Professional connection has a direct impact on your social relationsgip and your human resource outlook. It highlights to a large extent where your interests are focussed in terms of job search and job security.Below is an article about Linkedin that tells us more about the need for this type of connection.
How to get the most out of LinkedIn
Alina Dizik, Special to CareerBuilder
LinkedIn isn't just a way to keep track of where old coworkers are working nowadays -- it's a tool that can help you navigate your job search, build up your network and stay informed in your industry. Knowing how to maximize the benefits of LinkedIn can help you throughout your career, not just when you need a job.
To start, be active on the social network and optimize your LinkedIn profile, says Craig Fisher, vice president of sales at Ajax Social Media. "The top misconception is that if you just create a LinkedIn profile, then you should get calls from employers or recruiters," he says.
Not sure how to build your LinkedIn presence? Here are six ways to make the most of LinkedIn:
Include detailed job descriptions
Don't simply list your current job in your LinkedIn profile. When recruiters browse the site to seek out potential candidates, they are interested in seeing a detailed version of your past experience going back about 10 years. Take the time to fill out your job history just as you would on a résumé, highlighting specific accomplishments under each role. "The more relevant detail and specific keywords that you include in your profile, the easier it will be for recruiters and employers to find you when they search for appropriate candidates for their openings," Fisher says.
Keep it professional
Checking the tone of your LinkedIn profile is key. While it's tempting to make it conversational, remember that it's not as casual as Facebook or any other social network that you use in your spare time. Over-sharing or using slang terms versus professional language may prevent recruiters from reaching out. Also be careful about including everything you post to Twitter on your LinkedIn profile," Fisher says. Additionally he suggests providing an e-mail or phone number to make it easier for perspective employers to get in touch.
Import content into your page
Use LinkedIn's other features to showcase work directly in your profile. For example, if you often create presentations or design websites, be sure to integrate those work samples in your profile. "Use the apps available on your profile page to import content into your page," Fisher says. Additionally, use the status to convey relevant industry information or point out news articles or research to your network.
Join industry or alumni groups
Even if you're not currently job hunting, participating in LinkedIn forums or groups can help you keep up with industry news. Stay active in the groups you join. Answer questions where you have expertise, share job tips or post new info to the group page. If others see you're an asset, they'll be more likely to connect with you and inform you about opportunities that come their way.
Keep making connections
The secret to LinkedIn is simple -- the more connections you make, the greater the chances that it can help in your job search. "Grow your network -- the more active you are, and the more people you connect with, the more people will see your profile," Fisher suggests. "After all, any of your friends or colleagues might know someone who could be a great lead for you." Take a systematic approach and re-evaluate your connections every month, or after you've completed a large project or started working with new clients.
Reach out for in-person meetings
Just because your connections are online doesn't mean it's not necessary to meet in person. Use LinkedIn to garner face-to-face communication such as happy hours, lunches or just a quick phone call with connections in your area. Meeting those in your network can help you cement online connections down the road.
Alina Dizik researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CareerBuilder on Twitter.
Copyright 2011 CareerBuilder.com.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP
RELATIONSHIP MATTERS FOR INCREASED PRODUCTION & PRODUCTIVITY
When employers start a business (or open a branch of an existing business), they require employees to produce, administer, organize, publicize, sell, transport, maintain, repair, etc. They advertise job openings, conduct interviews, and hire individuals based on qualifications, requirements and wages. They usually provide training to newly-hired employees and make them aware of the company's policies, rules and goals. They assign tasks according to the job positions and employee profiles, and may offer vacations, health insurance coverage, workers’ compensation, and other benefits. But one day, sooner or later, the employer may serve an employee the dreaded pink slip, and terminate his/her employment without any valid reason or cause. The employee becomes an ex-employee and, usually but not always, is eligible for unemployment insurance. And his/her employment process begins again.
From the beginning of the employment to the end, the employee may have been treated unlawfully, discriminated against, harassed, denied his/her due wages or benefits, made to work in unsafe conditions, or wrongfully terminated.
