Career advice: Values

How to Cope When Your Office Romance Turns Sour

I've heard about office romances before many times, but never thought that I'd be involved in one. I joined my company about seven months ago. After a short time, I became involved romantically with a senior executive. It didn't last long since he broke off the affair after three weeks when he told me that he'd met the woman of his dreams. I find my situation unbearable, and people in the office talk about me behind my back. I don't know if I can get another job in this market. Is there anything I can do?

When a New Job Lands You In a Den of Bad Behavior

I recently took a promotion that involved transferring to an office overseas. After settling in, I realized that I don't like most of my co-workers or share their values. They're borderline immoral and I'm worried that they'll ask me to do things that I find uncomfortable. I earn a good salary and don't want to jeopardize it. What do you suggest?

Dealing with Personal Questions in Interview

I am a woman in her early 30s who has recently gotten married. How do I deal with questions about having children in interviews? It is unbelievable how potential employers figure it is an appropriate question, and ignore the illegality of the question! I have a stellar resume, and am interviewing for mid to upper management. I know you can complain about this sort of questioning, but let's be real... what good does that do?

What to Do When You're Asked to 'Cook the Books'

I'm an administrator and finance manager at a small organization. A major shareholder has asked me on several occasions to alter accounts and do some unethical things. I accepted the assignments since they were mostly minor in nature, but now he wants me to do more. This bothers me only somewhat from an ethical standpoint, but from a legal one, I consider this a major issue since I don't want to go to jail. What should I do?

Never Lie in Your Resume

You should not only lie in the resume, but also in the job interview if you want to succeed. Many people including CEOs were fired by the board of directors, but when you read the companies press release, they said that the CEOs resigned instead of got fired.

Therefore, you should learn from them that you should lie as well. Companies lie to the general public, and you should too.

Values / Ethical issues

Is it acceptable for a person in a key position to leave a job in the middle of a major project? I am an engineer and have a lead position in a chip-development project for a semiconductor company. I am frustrated with my management, don't like the direction the company is headed, and have found that a promising company I have been watching is looking for someone with my background. The project I am working on would suffer a setback if I left, but would recover after a moderate slip in the schedule. Am I obligated to hang in there until the project is completed, and run the risk of missing out on the other opportunity?

My instincts tell me that I should stay, but I have put my employer's well-being ahead of my own for the majority of my career, and wonder if I should be more selfish this time. Would I run the risk of getting a reputation as someone who can't be depended on? What should I do?