if you'd want, while mentioning about experiences in future interviews, however if you have to explain, explain the same way you did here. <S> Also, your experience letter from Y will contain the actual date of joining, so there would be no overlapping, when you'll go for another company in future. <A> Company X - July 2017 <S> - May 2018 <S> Company <S> Y - May 2018 <S> - Present. <S> Why would someone be interested in the exact day?
| In my experience, nobody is going to ask about the concrete day - usually, you express work period in months.
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My teammates are all unhappy with their raise, but I know I got more than them. How to handle? I have just come back after one month break from work (this is relevant) and am faced with a bit of a strange situation. This is in the UK. Whilst I was away there was pay review meetings at work that supposed to take place but didn't. Instead it appears everyone at my grade level (at least in my team) got a fixed amount I know this for a fact. This has caused some concern with the business. I however upon returning home yesterday and opening my payslip to my surprise have received more than I think anyone else at my team. Of course this is good news for me but it does put me in an awkward place. Due to the other concerns I know this is being brought up with the managers and other senior staff within the business, and has disappointed people as they did not get what they wanted. I will probably be asked by the coworkers what is my thinking on the whole situation as soon as I return. I see some options for the inevitable questions : I pretend I had the same increase as others. I don't like this as it is a lie and I don't want to be dishonest. I say I had more pay increases but don't say how much. This can cause speculation and possible resentment, and also me being an example such as "Xiao got xxxxxx so why don't I get this also?" I don't say anything. This is also a bad option as I think if I don't say anything it will be obvious that I had more of an increase, as it will definitely be mentioned at meetings etc and people will be interested. If I don't seem annoyed (as the others) then it also be quite obvious that I did not get the same amount. What is the most professional way to handle this? <Q> Of course this is good news for me <S> but it does put me in a awkward place. <S> Why? <S> Is your pay not confidential? <S> Does everyone know what everyone else makes? <S> Due to the other concern I know this is being brought up with the managers and other senior staff within the business and has disappointed people as they did not get what they wanted. <S> OK, <S> but that's really an issue for them to deal with, it has nothing to do with you. <S> I will probably be asked by the coworkers what is my thinking on the whole situation as soon as I return. <S> You have nothing to do with the pay raise you got nor the one they got <S> and so you cannot explain anything about it. <S> What you received as a raise and what other people received as a raise is a management issue. <S> Why should you be concerned about how other people perceive the situation? <S> If they're unhappy they should speak to management, not to you. <A> How is the best professional way to handle this? <S> The professional way to handle this is to not discuss salary with your coworkers. <S> If your coworkers ask what you think you respond with something like: <S> I'm the wrong person to discuss salary with. <S> Management are the ones who make the salary decisions, you should reach out to them if you have any issues. <S> Make it clear that you're not just trying to hide your salary, you need to let them know that you don't want to know about their salary either. <A> Your coworkers have nothing to do with your salary. <S> Don't disclose it, nor disclose by how much it was increased. <S> If they insist, say you're against badmouthing your employer because it can backfire and that they should talk to the manager/RH/director/whatever. <A> I'd go with #3 <S> "I don't say anything." regarding the team. <S> I usually don't talk numbers with colleagues. <S> However if it's unknown to you as to why the number is what it is, ask your manager openly. <S> I'd wanna know why I was rewarded if I was. <S> If they wanna reinforce a positive behavior, you wanna know which one it was :) <S> however all sentences above start with "I'd" which means me. <S> you need to make your own choice.
| If they ask specifically you about your increase: Sorry, I'd prefer not discuss your salary or mine. You should tell them to speak with the management.