Years ago, the relationship between employer and employee was governed by the assumption that employers were like kings and were free to offer any terms of employment and treat their employees in any way they dictated, and the employees were free to either accept or reject those terms (i.e., take it or leave it). There were few laws and protections available to employees that would safeguard their interests at times of manipulation, shabby treatment, defamation, discrepancies, retaliation, unfair practices, etc. Employees did not have a platform to voice theirprotests.
Initially, it was the unions that protested employers' unfair practices and demanded that employees be provided rights. In the 1930s, the federal government enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which called for fair wages and safe workplaces. The NLRA set off a deluge of new laws governing the workplace.
With the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, the federal government, followed by many state governments, began to enact laws prohibiting discrimination against women and minority group members and barring discrimination against older employees. In 1970 the federal government enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), setting minimum workplace safety standards. By 1990 Congress had enacted laws prohibiting discrimination against disabled workers, and requiring employers to reasonably accommodate such workers if the accommodation did not cause undue hardship on the employer.
Today, employees and job applicants are protected by various federal and state laws. Many state courts have recognized additional employee rights that have not been set out in written statutes, but instead are part of common law, based solely upon earlier court rulings. Employers no longer have the right to treat their employees any way they desire. Employees have the right to protest, make claims, file litigation, and seek damages, if they believethey have been mistreated at any stage of the employment relationship.
visit this url:
http://www.mypersonnelfile.com/termination/employer-and-employee-relationship
When employers start a business (or open a branch of an existing business), they require employees to produce, administer, organize, publicize, sell, transport, maintain, repair, etc. They advertise job openings, conduct interviews, and hire individuals based on qualifications, requirements and wages. They usually provide training to newly-hired employees and make them aware of the company's policies, rules and goals. They assign tasks according to the job positions and employee profiles, and may offer vacations, health insurance coverage, workers’ compensation, and other benefits. But one day, sooner or later, the employer may serve an employee the dreaded pink slip, and terminate his/her employment without any valid reason or cause. The employee becomes an ex-employee and, usually but not always, is eligible for unemployment insurance. And his/her employment process begins again.
From the beginning of the employment to the end, the employee may have been treated unlawfully, discriminated against, harassed, denied his/her due wages or benefits, made to work in unsafe conditions, or wrongfully terminated.
Years ago, the relationship between employer and employee was governed by the assumption that employers were like kings and were free to offer any terms of employment and treat their employees in any way they dictated, and the employees were free to either accept or reject those terms (i.e., take it or leave it). There were few laws and protections available to employees that would safeguard their interests at times of manipulation, shabby treatment, defamation, discrepancies, retaliation, unfair practices, etc. Employees did not have a platform to voice theirprotests.
Initially, it was the unions that protested employers' unfair practices and demanded that employees be provided rights. In the 1930s, the federal government enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which called for fair wages and safe workplaces. The NLRA set off a deluge of new laws governing the workplace.
With the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, the federal government, followed by many state governments, began to enact laws prohibiting discrimination against women and minority group members and barring discrimination against older employees. In 1970 the federal government enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), setting minimum workplace safety standards. By 1990 Congress had enacted laws prohibiting discrimination against disabled workers, and requiring employers to reasonably accommodate such workers if the accommodation did not cause undue hardship on the employer.
Today, employees and job applicants are protected by various federal and state laws. Many state courts have recognized additional employee rights that have not been set out in written statutes, but instead are part of common law, based solely upon earlier court rulings. Employers no longer have the right to treat their employees any way they desire. Employees have the right to protest, make claims, file litigation, and seek damages, if they believethey have been mistreated at any stage of the employment relationship.
visit this url:
http://www.mypersonnelfile.com/termination/employer-and-employee-relationship
MISTAKES ORGANIZATIONS MAKE
IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP
Twenty Dumb Things Organizations Do to Mess Up Their Relationship With People
Use These Employee Relations Tips to Avoid the 20 Mistakes Organizations Make
By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide April 13, 2011
Even the best organizations periodically make mistakes in dealing with people. They mess up their opportunity to create effective, successful, positive employee relations.
They treat people like children and then ask why people fail so frequently to live up to their expectations. Managers apply different rules to different employees and wonder why workplace negativity is so high. People work hard and infrequently receive positive feedback.
