Preemployment inquiries under the FMLA and ADA: What’s prohibited?

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by BLR 

What questions are employers prohibited from asking a job candidate under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

Preemployment inquiries and the ADA

Under the ADA, an employer may not ask about the existence, nature, or severity of a disability until the employer has made the applicant a conditional job offer.

However, an employer may describe to applicant what the hiring process involves (e.g., a written test) and ask him or her whether he or she will need a reasonable accommodation for the hiring process.

An employer may also ask a job applicant if he or she needs a reasonable accommodation, if the employer knows that this applicant has a disability—either because it is obvious or the applicant has voluntarily disclosed the information—and could reasonably believe that the applicant will need a reasonable accommodation.

Likewise, an employer may inquire about an applicant’s ability to perform job-related functions, with or without reasonable accommodation. This can be accomplished by describing a particular job duty (e.g., carrying 50-pound bags from a loading dock)—and then asking whether the applicant can perform that function or demonstrate how to perform it.

Preemployment inquiries and the FMLA

There are no specific FMLA statutory or regulatory requirements regarding preemployment inquiries. However, it is not advisable to ask about leave previously taken, because the question could indicate discriminatory intent or an intent to retaliate against the employee’s protected exercise of leave rights.

http://trendpersonnel.com/administrator/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&cid=153

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Keeping Those Candidates on the Line

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Always Follow Up, applying for a job, Candidates, dallas temp jobs, interview process, job duties, job search dfw, rockwall jobs, trend personnel services

by Stephen Bruce | BLR

This crucial moment can play out in so many different ways, and most of that is up to you. Consider these Do’s and Don’ts.

DO:

• Clearly introduce who you are, and be sure to include the name of your company.
• State your purpose for calling.
• By all means, flatter your candidates. Let them know you have specially picked them from a large pool of candidates. After all of your sourcing and preparation, this is very true!
• Take your time and add a few short pauses here and there. Candidates should feel in control of the conversation and have enough time to think. If they didn’t expect a call from you, they might be on-guard or suspicious. A little space in a conversation can put them at ease.

DON’T:

• Do not offer them an interview for the same day, or even the next day, even if you really want that position filled quickly. Give your candidate time to do some research. Besides, rushing the process makes you seem desperate.
• Never forget to explain in detail how the interview process works. Let them know what time and where they will be meeting, and with whom they will be meeting. Make sure to give them time to write it down, and if there are any other steps involved, let them know. Give them clear, easy steps to follow. This helps eliminate uncertainty.
• Never misrepresent your company or the position. If candidates ask about the company, use clear terms to describe it. Also, make sure to tell them the job duties in accurate, straightforward terms. The candidate should arrive at the interview ready to talk about the actual job you want them to fill. If their interview doesn’t match the initial phone call, you are likely to lose the candidate.
• Do not answer any questions about pay during the initial phone call. Sometimes a candidate will want to talk pay up front. Unless you work for a company where positions come with fixed pay, it’s best if you don’t mention any numbers at this time. At this point, your guess might not align with what they could see down the road in an offer. Experts agree that failure to be honest about pay can cost many companies good candidates.

Always Follow Up

So, you’ve made the call and hopefully you have an interview scheduled. The candidate knows what he or she is supposed to do, and when. So why would you follow up? This business practice is polite and it helps put the candidate at ease. Just shoot the person a quick e-mail shortly after you talk summarizing what you talked about. Send another e-mail the day before or early the day of the interview confirming the time and location. Make sure the candidate knows that he or she can contact you with any questions. In fact, some form of communication should take place at each step of the entire process. Employees expect this, and when it doesn’t happen, they feel adrift.

What if you decide not to go with that candidate? What if someone else gets hired before the interview? If this ends up being the case, you should still send a note gently letting the person know what has transpired. It may be hard to give someone bad news, but it is worse not to contact them at all. Studies have shown that people who are cold-shouldered by companies at any point during the interview process will often bad-mouth the company to their friends and family, as well as on social media. You may not see it directly, but a bad reputation gets around, and it may cost you in ways you didn’t anticipate.

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/149-keeping-those-candidates-on-the-line

Job Interview Best Practices

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by Bridget Miller | BLR

Many of the items on this list are meant to keep the hiring team on the right side of the law and avoid situations in which an applicant could assume any type of discrimination or bias. Other tips are meant to ensure the hiring team is effective and consistent in order to find the best applicant for the role. Here are the tips:

