It’s seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…
1. I’m applying for a job where I’d be managing someone my fiance had a conflict with
I recently applied for a position with a fabulous company that my fiance also works for. It is with a very large hospitality group. Unfortunately, several months ago my fiance had a problem with a coworker and he was moved to a different area of the resort. This morning, HR called me to set up an interview and the position would be directly overseeing the coworker who he had the problem with, and I would be interviewing with his previous manager.
I have never met his manager so she wouldn’t have any idea who I was, but I’m not sure how to handle this situation. I would absolutely love this position as it is a direct fit with my skills and my career path, but I don’t want my relationship to influence any decision regarding my ability to do the job, and I don’t want them to feel I intentionally hid information from them.
You need to tell them. Otherwise you risk ending up in a situation where (a) your new manager feels that you were deliberately deceptive with her and (b) your ability to manage one of your employees is compromised. And yes, telling them might mean that they conclude that you’re not the right fit for the job — but it’s better to have them conclude that now, before you’ve been hired, than afterwards (because if it happens afterwards, there could be worse consequences, from a permanently soured relationship with your manager and staff to being let go).
Say something like this: “I want to be transparent about the fact that my fiance, Apollo Warbucks, used to work for you and, of course, still works for the company. He spoke really highly of you.” You could say this at the interview itself, but you might even think about emailing it beforehand (along with “I want to make sure that doesn’t pose any issues for the company”) because if it IS prohibitive, you could save yourself some time by finding out now. (On the other hand, some people would tell you to go to the interview and impress them before you mention it.)
2. Should you note on your resume that you were laid off from a job?
I recently read your article on how to combat resume rejection. I noted you discussed stating whether a position was purposely short however does this hold true for layoffs?
I look like a job hopper because my first two positions resulted in layoffs and both under the two-year mark. Then my third job I left voluntarily for a better opportunity. I’ve been quite fortunate, but as my company prepares to sell, I’m looking once again and I am often asked why I only worked at these jobs for a short time. When asked I’m able to explain, but should one list “laid off” anywhere on their resume?
No. Your resume shouldn’t include the reasons you left jobs (“resigned for better position,” “moved,” “fired,” etc.). It should include your positions and employers, dates you worked there, and what you achieved at each. The reasons for moving on are something you can discuss in an interview or — when it makes sense — a cover letter.
3. My offer letter promised to review my salary in six months, but it didn’t happen
I accepted a job offer six months ago. When I tried to negotiate the salary, I was told that it would be reviewed In six months. I needed the job so I accepted it, even though it was $20k less than my last job.I had been looking for 18 months and there was a possibility of advancement.
Fast forward to my six-month salary review with very satisfactory results — but no mention of a salary increase. They did, however, offer me a promotion, conditional on passing an industry course. I was torn between mentioning the increase and accepting the opportunity. I finally mentioned the lack of increase a few days later, saying that it been stated in my offer letter. They seemed very surprised that this had been put in writing. I was given no real response and it’s now been a week. Did I make a career limiting move? I did not want to seem like a pushover, so that was why I said something. Also, there seems to be a possibility of being acquired, which, in my mind, makes this future promotion uncertain. Should I have kept my mouth shut?
Absolutely you should have mentioned it — as part of your review, in fact, rather than a few days later. You had an agreement to discuss your salary in six months and so you should discuss it — bringing it up yourself if your manager doesn’t. In fact, it would have been ideal to come prepared to show why you’d earned an increase now, or even have sent that information to your manager ahead of your review with a note saying something like, “When I started, we agreed in my offer letter to review my salary in six months. I believe I’ve earned a raise of $X because of A, B, and C.”
Was it a career limiting move? Only if your manager is incredibly unethical and disingenuous. If she’s a normal person, no.
That said, keep in mind that an agreement to review your salary is not at all the same as an agreement to increase your salary.
4. Can my employer ask why I need time off?
I am a full-time employee in Florida. When requesting time off, can an employer ask why I am taking the time off? Are they entitled to know why? If not, what is the law that supports this?
Yes, they are allowed to ask, and they’re allowed to require that you share the reason (as long as they don’t make requirements that would require you to disclose details about a disability and thus violate the Americans with Disabilities Act).