At the same time, many organizations invest untold energy in actions that ensure employees are unhappy. They ensure ineffective employee relations results. For example, one of the most important current trends in organizations is increasing employee involvement and input. Organizations must find ways to utilize all of the strengths of the people they employ. Or, people will leave to find work in an organization that does.
According to former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, the number of people in the labor force ages 25 to 34 is projected to decline by 2.7 million in the next seven years. To meet this challenge, work places need to recruit new populations and non-traditional employees. And, workplaces urgently need to retain valued employees.
The book, High Five, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles talks about building powerfully effective teams. The book emphasizes that "the essence of a team," according to Dr. Blanchard, is "the genuine understanding that none of us is as smart as all of us."
Teams allow people to achieve things far beyond each member's individual ability. But teamwork also requires powerful motivation for people to put the good of the group ahead of their own self interest. Fortunately, the millennial generation grew up working in a team work environment. Valuing and appreciating teams, your youngest workers will lead the way.
Pull these workplace trends together and it is no wonder that the Dilbert cartoon is perennially popular. Consider that Scott Adams, the strip's creator, will never run out of material because, despite what organizations want or say they want for effective employee relations - they often fail to:
• retain valued employees,
• develop empowered people working together to serve the best interests of the organization, and
• create an environment in which every employee contributes all of their talents and skills to the success of organizational goals.
The next time you are confronted with any of the following proposed actions, ask yourself this question. Is the action likely to create the result, for powerfully motivating employee relations, that you want to create?
Twenty Dumb Mistakes Employers Make
Here are the twenty dumb mistakes organizations make to mess up their relationships with the people they employ.
• Add another level of hierarchy because people aren't doing what you want them to do. (More watchers get results!)
• Appraise the performance of individuals and provide bonuses for the performance of individuals and complain that you cannot get your staff working as a team.
• Add inspectors and multiple audits because you don’t trust people’s work to meet standards.
• Fail to create standards and give people clear expectations so they know what they are supposed to do, and wonder why they fail.
• Create hierarchical, permission steps and other roadblocks that teach people quickly that their ideas are subject to veto and wonder why no one has any suggestions for improvement. (Make people beg for money!)
• Ask people for their opinions, ideas, and continuous improvement suggestions, and fail to implement their suggestions or empower them to do so. Better? Don’t even provide feedback about whether the idea was considered or why it was rejected.
• Make a decision and then ask people for their input as if their feedback mattered.
• Find a few people breaking rules and company policies and chide everybody at company meetings rather than dealing directly with the rule breakers. Better? Make everyone wonder "who" the bad guy is. Best? Make up another policy to punish every employee.
• Make up new rules for everyone to follow as a means to address the failings of a few.
• Provide recognition in expected patterns so that what started as a great idea quickly becomes entitlement. (For example, buy Friday lunch when production goals are met. Wait until people start asking you for the money if they cannot attend the lunch. And, find employees meeting only the production goal that will merit the prize - and not one bit more. )
• Treat people as if they are untrustworthy - watch them, track them, admonish them for every slight failing - because a few people are untrustworthy.
• Fail to address behavior and actions of people that are inconsistent with stated and published organizational expectations and policies. (Better yet, let non-conformance go on until you are out of patience; then ambush the next offender, no matter how significant, with a disciplinary action.)
• When managers complain that they cannot get to all of their reviews because they have too many reporting staff members, and performance development planning takes too much time, eliminate PDPs. Better? Require supervisors to do them less frequently than quarterly. Or, hire more supervisors to do reviews. (Fail to recognize that an hour per quarter per person invested in employee development is the manager's most important job.)
• Create policies for every contingency, thus allowing very little management latitude in addressing individual employee needs.
• Conversely, have so few policies, that employees feel as if they reside in a free-for-all environment of favoritism and unfair treatment.
• Make every task a priority. People will soon believe there are no priorities. More importantly, they will never feel as if they have accomplished a complete task or goal.
• Schedule daily emergencies that prove to be false. This will ensure employees don't know what to do, or are, minimally, jaded about responding when you have a true customer emergency.