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How should I handle an unreliable coworker that I recommended? I vouched for a close friend of mine to get a job at my current workplace. 2 weeks in and I've noticed some weird behavior. He has missed some important meetings He has lied (twice) about a personal emergency to get out of the office On a typical day he just seems to disappear from the office for 4 or 5 hours He sometimes states that he is working from home but no work is getting done. I strongly suspect that he did not actually quit his former job which was a bit relaxed and allowed him to work from home most of the time. So he could be disappearing to deal with other commitments at his previous job. I have realized that I made a terrible mistake vouching for him especially since he is my friend. We had worked together for several years in a previous company and technically he is very good. I feel like he has made a fool of me, betrayed my trust in him and is not taking the job seriously. We report to the same manager and they are aware that he is my friend and that we had worked together before. I feel that when my manager realizes this coworker is unreliable, my reputation will be tainted. How should I handle this? Should I confront him and ask him to resign if it turns out that he had not quit his former job? This issue has really angered me to a point where ending the friendship is an option because it feels like he took my job as a joke and is risking my reputation at work. <Q> To answer your title question directly. <S> No, you should not. <S> Why? <S> Because well, it doesn't matter. <S> If the person is willing to be a flake at work from the get go, the person didn't care about you, or your rep. to begin with. <S> Confronting this person and telling them to resign is only going to make the relationship between you two worse. <S> Do you honestly think someone who is willing to 'cheat' at work, is going to listen to your suggestion to quit, just because you're angry at them? <S> And really to be honest, there may be some things going on behind the scenes you may not be aware of <S> ...perhaps a boss is aware of it, and is allowing it. <S> I find it incredible that no-one else seems to notice a new hire is never at work within their first two weeks on the job <S> and they don't get their assignments done and have no repercussions... <S> At most depending on your relationship with the higher ups in your company, or rather the person who you recommended your friend to, I would suggest talking to them about the situation (as you explained in the post) and simply mention that you made a mistake, in turns out friends change, and yours changed for the worse and let them deal with it. <S> My suspicion is this person realised a loop in both his old company and new, and is taking mega advantage of it. <S> (and well, why not?) <S> Nothing of actual value is actually on the line here. <S> Throwing away person connections with someone is silly in my opinion when it can be easily dealt with by talking. <S> Especially over work. <S> No-one'll ask for your opinion about a new hire for a while maybe. <S> As long as your work ethic and quality hasn't changed. <S> Eventually people will forget your suggestion and your friend will get fired. <S> People like them are generally self correcting problems. <S> Just let it take it's course :) <A> From the situation as described, it is very definitely worth talking to him about what's going on. <S> The sooner the better - because if it's happened as described, he's about to get fired. <S> Nobody can spend four or five hours of a typical day out of the office, out of their first two weeks in a new job , plus the other things you mention, without someone noticing. <S> What happens next depends on that conversation and what his answers are. <S> (Perhaps he's already agreed this with your boss ahead of time, and you just didn't know about it?). <S> Depending on that conversation, yes , it may be reasonable to point out to him that you put your credibility on the line for him, and that if he is not prepared to take the job seriously, he should leave it. <S> This is likely to be a difficult conversation if it gets that far. <S> I don't know how close this friend is, but if it reaches that point, I would suggest he is not much of a friend to you at all. <S> At that stage I would be more concerned about your professional relationship with your manager. <A> Should I ask my friend to resign from a job a vouched for him? <S> No. <S> While you did vouch for your friend, your friend did have to possess the required skills/experience for his role and he likely interviewed successfully for his position. <S> In most cases, the steps your friend took were a much greater contribution towards landing the job than your recommendation to your manager. <S> You are not responsible for the fact that your friend has decided to behave the way he is currently behaving nor are you directly responsible for his hiring. <S> Regarding your reputation being tainted because of your friend's behavior, I would not worry. <S> As long as you are acting professionally and completing all of your assigned tasks within their deadlines you should have no issue.
| My other suggestion, is just stop caring so much about something so trivial as your work reputation. You should just talk to your friend, and say whats on your mind.
