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I keep getting tasks that are above my skill level. How can I address this without coming accross as grossly incompetent?
A less confrontational way to address this is to ask your boss to help you understand why he thinks you can handle these tasks. The other part of this discyion is to help clarify expectations. Who knows, you may find that they really don’t expect you to handle this, but you’re there only hope at theRead more
A less confrontational way to address this is to ask your boss to help you understand why he thinks you can handle these tasks. The other part of this discyion is to help clarify expectations. Who knows, you may find that they really don’t expect you to handle this, but you’re there only hope at the moment. Do your best.
Even if you were given tasks you can easily perform, you always want to know what is expected of you from your immediate supervisor. I always suggest focusing on meeting his expectations. It will make your job more successful in the short and long-term.
Since you’re new to the job, there are many aspects I think you’re misunderstanding and putting too much pressure on yourself because so far, you’ve never mentioned anyone complaining or giving you negative feedback.
See lessI keep getting tasks that are above my skill level. How can I address this without coming accross as grossly incompetent?
First, this answer hinges on the fact that you do mention to those who are assigning you tasks that you will have difficulty with them, and that this is accepted. Particularly in a junior role, even if only with a specific technology stack, that really should be accepted; nobody can expect someone wRead more
First, this answer hinges on the fact that you do mention to those who are assigning you tasks that you will have difficulty with them, and that this is accepted. Particularly in a junior role, even if only with a specific technology stack, that really should be accepted; nobody can expect someone who has only worked with a technology stack and a mass of source code for half a year to be as productive as someone who has been doing the same for years.
See lessDealing with an employee that went over my head
And if I chose to stay, I’d talk with my manager about why the hours of 8:00-4:30 were important enough to make them part of the job posting, and how I was going to move the new employee back to those hours. (This all assumes that coverage of those hours wasn’t arbitrary and that adherence really waRead more
And if I chose to stay, I’d talk with my manager about why the hours of 8:00-4:30 were important enough to make them part of the job posting, and how I was going to move the new employee back to those hours. (This all assumes that coverage of those hours wasn’t arbitrary and that adherence really was important).
I would then inform the upcoming employee of the work hours I expected to be covered, and I’d prepare for the scenario where the new employee chose to not come aboard after all.
I view backing up middle-managers (at least publicly) as vitally important in a workplace. I wouldn’t work for a company where I was expecting my decisions to be undermined on a regular basis.
See lessDealing with an employee that went over my head
This is not a problem with the employee. This is a problem between you and your superior. As a middle-level manager, I would be aghast if my boss allowed someone to go around me and get their acceptance on such a request without even first letting me know about it. I’d immediately request a one-on-oRead more
This is not a problem with the employee. This is a problem between you and your superior.
As a middle-level manager, I would be aghast if my boss allowed someone to go around me and get their acceptance on such a request without even first letting me know about it.
I’d immediately request a one-on-one meeting with my boss and discy what my role was, what my authority was, and why this end-around happened.
Hopefully I would hear that this was all a mistake or misunderstanding. But if I found that I actually had no real authority and that this sort of thing would continue to happen, I’d re-evaluate my role and decide if it was still a role that I wanted to fill or not.
See lessDealing with an employee that went over my head
You’ve got to start out by realising that this is not a problem with your employee, if anything, it’s a problem with your boss. Unless it is typically his / her responsibility to set your employees hours, (s)he’s out of his / her department by approving the request. It is quite probable that (s)he dRead more
You’ve got to start out by realising that this is not a problem with your employee, if anything, it’s a problem with your boss. Unless it is typically his / her responsibility to set your employees hours, (s)he’s out of his / her department by approving the request.
It is quite probable that (s)he didn’t know that the employee’s original request was denied, and it is just possible that (s)he believed that the employee, being new to the company, wasn’t quite sure where to put in the request.
