<p>All of you were very helpful in answering my dumb questions about job interviews. Now that I have gotten a job, which I will start in two weeks, I thought you might help with some equally naive employment questions, too.</p>
<p>I did freelance work for more than 20 years, so I know a lot about being an independent contractor, but I know almost nothing up-to-date about being an employee. Please assume total ignorance on my part. The world of full-time employees has probably changed greatly since I last held a full-time job in 1985. (In that job, I used a typewriter! A good old IBM Selectric. Sometimes I miss it, especially when I need to address envelopes.) It may help if I mention that I am a science writer and editor. My new job is exempt and borderline-professional, but the company seems strict in many respects.</p>
<li><p>The dress code in the office where I will be working is “business casual.” I don’t have a lot of clothes like that, and it will take me some time to acquire them. I have been wondering whether I could use the clothes that I bought for my job interviews to help me get through the week, but they are more formal than “business casual.” Would it be offensive to sometimes show up in an outfit that is more businesslike than the dress code calls for?</p></li>
<li><p>Despite the fact that this place is already casual, they have casual Friday, where the basic difference is that people are allowed and expected to wear jeans. What kind of shoes would a female employee be expected to wear with jeans on causal Friday?</p></li>
<li><p>The office where I will be working gives out three weeks of vacation time a year, including during the first year, and two weeks of sick time. But there is no personal time. Is it OK to occasionally ask to use individual vacation days for “personal time”-type purposes, such as staying home to wait for a repairman? Or must vacation time always be taken in larger chunks? And if it must be taken in larger chunks, what do you do when you have to stay home to wait for the repairman?</p></li>
<li><p>What do people do when they have to deal with something medical that must be accomplished during business hours, such as a doctor’s appointment or medical test? Does this count against vacation time or sick time? And must you take a whole day, or can you work part of the day and only use up the actual number of hours of vacation or sick time that you need for the medical purpose?</p></li>
<li><p>I have been told that personal phone calls can only be made during lunch, and that people are expected to take their lunch breaks at the customary time of day for eating lunch (i.e., either 12 to 1 or 1 to 2). Given this, how would I ever make a doctor’s appointment? My doctor’s office closes from 12 to 2 for their own lunch break and to catch up on paperwork, and they’re not open on Saturday. Do I need to change doctors? </p></li>
<li><p>I’m also concerned about incoming personal calls (especially since all calls go through the receptionist, who asks every caller for their name; there are no direct phone lines). What do you do if your car is being serviced, and the service representative needs to call you to modify the estimate or tell you that the work is completed? Or if your doctor’s office needs to call you with your blood test results? Or if your dentist’s office needs to call to cancel your appointment because the dentist is sick? Or in other situations where you need to receive a call that is personal but necessary and cannot wait until after 5 pm?</p></li>
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<p>A lot of these depend on the culture of the particular office, which can vary considerably from place to place. From the lunch and phone rules, they sound on the strict side. If you happen to know someone who already works there, ask them these questions. If not, well a lot of people err on the side of overdressing for their first day. Hopefully you will pick up on what others are doing or else find a friend or mentor there that you can ask. Regarding the phone - you may want to get a cell phone if you do not already have one and give that number to mechanics, doctors and so forth.</p>
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<li><p>can you take something casual you may own now and pair it with your business dress?</p></li>
<li><p>we have casual Friday where I work and you see all types of footwear. From sandals to sneakers. I usually wear my Birkenstock clogs.</p></li>
<li><p>can you use “sick time” for personal time? 2 weeks of sick time is quite a lot of time off. Fortunately I have flex-time for things like appointments, etc. It can’t hurt to ask.</p></li>
<li><p>all this should have been covered by HR, if it wasn’t you need to find out as soon as you can. I usually try to make my appointments for after working hours but sometimes this can’t be avoided.</p></li>
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<p>5/6 can you use your own cell phone for personal calls?</p>
<p>You may want to get these answered before you commit to the job since it doesn’t sound business “friendly”.</p>
<p>Don’t worry- a lot of companies have these “rules” or “guidelines” but a lot is going to depend on the culture WITHIN your department. I can almost guarantee that it is going to be fine to take personal time for medical appointments, repairmen coming to the house etc. The lines between work and home have blurred so much that I doubt you will have a problem.