• Ask employees to change the way they are doing something without providing a picture of what you are attempting to accomplish with the change. Label them "resisters" and send them to change management training when they don't immediately hop on the train.
• Expect that people learn by doing everything perfectly the first time rather than recognizing that learning occurs most frequently in failure.
• Letting a person fail when you had information, that he did not, which he might have used to make a different decision.
You can avoid these employee relations nightmares. These ingredients add up to a recipe for disaster if you want to be the employer of choice in the next decade. Effective employee relations will always result in a win - for both the employees and for you
Twenty Dumb Things Organizations Do to Mess Up Their Relationship With People
Use These Employee Relations Tips to Avoid the 20 Mistakes Organizations Make
By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide April 13, 2011
Even the best organizations periodically make mistakes in dealing with people. They mess up their opportunity to create effective, successful, positive employee relations.
They treat people like children and then ask why people fail so frequently to live up to their expectations. Managers apply different rules to different employees and wonder why workplace negativity is so high. People work hard and infrequently receive positive feedback.
At the same time, many organizations invest untold energy in actions that ensure employees are unhappy. They ensure ineffective employee relations results. For example, one of the most important current trends in organizations is increasing employee involvement and input. Organizations must find ways to utilize all of the strengths of the people they employ. Or, people will leave to find work in an organization that does.
According to former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, the number of people in the labor force ages 25 to 34 is projected to decline by 2.7 million in the next seven years. To meet this challenge, work places need to recruit new populations and non-traditional employees. And, workplaces urgently need to retain valued employees.
The book, High Five, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles talks about building powerfully effective teams. The book emphasizes that "the essence of a team," according to Dr. Blanchard, is "the genuine understanding that none of us is as smart as all of us."
Teams allow people to achieve things far beyond each member's individual ability. But teamwork also requires powerful motivation for people to put the good of the group ahead of their own self interest. Fortunately, the millennial generation grew up working in a team work environment. Valuing and appreciating teams, your youngest workers will lead the way.
Pull these workplace trends together and it is no wonder that the Dilbert cartoon is perennially popular. Consider that Scott Adams, the strip's creator, will never run out of material because, despite what organizations want or say they want for effective employee relations - they often fail to:
• retain valued employees,
• develop empowered people working together to serve the best interests of the organization, and
• create an environment in which every employee contributes all of their talents and skills to the success of organizational goals.
The next time you are confronted with any of the following proposed actions, ask yourself this question. Is the action likely to create the result, for powerfully motivating employee relations, that you want to create?
Twenty Dumb Mistakes Employers Make
Here are the twenty dumb mistakes organizations make to mess up their relationships with the people they employ.
• Add another level of hierarchy because people aren't doing what you want them to do. (More watchers get results!)
• Appraise the performance of individuals and provide bonuses for the performance of individuals and complain that you cannot get your staff working as a team.
• Add inspectors and multiple audits because you don’t trust people’s work to meet standards.
• Fail to create standards and give people clear expectations so they know what they are supposed to do, and wonder why they fail.
• Create hierarchical, permission steps and other roadblocks that teach people quickly that their ideas are subject to veto and wonder why no one has any suggestions for improvement. (Make people beg for money!)
• Ask people for their opinions, ideas, and continuous improvement suggestions, and fail to implement their suggestions or empower them to do so. Better? Don’t even provide feedback about whether the idea was considered or why it was rejected.
• Make a decision and then ask people for their input as if their feedback mattered.
• Find a few people breaking rules and company policies and chide everybody at company meetings rather than dealing directly with the rule breakers. Better? Make everyone wonder "who" the bad guy is. Best? Make up another policy to punish every employee.
• Make up new rules for everyone to follow as a means to address the failings of a few.
• Provide recognition in expected patterns so that what started as a great idea quickly becomes entitlement. (For example, buy Friday lunch when production goals are met. Wait until people start asking you for the money if they cannot attend the lunch. And, find employees meeting only the production goal that will merit the prize - and not one bit more. )
• Treat people as if they are untrustworthy - watch them, track them, admonish them for every slight failing - because a few people are untrustworthy.