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I am now going to the US to work from the office there for a couple of weeks. What about european bank holidays? Essentially a bank holiday will coincide with my trip in the US (I work in Europe). I am wondering if I'd be entitled to get that day back as vacation or something equivalent. I don't feel comfortable just staying in the hotel, since the company is flying me over to the US to get to meet people in that office and do some face to face work. How would I handle this? <Q> While on site in the US you should follow US work schedules. <S> Do not stay at the hotel or not show up to the US office simply because it is a European holiday. <S> Make sure to speak to your manager and remind him that you will be working in the US during this holiday. <S> Ask if you are entitled to a compensatory day when you return to Europe. <S> Most managers are flexible enough to allow for this. <A> Go to work on that day in the US. <S> Don't skip it. <S> Figure out what your goals/options are. <S> Talk to your manager about what you want to happen and why. <S> Get her input and feedback and chance are you are going to agree on something, that works for both of you <S> Don't worry whether you are "Entitled" to anything. <S> Your manager can easily give an extra day even if you are not "entitled, and he can easily withhold a day even though you are entitled and there wouldn't be a whole lot you can do about it. <A> It happened to me, worked outside the country and hadn’t realised everyone else would be working. <S> I called HR back home, and we agreed it would make most sense if I worked that day, and the company gave me an extra day holiday to take back home.
| You could ask for a compensation day, once your back, you could ask to get the extra day paid out, or you could ask for some other benefit in return Look at your employee handbook or HR policies, check if something is in there.
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Is lowballing salary offers normal? I was recently headhunted for a software developer position, and once I received their contract draft, I noticed that the proposed salary was way lower than I expected. Once I voiced my concerns, they immediately raised their offer by almost 40%, which I ended up saying yes to, but they managed to hit exactly what I had considered my minimum acceptable salary, and at this point I feel sorta cheated by them anchoring the expectations so low. While I do feel I have a better grasp of how to respond to this kind of offer in the future, I have to ask: Is this negotiation tactic normal? Is it a red flag? <Q> This is a red flag for it's secondary effect: you may we'll find yourself sitting next to someone doing the same job who didn't raise this concern and is not receiving the 40% negotiating bonus you have. <S> Expect higher turnover of colleagues who don't negotiate well. <S> Management's failure to consider this is concerning. <S> I would also have concerns about how such an organization treats team members from diverse backgrounds and how that could open them up to crippling lawsuits for example (jusidiction dependant). <A> Lowballing of this kind is a staple negotiation technique. <S> The feeling of success when getting a massive upmark overshadows the fact that the end outcome is not that grest. <S> However, as you pointed out, it’s a recognizable technique which won’t work on more experienced people. <S> Coming across this in salary negotiations is likely to be either a typo or a red flag. <S> A company interested in attracting serious, experienced professionals will generally avoid these kind of tricks (caveat - local variations may apply). <S> Your best defense is to stay on top of expected salaries for your role, and what you really want to make, not just a minimum. <A> I wouldn't call it "normal". <S> It happens, as you saw. <S> It is usually a counter productive tactic. <S> What should happen is that you have a job interview, and the hiring manager decides if they want you or not. <S> They also decide how much you are worth to them. <S> They might have a position where they would take an inexperienced person at a lower salary, or a more experienced on at a higher salary. <S> The HR would make an offer - which should be compatible what the hiring manager said. <S> If HR gave you one offer, and then increased it by 40 percent, then they haven't done that. <S> That's a stupid approach. <S> Because it doesn't work, because it drives away people. <S> If I want X, and you offer X-40% and then switch to X, by that time I'm gone. <S> Even if I had taken that offer if it had been your first offer. <S> You'd have to offer me at least X+10% to make up for the insult. <A> Is this negotiation tactic normal? <S> Yes. <S> Companies only want to pay as much as they have to to get you on board. <S> It's up to you negotiate a higher offer. <S> You wouldn't offer to pay more than you have to for dinner, a new suite, etc. <S> , right? <S> Companies don't want to either. <S> This is/should be a negotiation. <S> Is it a red flag? <S> Not necessarily. <S> It's a perfectly acceptable negotiating technique, but it may be a harbinger of what you're likley to encounter during ongoing salary negotiations when it comes time for a raise.
| If you'll accept a low offer then that's what they'll pay you.
