Pattie Hunt Sinacole is a human resources expert and works for First Beacon Group in Hopkinton, an HR consulting firm. She contributes weekly to Boston.com Jobs and the Boston Sunday Globe Money & Careers section.

Q: I interviewed with a company in early January. After I left the HR Rep’s office, I could overhear a conversation that she was having with the hiring manager. I took my time putting my coat on. I heard them talking about my candidacy. Specifically, they mentioned my email address (which is hotxxxx@xxxx.com) and the manner in which I was dressed. They were extremely critical. These are not qualifications for the job. I don’t get it. Do they want me to dress like a librarian?

A: Your question raises several different issues, all worth further discussion and comment. First, it sounds like the HR professional needs a more private space to discuss candidates. Second, these comments were not intended to be heard by you but it sounds like you lingered hoping to hear more.

I don’t know any of the specifics about your skills, the company, the role of interest or the work environment or industry. However, I will assume it is a professional work environment where there is an expected “dress code” at least for candidates.

Candidates should ALWAYS look professional. In most cases, what you wear out to a club on a Saturday night is not the same attire you would wear to an interview. It is better to err on the side of conservatism rather than dress flamboyantly. I don’t know how you were dressed but obviously it caught their attention, and not in the most positive way.

Your email address also sends a message about you as a candidate. Recently, I was a panelist with some of the best recruitment brains in Boston. “New Year, New Job” was a panel hosted by Ed Nathanson, Director of Talent Acquisition at Rapid7. Rapid7 is growing by leaps and bounds. One of the topics the panel discussed was a candidate’s choice of email. When you use an email that is racy, inappropriate or salacious, you are sending a message about your professionalism. Some job coaches recommend that you use one email address that is exclusively reserved for your job search. It should be simple and professional, like jsmith@internetprovider.com. It should never give the HR person a moment of pause or distraction.

It sounds like you received some difficult feedback while you were leaving that interview. I know it is hard to digest. However, it might be an opportunity to learn and improve your candidacy for the next role.

At a recent seminar we were discussing rudeness in the workplace. A hand shot up. One of the participants lamented the unfriendly tone she notices in emails. What, she wanted to know, is going on with people who write emails that seem to be so rude.

Tone matters. And email writers often underestimate the tone their writing takes on. When you talk on the phone with a person, they hear inflection and other clues that help transmit the tone of your words. When you speak face-to-face with a person, he has all the visual clues from your facial expressions and body language to help understand the tone of your words. What can be said sarcastically in person, and therefore is understood to be joking, can seem downright rude when just the words are seen on the screen.

Studies have shown that if you write something you think is positive in tone, the recipient will think it is neutral in tone. And when you write a message that you think is neutral in tone, the recipient takes it as negative in tone.

The difficult thing for you, as the writer, is that you don’t hear the tone in your words when you are writing or when you read the words back to yourself silently. So, what do you do when you are writing a difficult email or responding to someone who has been rude and you don’t want to respond in kind? How do you protect your messages from being interpreted negatively?

Q. I have worked at a very large company for the last 5 years, and I love the benefits and vesting. I feel like I am going nowhere, and like I have more to offer than what I use every day. I do not have a college education but I got a job that requires college education for the most part. I would love to go back to school but I am impatient and I want to make money and succeed now. Do you have any suggestions? I haven't written a resume in a long time and I don't know where to start.

A. Many managers may be able to identify you - not by name, but by generation. Many studies have been done outlining the generational differences of employees in the work place and you have articulated those most often attributed to Generation X and Y. While employees in your generation also have many positive traits, (extremely tech savvy, readily available via technology, and ambition) you can be difficult to manage because of your impatience with bureaucratic management of upward mobility, and an aversion to delayed gratification.

As your manager may be from another generation, you can benefit from doing some research on generational differences in the workforce. If your manager is a baby boomer for example, he may expect to see you in the office working long hours to get you to success. They value loyalty and would not react well to an employee developing a resume for an external job search.

So depending on what you really want - a degree, money, success, and a resume begin with what you identify as your short term and long term priorities. Your current situation sounds positive in terms of security and compensation, with the negatives being you feel underemployed. One of the benefits you may not be tapping into is tuition reimbursement. If your company supports taking classes, I encourage you to complete your degree. Demonstrating a commitment to your own development is typically well received by current and future managers. This will also have a positive impact on your future opportunities, and ability to change jobs. The investment made in getting a degree has been shown to add a significant amount to your earning potential over the life of your career. The work which you are doing in your classes may also help you offer more than you currently do. Perhaps there are projects which you can take on that serve double duty, as an academic project, and a benefit to your firm.

Finding the direction you are looking for can come from classes, faculty mentors, or managers. Your demonstration of all the positive traits of your generation may help you find the path to your version of success - maybe not now, but sooner.

By Cindy Atoji Keene

For the increasingly mobile workforce untethered to a desk, there’s nothing wrong with a workstation at your local coffee shop, said entrepreneur Charlie Weisman. He himself logged countless hours using cafes as free office space. With a latte refill just steps away and free Wi-fi connection, Weisman was able to park his laptop for hours, avoiding the distractions of working from home while not having to make the commitment of leasing a Dilbert-like cubicle. But “I always felt I had a little sign above me that said, ‘I work here because I can’t afford my own office,’ said Weisman, 36, a former civil engineer who later turned to arts advocacy. The little things – like making a phone call while a blender whirred in the background – reminded him constantly that he was definitely not in an office environment.

