Online Job Hunting Guide

by: mheo Soriano

THE SCENARIO: You need a resume ASAP but:

a) You do not know what it must contain

b) too busy to make one

c) or just too lazy to draft one?

Whatever your reason/s is/are there is a solution for you…

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Click on this link to try it out

You have seen from the previous entries the list of the possible illegal questions that might be asked during a job interview. In order to handle these questions, you must know what your true goals are, as they will guide you to the right actions. If you may come across some of the prohibited questions, there are three options which you can consider when you answer.

• You could momentarily forfeit your rights and allow yourself to answer the question, hoping that it will deepen affiliations with the employer instead of hinting prejudice.

• You can choose to carefully decline in answering the question but carry on with your aim to get the job you are applying for. You might want to say that, “I am a dedicated person when it comes to working and I balance my personal life and my job.” A promise of dedication is good for any employer.

• You can so choose to clearly refuse to answer the question and manifest an apparent aversion for the company. You can take blatant measures and go as far as filing a complaint or a law suit against the company.

Source

Forbidden Questions about Race

Examples: What is your skin color?
What is your race?
Is your spouse Caucasian/Hispanic/African American/Asian, etc?

Exceptions: There are no fair questions about race in an interview or application, but an employer can allow you to voluntarily indicate your race on your application.

Forbidden Questions about National Origin

Examples: You sound like you have an accent; where are you from?
Where were you born?
Are you an American citizen?

Exceptions: Employers are required to hire only those employees who can legally work in the United States. For that reason, employers can ask whether you are eligible to work in the United States.
Suspect Questions about Age
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects workers over 40 in private companies of twenty employees or more and government organizations.
Examples: When were you born?
When did you graduate from high school?
How old are you?

Exceptions: The act does not prohibit interviewers from posing questions about age, but does prohibit discrimination on these grounds unless age directly affects the job. An employer can rightfully inquire whether the candidate meets the minimum federal age requirements for employment (usually 14-17 years old).

*to be continued*

by mheo soriano

Let’s say that you are now fully ready for the interview: the company was impressed with your online resume and you were immediately contacted; it’s as if the job is already yours for the taking. But before you start celebrating, you still have to get through the most important part; the actual interview itself.

Here are some things to remember during an interview online/or in person:

Be formal, show courtesy to everyone

To start things off, be courteous with everyone in the office (if a personal interview) as they may become colleagues in the future.

Offer a hand shake to the interviewer(If a personal interview). Proper greetings will emit an aura of professionalism which is essential to build a rapport with the interviewer. If rapport is developed, the interview will be a lot easier to get through. The interviewer is not your enemy, he is not there to criticize you but to measure your compatibility with the job.

Be calm and comfortable

A job interview is more like of a conversation than an interrogation; it is a process of determining whether you really are fit for the job or not. There is no need for you to fear anything. Just relax and be attentive to the whole interview. Express everything you say as clear and as possible because jittery and uncertain answers may just cause a bad impression. Be Cool.

To be continued…

Forbidden Questions about Family Situation

Examples: Do you have small children?
Are you planning to have children soon?
What is your marital status?
What is your maiden name?
Are you pregnant?

Exceptions: Employers can inquire whether you have ever worked under a different name or whether you have personal responsibilities that could interfere with requirements of the job like travel or overtime hours.

Forbidden Questions about Sexual Orientation and Political Affiliation

Executive Order 13087 acts as a guideline against sexual discrimination or party discrimination in the federal government.
Examples: Are you straight or gay?
How do you feel about working with gay or bisexual people?
Who did you vote for in the last election?
Do you belong to a party?
Exceptions: This executive order does not bind all employers, but protections exist at least for federal civilian workers.

*to be continued*

Employment laws prohibit discrimination not only in the workplace itself but as well as in the interviews. In interviews, questions that are inquisitive about race, religion, sexual orientation, family tradition and situation, and disabilities are illegal. Nevertheless, only a few people know which questions are illegitimate and most applicants fall into a trap of disqualification due to prejudice.

Forbidden Questions about Religion
Examples: Do you go to church?
Are you religious?
What religion are you?
Do you take time off work for religious purposes?

Exceptions: Organizations that have a specific religious orientation might ask questions relevant to religious practices and beliefs.

Forbidden Questions about Disabilities and Health
Examples: Do you have any disabilities or medical conditions?
How serious is your disability?
Do you take any prescription drugs?
Have you ever been in rehab?
Have you ever been an alcoholic?
How many sick days did you take last year?
Do you have AIDS?
Have you been diagnosed with any mental illnesses?
Have you ever received worker’s compensation or been on disability leave?

Exceptions: Employers may ask whether you have any conditions that would keep you from performing the specific tasks of the job for which you are applying. They may also require that all candidates for a certain position pass through a medical examination that is relevant to the responsibilities of that job. Employers can subject candidates to illegal drug tests or ask you whether you take illegal drugs.
Source

Cleanliness

• Showered and neatly combed hair
• Trimmed nails, clean hands
• Light perfume or cologne

Clothing

• Neat and pressed
• Dark colors
• No sneakers, sandals, shorts, t-shirts, or tight clothes

Hair

• Clean and trimmed
• Clean shaven and neatly trimmed facial hair

Jewelry

• Limit rings-men avoid earrings
• Conceal tattoos
• Finger nails should be business length-no loud colors or designs

Manners

• No gum chewing
• Do not use slang words
• Answer with yes or no not “yeah, nah, or uh-huh”
• No swearing or smoking
• Wait for employer to be seated or wait for employer to ask you to have a seat before you sit

Source
Pic Link

Have you ever wondered why you didn’t get the job even if you gave your best? No matter how hard you think about it, there is no such thing as a perfect job hunt. Almost every jobseeker has experienced rejection at one point in their work life.

There are always bumps on the road to your dream job. It is best if you remain positive and don’t lose hope. Here is a list of job hunting mistakes that every jobseeker should avoid:

1. Appearing on the job interview unprepared. Say you dressed appropriately and practiced answering the tough questions but didn’t research about the company and the position you are applying for, then chances are the hiring manager will get disappointed.

2. Applying just for the sake of applying. Rejection is inevitable if you apply for a job even if it doesn’t interest you.
3. Being too casual. Hiring managers observe the every action of potential job candidates, from the way they send their job applications to the actual interview.

Browsing the internet for jobs, you’ll surely come across one that seems to be too good to be true, where you shop to get paid. Is this a viable source of income, well yes and no. Yes because there are marketing research firms who employ civilians to do their on-site inspections as part of the regular crowd that passes through a store’s doors, evaluating staff courtesy and service standards based on your required evaluation points stated in your service agreement. You are an informal employee who isn’t required to come into the business yet you are expected to deliver daily status reports and store evaluations. the job is quite lucrative and you may have to deal with a lot of fraudulent claims from the many scams out there. Ask for some referrals on which people and companies really pay up and keep people employed.
Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, you might have left your desk job for a more convenient and profitable online job you plan to get into. But what do you get? More stress, mainly because of the fact that many people who have lost jobs are turning to the internet as you are and you get stumped not able to get a respectable gig. Life is getting harder online with threats coming from all directions; viruses, scams, worms and other crazy stuff all out to get your cash and hard earned reputation.
Identity theft, phishing and vishing are so rampant, it’s hard to trust anything on the net anymore. What are you’re best bets for a good job then? Well, you might want to consider a course or two to get you on your way to another career. The internet is so congested that many fail to land proper placement even with good credentials, post as much as you can on job hunting sites but keep them updated and check on them from time to time to verify their status.