• Be sure that anyone involved in the hiring process is trained in and fully understands the laws that relate to hiring and the implications for each step of the process.
• Avoid behaviors that could imply a discriminatory bias. For example:
  • Do not ask about disabilities. Focus on the ability to do the job.
  • Treat all applicants the same. in other words, don’t require some groups to meet higher criteria than others for consideration.
  • Don’t ask about medical issues or other personal information.
  • Don’t ask any questions that could serve to gather information about:
    • Marital status;
    • Whether the applicant has children; 
    • Race;
    • National origin;
    • Age (besides confirming the applicant is over 18, if necessary);
    • Religion;
    • Sexual orientation (in many states it is illegal to discriminate on this basis); or
    • Protected activities, such as past filings of workers’ compensation claims. 
  • Don’t imply there is any type of problem or bias related to the applicant (e.g., “Our customers may react negatively to a woman in charge”).
• Be consistent in how applicants are assessed. For example: 
  • If an applicant must prove his or her ability to perform the job (such as via a performance test), this should be required of all applicants, not just a few. Requiring it of some but not others can appear discriminatory.
  • Stick to enforcing minimum education and experience requirements that are truly consistent with job needs, and do not vary this assessment for certain individuals. If the minimums are realistic, it won’t be necessary to make exceptions.
  • Be consistent with the questions you ask to avoid the appearance of biases. It can seem biased if some interviewees are required to pass a higher threshold than others.
• Be well-prepared.Before interviewing a candidate, you should:
  • Have questions ready, and know what you’re trying to learn from each of the questions you choose to ask. The questions should be related to the job or the person’s ability to perform the job. 
  • Know what the next steps in the hiring process are and advise the applicant of such either during or at the conclusion of the interview.
  • Review all of the information available about the applicant, including the details of how previous interviews went (if applicable). 
  • Plan to be in a space that is appropriate for the interview, free from distractions, noise, and interruptions. 
• Be aware of subconscious biases. We all have biases that cloud our judgment, but it can help to simply be aware of this in order to take steps to ensure it doesn’t affect the interview process. For example, how an individual dresses or styles his or her hair may create an instant assumption, but it does not necessarily mean that person is not a good job candidate. 
• Allow silences. Sometimes interviewees need time to formulate an answer. By filling in silences too quickly, you may lose the opportunity to hear what the applicant has to say. Always give the applicant time to talk—in fact, he or she should do the majority of the talking—so that you can get a clear understanding about the applicant and how he or she will fit with the organization. 
• Ensure everyone involved in interviewing and hiring knows the next steps, knows who is authorized to make an offer to an applicant, and what processes must be completed before an offer is made (such as conducting background checks, reference checks, and so on). Know what applicable conditions the offer is subject to, such as passing drug screening. 
• Remain objective in your assessments.
• Remember to assess soft skills as well as specific skills required to perform the job tasks. The issue of cultural fit is often just as (or even more) important as skills that can be trained. 
• Be sure that the interviewing team, especially the person making the offer, knows to avoid making any kind of reference to a contract in terms that could be construed as an implied employment contract. (Unless, of course, you’re offering an actual employment contract, but this is the exception rather than the norm in the United States.) This might mean avoiding phrases like “permanent position” or “long-term role” or anything that implies that the applicant cannot be fired without cause. 
• Give the applicant the opportunity to ask questions.

What would you add to this list?

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/143-job-interview-best-practices

Refresh Your Resume in Six Steps

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applying for jobs in dallas, Career Profile, dallas temp jobs, dfw staffing, Hiring managers, hiring professionals, proofread your résumé, resume writing tips, rockwall jobs, Target Job, trend personnel services

By Karen Hofferber | Monster

Many people are facing the prospect of finding a new job. And some are even contemplating a complete career change. If it has been years since you last updated your resume, you may be wondering where to start. Follow these six steps to turn your dusty retro resume into a high-powered personal marketing tool for winning interviews in today’s competitive job market.

1. Find Your Resume’s Focus

Before you start refreshing your old resume, clarify your job target. Without a clear vision of your career direction, your resume won’t do a good job of selling you to potential employers. If you have more than one career interest, you’ll be much better off developing different versions of your resume rather than trying to construct a one-size-fits-all document.

Having trouble finding your focus? You might want to start with some self-assessment tests or by speaking to a career counselor.

2. Research Your Target Job

Thoroughly research your job target before writing the first draft of your resume, especially if it’s been awhile since you’ve been in the job market. Talk to people in your target industry, and scour job postings on Monster to get a good idea of the qualifications employers are looking for. If you are changing careers, your research may prompt you to enroll in continuing-education classes to gain new skills.

Look for keywords that continually crop up in different ads. If you see terms used frequently, they should probably be in your resume whenever applicable. Pay attention to skills that aren’t mentioned in these ads as well, and remove items from your old resume that will make you seem outdated.

3. Develop Your Career Profile/Objective 

Now you’re ready to begin writing. If you’re a career changer, you’ll need a clearly stated objective to open your resume. Don’t expect busy hiring managers to figure out what you want to do. Use this section to explain key skills you can leverage from your prior career into your new job target. Emphasize how you can help the organization, rather than what you want in a job.

Here’s a before-and-after example:

• Before: Seeking a challenging position with a future-oriented company offering opportunities for growth and advancement.
• After: Dynamic public speaker/presenter with advanced technical knowledge, seeking to leverage these strengths as an award-winning computer instructor into an entry-level software sales position.

If you’re looking for a new position within your current field, use the Objective section to write a compelling career summary. This is the perfect place to write a few hard-hitting sentences emphasizing the breadth of your experience and the value you bring to the table.

