How to handle an unexpected meeting with your boss

Is there anything more frustrating than your boss telling you that he wants a last-minute meeting with you?Is it… rebuke? layoffYou know, it might be for accolades or a higher salary, but that doesn’t stop the experience from being intimidating.?

as a career coach Ashley Stahl He told Lifehacker: can A quick check-in to ensure everything is fine, review your workload, and ask if you need more resources. ’” Her advice is to avoid catastrophic events. Especially because in today’s hybrid work model, seemingly haphazard meetings may not be. that spontaneous. If you or your boss are working from home, it may be easier (albeit annoying and somewhat uncaring) to send someone a virtual meeting link right away.

Stahl said during the pandemic, the volume of meetings at work was 13% up When Managers Find New Ways to Communicate with the team would have done saw in the hallway or their desk.

LinkedIn career expert Blair Heitmann explains how the modern office environment (Slack, Teams, and Email) and don’t read it because it makes it hard to convey the context and tone. that too many To brevity or timing their request for an interview.

How to understand the purpose of a meeting

Stahl suggested an easy way to get clues about the meeting agenda without looking like you’re overthinking it: Email or message your boss and ask if you need to bring anything. If they say yes, they will have a better understanding of what is being discussed and can focus on gathering the right materials. Heitmann, if he is comfortable doing so, directly listen About the meeting agenda.

Of course, you can also use c.with trusted colleaguesIf layoffs are in progress, it could be Rumors swirl.or meterssomeone else may have had a similar meeting I will tell you what they are talking about.

(if you Amazing I would like to emphasize.OK internally.Be honest with yourself about your attitude and performance and adjust accordingly. “We know when not to bring the ‘A’ game.’ says Stahl. If you brought it up, you should be pretty confident. If not, you should be ready to talk openly and honestly about what could be improved. )

Finally, if mass layoffs are planned, your company must file a notice under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) Act. check there.

Gather relevant information about performance

Key successes and milestones usually need to be tracked. If not, you should Get started now.Create a folder on your desktop and drop positive messages from colleagues and other examples Various tasks are going well, such as quarterly sales totals. A recent LinkedIn poll 55% of professionals please do not Track their accomplishments regularly, as you really should. and kNow you have Concrete evidence of your professional achievements come convenient for storage you settle in before the unscheduled meeting.

Stahl too Recommendation bring a bottle a glass of water with you You can drink it when you need to buy It’s time to prepare a response or calm your nerves. Hopefully you are waiting for good news.