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How to officially communicate to a non-responsive colleague? I have a colleague that works in different building. I only know this colleague by name but not by the person, meaning that we never see each other face-to-face. I have a work that is dependent on this colleague. I've been trying to contact the colleague, by email and instant messaging, but the colleague is ignoring me. How do I solve this problem? <Q> I have a work that is dependent on this colleague. <S> I've been trying to contact the colleague, by email and instant messaging, but the colleague is ignoring me. <S> How do I solve this problem? <S> You have never met this person who is ignoring you. <S> Fix that now. <S> If you sat next to this person, you would just lean over and chat to start the communication flowing. <S> So, take a few extra steps and do the same. <S> People who know you are far more likely to respond, than people you don't actually know. <S> If the other office is too far away for this to be practical, use the telephone and call. <S> Making a personal connection with a co-worker, rather than relying on faceless textual communication, is often far more effective in getting someone to do something that you need done. <S> You can always follow up with an email later, if a record of the conversation is necessary. <A> How do I solve this problem? <S> Exactly the same way if the colleague was located in a different continent : over official communication channels. <S> Just because they are in the same office , different building, does not mean you have to go out of your way to get the work done. <S> If you have a work that depends on the participation from a certain person, inform them over email. <S> [You've done already, good] . <S> If they are non-responsive, loop in your higher authority (superior / manager) in the follow up reminder emails. <S> [Couple of retries, not more than that]. <S> If it's the case that you both have never communicated before, and if you have a phone number (official number preferred) that you can call up, try giving them a call, introduce yourself and remind them of the help / involvement you'd need from them to get the work done. <S> Even then if it still gets ignored, escalate to the higher authority by dropping an email to your manager informing about the non-availability of the involvement from that person, with the copies of communication you sent out earlier. <S> They should be able to take it further, your job is done. <A> Escalate If your work is dependent on this colleague, you need to raise this with your line manager. <S> They can then escalate to the appropriate level, or contact their counterpart in your colleague's department. <S> It also highlights the issue to your manager, who can take account of this when assigning work to you. <A> Just inform your project manager or whoever gave you this work task. <S> Describe how you have tried to contact this person and for what purpose, and the impact that the non-replies are having on your work. <S> Then let your manager decide what to do about it or escalate as appropriate. <S> You've done what you can.
| Take a few minutes to walk over to their office, introduce yourself, and talk about the work that you need this colleague to perform.
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How to structure answers in a 30 minute interview? Frequently I will have an interview with a hiring manager that last only for 30 minutes. The person will say they want to discuss: my background, my work, my method of working, a discussion of the company and the role, and then they answer my questions if there's time. Then they begin by either giving a brief explanation of their background or a review of the company, or both. Often, we seem to run out of time before getting to all the questions. 30 minutes might be too short of a time to get through it, but I didn't set it up. Obviously, some good advice might be to keep it short and sweet, but I don't want the interviewing thinking I don't know what I'm talking about because I didn't give a more detailed explanation. <Q> I'm not sure it's your responsibility to manage the time. <S> Answer the questions and give all the information that's relevant. <S> A good interviewer should manage the time, not the one being interviewed. <S> Having said that, there's nothing wrong with giving a shorter answer, and then asking "Does that make answer your question?" <S> or "Does that make sense?" <S> "Is that clear?" <A> I don't want the interviewing thinking <S> I don't know what I'm talking about because I didn't give a more detailed explanation. <S> As with many situations, it's a balancing act. <S> There's a difference between giving a sufficient explanation, and being too wordy. <S> Try to keep a feel for how much time remains (without resorting to looking at a watch), then use your time efficiently. <A> It sounds like you're getting ready for a behavioral interview (prompts like "Tell me about a time you worked with a team" or "tell me about your last project"). <S> When I get ready for an interview, I write and re-write the 10-15 stories that I think I may want to share, structuring them and highlighting the moments that I want interviewers to hear and remember. <S> You may only ever share 5 of the 15 you prepare, but you'll be much more concise in your explanation and be confident you shared the important elements of the experience that showcase your capabilities best. <S> Best of luck, and enjoy the conversations as much as you can.
| In preparing for behavioral interviews, take time to catalog and rehearse stories from past experiences that you think you'll want to share in response to questions. You can answer briefly but fully, and then indicate that you'd be happy to expand on your answer if time permits.
