People are always surprised to hear that I’m three years out of college. They think I’m much younger. I have been working since I was 16 and I have a lot more experience than most kids just out of college. How can I get people to take me more seriously? I never wear jeans to work and it’s not like I’m showing up in pajama bottoms and flip flops. I almost always wear heels and a nice skirt or suit. But still people assume I’m really young and have no work experience.
[Editor’s note: Yesterday, I tweeted, “My son just came downstairs in his Penn State t-shirt and I said, ‘Um. We have to throw that shirt out.” Below is an email I received, hours later.]
I just read your Penn State Twitter involving your son and his t-shirt and your issue with is. This is very disappointing. There are 45,000 students, 20,000 faculty, the largest alumni base on planet earth and so what is wrong with Penn State? That one person who has not worked at Penn State since 1999 that the Governor of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office has known about since 2008 and yet this pedophile still lives within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, and this is a Penn State problem.? I heard of one teacher in a school district from New York State who was charged and convicted as a pedophile and so is this a New York Public School problem state wide? Should I never watch the network news because it originated from New York City in New York State? I could go on and on, but please take a moment to think of what you are teaching your child and tweeting- that one person who worked there 12 years ago does not castigate an entire organization now. If you would like to discuss this further do not hesitate to contact me at [phone number and name redacted].
I’ve joined this firm at the beginning of this year and work-wise, its been great. However, on hind sight and looking at the problems I’ve been having, I think that I am being bullied. I was looking forward to being part of a young and dynamic organisation. However, it turns out that I’m being called a bitch at work.
I cannot even begin to consider who my ‘enemy’ might be. I am always friendly and try to be non-threatening. A colleague at work told me that it could be due to the fact I am young, married to a successful man and have nice things without being broke. I think its silly but no one else seems to have an explanation.
This affects my life because a bunch of women put together a performance plan for me and presented it to a partner. This will affect my career progression. I’ve recently done more work for men and they are happy with what I have done for them. I don’t want to think that my problem is due to women taking each other down. Can you offer a way to get rid of this problem? I am over understanding why but rather a solution to how to deal with office politics without trying to look ugly or make an effort to be inferior in some way.
Then recently I posted a passionate article about my reaction to a play at the Sydney theatre company Belvoir St Theatre and I’ve had more than 100 readers and most of them have been from google searches – as if word had somehow got out that a review was out there about the production that was controversial.
I have had a few comments that have been a bit nasty, something which I have never experienced before and I wondered: how do you handle nasty comments or people who don’t like what you wrote? I don’t want to hurt anyone but I don’t want to withhold my opinion just because it is safer. Do you do any damage control that you feel is necessary or do you hire someone to do it? Finally, how do you determine what needs damage control and what doesn’t if a lot of the readers don’t actually comment?
I’m about to found a business that gives users full control over their personal data. We just need some 200k to start.
We don’t have the funds to bridge the 4 months to the launch. If we don’t get the funding by the end of the year, we will have to work in our day jobs again. And watch as someone else puts something similar on
the market. Are we doing something wrong? How can we get funding?
I am curious if you are writing some of the questions in the mailbag? For example the most recent one Which Careers Give you Work/Life Balance and I’m 30 and I’m worried I’ll never have a career? The word choice and writing style in both of those questions sound very much like you. I don’t see it an the other questions so I’m really curious if you wrote the mail bag questions that I referred to.
I am a new graduate, who did a bachelors degree in political sciences from University of Toronto. I got married soon after graduation. Almost 2 years into my marriage and with an new kid, I am planning to go back to work. However, I am searching for balance-friendly career paths, that can be good for women who would like to work and take care of the family. So I believe, that your career advice is really helpful, and if you could add more on this topic that would be great!
I focused on academics during my college career and wanted to go down the academic/public policy analysis/research route. However, after 1.5 years at a think tank and 1 year in a Ph.D. program, I decided to switch things up. I am currently at a niche consulting firm in pharmaceuticals. I would like to succeed in this career. One thing I continuously hear is that social skills are important in this industry. As my background suggests, my social skills were not refined. How does one go about improving their social skills? Would Toastmaster’s be a good thing to try? People I have talked with really haven’t given concrete advice. They primarily say that “you are introverted.” That may be true, but I would like to improve them.
I’d love to find something that I can put all my time and energy into, but I’m scared I will lose interest in whatever I choose. I’ve never stuck with anything long enough to get good at it and my interests can change drastically within a short amount of time. I wouldn’t feel that this is such a problem if I weren’t already in my early-mid twenties, without a college degree (because I couldn’t commit to a program I thought I’d lose interest in), and little experience in anything other than low end jobs. Basically, with anything I pick, I’ll be starting from scratch. This makes my decision feel all the more crucial as I don’t feel I can waste anymore time at my age. Clearly there are some flaws in the way I am approaching the decision making process.