On the Job Live

Having problems on the job? Need advice on workplace issues? Ask Washington Post Jobs columnist Kenneth Bredemeier about it.

Bredemeier writes about workplace trends and controversies in his weekly column, and then comes online to engage the audience with questions and new ideas. He reported for The Washington Post for more than 30 years on real estate, politics and the metro area. He now turns his attention to issues "On the Job."

The transcript follows below.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Washington, D.C.: Waht do you do about an employer whos attitude is very non-chalant and does not seem to care of the way he talks but gets an attitude if you get defensive and everything he says consists of you being fired?

Kenneth Bredemeier: Good morning all and Happy New Year to everyone. I know I would find it hard to work for somneone who constantly was threatening my job. That is clearly unprofessional, and hardly lends itself to a collegial, productive work environment. Since I suspect you, as a subordinate, would feel uncomfortable in broaching this subject with the offending boss, do you have a peer of this guy you feel comfortable talking to, someone who then could raise the issue with him? There ought to be some evenhandedness in the way in which people are dealt with, so you have a sense of what is expected.

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Washington, D.C.: I was fired last month from a job that was killing me, and not slowly, according to my friends. Though this was quite a blow, I know it is the best thing for the long run. The experience has made me think hard about how I want to spend my time at work. I think I could be very happy in a job with less responsibility than I have had in the past as long as I can pay the bills. The question: how do I convince a potential employer of this? Do I leave out advanced degrees, truncate my work history, etc in order to appear less overqualified? I am serious about my interest in Exec Asst jobs but fear that if a potential hiring manager sees an MBA degree on my resume, it will go directly to the circular file. Thanks.

Kenneth Bredemeier: No, I would not truncate your resume, but rather search for a good fit. Those are your good credentials. Why would you want to ignore them? No doubt some self-analysis is called for here, or maybe a third party professional or a good but honest friend who can assess what happened. How much of the firing was your fault, either in your performance, or ability to get along with others or whatever. And maybe you do want to take something less demanding in the end. But assuming that the blame can be shared in your dismissal, that it just wasn't a good fit anymore, as opposed to you doing something that clearly was a justifiable firing offense, then you shouldn't necessarily out of hand say I'm not fit for a certain level of work.

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Washington, D.C.: I can explain why some resumes don't get a response from a potential employer. Said employer did not describe the job correctly in the ad on WashPost.com!; We are hiring for my replacement in a Fin/Adm job. Though a very full description of the position is available on Idealist.org, my boss edited it way too much for the WP. Now she wonders why we have 70 resumes from people talking about their senior level accounting/finance experience. The position requires hands-on accounting and experience in HR and office management. I feel very badly for the people who applied in good faith only to be written off as "overqualified." They are, but they were misled.

Kenneth Bredemeier: How about gently suggesting to the boss a redo on the resume and starting over on the listing, this time giving the appropriate information?

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Washington, D.C.: As a long time worker in the not for profit field, I have a piece of advice for people looking to move over from a for profit enviroment. You can see the federal tax return (form 990) for most not for profit organizations at guidestar.org. You would be wise to look over a couple of these to see how solvent the organization is before you apply for a job. If a NPO has lost money for the past five years and has neither a cash reserve nor an endowment, why do you want to work there? It's slowly going out of business. It amazes me that people don't do any research. You can't tell everything from a 990, like is the organization spending restricted grant funds or restricted gifts on general operating support, but you can get a clue.

Kenneth Bredemeier: Solid advice. And not just in this particular scenario, of switching from a for-profit to a nonprofit. Job seekers too often forget that when they're interviewing that they need to interview the company, or do their own research, about where they might work.

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Baltimore, Md.: I am told that the competition is fierce in today's job market. When a company makes demands upon employees(only some not all as the management is exempt from these stipulations) to gain a contract and this clashes with the company's ethics policy how does one go about correcting this? The company management gets very intimidating to the employe who tries to see the contract or provisions that leads to these new changes. Are there any Federal watchdog agencies to turn to, as this is a government contract that is involved?

