Q. I’ve been employed by the same company for 20 years and am really questioning the direction they are taking and if I want to follow. I don’t think I have the killer instinct that now is required to be as successful with this company as I have been in the past. What do you think I should do?
A. Since the horrible events of Sept. 11, a lot of people have been re-evaluating the work they do and how it meets their personal values. Pay attention to what your instincts tell you. They’re always right.
Q. Do you know of any statistics that relate specifically to the amount of time that is wasted on office gossip or water cooler conversation? I see a lot of it going on in my office and have a feeling it could be a substantial amount of time. I would really like to know.
A. I don’t know of any reliable statistics on gossip, but I’ll ask at the water cooler if anyone knows of any. (Just kidding.) You might want to do an Internet keyword search, but make sure the information is reliable and not “gossip.”
Q. I’ve worked for one company for 16 years and now that my children are grown I want to leave. Interviewers question me about why I want to do so, and it sounds trite to say because I’m seeking new challenges. I actually want to leave because of poor management policies and discrimination. How I can present that to prospective employers?
A. You can’t: You don’t want to go there. Saying you’re seeking new challenges may be trite, but it’s the safest answer. You do not want to sound like a disgruntled employee–even if you have perfectly legitimate reasons for being that way–because if you come across as an unhappy camper, no one will hire you.
Q. My career has been made up of selling equipment and chemicals to the metal finishing and printed circuit fabrication industries. It seems to me that jobs in both of these industries have been virtually wiped out by technological changes, outsourcing and offshore competition. I landed a job in auto part sales but due to the economy and Sept. 11, I was laid off a few weeks ago. I really like sales. What should I do?
A. Sales jobs always are available somewhere, so if you can’t find one in your field, be flexible and look at others, particularly in manufacturing. In addition, network with former colleagues in your field; they know about openings before anyone else. Join professional sales associations and access their job banks. And don’t forget to check out the very helpful federal government job bank at www.ajb.dni.us.
Q. A wrench has been thrown into my husband’s job search. Twice, employment interviewers have told him they would not consider him for jobs with their companies in the suburbs, because we live in the city. They say they want employees in the same geographical area as their offices because they expect them to work long hours and still have some work/life balance. Commuters can’t achieve this. Is this legal? It sounds like geographical discrimination to me.
A. There are no laws against it but it would be much more reasonable to let workers decide where they want to live–unless the company pays for housing. But it’s hard for me to believe they are sincere. Could it really be they want to get all the work out of their employees that they can?
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Carol Kleiman’s column also appears in Sunday and Tuesday’s Business section. Watch her Career Coach segments on CLTV. Send e-mail to [email protected].