As for dress- it will be fine to use your interview clothes. Just do things like wearing a nice t-shirt or polo type top with the skirts and trousers instead of a silk blouse. Or wear the silk blouse with khakis and flats. See how your boss dresses and (unless really outside the curve) use that for guidance.<br>
I would try to go a few weeks before being out half a day for a long dental appt :), but everyone is in the same boat, so I promise you it will be fine.<br>
Casual Friday is a tough one for companies. You want to look appropriate and not like you are heading out to do yard work. Shirts should be tucked in (if they are supposed to be) and footwear should not be athletic shoes or Birkys unless they are really nice Birkys. Again- see how your boss and the people immediately above you in the pecking order handle this.</p>
<p>If you got a suit for interviews, separate it with different tops. If lots of sales right now, you can get pants suits that can be changed up and combined in lots of ways. Sweater set is less formal than a jacket. Even though I worked at a place that had causal Friday, I never wore jeans, just not the right “age” for it anymore. I just wore more causal tops, flats. Look around at what everyone is wearing when you get there. There is usually a range you can fit into. It is never wrong to dress a little more for your first day. </p>
<p>Leave should be discussed with your manager. Or it will be in your HR information. There should be a list somewhere in paperwork or an on-line HR site when you get there that says what you can take for what kind of event. That is often covered in your first day orientation. Some of the other questions like phone calls for medical etc can be dealt with when you know more about the place. Make freinds when you get there, casually ask the receptionist. </p>
<p>Relax and it will work out. Most companies don 't discuss this before you start because it is too detailed. Everyone at the company has the same issues and the system will manage it. If it really feels wrong, maybe you should revisit the decision.</p>
<p>Marian, as to #6, do you have a cell phone? No need for personal calls to come to your place of business, under any circumstances, IF you don’t want them to. Just have doctors offices, etc. call your cell phone. If you need to keep the phone off due to policy, they can leave voice mail messages and you can return calls during your lunch hour. This protects your privacy somewhat too - do you really want the receptionist to know when a doctor’s office, etc. is calling you?</p>
<p>Overall, I’m guessing you’re reading from the policies and procedures manual, which is always going to sound very rigid. I am sure that provided quality and quantity of your body of work exceeds expectations, none of these items will be an issue for you.</p>
<p>It does often dependon the culture of the department and of your own manager. Mine is much more flexible than the “rules” would seem.</p>
<p>Generally:
Yes, it’s appropriate to be more formal than the business code may state. In the meantime, make dresses more “casual” by wearing patterned, colored tights or stockings rather than hose. Use casual jewelry. Lose the heeled pumps; flats or low heels are appropriate.</p>
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<li><p>Any closed shoe/sneaker might be appropriate. For the first few Fridays, you might want to wear solid colors if you wear sneakers; I often wear black walking shoes.</p></li>
<li><p>Usually, vacation can be taken a day at a time; sometimes, half a day at a time. Ask your manager.</p></li>
<li><p>Again, this is something to discuss with your manager. Mine allows me to go to those types of appointments without using my time off; some require employees to take 1/2 day if the appointment will be longer than an hour.</p></li>
<li><p>& 6. I make and receive all personal calls on my cell phone. No need for anything to go through the receptionist. And I don’t think that any company will have a real problem with the occasional personal call to make an appointment. The rule is in place so that employees who abuse personal calls (several hours per day, for example, or calls that interfere with others doing their jobs) can be disciplined.</p></li>
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<p>The best way for you to learn about the “culture” is to watch your co-workers and ask you manager. Your manager won’t get upset if you are asking questions so that you follow the rules, rather than asking questions to try to get out of them.</p>