The “law that supports” their right to ask is the absence of any law to the contrary. As I wrote earlier this week, with labor laws you generally shouldn’t be searching for a law that specifically allows an employer to engage in a particular behavior, but rather for a law that prohibits it. If something isn’t specifically prohibited, it’s generally allowed.
5. Interviewer sent me a blank email
I had a phone interview two weeks ago, followed up yesterday, and got an email back from the interviewer saying that he enjoyed our conversation but decided to pursue other candidates. I had read your article on how to graciously reply to a rejection, so I sent a similar email asking for feedback as I am new to the workforce and this was an entry-level position.
I got a response about 15 minutes later, but the email was blank and the email was forwarded back to me. I’m going to assume the manager did not want to give me feedback? How do I ask him if this was done on purpose or if he really sent me back feedback? I don’t want to be a pest, but I have sent back empty emails by accident before.
Sadly, you have to just let it go. While it’s possible that he did indeed write out an email to you with feedback in it and somehow accidentally deleted that content right before sending, it’s more likely that he never wrote out feedback and just accidentally clicked a couple of keys that sent a blank message to you. Assuming that the latter is the case, if you follow up to say “I have a blank email from you,” you risk looking a little too needy/pushy. The blank email thing happens. If he wants to send feedback, he will, but meanwhile, I’d let it go.
6. How candid to be when a company seems sketchy
Recently, I was presented with an employer-initiated opportunity that sounded pretty great, but a few alarm bells started ringing. First, within 15 minutes of my reply to their email, I had an instant message interview with their CEO, then immediately following, an instant message then voice chat interview with their CTO. I realize some places move faster than others, but wow.
I did a little research on the company and the top two results are their webpage (normal) and a Rip Off report (not so normal) for non-payment to staff. The report was posted in March 2013 and hasn’t been updated to say paid. In addition, I can’t find anything else about them on any review site at all. How candid should I be in saying “your company and process makes me feel icky” without burning a professional bridge?
It depends on whether you wan to talk to them about it and hear their response or whether you just want to pull out of their hiring process. If the latter, you just say, “I’ve decided to explore other positions so would like to withdraw from consideration from this one. Best of luck in filling it.”
But if you’re open to hearing more, then you could say, “I saw some employees online posting that they hadn’t been paid earlier this year. I know not everything online is always correct, and I wondered what you could tell me about that.”
7. Happy ending
I relocated to a new city a little over a year ago for a job that was not ideal. In fact, it turned out to be a nightmare, but at the time I felt that I had to accept the position because I had been underemployed for months and needed the income. After 3 months in the position, I realized that it wasn’t going to be a good long-term fit for me, and I started looking elsewhere. For about 9 months I was looking for a new job, and I was intensively looking for at least 6 months. I set aside time every day to apply to jobs, write cover letters, and read AAM. The work environment was terrible — I was working for a start up, dealing with angry customers all day, immature cliquey co-workers, spineless bosses, and regularly encountered verbal abuse from my boss and sexual harassment (verbal) from my male coworkers. In addition, the work I was doing was draining, exhausting and repetitive, and I dreaded going to work every morning. But I knew I couldn’t quit before I found something else.
After several months of sending out resumes with no response, I started working with a placing agency for creative talent (my degree is in graphic design). A few months into that process, I was connected with a great company, interviewed, and got the job! I am now in the first week of my new position, and while it’s not a perfect job (no job is), I am doing work that I enjoy, I feel inspired by my work, and my new boss is incredible! The position is with a stable, growing company, and it was a 20% pay increase! The people I work with are friendly and normal, and I think the majority of the headaches I encounter will just be normal work stresses (deadlines and commute).
I wanted to put this out there because I know how hard it can be to find a job — especially a job that you like, in your field, with decent pay — but it is possible! I hope my update can inspire some of your readers to stay motivated, because better things are out there!
Congratulations! Thanks for sharing that story here.
The thing about long and frustrating job searches is that they tend to stay frustrating right up until the moment that everything changes and you get an offer you’re excited about. It’s good for people to remember that if they keep doing the right things, eventually they should see results. (And meanwhile, to make sure that they’re doing the right things, they should read this.)