2018 Update: We still stand by this advice on how to help a coworker present herself better — you may also want to check out our guide to executive presence for women leaders. How do you help someone present herself well, without insulting her personality and other innate qualities? Reader A wonders… I work at … Read More about Dazed and Confused: How to Help a Coworker Present Herself Better
The Incompetent Boss
How do you handle an incompetent boss? Reader C wonders… Corporette is my top go to blog for advice on anything career related. I haven’t found much on dealing with an incompetent boss though. Could you consider doing a post on how to handle a thoroughly incompetent boss? It’s almost worse than incompetent – she … Read More about The Incompetent Boss
What To Do When Your Mentor Hates You
What do you do when your assigned mentor is a bitch? Reader C wonders… I have a question about female competition in the workplace. I am a young legal assistant at a larger law firm and have had a string of disheartening interactions with a female coworker. Although she was assigned to be my mentor … Read More about What To Do When Your Mentor Hates You
Back-Handed Compliments at the Office
How do you deal with back-handed “compliments” at the office? Reader B wonders… I am a 30 year old lawyer working in Washington, DC. My late 20’s/early 30’s professional female friends and I have experienced a strange and disconcerting dynamic amongst women in the workplace: getting negative comments from other women for being smartly/well- dressed. These … Read More about Back-Handed Compliments at the Office
This is Griffin, Reporting…
By the time I started working in BigLaw, I’d had about seven jobs before that. For four of those jobs, my bosses were women; the other jobs (lifeguarding and two fashion magazines) were, well, not exactly testosterone-fueled environments. Everyone had called me by my first name, and we generally enjoyed a collegial atmosphere. However, when … Read More about This is Griffin, Reporting…
How to Campaign for the Job You Already Have
Reader N writes in with a sticky situation: in the midst of a company “reorganization,” a female subordinate who has been with the company for much longer than she has has been badmouthing Reader N to her future bosses. We’ve talked about spiteful coworkers before, but not in the context of a reorganization where your … Read More about How to Campaign for the Job You Already Have
The Chatty Boss
How do you get any work done with you have a chatty boss?
The Sick Coworker You Don’t Know Well
Reader S wonders what to do about an ill officemate she doesn’t know very well… I have an office etiquette question. I work in a large office suite and am on nodding acquaintance with a woman on the other side of the floor. Recently she has started wearing a head scarf, and once I saw … Read More about The Sick Coworker You Don’t Know Well
When You’re Held Back Because You’re Too Good
2017 Update: We still stand by this advice on what to do when you’re held back because you’re too good at your current job, but you may also want to check out this more recent discussion of how to find sponsors at work. Have you ever been denied a promotion because you were too good … Read More about When You’re Held Back Because You’re Too Good
Under Pressure: Charitable Giving at the Office
Reader D wonders about being under pressure to give money to charities at the office.
What To Do When You Make More Than Your Colleague (And He Knows It)
A reader wrote in, wondering what to do now that her coworker knows she makes more than him (and is Big Mad).
How to Discourage Chatty Coworkers
Update: We still stand by this advice on how to discourage chatty coworkers, but you may also want to check out our more recent discussions on how to deal when your assistant talks too much, or how to get your work done with a chatty boss. Reader J wonders how to discourage a chatty coworker… I … Read More about How to Discourage Chatty Coworkers