When Weisman started planning Oficio four years ago as a communal shared workspace, he said that co-working was still a new concept on the east coast. But a start-up community of developers, designers and indie professionals have since latched onto the rent-a-desk concept. Opened this winter, Oficio offers a swanky address to put on business cards (Newbury Street) as well as a collaborative boutique retreat to meet with clients or just hook into the fax machine or printer. While some shared work spaces have even evolved to offer studio and video editing bays, massage/body amenities, showers, and 24/7 access, Oficio focuses on the standard accouterments of office life as “your home office away from home” with a day pass for $25; rent-a-conference room for $60; or full-time membership $299, which gives unlimited access to the space.

Q: Why are more workers doing their work outside the usual office setting?
A: Most freelancers today can run a business with a laptop, cell phone, and a Wi-fi connection. This translates to being able to work practically anywhere and gives freelancers and entrepreneurs the freedom to choose where they work. Renting a traditional private office is just not feasible for businesses just starting out, especially in the Back Bay.

Q: There are several shared office spaces in Boston and Cambridge. How is yours different?
A: Oficio was designed to be a boutique space. The goal was to create a modern and minimalist design that would take advantage of the great natural light and open space. We really wanted to stand out in terms of the space’s design, from the leather lounge chairs, laptop counters and private phone booths to rotating work from local artists on our walls, which adds to the décor. I was really looking for a space I’d want to work out of myself.

Q: What went into the planning of Oficio that people may not think of?
A: Just like most startups, there was a never-ending to-do list in the planning stages. I founded Oficio with my longtime friend, Nima Yadollahpour, an architect here in Boston (ONY Architecture). I think people may not realize the daily battles that are involved. Everything that seems insignificant now, like the coffee machines or logo design, were major battles. But as long as the battles aren’t physical, going back and forth on items in the planning stages is definitely a healthy process.

Q: An alternative workspace environment is only beneficial if it’s managed the right way. How do you track how the program is working?
A: Choosing membership software was one of our most difficult tasks since there really isn’t much out there yet exclusively for managing shared office spaces. We ended up going with gym membership software, which is well-established and gives us all the necessary tools to schedule our private meeting rooms, evaluate the numbers, and manage the memberships.

Q: What sort of requests have you received?
A: We’ve had a lot of different requests for the private rooms, from psychics to plastic surgeons, but most of it is typical company operations.

Q: What was the motivation behind offering events, such as networking, happy hours and after-work excursions?
A: When so many people work alone, the social aspect is important for a co-working space. We have so many interesting and diverse member businesses that it's great to see a community develop when relationships are formed and members start helping each other.

Q. How do you deal with gum under the desks?
A: We have little trash bins at each desk to avoid this, and so far it's worked. I just looked under all the tables and there wasn't a single piece of chewed gum.

Q: Is it ok to contact an HR person you found on LinkedIn to ask for feedback as to why you didn't get an interview for a job you thought was a great fit? I found the guy on LinkedIn and he has his personal email address in his title. It's a very big company and they don't post HR contact info on their site. I feel like I'm stalking or being a pest, but feedback would be really helpful as I move forward with my job search. I'm in my 40s, looking for senior-level/mgr/director job.

A: LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool and can be helpful in a job search. It sounds from your question that you are not angry, hostile and irritated. (Well… maybe a little but it doesn’t sound like these emotions are dominating your thoughts.)
Feedback is often helpful as part of the selection process. Sometimes HR professionals are reluctant to share feedback for a number of reasons. Some candidates express the need for feedback and then when you share feedback, these candidates become defensive and even downright nasty. Some candidates began to re-sell their skills and experience to you when, in all honesty, it is too late. The offer has been extended and accepted.

In your situation, you need to be willing and open to feedback before you contact this HR person. You have to be prepared to receive feedback that may be mixed, with some positive feedback but also some negative feedback.

I think you can send him a request to connect on LinkedIn. If he accepts, his acceptance is an encouraging sign that he might be willing to engage in further dialogue. If he ignores your request, I would interpret that as a sign that he is less than enthusiastic about connecting with you on a post-interview basis.

I suppose you could email him too since he has publicized his personal email address on his LinkedIn title. However, if he didn’t share this email address during the interview process, I would be reluctant to use it.

If you do connect with him, be professional, gracious and thank him for re-connecting. He may keep you in mind for other opportunities or refer you to other HR professionals. It is a small world and you want to leave a good impression.

Tracy Cashman, a partner at recruiting firm Winter, Wyman in Waltham, provides placement services for all levels of IT positions, including high-level IT Managers/Directors and CIOs.

1) What's the evidence?

A former CEO of Sunbeam used to throw orange juice containers at his subordinates.

But it wasn't personal. That was just him.

Compare notes with your colleagues. Possible good news: your manager doesn't hate you, she hates everyone.

2) Has the relationship changed?

Maybe your boss used to give you considerable autonomy but now second-guesses everything.

Or, you're suddenly out of the loop: your boss no longer asks for input, keeps you informed, or invites you to meetings.

Another red flag: change in body language. She's not yet chasing you around the office with a tomahawk, but she's also not smiling. And she no longer looks you in the eye.

Ok, there's a problem.