See lessDealing with an employee that went over my head
Company work hours by default don’t mean everyone has to work them. They only mean company business hours, when someone can come in. Small companies usually have the most flexibility in this regard, so it’s natural for people to assume that flexible hours is a norm for non-customer facing roles. IsRead more
Company work hours by default don’t mean everyone has to work them. They only mean company business hours, when someone can come in. Small companies usually have the most flexibility in this regard, so it’s natural for people to assume that flexible hours is a norm for non-customer facing roles. Is this a helpdesk or sales position? Is it a software developer / network admin / another technical role? Two different treatment plans.
Regarding how to deal with this or similar situation (when employee requests a non-standard accommodation), you need to try your best to accommodate them. Talk to your boss, see what you can do. If you can allow some flex in work start/end time, do so. If after all this you are absolutely sure hours are strict, you must provide a reasonable explanation why this would be the case (unless it’s obvious to everyone, like a bank teller – need to cover a specific shift). In 2017 you cannot just reject them “because I said so”.
See lessHow to approach applying for a job at a company owned by a friend?
I’ve had two times I’ve gotten involved in new business start-ups by friends, and both times it ended badly. Not horrible, we were screaming at each other, friendship ruined forever badly, but things didn’t work out, I wanted out of this deal but now it’s awkward badly. Any time something like thisRead more
I’ve had two times I’ve gotten involved in new business start-ups by friends, and both times it ended badly. Not horrible, we were screaming at each other, friendship ruined forever badly, but things didn’t work out, I wanted out of this deal but now it’s awkward badly. Any time something like this comes up, I find myself thinking, If this doesn’t work out for whatever reason, is it going to ruin our friendship? And do I value the job or whatever the deal is more than I value the friendship?
I think the best you can do is talk to your friend, tell him you saw the ad, you think you might be qualified, etc, but you realize it could be awkward, what do you think, I really don’t need this job so if you say you think it’s a bad idea it’s not like I’ll be unemployed and living in a cardboard box, etc. As someone else said, I’d try to make it easy for him to say please don’t.
See lessHow to approach applying for a job at a company owned by a friend?
Some good answers here, let me add: I would definitely NOT apply and then try to avoid having your friend see you when you show up for the interview, like trying to schedule an interview when he’s out of town. Surely if you get the job, he’s going to find out sooner or later, and at that point it wiRead more
Some good answers here, let me add:
I would definitely NOT apply and then try to avoid having your friend see you when you show up for the interview, like trying to schedule an interview when he’s out of town. Surely if you get the job, he’s going to find out sooner or later, and at that point it will be far more awkward than it would be if you told him up front.
I’ve had two times I’ve gotten involved in new business start-ups by friends, and both times it ended badly. Not horrible, we were screaming at each other, friendship ruined forever badly, but things didn’t work out, I wanted out of this deal but now it’s awkward badly. Any time something like this comes up, I find myself thinking, If this doesn’t work out for whatever reason, is it going to ruin our friendship? And do I value the job or whatever the deal is more than I value the friendship?
See lessHow to approach applying for a job at a company owned by a friend?
Before going to the interview, you can send a note (I would prefer that over a phone call) that you had applied for this position and you are appearing for the interview. You can express your concern anyway about conflict-of-interest but more likely than not he will understand the situation himselfRead more
Before going to the interview, you can send a note (I would prefer that over a phone call) that you had applied for this position and you are appearing for the interview. You can express your concern anyway about conflict-of-interest but more likely than not he will understand the situation himself and ideally should keep himself out of decision making process.
See lessHow to approach applying for a job at a company owned by a friend?
Unless you desperately need this job, in which case it’s a whole different story. Then saying “please please give me a job, I’m about to lose my house and my children will be starving homeless waifs” etc might be your best bet.
Unless you desperately need this job, in which case it’s a whole different story. Then saying “please please give me a job, I’m about to lose my house and my children will be starving homeless waifs” etc might be your best bet.
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