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Started new job, given difficult/impossible project. What to do? Almost 2 months ago I started a new (data scientist) job. I was assigned to a team that has not used machine learning before. They have assigned me a wretchedly difficult project that I'm simply not enjoying. There is a second team in the company's analytics arm which is doing stuff that seems more routine, feasible, and interesting, and I would like to join the team. Actually, my interview for this position was with members of this team, and I took the position because the work they described seemed quite exciting. Unfortunately, when I showed up, they assigned me to a different team (the one I'm on now) with a lousy and monumentally challenging project. To their credit, they explained to my why they were assigning me to this team, because they really needed someone. They asked me whether I'd like to join, and my mistake was saying 'yes'. I should have put my foot down and asked to be assigned to the team I interviewed with, but first-day timidness took over. On my current team, I've put a lot of effort into the project they assigned me but have made little progress in nearly 2 months. At this point, is is too late to ask to be moved to the other team? I don't want it to look like I simply gave up on this project because I failed at it, and now want to "try my luck" on another team. Is it worth trying to move to another job? I am worried that a 2-3 month job on my resume would not look good at all. Any advice from anyone who has gone through this would be much appreciated!! <Q> Your manager and team are there to support you, so if you need assistance, time, advice, or anything else then you should raise it as early as possible. <A> What to do? <S> Your job. <S> You practically volunteered for this job so at this point it's too late to go back without damaging your reputation at this workplace. <S> As you said a 2-3 month job will look bad on your resume so your only other option is to take on this task head on and do your best. <S> Depending on what kind of personality your boss is (is he sales or engineering minded) <S> it might be wise to be as transparent as you can. <S> Be upfront about the complexities and difficulties of the task and manage his expectations. <S> If you need help ask for it. <S> If you're not up for the job and don't think you can do it at all now is the time to do something about that. <S> Either look for another job or speak to your boss and tell him you can't do this. <S> But as I said there is a real possibility this will tarnish your reputation. <A> They asked me whether I'd like to join [this project], and my mistake was saying 'yes'. <S> This is the future you chose, sadly. <S> Turn it into an opportunity to learn, even if that is: <S> Don't be timid with work decisions <S> Backpedaling decisions is very costly <S> so don't let momentary pressure cause you to make a haphazard decision (including leaving the project!). <S> It messes up the project management flow, your reputation as a reliable worker, among other annoying things. <S> Know what you are jumping into before agreeing <S> You'll never really be 100% sure how a job is gonna be even if you ask a hundred questions, however the immodesty of asking them all will not cast a shadow on the potential catastrophe that it can really be if you blindly sign up for things that you may not even be able to follow through. <S> If you are truly unable to complete this work on your own, you'll have to inform management about this. <S> This actually constitutes getting work done, as you are not fit for the task and management can work with this to better filter assignments and personnel later. <S> Seconding other answers, ask for help as opposed to quitting. <S> If quitting is an option, they'll let you know. <S> If the project is infamous and desperate for members as you claim, there's a reason for that. <S> Saying how it was more than you could chew shouldn't hurt your reputation much (but it won't help either). <A> This is the advice I was given in a training course: When given an impossible task... Talk to your manager. <S> 1) Understand the penalties for failing. <S> Will you be fired? <S> Or, no big deal, maybe they know it is a nearly impossible task and hope your team will get lucky with a breakthrough. <S> 3) Re-negotiate the terms. <S> Is the deadline hard, or just a goal? <S> Are all the requirements really necessary? <S> They asked for ABC, but maybe A & B are good enough.
| When you're struggling with a task at work the professional thing to do is make this visible and ask for help. 2) Ask for help.