3) What's your contribution to the problem?

Let's assume it's not you—I'm sure it's not. On the other hand, it's probably not 100% the boss, 0% you.

Imagine you're her. What are your priorities? Pressures?

Also (as the boss), what's your style? Do you prefer getting updates in writing, or face-to-face. Big picture or detail? Are you emotionally expressive or poker-faced?

Empathize with your manager.

4) Can you flex your style?

Suppose your boss is terse, you're not. Time to flex. Next time you talk, deliver your message in 30 seconds.

5) Is there a performance issue?

Let's find out.

Invite your boss for coffee and ask for feedback.

"On a 1-10 scale," you could ask, "how am I doing at meeting your expectations?" Or, "how could I make your life easier?"

These are good questions, even if everything is peachy.

Listen non-defensively, and thank the boss. Then, make some changes and check back.

6) What do you expect?

Part of managing your boss is managing your expectations.

Perhaps you expect too much reassurance and attention.

"Your Boss Is Not Your Mother" is the title of several books on Amazon. You probably don't need to read them all, just keep the title in mind.

7) Suppose the problem isn't fixable?

Bad situation. You can stick with it—bosses come and go, you may outlast yours.

But don't count on it. Activate your network. Activate your Plan B.

And fortify yourself. Stay healthy—with or without the orange juice.

© Copyright 2012 Paul Hellman. All rights reserved.

Just this week during a visit with my father, I happened to catch the end of Wheel of Fortune. On a couple of occasions, I’ve seen Pat Sajak, the emcee, bring up an etiquette issue. Thank you, Pat

This time he let loose with an etiquette pet peeve that struck home with me. He asked, rhetorically, what the deal is with people who respond to a sincere thank you by saying “No problem.”

I couldn’t agree with him more. A thank you is an expression of appreciation one person offers another. To respond “No problem” is to shrug off this acknowledgment as really being undeserved and not meriting a thank you. It’s like saying, “It was nothing” or “Forget it.” I think that whatever prompted the “Thank you” was more than nothing and deserves a more positive response than “No problem.” Here’s why: Too often we ignore or dismiss a “Thank you.” Saying “No problem” is one of the most common ways it’s done. Nobody likes to be dismissed.

All of this brings me to the real point here. I’ve written about the importance of saying “Thank you” and writing thank you notes in previous columns. As important as it is for one person to say “Thank you” to another, it is equally important for the person being thanked to acknowledge the “Thank you” sincerely. And the friendliest, nicest, most sincere response is “You’re welcome.”

By saying “You’re welcome,” a person shows she has heard the “Thank you” and appreciates the recognition given by the person saying it.

One of my own pet peeves in this arena is people who respond to a “Thank you” by saying “No, thank you” with the emphasis on “you.”

Huh? What did I do to deserve your thanks? When I hear this response to a “Thank you,” I wonder if the person is trying to trump my thank you with theirs.

If you want to return the “Thank you,” there’s an easy way to do this. First acknowledge that you’ve heard it and appreciate it by saying “You’re welcome.” Then, having done that, you can say, “And thank you, too. I really appreciate …” By first acknowledging the other person’s thanks, you are taking a moment to focus on what they have said and showing them that you appreciate their gesture. You are showing them a measure of respect. Then you can offer them your thanks as well, and it, too, becomes a sincere demonstration of your appreciation of them.

Q. My boss has recently started telling employees that no one can call in sick without a doctor's note. My employer does not offer insurance so I have absolutely no coverage and make too much for Mass Health. I cannot afford to pay for a doctor's visit just to get a note. I very rarely call in sick, and I do not get paid sick days or vacation time. Can she legally fire me for calling in without a doctor's note for one missed day?

A. Employers who are frustrated with some employees’ bad behavior often resort to broad statements to deal with all employees, which is not an effective management strategy. Employers want employees to show up for work, which is a reasonable expectation. And people do get sick, which needs to be understood, and accommodated at work. Employers want to prevent abuse of unplanned time off, which has a negative impact on the organization and the work which needs to be completed.

This practice does seem extreme, yet it is an enforceable practice, which can put your job at risk should you not comply. When managers create “rules” that are difficult for good employees to follow, I encourage people to talk to the manager in a non-confrontational manner, just as you did by asking your question. If the manager can’t provide a reasonable answer, you should take your concern to human resources, and ask them to explain the new policy, explain your concerns about the cost of getting a doctor’s note, and the fact that your record shows you do not abuse sick time.

A small number of sick days can be a nuisance for an employer, while recurring sick time is a challenge to any manager and organization. The need for sick time by employees with recurring illness is real. To further understand the issues relating to sick time, I consulted Attorney David Conforto of the Conforto Law Group based in Boston. “The practice of requiring a doctor's note as a condition of taking a sick day may violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Any sick days that you take will trigger protection under FMLA if the time off in question is needed because of a serious medical condition. For FMLA to apply the employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 month period and the company must employ at least 50 workers within 75 miles. Under FMLA, employees are entitled to 12 weeks off per year, which can be taken on an intermittent basis”.

Attorney Conforto notes that “Those who suffer from autoimmune ailments like Crohn's disease or lupus, for instance, sometimes experience flare-ups necessitating the need to take sick time. If you suffer from a serious health condition, which from time-to-time forces you to miss work, it is advisable to complete FMLA certification documentation so that any sick days caused by your medical condition will trigger FMLA protection.”