• Fail to address behavior and actions of people that are inconsistent with stated and published organizational expectations and policies. (Better yet, let non-conformance go on until you are out of patience; then ambush the next offender, no matter how significant, with a disciplinary action.)
• When managers complain that they cannot get to all of their reviews because they have too many reporting staff members, and performance development planning takes too much time, eliminate PDPs. Better? Require supervisors to do them less frequently than quarterly. Or, hire more supervisors to do reviews. (Fail to recognize that an hour per quarter per person invested in employee development is the manager's most important job.)
• Create policies for every contingency, thus allowing very little management latitude in addressing individual employee needs.
• Conversely, have so few policies, that employees feel as if they reside in a free-for-all environment of favoritism and unfair treatment.
• Make every task a priority. People will soon believe there are no priorities. More importantly, they will never feel as if they have accomplished a complete task or goal.
• Schedule daily emergencies that prove to be false. This will ensure employees don't know what to do, or are, minimally, jaded about responding when you have a true customer emergency.
• Ask employees to change the way they are doing something without providing a picture of what you are attempting to accomplish with the change. Label them "resisters" and send them to change management training when they don't immediately hop on the train.
• Expect that people learn by doing everything perfectly the first time rather than recognizing that learning occurs most frequently in failure.
• Letting a person fail when you had information, that he did not, which he might have used to make a different decision.
You can avoid these employee relations nightmares. These ingredients add up to a recipe for disaster if you want to be the employer of choice in the next decade. Effective employee relations will always result in a win - for both the employees and for you
Sunday, November 21, 2010
JOB IS JOB-NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Job Alert - Paralegal
6:53 AM
BramptonJobForce.ca Job Alert BramptonJobForce.ca Job Alertalert@email4-beyond.com
BramptonJobForce.ca Job Alert for November 21, 2010
** FYI....BRAMPTON IS A CITY IN ONTARIO, CANADA. I LIVE HERE.
TRICK QUESTION: HOW MANY SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES ARE THERE IN YOUR JOB SEARCH ?
Search Jobs
Dear Prospective Candidate,
Job opportunities were recently posted that match your job criteria.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resume Distribution
www.ResumeRabbit.com Get on 80 top job sites at once. Takes only 5 minutes!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Job Opportunities
Trial Technology Senior Consultant
New York NY
Vice President -Attorney
Newport Beach CA
Paralegal - Corporate
Houston TX
LEGAL ASSISTANT/PARALEGAL
Los Angeles CA
Foreclosure Services Representative
Whippany NJ
Paralegal - Structured Investments
New York NY
AI Asset Acceptance Risk Analyst
San Francisco CA
Assistant Paralegal
San Francisco CA
Pre-Closing Administrator
Jericho NY
Assistant Immigration Paralegal
Philadelphia PA
Paralegal / Legal Secretary
Chatham NJ
Intelectual Property Litigation Paralegal - 529310
San Jose CA
Legal Intern
Roseville CA
Sr. Paralegal, Compliance
Seattle WA
Legal Paralegal
Cleveland OH
Paralegal, Business, Tax and Governance Service
Sacramento CA
Assistant, Legal-Risk Management
Temple TX
Director of Contract Management
New York NY
Controller/CPA
Sacramento CA
Temporary Attorney - Blue Sky
New York NY
Outside Sales Position–Non-Profit
Fresno CA
Production Welder
Fresno CA
Executive Administrative Assistant - Food Manufacturing
Fresno CA
Paralegal Job
Ambler PA
Paralegal
San Mateo CA
Senior Legal Analyst
Fairfax VA
Communications & Legal Support
Golden CO
Show All Matching Jobs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:53 AM
BramptonJobForce.ca Job Alert BramptonJobForce.ca Job Alertalert@email4-beyond.com
BramptonJobForce.ca Job Alert for November 21, 2010
** FYI....BRAMPTON IS A CITY IN ONTARIO, CANADA. I LIVE HERE.
TRICK QUESTION: HOW MANY SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES ARE THERE IN YOUR JOB SEARCH ?
