Hi Penelope,

My fiance (40m) has been fired from his last two tech sales jobs in the past 2-3 years. Both times for not meeting his quota. He has been insanely stressed (and taking it out on me/bringing it home) and wants to switch to a less quota-based role with a different kind of stress. He had been doing quite well in sales up until that point (well, actually until he was PIPed in early 2020). But the company he worked for and the general tech working environment was a lot easier at that point in time.

He tried to apply for channel management roles (where you are managing the relationship with the channel partner that sells for you) and even almost got in by being an internal hire at his last company, but they ended up going with an external hire with 5 years of experience. The hiring manager told him he wowed them in the interview and that there wasn’t anything he could’ve done differently, just that they needed someone with more experience for how the company is doing at this time. His former coworker who he worked with at two jobs has vouched that she thinks he’d be much better suited to channel management than to tech sales. But he can’t seem to get a foot in anywhere (he’s applied elsewhere too).

He hates personality tests, but he is extremely extroverted and everyone’s best friend at the office. A “personality hire”, if you will. Not only that, but he’s extremely tech savvy. Coming from a family of teachers, I feel like he has that rare gift of being able to explain and clarify complex tech to people in a way that isn’t patronizing or insulting. He also knows quite a bit about personal finance.

Part of his issue is also that he never finished his college degree and left after two years, so some of the temporary jobs that might be available to someone else (i.e. substitute teaching) aren’t available to him.

So my question is, what should he do next? What type of job should he look for? Or should he start doing something on his own? Are there any certificates he should try to get?

Thank you in advance,

E

I just got my dream job at a prestigious law firm. Everyone says I should negotiate but I don’t know what to ask for. I know women are not as good at negotiating as men are, so I don’t want to underperform on my first try.

I stumbled upon your page because it came as the top result when I googled “random trash colleges”. I google this because one of my classes requires me to sign up for a college. In all honesty I don’t know whether college is the right choice for me, I have a 3.9 GPA and 1300 SAT which is considered good, but I don’t think going to college is worth having the crazy high tuition nowadays. My question to you is, if you have gone to college, was it worth the tuition?

I was a Certified Nurse Aide at a hospital for 1 year and 6 months, I never made it to my 2 year anniversary. I was fired 2 days after my 1st and only family emergency.

My sister crashed her vehicle into a tree going 60 MPH in a residential neighborhood. I received a call while at my housekeeping job, she may have done it on purpose. I called my hospital job crying while driving to the downtown hospital, one of my 3 department managers stated if I didn’t come in….I was fired, if I came in emotional….I was fired.

I came in 5 minutes late and with proof. I had to wait for the Chief of Surgery. I showed a manager and she said it was all acceptable with all my proof (pictures of the crash, Letter from her Surgeon and Nurse). I was fired the next day by the director. The manager I spoke with wouldn’t help. The director refused to meet with me and security wouldn’t let me into the hospital.

I’m having issues explaining the situation in interviews. I feel like I should have fought it better, but was distracted with my sister’s accident and watching the 4 kids.

What should I do?

I just finished my Ph.D. in educational policy and I’m on the job market for next spring. I don’t want to be an academic, so I’m looking at all kinds of jobs in all kinds of places.

I’ve been a teacher (middle school and university) for my entire working career, so I’m not familiar with how non-teaching job searches work. So, here’s my question: how do I know if I’m qualified for a job based on the job description?

I feel like they are written so cryptically that I can never be sure if I’m totally wasting my time applying or if it is a case (as you often write about) of framing my CV differently? For example, should I take the “experience, knowledge and skills” section as non-negotiable?

I am trying to use my Ph.D. to break into a related–but not directly academic–field and I don’t know if my skills translate.