Two years ago, my manager asked me to team up with Jim, a newly
hired salesman. He felt that Jim could benefit from my experience,
since I had been with the company for many years.
Q:
Two years ago, my manager asked me to team up with Jim, a newly hired salesman. He felt that Jim could benefit from my experience, since I had been with the company for many years.
Jim seemed nice at first, but then he turned into some kind of monster. He always has to be right about everything. He will ask me a question, then argue with my answer. Sometimes he even surveys other colleagues, hoping to prove me wrong.
I occasionally hear Jim giving inaccurate information to clients over the phone. If I correct him, he gets very defensive and goes out of his way to find an opportunity to embarrass me later. He even criticizes me in front of clients.
I’ve talked with our manager about the problem, but so far nothing has changed. I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and don’t need all this stress. I’ve started to think about quitting. Is there a better solution?
A:
If you were paired with Mr. Know-It-All simply to share your experience, why are you still joined at the hip? After two years, shouldn’t he be able to function independently?
By pointing out Jim’s inadequacies, you may actually be perpetuating the very arrangement that is driving you crazy. The more your boss worries about mistakes, the more likely he is to keep Jim under your wing.
Instead, try taking the opposite tack. Attempt to convince your manager that the time has come for Jim to leave the nest and fly solo.
Once your official connection is severed, you will no longer have to answer his questions or monitor his calls. Jim may continue to misinform clients, but that will be his problem, not yours.
Q:
When my children were small, I took an eight-year sabbatical from the IT field to be a stay-at-home mom. At the time, I had 16 years of programming experience.
I am now ready to get back to work. However, when interviewers hear that I haven’t been employed for eight years, they immediately lose interest.
I’ve been told that I should bypass HR and contact hiring managers directly, but that’s difficult. Even if I get an actual human on the phone, that person will never reveal the manager’s name. Do you have any tips for obtaining this information?
A:
Odds are that your main problem is not lack of access to hiring managers. A far more serious issue is that your experience may be out of date. In the IT field, eight years is an eternity.
You can boost your qualifications by updating technical skills and renewing certifications. To add recent work experience to your resume, seek out contract assignments through temporary employment agencies. You might also consider volunteering your talents to a non-profit organization.
The more contacts you make through temporary or volunteer projects, the better your chances of hearing about job openings. And you may also get the names of those hiring managers.
