How to manage expectations after a great interview

Posted on December 30, 2010
Filed Under Employment, Finding a Job, Interview | Leave a Comment

As I mention in another post, I recently had a friend who had an interview he thought went great. However, one or two months have passed since the interview and he still has yet to hear anything. Though it is possible something else might be going on behind the scenes—for example, a hiring freeze, or perhaps a very serious office-wide insect or rodent infestation—it is likely the interview did not go quite as well as my friend perceived. Sometimes there is what I call, a perception gap. That is, a situation in which two individuals share an experience, but walk away with completely divergent perceptions, or interpretations of the experience. Though it is important not to dwell on past interviewing mistakes, if after one or two months you do not hear from an employer after a fantastic interview, it is possible the interview did not go as well as you perceived. Read more

If hiring managers could talk

Posted on December 27, 2010
Filed Under Cover Letters and Resumes, Employment, Finding a Job | Leave a Comment

Have you ever used the expression, “If walls could talk”? This idiomatic phrase expresses the idea that walls, because of their unique perspective and the candidness with which people speak when in “their” presence, might have some potentially enlightening stories to tell. In the same way, hiring managers have a unique perspective from which very few benefit and most are completely unaware.  

If you had the opportunity, what would you ask? How is your resume evaluated? Is there a point system? Are applicants’ resumes first funneled through computer software before it finds its way into the hands of a living, breathing, warm-blooded human? Is the position open to internal applicants? If so, will those applicants receive preference? Each of these questions linger in the minds of job applicants everywhere, as they wonder whether their job application, instead of ending up on the desk of an eager hiring manager, isn’t being sucked into a black hole. Read more

The all-feared performance review

Posted on December 23, 2010
Filed Under Employment, Keeping your Job | Leave a Comment

I remember my first performance review well. As I walked to the back of the office, I was sullen and despondent. I felt faint and was filled with uncertainly. As I sat down, I poured over every piece of work I had submitted that year. To a spectator, I might have looked like I was facing the Inquisition, and despite the irrationality of my fears, I was certain the penny would drop; that my manager would quickly deliver the bad news and that I would have to pack my things into a used lidless Staples copy-paper box at the conclusion of the workday. Suffice it to say, I kept my job and my manager allayed my many fears with her accurate and reasonable assessment of my work. Nevertheless, things might have gone quite different. I have a friend, who like me, dreads his performance review each year, however, instead of having a natural predisposition to dread, he is filled with dread each year because his boss is hyper-critical. Though, as one recent Vault article asserts, poor performance reviews should not be dismissed merely as a difference in opinion, or as inconsequential musings of a censorious boss. Read more

The sick day

Posted on December 20, 2010
Filed Under Employment, Health | 1 Comment

Between the flu, allergies, and miscellaneous air-borne bacteria flying through the office, it is no surprise that on some days during the fall and winter season the workplace looks like desolate wasteland. However, the inevitable truth is not every employee who makes use of sick leave is actually sick. A recent survey done by CareerBuilder highlights this fact. According to the survey, 29 percent of employees who took sick leave admitted to really only being “sick,” telling fanciful stories meant to convince their employer of the fact that they were suffering the ill effects of some rare malady (“I really need this day, I’m suffering from sudden onset of Ebola”). However, not every employee is cunning and skilled at the art of lying. Read more

How to buy gifts for a coworker or boss

Posted on December 16, 2010
Filed Under Employment, Special Occasions and Celebrations, Team, The Workplace | Leave a Comment

Every December employees everywhere, shopping for coworkers, flock to box stores with two things on their mind. How much should I spend? And what should I buy? Something edible? A trinket? Ingredients for spiced bread? Obviously, shopping for coworkers requires discretion and taste, and what you buy, if gifted within the context of the workplace, can detrimentally impact your professional image. For example, mildly vulgar gag gifts (use your imagination), even if purchased with the purist intentions, may land you in the hot seat with HR. Likewise, overly sentimental gifts—for example, a card professing an admiration for your boss which is borderline romantic—may come off as creepy and inappropriate, and also may land you in a heap of trouble with HR. So, the question is, how does one buy a gift for a coworker that straddles the bold line between vulgar and cloying? Although buying professional workplace-appropriate gifts is really no difficult task, there does exist a great deal of potential for critical mistakes. Read more

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