Kenneth Bredemeier: Tough call. I think you point out some potential ethical lapse, if you are truly convinced it is that. Make sure you have real evidence of such. Management may well not want to hear this. But the bottom line here is that they may ask you to go along and overlook something. And then you have the ultimate workplace moral dilemma. There is I beleive a federal agency that handles whistleblower complaints. But I think that may only come into play if the contract was already in place.

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Arlington, Va., for Wash, D.C.: From what I've seen and heard around my office, Executive Assistant jobs are very, very demanding. The Executive Assistant where I work, at a largish consulting firm, is the first one in, the last one to leave, and always at the beck and call of our Director. If you're looking for a more laid-back position with less responsibility, Executive Assistancy is probably not a good bet. Maybe working as a receptionist or filing clerk would be more to your liking.

Kenneth Bredemeier: Advice for the stressed out MBA.

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Gaithersburg: As a recent college grad, I would like to hear from others as to how they got their break in the communications or writing fields. How do you get hired in these fields with little experience, especially when there is so much competition from more experienced workers?

Kenneth Bredemeier: Open to the floor.

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Washington, D.C.: What do you do when the general manager does not seem to have a problem with other employees that he is aware of misrepresenting the company, but constantly have meetings and threatens your job even though he says you are doing what you are suppose to do by regulations.

Kenneth Bredemeier: This is a similar to one of the questions above. Threatening someone's job all the time does not lend itself to a productive workplace. Neither does uneven, mercurial treatment of the workforce. Again, if you know of misreprentation of your company to outsiders, feel free to state your case. But you'd better be sure of what you say. No reflection on your thought, since you may surely have evidence of that. But I have a suspicion that some who think they know of wrongdoing really don't when asked to provide it. Again, do you have someone higher up who could get the general manager's ear if the company is being misrepsented? Or HR? So just consider your options before acting because your job may be on the line, too.

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Vienna, Va.: The importance of belonging to a society (and having parents who carry some influence) makes an enormous difference in the quality of one's career. Advice to college students - join a Frat.

Also, network, network, network and then network some more. Join organizations at every opportunity. If you don't belong to a frat or a sorority than you already are at a big disadvantage -- but if you are politically savoy then the disadvantage can be diminshed. What you know is important, but who you know is more important.

Kenneth Bredemeier: I don't doubt that some college students make lifelong acquaintances from joining a frat or sorority and good future job contacts. But to say it is the be all-end all of contact-making is ridiculous. I would say that who you know can be important in job-seeking and would not deny that it can lead to some jobs, maybe even throughout your life. Ultimately performance counts more in my book.

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For Gaithersburg: To break into communications, you must be both dogged and lucky. If you know someone in the business, exploit that connection to the fullest - that's really the easiest way to find a job in any field. If you don't have connections in the industry, and you are able to afford it, pursuing advanced education in communications can help you strengthen your skills in a particular field - broadcast journalism or magazine editing - while helping you build a network of contacts, both academic and professional. If neither of these options is available to you, your road will be more rocky. My advice is that you pursue job openings in person, aggressively, with your resume, portfolio, and recommendations nicely packaged and ready for distribution. Be prepared for rejection but don't give up. It takes tremendous pluck to succeed in the industry. Good luck.

Kenneth Bredemeier: Advice for one of the job seekers.

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Rockville, Md.: For the MBA who wants to be an EA - I was in the same boat two years ago after getting laid off. I was applying for the EA positions but felt I looked too qualified. I put my MBA on my resume as a Masters in Administration. It's not a lie or ommision but I think it looks more appropriate if you're trying to get an administration job. Also, just as a warning - the nice paying EA jobs ($40-$70k) want lots of experience and they don't let you fudge your way out of it. If they want 10 years of EA experience, you're not going to talk your way into the job no matter how good your typing and organizational skills are.

Hope that's helpful.

Kenneth Bredemeier: More job advice for one of the earlier posters.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: I'm in a field that's related to the one I'd like to be in. I have a contact that does what I'd like to do on her own. I want to approach her and ask her to take me on as a protege. She's done it before and she's close to retiring. I'd like her to teach me what she knows and introduce me to her contacts. In return I'd like to offer to either work for free for a specific period of time or better yet, offer her a percentage of my fees. I'm thinking of writing a letter to ask her if she might be interested but I don't know exactly how to broach the subject of what I'm going to do for her in return. I see it kind of as a doctor buying into a private practice. Are there any resources out there for me to look into how this kind of this works? Much appreciated.