Under FMLA, the employer may request documentation from your treating physician re-certifying your eligibility for FMLA leave which man only occur every 30 days. Unless there are significant changes in your condition, your physician can complete the re-certification without a formal visit. A request for a doctor's note following an absence would likely be considered a request for re-certification. The employee must have at least 15 calendar days to respond to the request unless it is impracticable to do so.
Many doctor’s will provide a note regarding illness for a regular patient without charging for an office visit. The increase in health care costs may end up eliminating this practice if more employers require documentation. 60 % of employers currently provide paid sick time, with employees in the service industry being least likely to have paid sick time. Some states are now introducing legislation to require some amount of paid sick time for employees.

By Cindy Atoji Keene

Not every vet could x-ray a gorilla one day, and check a flamingo for West Nile virus the next. And how do you treat a stick insect? You don’t, at least not individually. “With dozens of stick insects, they would be handled as a colony,” said Dr. Eric Baitchman, director of Veterinary Services for Zoo New England, which includes the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and Stone Zoo in Stoneham.

With animals ranging from A (anaconda) to Z (zebra), Baitchman is faced with an endless range of anatomies and a variety of wild animals who don’t always want their eyes examined or blood checked. Often there is no vet playbook to consult; zoo vets push the limits of veterinary science by researching cases that have never been examined before. “A lot of what we face, we are seeing for the first time,” said Baitchman, who gave the example of a young sloth that appeared to have leukemia. “We quickly realized we had no other sloths with leukemia to compare it to. I had to consult with human specialists and vets, then figure out how to take this information about dogs, cats or people and figure out how to apply it to a sloth.”

In the last few weeks at Franklin Park Zoo, Baitchman, 37, has overseen the annual health check for African straw-colored fruit bats in the Tropical Forest; made sure that all the western lowland gorillas received their flu shots, and administered the last of the vaccine series for red panda cubs. Baitchman oversees a staff of eight, including four vets, several vet technicians and a hospital keeper. “Our most important link to the animals, though, are the zookeepers, who can perceive when an animal is sick or in need of attention,” said Baitchman.

Q: Can animals “catch “ a cold?
A: It’s rare. So much of zoo medicine is preventative. And wild animals with wild instincts try to hide weaknesses or illness; they are not going to show symptoms in the same way as a dog or cat, because weakness in the wild is a considerable disadvantage. We perform routine check-ups on as many animals as we can, but that doesn’t mean all of them are examined every year.

Q: What type of animal is your favorite?
A: My passion is amphibians. I’ve always been drawn to amphibians because they’re so diverse and have such unique life histories in the way they have evolved. A lot of the work I do with amphibians revolves around a conservation project to rescue amphibians that are in extreme danger of extinction throughout Panama because of a deadly fungus.

Q: What’s the biggest misconception about zoo vets?
A: People assume that working with zoo animals is similar to working with pets, and that you can just do an exam on a table. But it’s much more difficult than that. Our animals have wild instincts, and to do an exam on a potentially dangerous animal like a tiger requires first anesthetizing and then performing the exam. The hardest decision is: When do you intervene if, say, a tiger looks a little lethargic today? Is the animal just having an off day, or is there something really wrong? It is a serious decision to anesthetize an animal.

Q: How did you become a vet?
A: As a young kid, I was very lucky to have a family friend who worked at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, N.Y. At first it’s amazing and exciting to see those animals up close and have access behind the scenes, but as I got older, I became passionate about zoo medicine and the ability to have an impact on exotic species.

Q: You and your wife, Brandi, both work at Franklin Park Zoo; she’s a zookeeper who works with the gorillas. Do you talk shop at home?
A: No, we try to avoid talking too much about work. What we do is exciting but we don’t want to have only that in our lives.

Q: Do you consider yourself a modern-day Doctor Dolittle?
A: No, Doctor Dolittle had the ability to talk to his patients, and unfortunately I can’t speak any animal languages.

Q: I lost my job in December 2011. However (after reminding my previous employer), I was not reimbursed for my unused vacation time until January 2012. The check for the vacation time shows a pay period of 12/5/11-12/19/11 and the date of the check was 1/18/12.

Today I received my W-2 in the mail and the check for my unused vacation time was not included on it. Because I have not worked there in 2012, and these monies should have been disbursed in 2011, shouldn't it be included on the 2011 W-2?

A: When an employee separates from a company, there are often many loose ends that need to be addressed. Often times, many employees have questions about final paychecks and benefits. Questions about vacation payouts for unused but accrued vacation time are common as well. Company policies can vary on vacation usage, how vacation time accrues and how vacation time is earned.

I consulted Dan Mayton, District Manager of Paylocity. According to Mayton, "All payroll reporting (including data for W-2s), is based on when the employee is actually paid (or the check date) for the wages, not necessarily the period in which the wages were earned." Because you were paid in 2012 for your unused vacation time, it makes sense that you received a 2012 W-2 for these wages.

Mayton adds, "If you were terminated, you should have been paid for all wages owed to you (including unused but accrued vacation time) on your last active date of employment. However, if you resigned, your wages would have been due to you on the next regular pay day."

