It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. Job candidate read all his answers from prepared notes
I recently conducted a Zoom interview that did not go well. The candidate’s answers weren’t spectacular, but the delivery was the bigger issue. He wears glasses and I could see a reflection of his screen in his lenses, showing a document with content (as opposed to a blank document to help light his face). He answered most of the questions by obviously reading prepared answers — his eyes tracked from side to side and his delivery went flat compared to our unscripted pleasantries. I was pretty shocked and it got worse when I asked him more oddball questions. I figured if I could ask an uncommon interview question, he’d be forced to abandon the script. Instead, he asked for a minute to “think” about his response and then took two to three minutes to quite obviously search in his document, only to answer with a prepared script that didn’t really answer the question. I knew I wouldn’t advocate to move him forward in the process, so I asked if he had any questions for me (spoiler alert: they were not good) and wrapped the interview about 20 minutes early. I submitted my evaluation as do not recommend for concerns about judgment, ethics, and ability to do the job.
I feel fairly confident about the evaluation I submitted, but I’m questioning whether I handled it appropriately in the moment. For context, I’m not the hiring manager; I would be this person’s peer. In non-pandemic-times, this would have been an on-site interview day with four one-hour interviews back to back and it only takes one interviewer to give a hard no before we’ll remove a candidate from consideration. While on the call, I was too shocked to address it but is there anything that would have been appropriate to say in the moment?
I’m a big fan of addressing interview weirdness in the moment if you can. If you wanted to, you could have said, “It looks like you might be reading from notes. Can I ask that you put those away so we can have a less scripted conversation?”
But sometimes you learn more by just letting something weird unfold than by asking for it to stop.
2. My predecessor’s stuff is all over my office and they won’t clean it out
I was recently promoted (yay!) and am in the process of transitioning jobs with my predecessor, who has also been promoted. The predecessor has been in the role for over a decade and seems to be having a hard time letting go. I am already official in my new role and my predecessor is official in theirs, but they haven’t moved to their new work location in another state yet.
My predecessor is currently working from home, and I am working on site, splitting time between my former location and my new location while I transition roles. I will be taking over my predecessor’s office in the new location and have discovered that they are a bit of a pack rat. Over time, they have amassed a huge amount of both non-critical work-related and personal ephemera in their office. It is dirty, disorganized, and bursting at the seams with unfiled papers, binders, books, personal decorations, shoes, etc. When I visited a few weeks ago to start the transition, they commented that they would “try” to clean out the office before they leave for good, but their belongings are still all over the office. I don’t want or need most of their items. I am eager to get the office cleaned and organized and make it my own, but don’t want to insult my predecessor as I will need to continue to work with this person. The mess is stressing me out. How would you approach this?
It’s your space now and it’s reasonable to expect to be able to use it. I’d just be very matter-of-fact and direct about it: “I’m having trouble using the office as is, so could you pack up anything you want to take with you by (date)? After that I’m planning to clear everything out to make room for my own things.” And then if it’s, say, a week before that date and nothing has changed: “Just a reminder that on (date) I plan to clean everything out of the office, so if you want anything that’s still here, make sure you get it before then!” And then when that date comes, put everything in boxes and stash them somewhere out of the way. (You could even just go straight to the boxes now — you’re not throwing anything out, just moving it out of space you now need.)
Of course, you shouldn’t have to box this stuff up yourself, but if your predecessor isn’t showing up to do it, it might be the only way to reclaim the space. If they’re close to leaving the state and the boxes are still there, you’ll need to say, “Do you want to get these boxes before you go or should I throw them away? There’s not room to keep them in here long-term.”
It could also be useful to loop in your boss. Depending on how practical she is, she might be willing to tell your predecessor to get it done or at least assure you she’ll have your back if they freak out.
3. My awful former boss keeps contacting me
I am second-in-command at a small organization. My former boss retired after 15 years, and she was almost universally despised by staff and many outside the organization for her abrasive and often insulting leadership style. (For example, when I asked for her support and coaching to apply for the job she was leaving, she told me that she did not think I was capable … and that I “couldn’t be a good mother” to my children if I took it! After that awful conversation, I chose not to apply.) Most of my colleagues also struggled under her, but I was simultaneously her “favorite,” the person she relied upon most, and the person she was hardest on.
Several months after she left, she texted me saying that she would love to talk, and I ignored the text. Later, she emailed me to congratulate me on a work success, and another time to wish me a happy birthday. I have twice replied politely but have not followed up on her multiple requests to catch up. She knows that I am not the type of person to blow someone off, but she’s not taking the hint. This person gave me professional PTSD. I don’t want to talk to her at all, but she keeps trying to reconnect. However, I also feel like it’s unprofessional to ignore multiple emails to my work address. How can I get her to stop asking?
You have a couple of options: Ignore completely or do the slow fade. You’re really not obligated to respond to social messages just because they’re sent to your work address, so you can ignore her email overtures if you want to. If you ever encounter her face-to-face and she asks about it, you’ve been busy or your spam filter has been catching a lot of outside emails or so forth. But the other option — which might be easiest since you won’t have to feel weird about outright ignoring her — is the slow fade: take days to respond and then send a short and breezy message that your schedule is keeping you busy, can’t make any plans right now, etc. (With the pandemic, you could also just say you’re not seeing anyone outside your family — or, if you’re working from your office, outside of your office and family.) You might have to do a few months of this, but she’s probably going to move on once more time has gone by.
4. How can I tell our amazing new HR person how much I appreciate her?
I work for a large company that recently hired a new executive VP of human resources. Her introduction to the company included the usual eyeroll-inducing “We are family! We’re here for you!! Rah-rah GO COMPANY!” But here’s the thing — she’s delivered.
We were the first company in the state that went 100% work-from-home (with full IT support). We’re not even considering returning to the office until the second quarter of 2021. We celebrated Pride month as a company for the first time ever. We’ve had numerous campaigns to benefit local businesses during Covid. Pay rates for female employees were reviewed/adjusted. This week is our open enrollment period — where we get to chose a medical plan with lower deductibles and an increased company HSA contribution — without a premium increase! What?!
I want to shout from the rooftops that she is amazing and is making a huge difference. How do I let her know that we see her, we hear her, and we appreciate her? I’m just below the level where it would be acceptable to message her directly — or am I? This is so far removed from my normal HR experiences that I’m not sure how to give her the shout-out she deserves.
You’re never too junior to tell someone in HR that their work has made a difference for you! That’s feedback people love to hear. Tell her! Send an email explaining how much you appreciate the work she’s been doing and why, and tell her it’s made you a happier and more loyal employee (two metrics HR people and their bosses particularly care about). That’s the kind of email people keep and look at when they’re having rough days.
5. Holidays and giving notice
How do holidays factor into giving notice? If I gave notice on Nov. 23, would “two weeks notice” make my last day Dec. 7, even though we have the Thanksgiving holiday (two days off) in that timeframe? These are company holidays; I am not taking vacation.
A reasonable company won’t typically exclude holidays from your notice period. They might ask if you’re able to add on an additional few days if they need the time for a smooth transition, and it’s a gracious thing to offer if you’re willing to, but there’s no automatic expectation that those days off won’t count toward your notice period. So typically if you gave two weeks notice on Monday, Nov. 23, your last day would be Friday, Dec. 4.
job candidate read all his answers from notes, predecessor won’t clear out their office, and more was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.
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