Q. I work for an organization I respect and I love the people I work with, but the manager of our team constantly lies to us. He encourages us to report on each other and then rewards the snitches. I refuse to do this and am very uncomfortable with my manager. What can I do?
A. There’s not much you can do except maintain your own integrity, as you are doing. The problem is that top management probably knows how your supervisor operates and either approves or doesn’t think it’s anything important enough to stop. It’s a demoralizing way to run a department and it probably it will catch up with your manager sooner or later. Meanwhile, do your job well and don’t get involved in your manager’s madness.
Q. I paid for a small refrigerator and installed it under my desk at work because I bring my lunch every day and want to keep it fresh. Now, everyone else in my section wants to use it. They’re always at my desk–actually, under it–and their constant interruptions are beginning to get on my nerves. Can I tell them to get their own refrigerator?
A. No, you can’t. It’s much better for you to continue to accommodate them, keep their friendship–and put your nerves on ice. You may have paid for the refrigerator but your employer allows you to have it and pays for the electricity that runs it. That makes you a prime candidate for generously sharing your cold storage space, with a warm smile.
Q. I work four days a week as a temporary secretary. I have a problem with one of the full-time employees there who keeps urging me to become a permanent employee, which I do not want to do. Her confidence in me is very nice but she also implies I’m too old to be a temp. She asks me if I have medical insurance and makes other meddlesome remarks. Am I being overly sensitive? What should I do?
A. Well, at least she isn’t urging you to quit, which might be even more offensive. I think you should just ignore her. What do you care what she says? And you’re not too old to do temporary work. No one is.
Q. I recently was downsized and quickly accepted another job at a much lower salary because I was concerned about all the layoffs and the state of the economy. Now I have the opportunity for a job at another company that I’d very much like to work for. And I’m pretty sure they’re interested in me. I’ve only been in my awful present job a few months and wonder how to handle this on my resume.
A. If you’ve only been there a few months you don’t have to put your present, much-hated, job on your resume. Just put years of employment, not the months, for the jobs you list. But in the job interview, I urge you to mention you took a “temporary” job. Which it was.
Q. I am a frequent job hopper and so is my husband. Both of us now are unemployed and are looking for jobs. What resources can you recommend to us?
A. Even in today’s labor market, where layoffs and job loss are common, job hopping still is a red flag to most employers. And because jobs are so scarce, now may be the time to find out why both of you job-hop and how to figure out as well as you can what a job might be like before you accept it. That’s why I suggest you invest in one-on-one career counseling. Both of you.
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Carol Kleiman’s column also appears in Sunday’s and Tuesday’s Business sections. Watch her Career Coach segments Sunday and Tuesday mornings on CLTV. Send e-mail to [email protected].