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New Hires

Here are the questions filed under this category. To read Ken's advice on any item, click on the link "Read Ken's Answer."


I just joined this company and my orientation was a brief welcome from my manager, a few words of advice from one of the other employees, and filling out some paperwork. Are orientations a thing of the past, or is this company out of line?
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I just started working here, and my predecessor had not moved everything out of the office. Some of his papers were on the shelves, and some of his personal files were still in the computer. When I asked my boss what to do, he said to throw all of his stuff out. I did it, but I am not happy about this kind of a start. Should I mention my concern to my boss?
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During a job interview, I was promised all sorts of things that have never materialized. I have continued to ask for them since I accepted the job, but management just ignores my requests. Do you have ideas about why companies lie and what I should do?
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I hired a manager for one of our financial areas six months ago, and since he has been here, turnover in that area has gone way up. I know he is strict, and I am concerned that he may be too strong and aggressive for our employees. What's the best way to deal with him and the turnover situation?
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I used to enjoy working here, but the company recently overhauled my department and fired some of our best employees. The new director hired a group of her friends as replacements. The new people dislike those of us from the former regime, and they have no experience in this field. The HR manager said that if I cannot follow the new lead, I should move on. Is it time to move on?
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We recently hired an individual with a considerable amount of experience in our field. The only problem is that he keeps using techniques from his previous job, and they are creating some difficulties for the rest of the staff. I have talked to him about this, and he says that he will try to change, but he hasn't. What can you suggest?
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I am the newest employee in my department, and I believe I have been doing excellent work. When a supervisory position opened up, I was very fortunate and the position was given to me. Now there is serious resentment toward me from several employees who have been here longer. How do I deal with it?
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Over the past several weeks, our manager has hired four new people in our department, and each one is less qualified than the next. This has created more work for all of us. We told our manager about the problem, but he thinks it is a case of longer-term employees resisting new hires. What should we do now?
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When my current boss interviewed me for this job, he was friendly, funny, and easy-going. Now that I work here, he is mean and completely different from the way he was in the interview. I wonder why he would do this and if there is anything I can do about it.
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When I joined this company, I was introduced to an individual who was assigned to be my mentor. He seemed friendly and knowledgeable, but he is never available to give me any help. He puts me off every time I approach him, and I'm thinking about going to management. What do you say?
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We just hired a middle level manager and he showed up in a very expensive car, more expensive than any other car in the company. He did not come across as this kind of person in the interview or on his reference checks, but we are concerned about what the other employees are going to think. How should we deal with this?
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When I joined this company about a month ago, I was assigned a mentor, but I can never find her. If I do track her down, she is always too busy to help me or even set an appointment. I told my manager about this, and he offered no help. What do you suggest?
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I have been with this company for a few weeks, and I have figured out the main problems and how to fix them. There are about 20 in all, and I would like to go over each with my manager, but I am not sure of the best way to do this. What can you suggest?
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Our company recently hired a new office manager, but she does not know how to manage at all. She runs around here doing menial tasks and getting in the way, and we have to train her in so many areas while she is supervising us. This seems unfair, and there are several of us who should have been promoted instead of hiring her from the outside. What should we do?
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The owner of the company where I work recently hired his daughter as office manager. Granted she has the training and experience to do the job, she is picky, insulting, and never says thanks, but the owner feels she can do no wrong. Are we stuck?
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Since our new boss arrived, I cannot believe how many mistakes I have been making. He must think I am not a good employee, but that's not true. Should I talk to him about this, or just focus on my work and try to work better?
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We have a new sales manager, and he thinks he knows everything. He has these nasty little suggestions for just about everything we do, and he has poured all this additional paperwork on us. How do we deal with him?
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We are getting a new boss in 2 weeks. I am wondering if there are any tips that can help me make a better first impression on him.
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I am a manager in a company that has around 200 employees. A new human resources director was hired two months ago, and I have yet to meet him. He has sent out some memos, but he has never held a meeting with the employees, nor has he set foot in our department which has 10 employees. Should I contact him?
