FMLA and remote employees

Q: I have worked for a Boston-based company for several years. I live in western Mass and have lived here for over 10 years. I never considered it a big deal. However, now I am applying for a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, which I desperately need. My HR Manager is saying that I am not eligible because I work more than 75 miles away from our main office in Boston and my work site has fewer than 50 employees. I work from a home office. I don’t get it. I never thought I would be stripped of benefits just because I work at home.

A: Let’s review the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Most employers, with over 50 employees, are required to offer FMLA to eligible employees. What makes an employee eligible?

– An employee has to have worked for 12 months for that employer,

– An employee has to have worked 1250 hours in the previous 12 months before the leave begins, and

– An employee has to work at a site with at least 50 other employees, within 75 miles.

Your HR Manager may be getting stuck on the third requirement. More and more of us are working remotely. Well, thankfully, the FMLA has shared some guidance on this third requirement as it relates to employees working from a home office. An employee’s personal residence is not a worksite. For employees who work at home, their worksite is the office to which they report and from which assignments are made. [29 CFR 825.111(a)(2)] In short, this means you should consider the Boston office your worksite for FMLA purposes, assuming you report into that office and receive work from the office.  If the Boston office has fewer than 50 employees, you may still be out of luck.  If they have 50 or more employees, you have a strong argument.

Share this information with your HR Manager. It may be a detail of the law which is unfamiliar to your HR Manager. Thankfully there is guidance available.

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.

Resume blunders

Q: I recently was told by a hiring manager my resume needs to be improved. What does that mean? Why would someone say that? I was given no specific comments.

I am not sure what your resume looks like, but let me share some tips which address common resume problems.

1. Different fonts and inconsistent spacing make resumes look sloppy. A resume with a consistent and legible font is easier to read. Spacing should also be easy to follow.

2. No typos allowed. You are not allowed to have typos or spelling errors. Have a few others review your resume to catch these mistakes. Sometimes we don’t catch our own errors.

3. Your contact info should be readily available at the top of your resume. Your name, address, phone numbers and maybe a URL for your Linkedin address. Don’t make it tough for a recruiter to track you down!

4. In addition to some of your responsibilities, think about what you accomplished in past role. An example: Hired 12 Ruby engineers at an average cost per hire of $6K. Or, worked on CRM implementation saving the company $100,000. Most recruiters like to see metrics on what you have achieved or what you have accomplished.

5. Grammatical errors are unacceptable. Know the difference between there, their and they’re and to, two and too.

6. Too dense or too much information. A resume should be, at most, two to three pages. My resume is just under three pages and includes lots of white space and font size 10. Remember, a resume is selected highlights, not every task you have ever completed. Search online using the term “sample resume” and many sample resumes will be found. It is sometimes helpful to review resume samples to think about new formats, wording or how to condense.

Lastly, when you have a final version ready, put it down. Don’t share it. Review it a day or so later with “fresh eyes” and confirm that it is the best version it can be.

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.

Frequency of performance feedback and evaluations

Q: How often do most employees receive performance evaluations? Is there a guideline? Also, I think everyone expects a raise but not everyone deserves one. What are your thoughts on this?

A: Employers can design their own performance management systems. Some may be very formal, with a detailed form (either paper or online) and specific criteria for a salary increase. Other companies choose to be more informal and share feedback, sometimes even just verbally, and award salary increases based on a number of factors. Some of the factors that I have seen companies use include individual performance, meeting individual, team or company goals, learning a new skill or taking on additional responsibilities. Sometimes companies set a profitability target and if that target is not met, employees receive a small increase or maybe no increase at all.

Most of my clients give performance feedback formally on an annual basis and more informally throughout the year. Employees are often eager to hear feedback and want to learn, grow and develop. Some employees are more resistant to hearing feedback. Employees who may show resistance, or even defensiveness, sometimes don’t receive honest and helpful feedback, because it is so hard to share information when the receiving party isn’t open to hearing it. We advise our clients not to hold onto feedback, but to share it regularly and informally. Don’t wait until the performance evaluation meeting that occurs once per year!

I believe all employees should be considered if a company is rewarding employees with salary increases. However, some employees, based on their performance (or other factors) should not receive an increase. When excluding an employee from a fairly widespread salary increase (or merit increase) program, the reasons should be clear, understandable and legally defensible.

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. 

Stand up and shake

Q: I have one year of professional experience. I graduated from a good college in 2015. I was recently given really harsh feedback from a recruiter. The recruiter told me I didn’t advance in the selection process with a local company because I didn’t stand, introduce myself and shake the hiring manager’s hand when she entered the reception area. Isn’t that a bit harsh? To be excluded because of that? It took so many steps to even land this interview.

A: Well, you have learned a valuable lesson. Always, always, always…. stand up, maintain good eye contact, extend your hand, smile and clearly state, “I am John Smith. I am pleased to meet you.” Ok, I am being quite literal, but this is required in most professional workplaces. This greeting sets the tone. You are perceived as either a professional or not. Because you did not perform the expected greeting, the hiring manager probably made a quick decision about you. The decision was likely based on your overly casual approach to the initial greeting. She may have assumed you were not professional enough. Thankfully, you can easily correct the way in which you greet someone. Some men mistakenly assume that they should address a woman differently in a professional setting. Sometimes they avoid the handshake. This is also a mistake.

