I embarrassed myself at the company holiday party. Should I just pretend it didn’t happen, or do I say something to my boss and colleagues?
Did you do the walk of shame yet back into the office? Were there stares, snickers, whispers? What did you do? Inquiring minds want to know. Was it the Elaine dance? Buffet buffoonery? Boss tango? Worse? I’ve witnessed everything from redeemable moments to career-limiting or -killing moves. You’ll know if it is the latter because you’ll be getting a visit from HR, or your boss will call you in and say, “We have to talk.”
Whatever you did, own it and apologize. Explain to your boss, colleagues or the person you may have offended that that wasn’t who you are (unless everyone knows differently from prior experience) and that it will never happen again. And then make sure that it doesn’t — assuming that you get a second chance.
How do you cope when job applicants drone on and on in the interview as if you have nothing better to do than spend all day with them? I don’t want to come off as rude but I have a schedule, and they seem clueless to that when answering questions. Any tips?
Someone sounds like they sure could use a holiday break from interviewing. It’s true that despite the overwhelming amount of resources available to applicants on basic job interviewing etiquette, many seem to get stage fright and forget their lines — as well as the time. In fairness, sometimes interviewers are just as unprepared and unskilled at interviewing as the applicants. Frame the meeting from the beginning. Tell the applicant how much time you have and what you would like to cover and that you would like to reserve some time before the end of the meeting for them to ask any additional questions. That will help focus the applicant. If you have to remind them that you appreciate the detail of their answers but you have a hard stop, that should be enough for any qualified applicant to stop you from wanting to hit the eject-from-your-office button.
Gregory Giangrande has over 25 years of experience as a chief human resources executive. Hear Greg Weds. at 9:35 a.m. on iHeartRadio 710 WOR with Len Berman and Michael Riedel. E-mail: [email protected]. Follow: GoToGreg.com and on
Twitter: @GregGiangrande