WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Why does my boss always think HE is right? How do I get my supervisor to give me more responsibility? What is the best way to negotiate a salary? My coworker is stalking me–what should I do?
POST A QUESTION BELOW
(see REPLY links to respond to questions)
Long time no see, Dr. K. Okay I’ve got a question for you. I’ve been told that conservative clothing (skirt suit, closed toe shoes and hair up) is best for an interview. If I want to stand out from the crowd, why should I look like everybody else? I’m applying for a job at a record company. NOBODY wears suits there. Why can’t I just dress like the people who works there?
Just curious
The short answer to your question is those people have jobs and you don’t. People who have jobs can dress anyway that their organization will allow. People seeking jobs don’t have that luxury. I don’t understand why people seeking an entry level job feel that they need to express their uniqueness through their clothing as opposed to doing it with their skills. Most of the time, using your attire to stand out means that you have nothing beyond the wonderfulness of you to bring to the table. And, even if you have major skills and experience, people are leery of hiring an “individual” because most “individuals” are “flakes.” Look, the point of an interview is to get the job. FOCUS. Your uniqueness should be rooted in the perspective that you bring to the organization. Let your ideas and accomplishments speak for you, not your fashion sense.
What’s the best way to deal with that sort of boss?
Depends on what outcome you want. You cannot make him/her less of an @#/%! because it is highly likely that is just part of her/his personality. And changing one’s personality takes years of therapy that you do not have the time, skill or patience to do. Obviously, pointing out the mistakes provokes abuse that you probably are not paid enough to endure. My suggestion is to stop covering up the mistakes. Let your boss deal with them on his/her own. Either your boss will come to realize that everything that comes out of her/his mouth is not golden or you will be fired for some imagined insubordination. If you get fired, you should sue for unlawful termination and become independently wealthy. Whichever path you take, the outcome is the same–you will no longer suffer the ravings of an idiot.
Looks like I’m going to be your first loyal fan. I’ve got one of those bosses who thinks he’s right ALL of the time. The problem is he’s an idiot and wrong most of the time. It drives me and everybody else nuts because he can’t see it and we have to fix the messes that he creates. Whenever we try to point it out to him, he starts yelling and tries to make us feel small for not seeing “the vision”. What is his problem? Why does he do this?
Just curious
The short psychological answer is, your boss is an @&#/. The longer communication response is, your boss is suffering from a basic attributional bias. He claims responsibility for success and blames everything else for failure. Thus when things go well, it’s because HE is the smartest person in the world. But when things don’t go well, it’s because his staff won’t “get with HIS program.” And, cleaning up his mistakes simply reinforces his flawed perception of himself.