Dear J.T. & Dale: I worked for a bank in the mortgage department until the real estate market bottomed out and I was laid off. After five months, I took a job for $35K less than I’d been making. I stayed till I was able to find a better-paying job, and worked my way up to $70K, then was laid off last month. Now as soon as a potential employer asks what I was making, they say they are looking to pay $20K less. I try to explain it’s OK, but they believe I’ll only stay until the economy improves. While this may be true, how do I get around it? — Pat Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: What am I doing wrong? Everyone tells me to network in order to meet new contacts. I hear constantly from fellow job seekers that they’re having a lot of luck with LinkedIn. So, I reached out to more than a dozen people I thought would make good contacts, and got totally rejected. Not a single one responded to me. Here’s what I’ve been writing:

“Dear X: I’d like to connect with you and send you my resume so I could get feedback on what’s wrong with it. I’ve been searching for a job for 12 months with no luck. Will you help me?”

— Luisa Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: My company just announced a “no Facebook” policy. It states that anyone found on Facebook during work hours will be terminated. Can they do this? I don’t know if accessing it via cell phone counts, and I’m afraid to ask for fear they’ll add it to the policy. What should I do? — Kayla Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: A few months ago, I started a part-time job at a new nightclub, having been hired before it opened. Since then, my part-time job during the day has become full-time. I don’t want to give up the nightclub entirely, but I’m afraid to ask them to cut the nights I work from four days to two. What’s the best way to persuade them to keep me? — Rob Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: Just a comment from a frustrated hiring manager…With all the discussion around interviewing etiquette and the best way to land a job, I still am amazed at the number of people who have no clue what “professional attire” means. Can you remind job-seekers what proper dress is? — Jeff Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: I applied for a job via a company website, and the day after, rang the company to check that they’d received my application. They told me the HR lady was busy and would call me back. The next day, after not receiving any contact, I phoned again. The receptionist told me the HR lady was busy and that the job was “on hold.” A few days later, the same job showed up on a recruitment agency’s website. Would it be annoying if I phoned the company again? — Adam Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: My boss sent an e-mail letting us know we would be receiving our bonuses. However, when they came out, my name was not on the list. (I only recently became eligible.) Since we have a new executive team, my boss said she would get it straightened out. When I still didn’t receive it, I e-mailed her and she responded back “Rats,” and said she’d check into it. When she got back into the office a week later, she mentioned she’d seen my e-mail about my bonus but had not responded. I didn’t say anything but was taken aback since she had responded. I later realized she had retracted her e-mail response. (I had not opened the e-mail, just previewed it.) She said she’d straighten out the bonus at the half-year, plus get me some extra money for salary. Should I tell her what I know? — Chenny Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: I am trying to recover from a bad communication with a potential employer. I am an unemployed physicist trying to move out of physics and seek work as a data analyst. Upon sending a resume, I got a response that said:

“I’m glad to see you are also a Toastmaster.

When I read your resume, I can’t help but wonder two things. First, can we keep you challenged; and second, how much compensation are you looking for?”

Sadly, I replied with the following very bad e-mail:

“To alleviate your concerns, my interest in doing data analysis would keep me engrossed in this position. Concerning compensation, I would be content to receive the industry norm for this field, as posted in your posting, which is similar to what I received as a physicist.”

It’s been two days, and I haven’t heard anything, so I thought I would send her a recovery e-mail, but I don’t know what to include. — Tina Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: Last year I was dismissed from a job as a supervisor on a construction project. When I started the job, my immediate supervisor told me not to do anything without his OK. As the project proceeded, I pointed out problems, but was rebuffed. One subcontractor did a great deal of damage, and although I kept my supervisor up to date, he failed to deal with it. Eventually, the errors became public. The person supervising me was in charge of hiring and firing, so you know what happened to me. Now there are rumors circulating about the incident, and they all have me at the center of the difficulty. How do I deal with this in interviews? — Harlan Read the rest of this entry »

Dale: Every month or so, we offer up our suggestions for the best resources for careers or management. Read the rest of this entry »