How to Deal With Office Assholes

Every office has assholes who spoil everything for everyone. They annoy us. They upset us. They drive everyone crazy. It takes a certain personality, a certain talent to do what the rest of us view as appalling, disrespectful or plain crazy, and get away with it. The good news is that we don’t have to put up with these office assholes. The bad news is that it is not easy to confront them. In my career I have dealt with a few types of office jerks. Feel free to add one of your own in the comments below. The Loud Mouth This type of office jerk has prolonged and extremely...

Ask Your Boss: My Boss Called Me A Moron...

Hi, I have worked for a controversial retail company for 4 years. I moved up the ranks through this time and eventually made it to the highest rank in my district. I have put in my resignation notice two times before in the future, the most recent time was about a year and a half ago. Both times I was begged to stay and offered raises, being in my early twenties at the time I stayed even though my heart was telling me to move on.  This past summer I had an audit at one of the locations I managed and a woman I work with, whom I would have considered a friend at the time,...

Ask Your Boss: Does A Cover Letter Matte...

How do you feel about cover letters? I always try to do three brief paragraphs – not too long but still customized to the job. Do you ever read those? When we do recruiting, I give a lot of weight to cover letters…but I don’t know if they really matter to people doing the hiring. I have to admit that I do not give a lot of weight to a cover letter when selecting a candidate for an interview. Most of the time I do not even request a cover letter to accompany an application. Honestly, I don’t have time to read through tons of cover letters, and later plough...

How to Infiltrate The Good Ol’ Boys Club...

It happens that I work in a field that attracts men, and (for whatever reason) intimidates women. When I got my first big promotion I was ecstatic. I felt that big times are coming my way. I felt I could move mountains and fly to the moon. Then I found myself in a room full of men. I was the only woman in meetings. I have to admit that in the beginning I was intimidated being the only woman in the room. Later, I started to get annoyed. I got frustrated with the way I was treated by my male counterparts. I noticed that most of the time my opinion was dismissed or...

Ask Your Boss: Why Does A Boss Care if I...

Why does a boss care about someone being 10 mins late to work but doesn’t notice when that person works through her lunch to meet a deadline? Just from the way you formulated this question, I can see that you are frustrated with your boss. However, I see not one but two issues at hand: You are coming late to work. You do not feel appreciated. Let’s not put these two issues in one bundle. They have nothing to do with each other. I am going to tackle one issue at a time. Tardiness The reasons I, as a boss, care when someone is late ten minutes: You are constantly...