Search Jobs
Dear Prospective Candidate,
Job opportunities were recently posted that match your job criteria.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resume Distribution
www.ResumeRabbit.com Get on 80 top job sites at once. Takes only 5 minutes!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Job Opportunities
Trial Technology Senior Consultant
New York NY
Vice President -Attorney
Newport Beach CA
Paralegal - Corporate
Houston TX
LEGAL ASSISTANT/PARALEGAL
Los Angeles CA
Foreclosure Services Representative
Whippany NJ
Paralegal - Structured Investments
New York NY
AI Asset Acceptance Risk Analyst
San Francisco CA
Assistant Paralegal
San Francisco CA
Pre-Closing Administrator
Jericho NY
Assistant Immigration Paralegal
Philadelphia PA
Paralegal / Legal Secretary
Chatham NJ
Intelectual Property Litigation Paralegal - 529310
San Jose CA
Legal Intern
Roseville CA
Sr. Paralegal, Compliance
Seattle WA
Legal Paralegal
Cleveland OH
Paralegal, Business, Tax and Governance Service
Sacramento CA
Assistant, Legal-Risk Management
Temple TX
Director of Contract Management
New York NY
Controller/CPA
Sacramento CA
Temporary Attorney - Blue Sky
New York NY
Outside Sales Position–Non-Profit
Fresno CA
Production Welder
Fresno CA
Executive Administrative Assistant - Food Manufacturing
Fresno CA
Paralegal Job
Ambler PA
Paralegal
San Mateo CA
Senior Legal Analyst
Fairfax VA
Communications & Legal Support
Golden CO
Show All Matching Jobs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, September 19, 2010
JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
KEEPING YOU UP TO SPEED
The Job Interview Questions to Help You Select the Best
Illegal Job Interview Questions
by Susan Heathfield, About.com Guide
Disclaimer
The information in this article is from this website and a variety of online resources. The information provided, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. While I have made every effort to provide accurate, legal, and complete information, I cannot guarantee it is correct. Please seek legal assistance, or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct. This information is for guidance, ideas, and assistance only.
The job interview is a powerful factor in the employee selection process. You can use behavioral-based job interview questions to help you select superior candidates. Ask interview questions that help you identify whether the candidate has the behaviors, skills, and experience needed for the job you are filling.
Ask legal interview questions that illuminate the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses to determine job fit. Avoid illegal interview questions and interview practices that could make your company the target of a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit.
Illegal Job Interview Questions
Illegal interview questions include any interview questions that are related to a candidate’s:
• Age
• Race, ethnicity, or color
• Gender or sex
• Country of national origin or birth place
• Religion
• Disability
• Marital or family status or pregnancy
Especially in the course of a comfortable interview during which participants are relaxed, don’t let the interview turn into a chat session. Seemingly innocuous interview questions such as the following are illegal.
Sample Illegal Job Interview Questions
• What arrangements are you able to make for child care while you work?
• How old are your children?
• When did you graduate from high school?
• Are you a U.S. citizen?
• What does your wife do for a living?
• Where did you live while you were growing up?
• Will you need personal time for particular religious holidays?
• Are you comfortable working for a female boss?
• There is a large disparity between your age and that of the position’s coworkers. Is this a problem for you?
• How long do you plan to work until you retire?
• Have you experienced any serious illnesses in the past year?
During an interview, you must take care to keep your interview questions focused on the behaviors, skills, and experience needed to perform the job. If you find your discussion straying off course or eliciting information you don’t want about potential job discrimination topics, bring the discussion quickly back on topic by asking another job-related interview question.
If a candidate offers information, such as, “I will need a flexible schedule because I have four children in elementary school,” you can answer the question. Do not, however, pursue that topic further. Another candidate informed me recently that his favorite spare time activity is reading the Bible. I asked him to tell me about why he left his most recent job.
Another candidate leaned closer across the table and said, “The reason I am leaving my current job is that I just had a baby two weeks ago and I need a regular schedule for my child care provider.” Another candidate told me he was a native Polish speaker and that he spent his childhood in an area of the city called Pole Town.
Running late at the interview, a female candidate informed the plant manager she had to run because she was late for football practice. His response, "Oh, you play football?" makes me chuckle every time I think about it. (It was her son's practice.) Again, do not pursue the discussion and you may not use such information to make your hiring decision. (As an aside, each of these individuals was hired for the position which is why I am comfortable sharing the examples.)