4. Zero in on Your Achievements

Your resume must have an accomplishments-driven focus to compete in today’s job market and maximize calls for interviews. Avoid simply rehashing boring job descriptions. Instead, detail the results and outcomes of your efforts.

If you were a hiring manager, which would you find more compelling?

• Before: Responsible for troubleshooting and maintaining workstations and systems.
• After: Improved systems uptime from 91% to 99.9% for 350 corporate and remote users through expert, cross-platform (Windows/Unix) troubleshooting/maintenance.

For each of the positions you’ve held, use action verbs and phrases to describe how you contributed to your employers, such as cut costs, generated revenue, improved service, enhanced processes, solved problems and saved time. Use numbers, percentages, dollar amounts, comparisons or other key details to back up your claims. Be sure not to reveal facts that disclose proprietary or confidential company information.

5. Design Your Resume

Does your retro resume resemble a typing job circa 1977? To stand out from the crowd, use your word-processing program’s advanced formatting features, such as bold, italics, line draw, industry icons, attractive fonts, etc. — without going overboard — to give your resume a distinctive look. If you are not confident in your design capabilities, seek assistance from a resume writer or talented friend.

6. Proofread and Test-Drive

Your resume must be perfect. Carefully proofread your resume to ensure proper grammar, punctuation and word use. If you are changing careers, ask for feedback from hiring managers in your targeted field for valuable input on how your resume stands up to the competition. .

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/136-refresh-your-resume-in-six-steps

Résumés—Stop Wasting Time!

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apply now dallas, dallas temp jobs, dfw careers, dfw staffing, dfw staffing agency, online applicants, Recruiting, resume tips, staffing agencies, trend personnel

by Stephen Bruce | BLR

By the way, if you  end up in that cartoonish position of having 2,000 online applicants, you  probably need to find some knockout requirements to get that pile smaller. Or,  you could, for example, decide to look only at the first 250. Whatever system  you choose, be sure that it doesn’t discriminate.

Your Time Is Precious

You need a system to keep all those unqualified candidates’ credentials off your  desk and off your computer desktop as well.

Clear and Detailed Postings

First of all, in all your advertising and posting, be clear about the requirements and be specific about the job. Unqualified candidates will self-select out, and the best candidates will be intrigued by the close match between what you seek and what they offer.

Complete and Consistent Data

In many cases, you’re stuck with a variety of application material such as application  forms filled out by walk-ins, e-mail notes, letters from various people recommending candidates, and letters or résumés with little information in them.

Before you review, try to get as much information as possible in  the same format. You can’t compare one candidate who submitted a brief letter  to one who sent in a detailed résumé and filled out an application. If  information is too brief, ask the person to apply online with full information or request a more-detailed résumé.

Review Efficiently

Next, be careful to review credentials efficiently. In the winnowing process, you  want to spend as little time as possible with the obvious rejects—and more time on serious candidates.

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/133-resumes-stop-wasting-time

Treat Telephone Interviews Like In-Person Interviews

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by Lisa Quast

For many jobs, you must first get through a telephone interview before you’re invited to an in-person interview, so don’t discount the importance of it. Here are tips to ace telephone interviews:

Act like it’s an in-person interview. Research the company and industry, prepare potential interview questions and answers, and practice interviewing over the telephone with someone so you can get the feel for it before the actual interview.

Test your telephone voice. Practice how you speak over the telephone so you’ll come across sounding clear and at the right volume. Introduce yourself at the beginning using a strong voice that sounds confident and avoid answers that ramble or sound monotone. Feeling a little lethargic? Try standing up when you talk to help you sound more energetic.

Eliminate background noise. Ensure you can hold the interview in a quiet location. If you’re interviewing from your home, be sure no one will pick up one of the other telephones and accidentally interrupt the interview.

Have the right documents available. This includes your resume, the job description, your list of questions for the hiring manager, a note pad and several pens, reference list, recommendation letters – everything you’d normally bring to an in-person interview. Put them on the desk or table in front of you and spread them out so you can easily see the information.

Dress the part. There’s something to be said for putting on the clothes you’d wear to an in-person interview and wearing them for your telephone interview. Just the act of getting dressed for the part of a job candidate will help your mind psychologically get ready for your telephone interview.

Have some water handy. You never know when your mouth will go dry, so have something close by to sip. Just don’t accidentally knock it over onto all of your paperwork. And, don’t chew gum, eat food, or smoke while you’re on your telephone call. Trust me, the interviewer will hear you.

Listen and think before you speak. Allow the hiring manager to take the lead during the telephone interview. Listen carefully and answer each question succinctly. Don’t go off on tangents when answering questions over the telephone and never interrupt the interviewer.

Finish your telephone interview with class. Practice asking questions that will help you uncover what the hiring manager thinks of your qualifications and to find out the next steps in the hiring process. Reiterate your interest in the position and thank him or her for their time.

Treating telephone interviews with the same level of importance as you’d treat an in-person interview will increase your odds of advancing to the next step in the hiring process.

 

http://trendpersonnel.com/index.php/en/news/item/110-treat-telephone-interviews-like-in-person-interviews