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I am employed at a very reputable company as an administrative coordinator. Up until recently, I enjoyed my job immensely. However, my new boss is extremely demanding, every voice mail message is urgent, and she often produces last-minute assignments. I was astonished when she called me into the office and said that if I can't keep up with the pace, maybe I should look for another position in the company. I'm not sure how to handle this situation.
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I've been working at a small company for about 5 years, and I haven't had any real complaints. We just hired our first Human Resources director. Through the rumor mill, I heard that she suggested to the owner that the employees meet in small groups to criticize each other and bring all our faults into the open. The boss thought this was a terrific idea. How do I convince the boss that this would be the beginning of the end?
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I am fairly new in this company, and they page people on a loudspeaker system that is wired into every office. These interruptions are loud, and they make it hard for me to concentrate, talk on the phone, and contribute in meetings. The people who have been here for a while seem to ignore it, but it goes right through me. Do you have any suggestions?
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I am a new employee with this company, and I have been given no training. When I have questions about how to do my job, my supervisor ignores me and my co-workers are too busy. I'm making mistakes already, and I don't know where to turn. Can you help?
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Our former supervisor gave us a lot of freedom because he knew that when things got busy, the job always got done. We have a new supervisor who is always walking around assigning frivolous tasks to people who don't appear to be engrossed in some project. Is there something we could say to him without jeopardizing our jobs?
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I just hired a new employee in my department. He is starting in two weeks, he just told me he doesn't like his name, and he prefers to be called by his nickname. The problem is that his nickname sounds ridiculous, and I'll feel like a fool when I introduce him to everyone else. Do you think it's okay if I tell him I prefer to use his real name?
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Our new manager gives me the creeps. I don't know what it is about him, but as soon as I met him, I felt my skin crawl. I can't identify anything in particular that he did, but I just don't like being around him. I like my job, but the whole place has really changed for me because of him. What can you suggest?
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We have a new assistant supervisor, and the first thing she did was to rearrange people, causing our production to slow and errors to occur. Her newest plan has people standing around for three-quarters of the day, and the regular supervisor could not care less about this. Should we just wait for the boss to realize what is going on?
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I have been on this job for a week, and I still do not have a computer that works, and my desk is filled with stuff from my predecessor. My orientation consisted of a ten minute discussion with the human resources director, followed by a pile of paperwork. My manager has been too busy to give me more than a few minutes. When I accepted the job offer, I thought this was a great company, but now I am not so sure. How should I handle this?
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I recently changed jobs and things were going well except for the fact that the guys in the office pick on and harass the new guy, me. I have repeatedly asked them to stop. I talked to my boss and he told them to stop, but now they are ignoring and excluding me. My boss says this is their way of backing off. I didn't do anything to deserve this treatment. What should I do?
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There is a new employee in our work group who is smart, efficient, and friendly. Most of the people I work with want nothing to do with her, but I like her. I don't want to alienate my co-workers, but I refuse to ignore her. Is there a way to reconcile this?
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For the past year, I have been working in a small office with one other person. We worked well together until two months ago when a new employee was brought on to join us. She befriended my co-worker, and now it's the two of them against me. I am upset with both of them, and I'm not sure what to do now.
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I just joined this company and I am ready to quit. On my first day, my office was a complete mess. The computer was filled with work and junk from the previous employee, and so was the desk. My manager is still out of town, and he left no instructions for anyone here. He called in and said he'd be back in a week and told me to "keep busy." What should I do?
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I just joined this company and learned that I have to wear a badge with my photo on it. This is not a hospital or a top-secret organization, and I resent having to walk around with this thing hanging from my pocket. I'm in management, and I think this badge makes me look like a gopher. I tried not wearing it, and my manager was not pleased. Is there a way around this?
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I'm fairly new here, and I was making a presentation in a meeting with some of the other managers when I noticed that two of them were passing notes back and forth, and they seemed to be giggling. It was annoying, but I did not let it interrupt me. Should I say something to them?
