Dear J.T. & Dale: I work for a family-owned business. There has been a problem lately with my boss’s wife trying to tell everyone what to do when it is not her place to do so. Should I say something to my boss, or just keep my mouth shut and start looking for other employment? — Sarah Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: Last March I was hired as a receptionist. My boss kept saying how wonderful I was. Then I got pregnant. My boss started asking me all sorts of questions that I thought were not quite right, maybe even illegal. I didn’t understand how she could treat me so differently just because I was pregnant. I had to take off a few days with horrible morning sickness, and I ended up having a miscarriage. Then I had to have surgery. When I finally came back, for what I thought was for good, they told me I am a seasonal employee and will be laid off in April. I contacted lawyers, but they want too much money. I don’t know what to do. — Sally Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: I work at an ad agency and like my job a lot. Problem is, one of my bosses seems to passionately hate my work. Every piece of it is ripped apart, and he often writes in capital letters, as if to show me how stupid I am not to follow his ideas. But I need to have my ideas mixed in too. Some of my ideas have won international prizes. I don’t want to spend my time 10 percent working and 90 percent explaining/rewriting. Is there a way to deal with it? — Shelly Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: With the increase in companies asking to have applications submitted online, how can I make mine stand out from the hundreds of other applications? — Bette

Dale: Never forget that the goal of your application is to help the HR person or hiring manager put you in the “yes” pile. Those “yes” people are the ones who meet all the requirements. So, make sure you Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: I supervise four student workers and a receptionist. One of the student workers is about to graduate, so I asked our receptionist if she thought we had enough work to require hiring a replacement. While we were talking, one of our professors walked by, and the receptionist told him what we were discussing. I felt that including the professor was inappropriate. I now feel like I need to be very careful about what I say to her for fear that she will need to “share” the information. Any recommendations? - Shannon Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: The firm I work for is closing a couple of its other branches, so now it is making everyone retake interviews so the company can keep the best of the bunch. This means my job is now up for grabs. What are my rights? — Mick Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: I’m a college student who can’t decide between two majors. I’ve always had an interest in business, but I also have an interest in the medical field, specifically nursing. If I knew that a business degree would guarantee a well-paid job with stability, I would major in business. However, I know that becoming a nurse will give me more of a chance at security. How would you decide this dilemma? - Janice

J.T.: Nursing is a “trade,” while business is “general study.” The nursing job will guarantee security and a solid starting salary, whereas a business degree will get you only to the professional starting line, and after that, it’s up to you to decide which direction in business you Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: After months of job searching, I feel totally stalled. I have responded to every ad, sent out hundreds of resumes and asked all my friends and relatives to look for openings for me, but I have only a handful of interviews and no offers to show for it. Can you please give me a suggestion as to what else I can try? - Noland

J.T.: One technique that could be of value to you is to stop looking for employment POSITIONS and start looking for employer COMPANIES. I recently created a short video post on the subject of creating Bucket Lists for your job search. Here’s how it works - ask yourself and friends: Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: I’m a 52-year-old female desperately looking for employment. Until a reorganization, I worked as an administrative assistant at a major company, with a salary of nearly $40K. In addition to applying for just about every administrative position advertised, I’ve applied to several placement agencies and lowered my salary requirements to the $28K range. Although employers can’t tell me that I’m too old, I suspect that may be one of the reasons. Advice? - Keri

J.T.: I read your e-mail and my first thought was, “You might be casting your net too wide.”

Dale: My first thought was, “Time for a reminder that ‘Hiring IS discrimination,’” which turns out Read the rest of this entry »

Dear J.T. & Dale: I’ve just been laid off from my job. For the past four years I’ve been doing customer service in insurance, but I’d like to go back to what I studied in college - computer information systems. I almost graduated but never finished. How should I approach making the switch? - Jeremy

J.T.: The good news is that you have an idea what you want to do next. Now it’s time to get focused and take action. Get your degree in computers. Find an affordable night school, and use its career center to help you get connected and find work in the field, even if it’s only in the form of internships or entry-level jobs. Read the rest of this entry »