I have made two assumptions: 1. that you were employed in Massachusetts and 2. that you were terminated because you state that you "lost your job." Your former employer should have paid you for your unused but accrued vacation on your last date of employment. However, it sounds like you did receive an accurate check in mid-January of 2012. It is unfortunate that you had to remind your previous employer about these monies owed to you. From what you shared in your question, I have assumed that your former employer did send you a check for the full amount that you expected to receive.

If you wanted to file a wage claim against your former employer, you could certainly explore that option with an employment attorney.

Free advice, samples or demonstrations are part of growing a small business but at some point enough is enough. As an etiquette resource if someone kept calling you asking questions about seating arrangements or business customs for various countries, at some point you would have to tell this person, "If you'd like to hire to me to provide a seminar on this topic, I'd love to work with you." And then something to the effect of you can't just keep giving free advice because this is how you make your living. What's the best way to handle these types of inquiries? What if they offer to barter for your services, but that situation really doesn't work well for you? Is it appropriate to set a limit after their first or second call? How can one defuse a situation when the requester gets angry or insulted? When a price is quoted for services, how can one discourage haggling?

M. M., Portland, OR

There's a Yin and a Yang to free advice. At the Emily Post Institute, we balance free with paid advice: free in the form of the Etipedia and the Etiquette Daily blog. The etipedia is what it sounds like: an online encyclopedia of etiquette information. The blog is our online community where people can post a question and the community, led by several moderators, provides the advice. We use these "public," "free" options to help direct the questions that would otherwise overburden us on a daily basis. Web sites and blogs provide an excellent avenue to balance giving a service for free with getting paid for it. Paid advice comes in the form of our books and seminars. Interestingly, we believe providing the free avenues of advice doesn't discourage people from buying a book or attending a seminar.

When you encounter the person who seeks more than a quick answer or has numerous questions, your words are an excellent solution: "It sounds as if you have a lot of questions on this topic. If you'd like to hire to me to provide a seminar on this topic, I'd love to work with you." The best way to handle these inquiries is positively and confidently. You absolutely can and should be willing to set a limit and to end the conversation when you feel you are providing too much information for free.

Bartering is a personal decision. If you are uncomfortable with it, then say so, again politely and confidently.

Haggling occurs only if you let it. "John, thanks for the offer, but I don't provide discounts. My price is ?"

In all these situations the key is: It's not if you do it, it's how you do it. Politely and confidently will yield the best results. Even if the other person becomes angry, don?t respond in kind. If necessary, end the conversation. "I'm sorry John, I appreciate your interest, but I really need to go now. Good bye."

Q. I am a career changer, and after 25 years of raising a family I went back to school and earned my MS/SPED and tested for MTELs. I passed Communication/Literacy; Foundations of Reading; Health, Family and Consumer Science -- all but the Math sub-test of the General Curriculum. I have been subbing and working as a paraprofessional for 6 years. I get to the 2nd interview and never make it to the offer stage. Am I over-educated, under-experienced or just too old? I am 55, female and a great teacher! What gives?

A. Many people express a desire to enter the field of education after a long career in other fields, and you have made some serious commitments toward that. I consulted with Bob Maguire, Superintendent of the Medfield Public Schools. Bob notes, ?You haven?t completed the process for certification but you are on track to complete it. This is a very critical issue in applying for public school positions. Under state regulations a district is required to hire certified personnel. In certain circumstances a non-certified person can be hired but a waiver is required and is limited in time frame. Depending on the area of teaching expertise (and resulting job competition) the lack of certification can be a major issue in employability.?

Coming into any new field with experience makes for a more attractive candidate. Maguire commented that gaining experience in the field by substituting and working as a paraprofessional adds value and so attractiveness to your candidacy. ?As in any profession, networking can be important and being in the classroom in those capacities helps make connections to possible employment as positions may open in that district.?
Superintendent Maguire also advises you to broaden your search, if you are only looking at public school positions, as ?the current economic situation has impacted hiring in public education. You might want to consider looking at private special education schools, as well as regional collaborative schools.?

Finding the right expertise for feedback on job search situations is a great way not to get stuck on what you think the issues might be. Many people believe their job search is stalled on age, or over-qualification, or salary. While that may be the case, you need to zero in on what the exact issues are, so that you can address them in the job search. It also is important to quantify your job search efforts. If you have had 2 second interviews and never get to the next step, and are concerned about your employability, your concern should be focused on volume of job search activity. A successful job search takes many networking meetings, and interviews ? many more than most people plan on!

Aaron Green is founder and president of Professional Staffing Group, a temp and contracting agency based in Boston. Each year PSG puts more than 5,000 people to work in the office support, creative, technical, and finance fields. Green also contributes articles to Boston.com on human resources.

By Cindy Atoji Keene
In an era of instant celebrity reality shows and pop star culture, it's easy to think of an acting career as a frivolous ambition or a hobby that requires a day job to pay the bills. But armed with a MFA from Yale School of Drama, actress Jennie Israel, 42, of Lexington, has plied her craft not just on stage, but as a professor, arts administrator, and director, defying the starving artist depiction of her profession. "Acting is serious, exhausting, sometimes excruciating work," said Israel, who will be playing Medea in the upcoming production of Actors' Shakespeare Project. "It can look like fun and it can look easy, if we're doing it right. But so many people have no idea how deeply challenging it can be. Even with the best training and years of experience, it is just not natural and certainly not comfortable to put oneself on the line as we do."