Kenneth Bredemeier: Why don't you just broach the subject with her, nice and straightforward like you did here? And if you are offering her some percentage of your fees, you are offering her something of value.

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D.C.: I work in an association and was trying to set up a conference call involving some of our members yesterday. The meeting was last minute, informal, more of a brainstorming session than anything else. This morning one of the members called to yell at me because he missed the meeting and he claims it is my fault. However when I originally called to ask him to be on the call, he wasn't there and I left a message for him. I have never met this man before but he accused me of incompetence and then left a nasty message about me for my boss. What should I do? I don't feel it is his place at all to call someone else's employee and accuse them of incompetence, but none the less he told my boss about this. I was really apologetic to him and he wouldn't accept it.

Kenneth Bredemeier: Calmly tell your boss what happened, that you did try to include this malcontent (uh, use some other word) in the conference call, and that you did leave a message for him. I'm somewhat familiar with the workings of trade associations and there are always self-important poobah members who think they ought to be constantly catered to. Don't let him ruin your day, but do professionally tell your boss that you performed exactly as you should have.

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Washington, D.C.: I'm the stressed out MBA ...

In response to the comment about the stress level of being an Exec Asst, I don't doubt that it has its own stresses. We have two EAs in my office. But they don't have to worry about negative cash flow or making the payroll in a slowly dying NPO.

I also thought the comment about being a file clerk or receptionist was a bit of a cheap shot.

Kenneth Bredemeier: Good luck in whatever you decide.

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Re: Gaithersburg: To be find success in the writing world, you have to write. People who call themselves writers are a dime a dozen, but few are the scribes who actually spend time every day chained to their desk, letting the prose pour out out of their brains.

When you go for interviews, editors will want to see tangible, published proof of your talent. A slick resume is meaningless to them without an impressive potfolio of published clips.

Kenneth Bredemeier: Sure, a good clip file does not hurt.

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Frat Joining Can Back Fire in Some Fields: If I had joined a frat at my college, I never would have entered the newspaper world (those two worlds socially were not allowed to collide) and lost important experience and contacts in the field I planned to pursue. Joining groups/organizations that relate to what you want to do can be even more important than just a social group.

Kenneth Bredemeier: I would agree.

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Falls Church, Va.: My first communications jobs did not pay -- I wrote reviews and articles for weekly publications distributed free (shoppers). But it did give me some writing samples to show potential employers and I eventually worked for newspapers and in broadcast journalism.

Kenneth Bredemeier: One from the been there, done that.

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Arlington, Va.: Hi Kenneth,

Happy New Year! Thanks for taking my question. I am starting a new job for the new year in a few weeks. Just wondering if you have any pointers on how to start off on the right foot? Thanks!

Kenneth Bredemeier: Be yourself, do what's asked for, and then some if you can. Quietly size up the culture of the place before you start offering your suggestions for improvement on every last thing they do.

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Washington, D.C.: Please tell me what an employers obligation is regarding notifying an employee of their rights under the Family Medical Leave Act. Recently, my sister(who is the only other surviving member of my immediate family) had a ruptured brain anuerysm, and I used up all of my accrued leave being at her side, while my employer, fully aware of the circumstances, told me nothing about any rights I might have under this act. Please help...

Kenneth Bredemeier: Find them out yourself. Do a Google or similar seach and read the law. You may be entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for her with a guarantee of a return to your existing job or a similar one at the same pay.

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Greenbelt, Md.: I would like some help on finding, summer jobs for my two teengers (15 yrs. ) they have the hardest time finding jobs, they really would like to work. What can I do?

Kenneth Bredemeier: Retailers always looking for help, but at 15 there may be some resistance, or even state law prohibitions until they're 16. How about neighborhood lawn cutting and the like? Put some flyers out soon.

That's it for today. Thanks for the chat, the questions, the advice for others. Please remember that you can always reach me with more questions for possible inclusion in the Sunday On the Job column in the newspaper at bredemeier@washpost.com. Seeya back here next Wednesday.

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