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How to deal with (in my opinion) bad firmware design forced by my boss First some back-story. We (4 Developers, 1 of them is my Boss) are currently in the process of designing a new iteration of one of our products. So my boss told me to come up with a new firmware-update mechanism for this specific product. I sat together with our technicians (those who do the firmware-updates in the field, and have to deal with our customers) on how the new update-process should work. We came up with an clever dual-firmware-image solution which does backups of itself when updating so in case if something goes wrong, we always have a working (backup) image and the device is still usable (i.e. it can still run without manual intervention which is very important in terms of availability which is also very important for this product). I presented this approach to my boss and he absolutely dislikes it. He wants an "Firmware-Image+Recovery-Image" solution.His main reason is that thus we don't waste space to keep a mirrored image on the device. I already told him about the disadvantages like maintaining two images, we have to implement a lot of new stuff in our well tested bootloader and DTS which again requires extensive testing, thus I have to waste a lot of time just implementing this instead of using already well implemented methods, and of course the biggest drawback: the usability. Every time an update fails (i.e. customer pulls the plug while updating) we only have a recovery image where the user/technician has to manually fix things. This produces a lot of work for our technicians and may upset customers since the device is not working until someone manually fixes it (99% of the time our technicians), remember: availability is key to this product. My Problem: Ok, my boss wants it like this, he can have it. This is not my part of business. However, I have a really hard time to implement something that does not feel good to me. Every line of code I write feels bad and I know this is going to be a huge pain in the ass for our technicians. My motivation to work on this project already died completely because its just plain bad. I know this is very opinion-based, but how do you deal with a situation like that. How should I proceed on this project? Most of the time when I tell my boss he has made a poor design decision we discus a lot about it and we find a solution satisfactory for all of us, but this time he insists on this pattern. <Q> this time he insists on this pattern <S> Then give him what he wants. <S> He usually finds a solution satisfactory to everyone but this time is different for whatever reason. <S> There must be a reasonable explanation on why your boss has done this. <S> So complete the task the way he wants and do your job as it should be done. <S> You're not always going to agree on things you do <S> but it's your job to do it the way that's wanted. <A> Do the work you are told , but make sure your plan of attack and its complete disregard is documented. <S> When you are inevitably questioned for a dumb design later due to internal and external user rage you can use it to protect yourself since it was clearly not your idea. <S> Hello, Boss <S> Could you write a description of the solution <S> you asked us to implement on project ? <S> We need this requirement description to replace the previous solution we in development <S> had come up with earlier on our tracker. <S> Do not argue about which could be better, stick to doing work. <S> Merely documenting whose idea was it is enough. <S> Besides, your solution might have a caveat your boss has spotted, who knows? <S> Neither exist yet. <A> Your boss is thinking: This a situation to make money with support work and doesn't care or disregards all the negatives that come along with it. <S> Not much choice but to follow along but realize this is soul crushing for the long term. <S> It saps morale when you produce poor quality solutions and spend time doing pointless work like fixing things that could be made not to break. <S> The only reward for the work is money so make sure you push hard for raises etc. <A> It can be tricky to focus on a project that you do not feel invested in. <S> The feeling will not go away overnight <S> but it will decrease over time. <S> My suggestion is that you treat your bosses choice as part of the design brief. <S> This won't be fun and you won't achieve your best work output <S> but it does give you a short term goal to focus on. <S> The less you focus on your alternative design the faster you will forget about it and the sooner you will be back to your fully productive happy self. <S> Personally I find that this kind of setback takes about a month to recover from. <S> I do good work in that month but never my best work.
| You can do this by getting your boss to explicitly state what he wants over what you suggested in writing, through e-mail or whatever. Forget that you suggested an alternative design and focus on making the best product you can while staying within the brief.
