Q I am looking for a summer internship, and my college referred me to a company. I am a 20-year-old female art student, and one of the interviewers said he knows he is not supposed to ask, but he wanted to know if I am 21 years old. I begrudgingly told him my age, but I am wondering how to answer this type of question.
A Some interviewers still operate under the misconception that prefacing a question with the phrase, "I know I am not supposed to ask this," provides them with a wild card that shields them from potential claims. This is literally a questionable reflection on the company, and it could set the stage for a claim against it.
As an applicant, it is important for you to remember that although potential employers are screening you, it is your job to screen them. You may want to think twice about interning at this company.
There are some permissible age-related questions, such as whether you are willing to provide verification of your age after being hired. Age-related questions can also be appropriate for various positions, such a bar-tending job.
If you encounter an inappropriate question in the future, you should question it. For example, if you are asked if you are 21, you should
Hopefully, you will not hear much inappropriate questioning in the future. The one person who would probably like to hear it today is the placement counselor at your college.
Q We have a popular long-term employee. She has received raises over the years, but her performance has not been good, and it is continuing to slip. We are seriously thinking about terminating her. How do you terminate an employee like this?
A Before you think about how to fire this employee, whether she is popular or not, you should think first about how to fire her up. One of the main reasons for the slippage in her performance is the way that she has been managed and rewarded at your company. She has received regular raises over the years, combined with no negative feedback or documentation regarding her performance. If you terminate her now, it is actually unfair to her and the company.
Your next step should be to meet with her and thoroughly review her performance. Show her specific incidents in which her performance was below standard, and then clarify the standards that now must be met. Give her additional guidance if necessary, along with deadline dates for improvement. Let her know that the consequences of continued poor performance will be more severe discipline, up to and including termination. All of this should be in writing, and you both should sign and date the document.
The next step is up to her. In many cases, employees who are given this type of feedback are awakened, energized, and refocused on their work. Hopefully, she will get your message. If not, she will soon be getting a different one from you.
Q When our manager gives us assignments, she tells us how disappointed she will be if we don't do well. If something goes wrong, she harps on how we failed her and how she expected so much more of us. We don't know what this management style is, but we are not comfortable with it. What can we do?
A This style is best described as management by guilt. She wants you to know that your performance problems personally hurt and disappoint her. You can almost hear her next question, "Is that what you want to do to me?" It does not take long for this style to grate, and that's not great.
Today's best managers focus on their employees as individuals and generate opportunities for them to meet their own needs as part of the process of meeting departmental goals.
This approach is supported with opportunities to learn, grow, advance, achieve, and receive recognition when due.
Your manager's style is most likely part of her personality, and as such it is not likely to change. If you and your associates decide to meet with her, be sure that she understands that you are not trying to change her management style, but rather to build on it. Try to show her how she and the department will be even more successful if she were to share more of her expertise and focus more heavily on the goals and the best steps to meet them. Unfortunately, the odds are that she will continue to play the guilt card, and many employees will play the exit card. Ken Lloyd, Ph.D., is an Encino-based management consultant, coach and author who specializes in organizational behavior. He is the author of "Jerks at Work: How to Deal With People Problems and Problem People." Write to him at lloydonjob@gmail.com.at lloyd
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