Interested in legal behavioral based interview questions? I also provide guidance about what you are looking for in your candidate's responses. Read more…
___________________________________________________________________
The Job Interview Questions to Help You Select the Best
Illegal Job Interview Questions
by Susan Heathfield, About.com Guide
Disclaimer
The information in this article is from this website and a variety of online resources. The information provided, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. While I have made every effort to provide accurate, legal, and complete information, I cannot guarantee it is correct. Please seek legal assistance, or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct. This information is for guidance, ideas, and assistance only.
The job interview is a powerful factor in the employee selection process. You can use behavioral-based job interview questions to help you select superior candidates. Ask interview questions that help you identify whether the candidate has the behaviors, skills, and experience needed for the job you are filling.
Ask legal interview questions that illuminate the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses to determine job fit. Avoid illegal interview questions and interview practices that could make your company the target of a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit.
Illegal Job Interview Questions
Illegal interview questions include any interview questions that are related to a candidate’s:
• Age
• Race, ethnicity, or color
• Gender or sex
• Country of national origin or birth place
• Religion
• Disability
• Marital or family status or pregnancy
Especially in the course of a comfortable interview during which participants are relaxed, don’t let the interview turn into a chat session. Seemingly innocuous interview questions such as the following are illegal.
Sample Illegal Job Interview Questions
• What arrangements are you able to make for child care while you work?
• How old are your children?
• When did you graduate from high school?
• Are you a U.S. citizen?
• What does your wife do for a living?
• Where did you live while you were growing up?
• Will you need personal time for particular religious holidays?
• Are you comfortable working for a female boss?
• There is a large disparity between your age and that of the position’s coworkers. Is this a problem for you?
• How long do you plan to work until you retire?
• Have you experienced any serious illnesses in the past year?
During an interview, you must take care to keep your interview questions focused on the behaviors, skills, and experience needed to perform the job. If you find your discussion straying off course or eliciting information you don’t want about potential job discrimination topics, bring the discussion quickly back on topic by asking another job-related interview question.
If a candidate offers information, such as, “I will need a flexible schedule because I have four children in elementary school,” you can answer the question. Do not, however, pursue that topic further. Another candidate informed me recently that his favorite spare time activity is reading the Bible. I asked him to tell me about why he left his most recent job.
Another candidate leaned closer across the table and said, “The reason I am leaving my current job is that I just had a baby two weeks ago and I need a regular schedule for my child care provider.” Another candidate told me he was a native Polish speaker and that he spent his childhood in an area of the city called Pole Town.
Running late at the interview, a female candidate informed the plant manager she had to run because she was late for football practice. His response, "Oh, you play football?" makes me chuckle every time I think about it. (It was her son's practice.) Again, do not pursue the discussion and you may not use such information to make your hiring decision. (As an aside, each of these individuals was hired for the position which is why I am comfortable sharing the examples.)
Interested in legal behavioral based interview questions? I also provide guidance about what you are looking for in your candidate's responses. Read more…
___________________________________________________________________
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
FAILURE AND SUCCESS
JIM ROHN is an important voice for Human Resource Development.
SUCCESS MAGAZINE ARTICLE [ What Achievers Read ]
(From my net-work Desk – September 14, 2010)
• WELL-BEING
The Formula For Failure And Success
Jim Rohn March 27, 2008
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day. Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day?
The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.
On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape from any immediate consequences of our deeds.
If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!
Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices - choices that didn't seem to matter.
Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.
But we must become better educated than that!
If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated again. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.
Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.
Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.
Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.
But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by disciplining ourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.
One of the exciting things about the formula for success - a few simple disciplines practiced every day - is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.
The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence – not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!
SUCCESS MAGAZINE ARTICLE [ What Achievers Read ]
(From my net-work Desk – September 14, 2010)
• WELL-BEING
The Formula For Failure And Success
Jim Rohn March 27, 2008
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day. Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day?
The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.
On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape from any immediate consequences of our deeds.
If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!
Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices - choices that didn't seem to matter.
Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.
