Ask Your Boss: I Don’t Want to Look Like a Know-It-All Jerk

“I am a new employee and was hired because of my experience working with so many different companies. I have a lot of good ideas to improve productivity and quality.  How can I give my input to my boss without seeming like a know it all jerk?” It is less tricky than you think, especially because you were hired due to your experience and knowledge. You are, probably, expected to give your input anyway. Just remember that it is all about your attitude, the right choice of words and your…

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Ask Your Boss: How Should I Prepare For an Annual Review?

“Year end reviews are just around the corner at some workplaces. What does my manager do in the next month to prepare for the review process? What can I do to prepare for the review process? For next year, how can I take the feedback from my coming review and prioritize my improvement efforts?” We don’t do annual reviews at my workplace. We used to do it, but not anymore. I never liked it anyway, so I embraced this change quite enthusiastically. I am one of those who prefer to…

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Ask Your Boss: How To Negotiate a Job Offer

Negotiating a salary is scary for some, and easy for others. Most of us choose to forgo negotiating. I, personally, always dreaded this part of job interviews, even though I love to bargain. From a boss’s point of view I have to admit that I am always interested to see if a candidate will bring up a question about money. Right off the bat, I will tell you this: do not discuss money until a job offer is made. Otherwise, I (as a boss) lose respect for you.

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How to Deal With Office Assholes

Every office has assholes who spoil everything for everyone. They annoy us. They upset us. They drive everyone crazy. It takes a certain personality, a certain talent to do what the rest of us view as appalling, disrespectful or plain crazy, and get away with it. The good news is that we don’t have put up with these office assholes. The bad news is that it is not easy to confront them.

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Ask Your Boss: My Boss Called Me A Moron, and I Want to Quit. For the Third Time.

Your boss called you a moron, huh? No matter how frustrated I have ever felt, no matter what words were rushing through my brain, I have never call any of my employees names (not that I did not want to). First, it is very unprofessional. Second, it is horribly demeaning. Third, it shows that you are a moron yourself. Fourth, it is putting you, as a boss, in a very vulnerable position.

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Ask Your Boss: How Do I Tell My Manager About a Job Offer?

Let’s be honest, you are going to tell your manager about this job offer because you want a counter offer, some sort of monetary acknowledgment of your value to the company. You like your job, you just want more money, right? So to answer your last question, I am going to say “yes.” There is a very strong possibility that your manager will think that you are trying to extort a raise by threatening to leave.

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Unsent Letters To My Employees: Four Months of Nothingness

Remember that project I assigned to you four months ago? Four. Months. Ago.

I remember the day we talked about this project very vividly. You looked very attentive, listened carefully, nodded your head as if you understood everything. You were even taking notes. I believed you. For once I put all my pre-conceived notions about you behind us, and I believed you.

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How to Ask For A Raise

I have to admit that supervising people can be a very rewarding experience. It also can be frustrating, sometimes even maddening. People come to me with different set of problems. Some like to complain about others. Some like to ask for advice or direction they need to take with a project. Some like to have a conversation about a raise, the most intimidating discussion of all. However, I believe that if this conversation is timed correctly, researched and approached properly, the subject of a raise is not intimidating. Not at…

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