Israel, a veteran of the Boston theater scene who has been acting for over two decades, has also appeared in Rudy for TriStar Pictures, the soap opera Guiding Light, and Coming to Litchfield, an independent film. Israel came from a family of gifted storytellers and started doing theatre in fifth grade at her elementary school in Roslindale, where her first role was as Santa's elf. She said she wanted become an actor because "my greatest passion is realizing the depth and breadth of human experience through a written text."

For the last year, Israel has been preparing for her latest role as Medea, reading the myths of Medea and doing extensive physical and vocal preparation. "I get myself in as strong and fit a shape as I can so I have the endless energy I will need for such a challenging role," said Israel, who has read and re-read the play hundreds of times, memorizing the lines in a variety of ways, including on the elliptical machine at her gym, "breathing very deeply so the language can really get in."

Q: You have performed in Boston Marriage, Tartuffe, and Dollhouse at New Repertory Theater; Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Huntington Theatre; Table Manners at Gloucester Stage and many others. What is involved with auditioning?
A: Auditions take a great deal of preparation. I can be asked to come in with a monologue of my own choosing, or, at this stage in my work, more often I am asked to come in and read a scene. That way the auditors can get a sense immediately of whether I might be the person they are looking for. I spend hours with the text I will be reading as I begin to imagine myself as that person. I am often very excited to be auditioning and I have to wrestle my excitement into a laser focus to create clear work in the audition room.

Q: What was your most embarrassing moment or biggest faux pas?
A: About eight years ago, during a production of Richard III, I looked out into the audience? something that does not normally throw me ? and saw someone who made me feel really distracted. I stopped breathing and lost my lines. There I was, surrounded by almost everyone in the play, facing off as Queen Elizabeth against Richard III and all I could think of to say was, "You...will...learn!"

Q: What is your most favorite part of being in a production? Your least favorite?
A: My favorite part of being in a production is probably rehearsal, where all the discoveries take place. There is nothing quite like the deep work that happens with a group of like-minded artists on a piece of magical text in a dungeon of a rehearsal studio at all hours of the night. My least favorite part is probably when the show closes, at least most of the time.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring actors?
A: Get good training, learn the skills of auditioning, and be in excellent fitness all the time since your body is your only instrument. Yoga is essential. And most of all, know yourself.

Q: How much can an actor earn for stage work?
A: Professional actor salaries for union theater work in Boston range from around $200 per week to around $750 per week, from the smallest theaters in the area, to the ART and Huntington. The salary also depends on the size of the audience, which dictates the contract under which an actor is hired.

Q: Have you ever gotten any fan letters?
A: Over the years I have had a few. Some lovely, some creepy.

Q: Have you have been stopped on the street or asked for your autograph?
A: I have been recognized in the street many times and its fine ? people are very kind. Autographs are usually requested after performances and it's pretty rare; mostly children ask for it.

Stu Coleman, a partner at Waltham recruiting firm Winter, Wyman, is a hiring and contracting expert.

Q: I would be interested to get your opinion on something that I've always wondered about when job-searching. In general, after sending in a resume for a job opening, is it okay to email them a week or so later to tell them you are still very interested? A friend told me to do this, but for some reason it just seems pushy to me. Is there a precedent for this? Is it tactless?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

A: I agree with your friend. Following up in a professional way is a recommended next step. It is a gentle balance between being too aggressive and inappropriate vs. expressing interest and inquiring about the next steps in the selection process.

In your specific situation, I would have probably re-submitted my resume using the new link that was available to job seekers on Monday afternoon. Sometimes these links are created to direct resumes to one certain mailbox or individual. You want to make sure that your resume lands on the right desk.

If you have an internal contact, I would recommend sending that individual a quick email with the job (and job number if there is one) in the subject line. That internal contact may recommend using the link to submit your resume.

Lastly, aggressive follow-up can be tacky, rude and concerning. However, sending a professionally crafted email summarizing your continued interest and identifying the available job can be a positive in your favor.

Pattie Hunt Sinacole is a human resources expert and works for First Beacon Group in Hopkinton, an HR consulting firm. She contributes weekly to Boston.com Jobs and the Boston Sunday Globe Money & Careers section.

Right now, one of your employees—let's call him Bob—has spinach between his teeth, metaphorically speaking.

Someone needs to tell him.

Here are three possible problems, plus three extra-strength techniques:

1) Bob can't hear the feedback. You think you're talking about a little piece of spinach, but Bob thinks his entire identity is under attack and gets defensive.

Use the evil twin technique.

Say: "Bob, this (the performance issue) is so UNLIKE YOU. What happened?"

That allows Bob to preserve self-esteem, while he agrees with you that the problem was an outlier and won't happen again.

Unfortunately, sometimes you can't blame the evil twin because Bob's behavior is EXACTLY like Bob.

But you can still make the feedback easier to hear.

Say: "Bob, unless we fix this, it's going to derail your career. You're much too important to the organization, and to me, for us to let that happen."

2) Bob doesn't understand it.

Your feedback is unclear—probably because it's too general.

Use the video camera technique. Be specific.

Stick to what Bob did or didn't do, said or didn't say—concrete behavior that, if you made a movie about Bob, anyone in their right mind, even Bob, would observe it.

Bad: "You were unprofessional at the client meeting."

("Unprofessional" is an interpretation, not observable behavior. There are 1001 ways to be unprofessional.)