<p>I’ve already accepted the job because the salary was higher than most and the location is nearly ideal (11-minute commute), so I’m committed. My only other realistic option was a job in a central city more than an hour away, with a salary $5000 lower and $3500 per year commuting expenses. The decision was an easy one. I don’t need to like the atmosphere. I’m in it for the money. But I’m also a 53-year-old woman with some chronic health issues, and I’m going to have more medical needs that have to be met during the day than the average person.</p>
<p>I’m concerned about the clothes because my immediate supervisor is a woman who pushes the limits of the “casual” side of business casual, and with the clothes I have right now, I would be pushing the limits in the other direction. It may help, though, that I must ALWAYS wear flat shoes; I cannot tolerate heels as a result of a leg injury. The flats automatically make every outfit one notch more casual.</p>
<p>I’m really too old for jeans on casual Fridays, but I happened to go to the office last Friday to pick up the insurance paperwork, and everyone my age was wearing jeans. So even though I will feel foolish, I guess I have to wear them. I was too startled by the whole phenomenon to notice their footwear, and I worry about footwear because there are so many styles that I can’t wear because of my leg problem.</p>
<p>I’m picking up most of my information about company policy from questions I asked before accepting the job and things mentioned in passing by my future supervisor. There is no HR department. The company has only about 60 employees, and the second-in-command performs the HR functions among many other things. But she is clearly a busy person, and I do not think it is appropriate to pester her.</p>
<p>As for cell phones and personal calls, I do not think I will have the privacy for that. From what I could tell, people at my level do have individual offices, but everyone leaves their doors open, and people constantly walk to other people’s offices to give them even the most trivial messages, rather than calling or using e-mail, so there is no real privacy.</p>
<p>Marian, if you have chronic health problems, you may have more rights than otherwise. You may be covered by the American with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for your needs. This could include more flexibility in your schedule to keep appointments, etc., than normal. And as long as you get your job done, your employer may actually not care.</p>
<p>I work in a cubicle (no privacy) and I still use my cell phone to make appointments and receive personal calls. Once you’re in the job for a week or so, you’ll see how it’s “conventionally done”, since, except perhaps in the military, I don’t know of a single employer who actually enforces an absolute “no personal calls” rule. (Getting these calls from your physician or other health care provider could be covered by the ADA as well, as a “reasonable accommodation.”)</p>
<p>I don’t have any problems that interfere with normal functions of life except for some damage to my leg that prevents me from wearing high heels, kneeling, running, and climbing ladders, none of which is required on this job. I’m not actually disabled in terms of this job (in a more formal office, I might have had to ask for permission to wear flat shoes as a “reasonable accommodation,” but in this casual office I will never need to mention the topic). But I have high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and a few other such conditions typical of older people, all of which require periodic doctor’s appointments and medical tests. I don’t think the ADA would be of help to me with this because the medical needs are not related to actual disabilities. I was pleased to see, though, that there are quite a few other older employees, so probably I am not the only one with health needs beyond the imagining of the thirtyish woman who handles the HR functions.</p>
<p>Marian- There are a lot of really flattering trouser-cut jeans. In a dark wash, they are a great alternative to 5 pocket jeans. Banana Republic carries them and they are available at a lot of other retailers. A denim skirt is always a cute option, too.</p>
<p>If you don’t typically wear jeans, you can probably be casual enough with some Dockers style khakis and a golf shirt.