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Employer wants me to lie so they can qualify for a a subsidy. Should I be ok with that? I've been working for a small company as a contractor for almost 6 months. Now they've agreed to hire me full-time, but said they would like to do so through a government program in order to qualify for wage subsidies.They provided me with some instructions for when I register: one of them is that I must write my employment status as "unemployed for at least 6 months", which is one of the requirements for the subsidy. I'm new in the country and really want this job, but I don't know how I feel about lying for it. I'm worried it might cause me trouble in the future, and I also find the situation humiliating. My family thinks I'm being too dramatic and that it's not a big deal. Am I making too much a big deal out of it? <Q> I would be very wary and careful with that. <S> The company is essentially asking you to commit welfare fraud, which depending on the severity can carry serious penalties. <S> This is especially troubling because you're new to the united states, from which I assume you do not hold citizenship yet. <S> Green cards, visas and residency can be revoked for welfare fraud, so you could very well end up having to leave (or in jail) when you do this <S> and it is discovered. <S> I would give this a hard pass and search for something else. <A> If that country was for example the U.K., your lies would almost certainly be found it, with possibly drastic consequences for you. <S> You would be an accomplice to fraud, which is criminal. <S> How safe is your status in the country, since you are new there? <S> If you are not a US citizen, this could lead to removal from the country. <A> I once worked customer service for a hotel company. <S> A customer called me and wanted to dispute a bill. <S> After telling him the charge was for a movie, he asked me what ELSE such a charge could have been for. <S> Not understanding what he meant, he clarified.... <S> he wanted me to help make up an excuse to tell his wife what the $6.95 charge was for other than a movie. <S> I declined his request, telling him my faith prevented me from helping him craft a lie. <S> You're going to have to make this decision for yourself. <S> Do you feel this is a moral issue or not? <S> Do you want to stand by your principles or not? <S> Is this something you have a conviction about? <S> That aside...from a legal point of view, I can imagine you could be held accountable for fraud if/when it's found out that you lied. <S> Or they may never find out. <S> Truth be told it's probably pretty common to do that. <S> But you need to decide if it's worth compromising your morals, and if you are willing to take the risk for whatever the penalty is.
| What your employer wants to do is fraud.
|
Both me and the employer are interested in my taking a job, but paperwork has an arbitration agreement; how can I negotiate to remove it? I recently interviewed at a fairly large company for a position I was interested in. The recruiter said that I "far and away bested" the other candidates, and that they were really interested in taking me on. However, as I was looking through the hiring paperwork, I noticed an arbitration agreement in the pile of papers. Basically, if I have any disagreement about any aspect about my employment that I would normally take to court, I would have to take it to arbitration instead, and I cannot join a class action. As I said, both the company and I are interested in my taking the job. However, I refuse to work for any employer that requires me to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment . How can I let the company know that I'm not interested in working for them if they require me to sign an arbitration agreement (i.e. that the arbitration agreement is the only roadblock to my accepting the job), and possibly negotiate with them to have it removed? <Q> I refuse to work for any employer that requires me to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment. <S> How can I let the company know that I'm not interested in working for them if they require me to sign an arbitration agreement <S> You simply need to tell them "I refuse to work for any employer that requires me to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment" and mean it. <S> If everything else in their offer is acceptable, you might even try "I'm really excited by what I've heard <S> and I'd really like to work at this company. <S> I like everything about this offer except one item - the arbitration agreement. <S> If we could get that requirement removed, I'd accept the offer today." <S> Some companies will negotiate on some aspects of hiring requirements for desirable candidates. <S> Some will not. <S> Once you make your position clear, you'll quickly find out one way or the other. <S> And if your feelings are as strong as you have expressed here, finding out quickly should be your goal so that you can either accept the revised arbitration-free offer, or move on to a different job. <A> This would be the same as any other condition of employment that you want to negotiate on. <S> I reviewed the offer and think we are close to an agreement. <S> $X per year is more in line with my experience; I need Y days of vacation per year to maintain what I currently have; there are a couple of deal breakers for me, please remove the arbitration clause and replace the 6 months notice of resignation clause with 2 months. <S> Please amend your offer on these four points and I will be able to sign off on it immediately. <A> One way I know of to have clauses you cannot agree with removed from a contract is to actually strike them out and to then send your corrected version of the contract draft back to the other party. <S> If the arbitration agreement is a seperate document, you can simply tell the other party: "I'm sorry, but I will not agree to this. <S> Apart from that I'd gladly sign the rest of our agreement/contract." <S> Politely but firmly clarifying the non-negotiable conditions under which you are willing to sign an agreement or contract is always the best negotiating tactic in my experience. <A> If you want to work for this large company you are going to have to accept this kind of agreement. <S> There is no way a large company is going to drop this for a single employee. <S> Only way I would see this happening is if they are a small startup and cannot go forward without you, doesn't sound like the case here. <S> And if every other employee is under this kind of agreement, even if you were able to get them to drop it for you, it won't help you much because there will not be a class action suit because there won't be a class to join. <S> So you would be on your own and you wouldn't stand a chance in court against their lawyers unless you already have pretty deep pockets. <S> You have to ask yourself how much you want this job. <S> Fundamentally you are just not that special to warrant such a change at a large company.
| Make a counter offer and be up front if a condition is legitimately a deal breaker for you.