Still bad: "You seemed highly agitated." (You can't see agitation.)

Better: "I noticed you gulped down 10 pills the size of horse tranquilizers. Then you galloped out of the meeting. Later, I heard some whinnying."

3) Bob doesn't know what to do about it.

The whole purpose of feedback is to influence the future. The past is dead. If you only talk about the past, that's criticism.

Criticism sounds bad: "Bob, you screwed this up, you screwed that up, you screwed everything up. You're a screw-up!"

That's a tough message to motivate with.

Use future-focused feedback. Be the coach who pulls a player off the field, whispers a few words of advice and encouragement, then sends him back out.

Say these three key words: "The next time . . .

Tip: Make sure your feedback is heard, understood, and actionable.

© Copyright 2012 Paul Hellman. All rights reserved.

My boss sent me a request for a recommendation via LinkedIn. She has been extremely difficult to work with, and I can’t think of a single nice thing to say about her. How should I respond?

M. C., Flushing, NY

Your boss has put you into a decidedly awkward. While it’s possible she requested a recommendation only from you, it’s more likely you are part of a group of people she has contacted. Some will respond, others won’t.

People on LinkedIn utilize the recommendations feature to enhance their profiles. Users can solicit recommendations from other users. The end result: Some people have no recommendations, some have a few, and others have many recommendations.

There is no requirement in being a part of LinkedIn that obliges you to provide a recommendation if you are asked for one. The vexing issue you face is that the request is from your boss. Now you’re between the proverbial rock and hard place: You are concerned how she might react if you choose not to provide a recommendation, but you also don’t want to provide a positive recommendation which would be untruthful. For obvious reasons you also don’t want to say something negative. Essentially, you feel you don’t have any good option. In the final analysis, my advice is simply to ignore her request. Remember, within the LinkedIn community not responding to a recommendation request is an accepted, if not quite appropriate, way to respond. If she blasted out a bunch of requests, she may not even notice your lack of response among the many she has solicited.

If she targeted only you, then she probably will notice when she doesn’t see a response. If that’s the case, be prepared to talk with her if she asks you why. Instead of brutally dumping on her, “Because I hate you!” try a softer approach: “I didn’t respond because I think it’s awkward for any employee to give a recommendation for a boss. People might question the sincerity of my comments. I think it’s best if I don’t provide a recommendation.”

In general there is nothing wrong with seeking recommendations from other LinkedIn users. However, if you are a boss or manage others, seeking recommendations from people who work for you isn’t a good practice. People will question why an employee is writing a recommendation for a boss, and it puts your reports in an awkward position if they don’t want to write something positive about you.

“AM I A DAMAGED CANDIDATE?

Q. Over the last 10+ years or so, I've worked only in contract positions (finance and accounting-related).

Part of this had to do with not wanting to commit to the weather in Boston (I used to live in San Diego), and not wanting to commit to a job that I would become bored with. Also, I had no debt and no kids.

Nevertheless, at 50, I am afraid that I have damaged myself such that it will be difficult to find a "permanent" job.

A. Many job seekers look at why they might have trouble getting hired, worry about it, and then do nothing to prepare to overcome the issues. There is a better approach and that is: PREPARE! You need to prepare for the hardest questions, surprise questions, questions you wish you were never asked, and you must have great answers to all of the above. For example – you know (or you do now) that you will be asked some version of tell me a weakness. I asked a person this question today, and her answer was “I am passive aggressive”. I’m sure she is, but I know this isn’t the answer she wanted to give me. She did not prepare for this question so she blurted out an answer which did not make her look good.

Before you get bogged down in "damage control", review the positives that can be demonstrated on your resume. You have had 10 years of successful employment in a demanding field requiring trust from your employer in your talents, an ability to hold confidentiality, and a commitment to some time period agreed to between you and your employer. There are the ways effective contracts are run. Contract opportunities offered you the flexibility and freedom you wanted, and companies benefit from your availability without a need to make a long term commitment.
You don't say why, but it seems your needs have changed, and you are now interested in a more permanent job. As with any non-traditional career path, employers want to know why you did what you did, and it has to make sense. You also need to make sure your actions don't represent you poorly, and that you present as a low-risk candidate. The resumes of people who have had many jobs, or only contracted, appear as though they can't make a commitment, or there is a performance problem that is not visible from an initial meeting.
You know what people are going to want to know. Prepare the answers to the questions you know will come up. And if you can't anticipate the questions, then get help in coming up with at least 20 questions that won't be easy to answer. For example, "Do you get bored easily? Is that why you contracted?". If you want a permanent job, then this is not an answer that will help you. What you can say is "I took contracts and found that I could gain a great deal of experience from being involved in different financial issues at a variety of companies that I probably wouldn't have had the chance to do if I had been at one firm. I feel like I continued my education with many classes in each of these contracts, and made significant contributions as well”.
"You haven't stayed anywhere longer than one year; do you think you can do that now?". Some question like this will come up. Prepare your answer, and address the fear. The employer doesn't want to hire you, train you, invest in you and then have you leave. So your answer needs to address these unstated concerns.
So your needs have changed. What is it that the company gets by hiring someone with your non-traditional background? A finance person with broader experience than a traditional 10 years would have provided. A person who has worked at well managed and poorly managed companies and knows how to self-manage and get the job done? Prepare the positives about how the company will benefit. Prepare for positive answers to questions that address your "damaged" career path, and turn the employers view around.