But we must become better educated than that!
If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated again. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.
Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.
Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.
Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.
But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by disciplining ourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.
One of the exciting things about the formula for success - a few simple disciplines practiced every day - is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.
The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence – not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
A CASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
CAN GROSS MISCONDUCT PLAY SCRABBLE WITH YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS ?
By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: August 4, 2010 1:31 PM
Abdullah Khadr released after court ruling
Abdullah Khadr, accused by the U.S. government of procuring weapons on behalf of al-Qaeda, is a free man after an Ontario court ordered his release Wednesday from a Toronto detention centre.
Khadr, the elder brother of Omar Khadr, the only Canadian held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was originally detained by Pakistani authorities before his arrest by RCMP at the request of U.S. officials upon his return to Canada in 2005.
U.S. authorities paid a $500,000 US bounty to Pakistani police to hold him for 14 months before he was returned to Toronto.
He has been detained without bail since Dec. 23, 2005, while the courts dealt with the U.S. request to extradite him.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Christopher Speyer granted a stay of proceedings in his case — effectively shelving it, meaning the extradition request was denied. Khadr, 29, was then released from custody.
Speaking to reporters on the courthouse steps, Khadr was relieved by the ruling. "I think this is going to be a new beginning for me in life," he said. "What can I say? I want to start new now. I don't want to think about it anymore."
Speyer cited the fact Khadr was denied prompt access to Canadian consular officials when initially detained in Pakistan. He said he granted the stay because of "gross misconduct" by governments in the case, and he hoped the ruling would act as a deterrent to other countries acting similarly.
Ottawa will have a chance to appeal the decision, and must do so within 30 days.
Khadr's lawyer, Dennis Edney, said he welcomed the ruling. "This government has been totally unreasonable," he said. "[The judge] reviewed the facts and did what he's supposed to do."
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, speaking to reporters in Montreal, said the government would look at the decision before deciding what to do.
"We have a look at all cases and we deal with them very carefully. I never comment publicly before we look at them," he said.
Khadr's lawyers say the case against their client relies on statements he made to officials in Pakistan and repeated when he arrived in Toronto in December 2005. His lawyers say those statements were made under duress, while he was tortured and compelled to say what authorities wanted to hear.
By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: August 4, 2010 1:31 PM
Abdullah Khadr released after court ruling
Abdullah Khadr, accused by the U.S. government of procuring weapons on behalf of al-Qaeda, is a free man after an Ontario court ordered his release Wednesday from a Toronto detention centre.
Khadr, the elder brother of Omar Khadr, the only Canadian held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was originally detained by Pakistani authorities before his arrest by RCMP at the request of U.S. officials upon his return to Canada in 2005.
U.S. authorities paid a $500,000 US bounty to Pakistani police to hold him for 14 months before he was returned to Toronto.
He has been detained without bail since Dec. 23, 2005, while the courts dealt with the U.S. request to extradite him.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Christopher Speyer granted a stay of proceedings in his case — effectively shelving it, meaning the extradition request was denied. Khadr, 29, was then released from custody.
Speaking to reporters on the courthouse steps, Khadr was relieved by the ruling. "I think this is going to be a new beginning for me in life," he said. "What can I say? I want to start new now. I don't want to think about it anymore."
Speyer cited the fact Khadr was denied prompt access to Canadian consular officials when initially detained in Pakistan. He said he granted the stay because of "gross misconduct" by governments in the case, and he hoped the ruling would act as a deterrent to other countries acting similarly.
Ottawa will have a chance to appeal the decision, and must do so within 30 days.
Khadr's lawyer, Dennis Edney, said he welcomed the ruling. "This government has been totally unreasonable," he said. "[The judge] reviewed the facts and did what he's supposed to do."
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, speaking to reporters in Montreal, said the government would look at the decision before deciding what to do.
"We have a look at all cases and we deal with them very carefully. I never comment publicly before we look at them," he said.
Khadr's lawyers say the case against their client relies on statements he made to officials in Pakistan and repeated when he arrived in Toronto in December 2005. His lawyers say those statements were made under duress, while he was tortured and compelled to say what authorities wanted to hear.
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