I’ll bet the jean wearers turn to khaki wearers in the warmer weather anyhow.</p>
<p>Seconding the trouser-cut jean option. Sears/LandsEnd carries very nice ones that aren’t terribly expensive and are kind to a – shall we say – other than model-perfect physique? Your other option is chinos or khaki pants. Men wear these all the time for Casual Fridays – and most other days when a suit isn’t called for. As for the low-heeled shoes for casual, check out non-sport casual sneakers, like Sketchers or Pumas. If there are Kohl’s stores near you, they have a good selection. My mother wears black or brown Pumas to almost every occasion (well, not with skirts) and as long as the logo is the same color as the shoe (not red or purple) nobody notices. </p>
<p>Avoid elastic waists, jeans that come up to your belly button aka ‘mom-jeans’, anything by Alfred Dunner, or too-bright (striped!) knit-wear. You want to avoid looking comfortably middle-aged without trying to look too young. If you haven’t watched “What Not To Wear”, you might want to start. They frequently have on women who are returning to the workforce after years away – when they aren’t making over young things just out of school who have no blinking clue not to show belly-rings at the law office. You may not have $5000 but you can adapt their advice on shape and fit to your wallet.</p>
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<li><p>Wearing clothing more formal than business casual - this is fine. It’s only when you go too casual that it can be a problem. Different people have different tastes and prefer different clothing.</p></li>
<li><p>Type of shoes to wear - I wouldn’t know the answer due to my being a male. :)</p></li>
<li><p>Vacation time is to use however you want and it’s perfectly okay to take a single day here and there as long as you taking the time off is okay with the manager (i.e. no deadline looming or something). It’s usually even okay to use vacation time for partial days - like taking an afternoon off. Unless stated otherwise by the company, sick time is for being sick and shouldn’t be used for personal time although it usually can be used for going to a doctor appointment, dentist, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Doctor appointments - usually you can use sick time for this but you can verify this with your manager. Typically you’d put down just the hours you need off like a half day, a couple of hours, etc. It’s okay to show up for work surrounding the hours you need off for the doc.</p></li>
<li><p>Phone calls allowed only during lunch - this is a strange one. It’s normally expected that people are allowed at least a 15 minute break after a couple of hours although it’s not unusual for a lot of people to skip it. It seems that you should be able to make a quick appointment phone call during that time. The rule is likely just to keep people from spending too much company time on personal calls as some employees have a tendancy to do. Again, talk to your manager and work it out. I’m sure it’ll be fine. </p></li>
<li><p>Received calls - Similar to the above, for things like a car service callback, doctor callback, etc. I doubt your manager would have an issue with it. Calls like this are infrequent and very short.</p></li>
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<p>Remember that your manager has the same issues with appointments, calls, personal time, etc. so will understand and should empathize with your questions. When you discuss some of these points with your manager, the manager should appreciate the fact that you’re concerned enough to discuss them in an attempt to ‘do the right thing’. Don’t be afraid to talk to the manager - they’re there to help both the business and the employees.</p>
<p>You can stretch your interview wear by pairing the pieces in different ways. Use a suit jacket as a jacket over non-matching trousers, for example.</p>
<p>Jeans: you can wear any trouser made of a more casual material, such as denim, cotton, etc. (Not that old polyester double knit, though!)</p>
<p>Shoes: I work in a very casual office, and women wear sandals in the summer. So here, the range of acceptable footwear is extensive. Just be conservative about it for the first week or so, and look around you.</p>
<p>If you can wait until you’ve been on board for a week or so before you ask about personal time, by then you will either have had a chance to casually ask a coworker or you will have a better idea whether you should speak with your manager or the HR dept to understand the policy fine points.</p>
<p>Second the advice about a cell phone for personal calls. If it appears that they are very strict about the noon time calling window (odd-that) then you should mention to your supervisor that you need to make a call to an office that is closed during lunch.</p>
<p>Marian, don’t feel pressured to wear “jeans” on jean Friday. Khaki’s are great for that, as are a more casual trouser. As for shoes during those “casual” days, sneakers or something similar are really to be considered off limits. Casual sandals, or flats are best.</p>
<p>An easy and semi inexpensive way to deal with “business casual” is to pair up pull over sweaters (cap sleeve, t-shirt sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, long sleeve) with plain color trousers. You can easily look “business” with 6-8 pull over sweaters and 5 different colored trousers (gray, black, navy, tan, brown). Change up the sweaters with the different pants (my sweater collection is eclectic, but my trousers are traditional). I’ve found that I get far better use of my trousers for work if I use zero patterns on them, and let the sweaters be the “fun”. I am particularly fond of 3/4 arm length. Marshall’s, Ross, and TJ Max are great places to go to spend well under $100 for a nice business casual outfit. Once you have the trousers, splurge occasionally on a new top. I own 3 pairs of work shoes. Two black, one brown.</p>
<p>By the way, congratulations on scoring what sounds like a great job!</p>
<p>Yes, cotton sweaters or short-sleeved (not tank sleeved).</p>
<p>I find the office gets chilly in the summer anyway, but “sweaters” aren’t always bulky and warm. I have several silk sweaters I bought at Marshall’s that are excellent in the summer. They’re lightweight and do the trick.</p>