By Cindy Atoji Keene

When a new regulatory act came down the pipeline for non-profits, accounting consultant Kevin Derrivan found himself explaining UPMIFA – the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act – to a lot of board directors. Despite the acronym, it is anything but “uniform,” said Derrivan of the endowment guidelines.

Acting as an information resource is just one of the many pinch-hitting roles that Derrivan has performed as an outsourced financial management expert, employed by Accounting Management Solutions, Inc. (AMS) based in Waltham. “The terms “accounting” and “financial analysis” tend to put business owners to sleep or send them screaming from the room – they are so involved in other functions of a company that they are left with little time to devote to finance,” said Derrivan, who has been called in for everything from audit reviews and budget preparation to acting as interim CFO during a staff shortage. “I don’t want to sound like the Maytag repairman, but I do find myself on the road all the time, with my laptop, files, and a clean dress shirt in the back of my Buick.”

Derrivan has been to New Jersey, New Hampshire, and “all points in between” seeing as many as a half-dozen clients on some days. His calendar one week included putting together a presentation for a client preparing for a bank refinancing; doing some bookkeeping, and helping a small company get ready for their first board meeting. He gets up to speed by poring over a company’s financial statements and other documents. “Accountants are not just boring bean counters with visors, crunching numbers. I do that in some cases, but often I am a strategic partner, interpreting what the numbers are telling us and what they mean to a company.”

Q: Why would a company want to outsource a service like accounting?
A: In a time of economic uncertainty, escalating employment (especially rising benefits premiums), and companies’ increasing aversion to the commitment related to full-time hires makes outsourcing an ideal solution.

Q: Accounting can sound like a foreign language with so many acronyms. What's a sampling of some "must know" terms?
A: It may sound like a foreign language but I think all professions have their buzzwords. Much of accounting is aimed at governing complex technical issues and striving for consistency in recording and reporting, so it’s a highly technical field. Some of the “must know” terms include basics like P&L (Profit and Loss), EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, and GAAP (Generally accepted Accounting Principles).

Q: Does it feel nerve wracking to work in a profession where a single decimal point can make a difference?
A: When you’ve been trained and worked with figures for so long, precision becomes second nature, so it’s not something that keeps me up at night. It sounds simple, but in recording and summarizing transactions, it’s critical to ensure the credibility of the financials. Accounting requires a high level of diligence. But good old fashioned checking and re-checking helps a great deal as well.

Q: Do you do your own taxes?
A: No! The one year I did it myself I owed big money. Today I receive refunds, because I leave that to the tax professional, people who specialize in taxation. People don’t realize that there are dozens of specialties within the finance and accounting profession. This is one reason organizations like working with AMS – we have access to a large group of finance people, many of whom have very specific specialties. Doing my own taxes would be like replacing a basketball player with a jockey – he might know how to dribble and pass but he might have some trouble getting the ball in the basket.

Q: What motivated you to establish a career in accountancy?
A: As long as my mother won’t read this, I’ll tell you that I really started out as a psychology major and ended up switching to accounting because I always thought that someday I’d be in business for myself. Today I have still have that kind entrepreneurial outlook.

Q: I don't understand the reason why some potential employers would check a candidate’s financial background. It doesn't make sense to me. People need jobs to be responsible for their financial state of being.

A: Your question is valid, particularly in this challenging economic climate. There are legal issues and limitations associated with requesting a financial background check on a candidate. However, there are some legitimate reasons why some employers conduct financial background checks on final candidates. In several states, there is recent legislation that limits the use of such information.

Employers conduct financial background checks on candidates for a variety of positions but most often for roles in schools, hospitals, financial institutions, airports or the government. One of the reasons is simple. The employer wants to minimize any risk associated with hiring a new employee. The rationale is that a candidate’s financial background should be a factor in the hiring decision. The concern is that if you hire an employee with a precarious financial history or a large debt, this employee may be more likely than other employees to engage in fraud or embezzlement. Or this employee could be vulnerable to bribery or undue influence by others.

I contacted Jeffrey A. Dretler, a Partner in the Employment Law Group at Prince Lobel Tye LLP. Dretler explains, “Using financial background checks as part of the hiring process is governed by a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and various state laws with which employers must comply. Usually, an employer does not conduct the check itself, but engages a third party who specializes in gathering such information. The background check is often referred to as a ‘Consumer Report’ and the third party which conducts the check is referred to as a Consumer Reporting Agency. The FCRA requires an employer utilizing a Consumer Reporting Agency to conduct a financial background check to obtain a candidate’s authorization before doing so.” Under the FCRA, the employer must provide the candidate with a notice of the rights available to them. Lastly, the employer must provide the candidate with a copy of the final report, and must notify the candidate if it intends not to hire the candidate based on information contained in the report. The candidate should be given a chance to clarify or explain this information because, although rare, mistakes can occur.

Dretler offers, “Recently, in response to the economic crisis, a number of states (e.g., California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon and Washington) have enacted laws which prohibit an employer from making an adverse hiring decision based on a candidate’s financial situation, except in certain limited situations such as applications for positions with financial institutions, state-approved credit unions, investment advisors registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, certain managerial roles, positions with access to highly confidential data, and positions where federal law requires a company to examine credit history data.”