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I'm very new with this company. Around noon, I saw a couple of guys from my department heading out for lunch and I asked if I could join them. They seemed okay with that, but during the lunch they did not say one word to me. They only talked about things they had done together in the past. I was totally excluded and felt very foolish. Should I say something to them about their rudeness?
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I just joined our family business in a senior position, and I know there are rumors that I got the job because of nepotism. The truth is that when I was younger, I had summer jobs here and I admit I was less than a perfect employee. However, since then I graduated from college, got some experience away from the company, and recently completed my MBA. Nonetheless, I still sense that some employees resent me and I'm wondering how to deal with this.
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We hired a new employee, and on her third day she copied a personal hundred page document on our copier. When I asked her about it, she said it is a book she is writing, and her previous employer did not mind if employees use the copiers for personal business. When I told her it is not permitted here, she said she will follow the rule, but it is ridiculous. She has some valuable skills, and I'm wondering how to deal with her.
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I am new here and I am in a fairly senior position. On my first day, the Human Resources Manager wrote and posted a brief biographical write-up about me on the company website. The wording made me look more junior than I really am, and a couple of important points in my bio were left out. Should I ask for a correction or just let it go?
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We have a new employee in our department, and there is something about him that I disliked from the moment I met him. He has an arrogant and condescending manner, and several of us feel this way about him. How can we deal with him?
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I have been with this company for a couple of weeks, and most of the discussions include acronyms that are specific to the company but are a mystery to me. I don’t like to interrupt a conversation ten times to understand what is being said, but if I don’t, I have no idea what to do. How do I get through this?
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I recently hired an employee who has more knowledge and skills in some parts of the job than I have. My concern is that she might make me expendable. How should I deal with her?
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Our department manager was promoted, and the company replaced her with someone from the outside. At first, the new manager said we have an excellent department, and she would not be making any changes. That lasted for about a week. Now she has changed our assignments, moved us around, and put in new policies that don’t make sense. What can we do?
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I am fairly new here, and I work with another employee on most projects. Whenever he has a criticism of my work, he sends me an email and sends a copy to our boss. If I tell him to stop doing this, he’ll report it to my boss. If I say nothing, he’ll keep reporting on me. What do you suggest?
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We have a new manager in our department, and I get a bad feeling about him. I cannot put my finger on it, but something about him seems off. I have talked to others in my department, and a few feel the same way. How do you deal with a manager who triggers these feelings?
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When I evaluated my employees last year, I had only been with the company for a couple of months. Since I did not know the employees well, I gave them all high ratings. Now with a year of data, I gave most of them lower ratings. Several have complained that their performance did not drop and it is unfair to rate them lower than last year. How should I handle this?
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We are trying to fill a fairly specialized position, and one of the candidates is a former employee who worked here a few years ago, but quit. I’m concerned about hiring former employees. She did a very good job while working here, but if she quit once, I am afraid she will quit again. What do you think?
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I recently joined this company, and there are acronyms for everything. I am familiar with standard acronyms in my field, but this company has many that were invented here. I do not like to keep asking what something means, but if I say nothing, I’m lost. What can you suggest?
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My manager just informed me that he hired a new person over our department. I thought I was in line for this position, but it’s clear that I have been bypassed. I am furious and ready to quit. Any suggestions?
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I have an new coworker. Since she has been working with us she has done the following:Threw keys at another coworker because she had to work 30 minutes more than she was scheduled. Left her keys out where other people had access to confidential information and cash.Force balanced, left items out unlocked overnight.Lied about several things. Every time she is approached by management she turns the tables saying we don't like her, we act like we don't want to help her and we talk to her in a mean way.She has been treated the same as everyone else and doesn't complain unless she is approached by management about something she has done.Our local management seems to not be addressing the fact that she is doing this but questions us on how we speak to her.
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One of the most popular employees in the department I manage recently left the company for another job. I’m not sure if the remaining employees are depressed because she left or if they are mad at me because she moved on, but since that date, the group has been making more mistakes, learning new processes more slowly, and experiencing more communication breakdowns. What do you think is behind this, and what should I do?
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