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Prospective job postponed by employer Recently I went through interview process (3) for a job I really wanted. I receive an email follow up today from the employer, stating that they’ve decided to put the position on hold for now, and hope I can be contacted in the future when they continue with the hiring process at the end of the year. What is the best way to respond? I really want the job even if that means waiting 6 months. Any suggestions would be appreciated. <Q> I really want the job even if that means waiting 6 months. <S> So do that. <S> The company informed that they are putting the position on hold, not you or your application. <S> There's nothing much you can do from your side now. <S> You can respond them by thanking them for the opportunity, something like <S> " <S> Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to interview with your organization. <S> I'll be looking forward to resume the communication once the position becomes available in future. <S> Thanks." <S> That being said, I'd not be relying on them to get back, the message you received may very well be a simple rejection message, disguised as the postponing message, to encourage applicants to re-apply after a certain period of time. <S> If you need a change of job, keep looking elsewhere. <S> In case this company contacts you in future, you ca take the call at that point - <S> but if I were you, I would not have relied on them getting back alone. <A> Did you receive a formal offer with a start date far in the future? <S> If not, I would work under the assumption that the employment opportunity is no longer available. <S> “On hold” could mean many things, but it at least tells you that the company has ceased searching for candidates for the role. <S> They may have found another way to organize a team so that the role is not needed, or the team may have just found a way to work with one fewer team members (or any other possible explanation). <S> Stay in touch with the recruiter and the manager in case they ever do resume a search for the role. <S> You could even ask about other roles at the same organization. <S> But if you’re looking for a new opportunity, I wouldn’t hold out hope for this one. <A> What is the best way to respond? <S> That being said, if you're looking for new work I would not recommend sitting and waiting for 6 months for any specific company. <S> This company may contact you, they may not. <S> Even if they do contact you, there is no guarantee that they will offer you the position. <S> I would continue to apply to and interview with other companies. <S> Who knows, one of them may be better for you than this company and may actually offer you a position.
| Thank them for their time and let them know they are free to contact you when they continue the hiring process.
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Withdrawing a job offer by employee after having accepted it (in the UK) I know it is not ethical to do so (I mean withdrawing a job offer by me as an employee after having accepted it) and I won't be proud of it but my interests are more important now. So I got a job offer in the UK via email, I signed it and sent back the 'Acceptance of Offer of Employment' form which is not the employment contract as far as I know. I got another offer which is better so I am planning to tell the HR person that I wouldn't want to work for them I am just wondering if I can safely do it by law or should I start working for the company and leave them during the probation period? Can I terminate this job offer without any consequence? <Q> By accepting a job offer (and assuming it was either unconditional or all conditions have been met) then you've entered into a binding employment contract - you can change your mind of course however the company can legally: <S> make you work out your contractual notice period <S> sue you for breach of contract (if you don't do the above) <S> In practice of course both of the above are vanishingly rare - contacting them and letting them know you'd like to withdraw is usually sufficient. <S> You will probably burn bridges with the company and with any recruitment agents involved in the process of course but such is life. <A> You can choose to not start beforehand if you like. <S> You signed a letter of intent , not a contract. <A> I am just wondering if I can safely do it by law or should I start working for the company and leave them during the probation period? <S> Since you haven't signed a contract, then legally I'm not aware of any reason why you can't change your mind. <S> Can I terminate this job offer without any consequence? <S> That's a different question, and the answer is almost certainly "no". <S> You've messed around the company giving you the offer, as well as any recruitment agency you may have gone through. <S> You can almost certainly write off working with either party in future.
| Signing the offer letter you received mainly certifies that you've received and accept the offer, but you aren't under any contractual obligation to start the job until you've signed a contract with a given start date and location.
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