If a religious or medical reason prohibits a candidate’s ability to shake hands, a candidate should explain this request simply and quickly. The candidate should still stand up and greet the hiring representative warmly, with a greeting like: “Hi. I am John Smith. I am sorry I am just getting over poison ivy so it is best if I don’t shake hands today. Thank you for understanding. I am glad to be here at ABC Company and eager to learn more about the position of credit analyst.”‘

The saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is true. The clothing you choose for an interview counts. Your promptness counts. How you first greet the interviewer counts. How you interact with the receptionist even counts.

Take the feedback the recruiter shared and learn from it. Better to know this now than sometime in the future.

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. 

Balancing several offers

Q: I have been job hunting for several months. I have two offers in front of me, and both are an improvement of my current role. I am interviewing for a third role this week. How do I keep the first two offers warm without losing them? I need more time to interview for this third role.

A: Congratulations on enjoying success in your search. Timing can be tricky in job hunting though, as you have discovered.

First, a question regarding the two offers you have been presented: have you been given a deadline for a decision? If you haven’t, it is wise to ask when the hiring representative would like to have a decision. Explain that this is an important decision and you want to make sure that you give the offer proper consideration. Obviously if you can ask for a bit more time on responding to these offers, the better. Be reasonable however. A requested extension of a few days is reasonable. A requested extension of a few weeks is not. When you interview for the third role, ask questions about their timeframe and any additional steps in the interview process. You may interview for the third role and decide that it is not as promising as offer #1 and offer #2. Assess the full offer, not just compensation. Compensation is important but so are other factors, like benefits, the commute, the type and variety of work, the workplace culture, as well as the management style of your supervisor.

Realize though that you are traveling a bit of a slippery slope. Asking for an extension of a few days may be reasonable, however it also sends a bit of a message to the hiring representative. Yes, you may need more information but you also didn’t jump up and down and accept immediately. Those of us who extend offers would prefer that a candidate accept immediately. However, we understand that sometimes a candidate does need more time, more information or to discuss it with a spouse, partner or another trusted person. It is a bit of a balancing act.

Glad to hear companies are extending offers to candidates. We are seeing that too. It is good news to share!

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.

Respond!

Q: I am a supervisor and have been hiring for a number of entry-level positions for a company south of Boston. We call and email candidates. They take their time getting back to us and then seem irritated when we have already move ahead with other candidates. Can you tell candidates who have submitted a resume to pick up their phones, clear out their voicemail inbox messages and to check their emails, even over the weekend? Some candidates take 2 to 3 days to get back to us and we already have candidates on our schedules to be interviewed.

A: I agree! It is probably my number one pet peeve on the candidate side of the recruiting process. A common complaint from candidates is that they feel there is a “black hole” when submitting a resume. However, on the employer side, employers can get easily frustrated when a candidate is unresponsive. Candidates should be checking voicemail and email daily, if not several times per day, even on weekends. Some recruiters will have the quiet time to reach out to candidates on weekends and it is always helpful when a candidate replies in a speedy manner. A full voicemail inbox is beyond frustrating! Unless there is a some type of family or personal emergency, a candidate should do their very best to return an email or a voicemail within 24 hours, if not sooner!

A prompt reply to a company’s voicemail or email demonstrates serious interest and a sense of urgency. “This is important to me!” is the message a candidate is sending to a prospective employer! A delayed response indicates that other matters are more important.

With cell phones, most of us can retrieve emails and voicemail messages quickly. Using technology wisely is smart with respect to a job search.

Candidates – you heard it here!

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.

Landing an internship

Q: I am a student looking for an internship. Where do I start? Everyone tells me they are so important but where do I begin looking? I am overwhelmed.

A: Congratulations on realizing that an internship would be valuable to your professional work history.
Here are some tips on where to turn to find internship leads —

1. The career services office of your school should be your first stop. Often the role of this office is to develop relationships with employers as well as help students track down opportunities. Local employers will post internships at career services offices of local colleges.

2. Family and friends also are a good source. An uncle who works at a biotech might know of an internship within his company. The neighbor who works at a technology company in Cambridge. Or even your professor who consults to tech companies. All of these personal relationships can sometimes yield a promising internship or even a full-time job lead after graduation.

3. Develop a target list of companies and search online to determine whether there might be a need. Some companies, especially larger ones, have a section on their website dedicated to internships.

4. Visit internship-specific sites, like internmatch.com or internships.com. LinkedIn has a specific section on their website featuring only internship roles and includes employers from Analog Devices to The MathWorks.

Finally, develop positive relationships while you are an intern. Smart employers often hire bright interns as full-time employees, after the intern has completed their undergraduate or graduate degree. It is important to demonstrate solid work habits and to build a strong professional reputation.

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.