new employee doesn’t pay attention, what should I wear to a job interview, and more

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. New employee doesn’t pay attention to his training We’ve got a new guy at work: Dave. He’s still in his probation period. He’s never done this work before — he had a job which has a little overlap, but not much. I am not his […] The post new employee doesn’t pay attention, what should I wear to a job interview, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go…

1. New employee doesn’t pay attention to his training

We’ve got a new guy at work: Dave. He’s still in his probation period. He’s never done this work before — he had a job which has a little overlap, but not much. I am not his manager, and haven’t worked with him much, but I have been asked to give him some training in my areas of expertise.

His work so far for all of us has often been careless and has had to be repeated more times than is usual for a new starter, and he doesn’t seem to pay attention to instructions. A careful conversation with him is being planned, so that he has the chance to improve before his probation period is over.

With my child, I ask for them to repeat instructions back to me to demonstrate that they actually listened to me (still doesn’t always work), but I don’t think you can do this with an adult.

Do you have any suggestions about how to approach this? This week, I have taken to watching him as he starts a new task he is unfamiliar with and repeating and re-explaining the instructions he missed, which irons out many problems (and is good practice with a new hire anyway), but do we have to follow him to check he’s doing basic things correctly for the rest of his probation period, or is there a more efficient way? We’d really like to keep him on if he can become a productive team member, so we want to set him up for success.

You actually can ask adults to repeat back to you what they’re taking away from a conversation, and it can sometimes be a good practice to do that — not in a condescending way, of course, but when you’re training someone or assigning a complicated project, there’s lots of room for important details to be missed or misunderstood. It can make sense to say, “To make sure we’re on the same page and so I can spot anything I didn’t explain right, will you summarize what you’re taking away from this?”

But yes, it sounds like someone is going to need to at least spot-check his work until you see him retaining instructions over a sustained period of time. And yes, some of the training could including checking his work in real time as he’s doing it so you can spot mistakes and coach him on what to do differently … but at some point, well before his probation period ends, you’ll need to back off a bit and see what he does without real-time oversight or else you won’t know whether he’s going to be able to work independently or not.

For what it’s worth, I’m skeptical that he’s going to turn into a good hire. Someone who doesn’t pay attention to instructions even when he’s already been making careless errors is probably not someone you want to retain unless he turns that around very quickly. The thing that’s most likely to set him up for success is to tell him very clearly what needs to change; if no one has told him he’s making too many errors and not paying enough attention to instructions, he needs to hear that very directly (since otherwise he genuinely might not realize there’s a problem he needs to solve). If he hears that and still doesn’t improve, that’s your answer.

2. Is it a red flag to be asked to name what salary you want?

I’m an early career academic. I was contacted by a hiring company representing a small nonprofit related to my research area. I was previously aware of the organization and it is several decades old, but a few years back it underwent a change in leadership. They were interested in me as a candidate for a job with responsibility for basically their entire operation (after a couple years), and it would require me and my family moving to another country. The head of the organization and I talked for several months, and ideologically and skill-wise, it seems to be a good match.

However, after months of talking, their first informal salary suggestion was half of what I was hoping for. (I had originally asked for a salary range up front, but they didn’t want to give one at that point.) So I’ve said that I don’t think the job is right for me, because it could not support my family (as my spouse could not work in the foreign country due to language/visa issues). Now they are asking for me to say how much salary I want.

It would be wonderful to have a job with greater responsibility exactly with my area of expertise. But even if they did dramatically increase the salary to closer to what I wanted, it seems strange that I am the one that has to research the cost of living and argue over multiple (zoom) discussions that I don’t think their suggested salary is livable. It makes me not trust the organization. Is asking a candidate to (as it feels like) name my price normal in some situations? I don’t want to pass up a potentially great job, but neither do I want to risk uprooting my family (spouse and small child) to live in another country if the hiring organization is unreliable. Or maybe my salary expectations really are too high? I live in a low-cost of living country and the job is in a high-cost of living country, so it is hard for me to compare to my current life. I don’t have much real-world experience with jobs outside the academic market, so I feel like I need some reliable advice.

It’s not a huge red flag to be asked to name a figure since their first offer was too low. That’s a thing that happens, especially for new positions that an organization hasn’t hired for before (or hasn’t hired for in a while, or where they just really want to hire a particular person).

That said, if their initial offer was half of what you’d take, I’m pretty skeptical that this will work out. They’re unlikely to double their offer and, if they do, I’d be concerned that it will be hard to get raises in the future, or that after paying you that for a year they’ll start having second thoughts or thinking you need to do more to justify that pay rate. That might be worth risking in some situations, but I’d be extra wary when you’d be relocating to a different country and uprooting your family. If you’re going to do that, you want to feel very secure about the job.

You still might as well name the salary you’re looking for — no reason not to — but you don’t need to argue for it; you can just let them know that’s what it would take, and from there it’s up to them to decide if they want to offer it. But I’d move with a lot of caution even if they do agree.

3. Employee’s schedule needs aren’t working well for the job

I own a pet grooming shop. We’re a small business (five employees) and do all work by appointment, Tuesday through Saturday.

I have a groomer who has young children. On multiple occasions, we have changed the schedule so she has affordable child care and can work. She just informed me at a staff meeting that she was dropping her Friday availability (when she just started picking up more appointments). She said she can’t afford the child care (mind you, she just got a raise).

She worked for me for three years and does excellent work, but the constant schedule changes cost labor and time for me, as well as issues with the team.

It has been extremely difficult to find another groomer and I can’t fill in. We are just starting to really gain a good reputation and fill the appointment schedule. What are my options to hold her to the hours we need?

You might not be able to. If she’s decided she’s not available Fridays, then she simply might not be available Fridays.

You can try talking to her to see if, together, you can figure out a way to make Fridays doable. For example, would a permanent change in her schedule on other days make it doable? Would a raise? (And yes, she just got a raise — but maybe having her stay on and work Fridays is valuable enough that you’d be willing to pay her more to do it. Or maybe it wouldn’t be. But ultimately she gets to decide what her availability is and what would make it worth it to change that, and you get to decide whether that works for you or not.)

If she’s not willing to change her schedule and you can’t reach a solution together, then your options are to either accept her schedule constraints or let her know it won’t work out and part ways. The latter doesn’t sound like a good idea since she’s done excellent work for three years and you’ve had trouble finding other good hires, although if the frequent, last-minute schedule changes are making things difficult enough for you and other staff, who knows, maybe it’s the right call. But you’ve got to assess what makes sense for you and the business without hoping for “somehow I force her to work the hours I want” as a realistic option.

Related:
my employee wants to go part-time in summers but we really need her full-time

4. What am I supposed to wear to a job interview?

Suddenly, in my 50s, I find myself looking for work again. I’d settled into a remote job I thought would carry me to retirement and gleefully gave away all my interview suits. Then, layoffs.

For the past decade, I’ve worked in a company primarily populated by 20-something salesfolks who start drinking at 4 pm and wear very fashionable clothes that show bellies and yes, butt cheeks. This clearly isn’t what I’m supposed to wear for interviews (or breakfast networking events). But I don’t feel like what I grew up with (a full-on suit) is right anymore, either?

Yes, this has changed! There are still industries where you’re expected to wear a suit to job interviews even if you wouldn’t be wearing a suit every day at work, so it’s smart to ask around in your field and find out what the current norms are, but there are now many, many, many fields where a suit isn’t expected. Instead people will often wear a blazer and pants (in reasonably formal but not suiting material), a nice sweater or blouse and pants, or a businessy dress without a blazer.

Related:
do I still need to wear a suit to a job interview?

The post new employee doesn’t pay attention, what should I wear to a job interview, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.

What's Your Reaction?

like

dislike

love

funny

angry

sad

wow