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From time to time, I get asked by jobseekers about questions that interviewers are permitted to ask during a job interview. While almost everything is fair game, there are certain questions that interviewers are not legally permitted to ask. A post that recently appeared on the “Interns Over 40 blog” pretty much covers them all. 

And, while interviewers are not supposed to ask most of these questions, many do. That said, you need to be on the “look-out” for them and be prepared to judiciously answer them whether or not you think they may be legally acceptable or not. After all, challenging the legality of an interviewer’s question during a face-to-face is not likely to lead to a job offer!

In any event, the post list 13 questions on the forbidden list and how interviewers may be able to garner the information that they are seeking without necessarily violating any laws in doing so.

1. Age

Inappropriate:

• How old are you?
• What year were you born?
• When did you graduate from high school?

Appropriate:

• Before hiring, asking if you are over the minimum age for the hours or working conditions.
• After hiring, verifying same with a birth certificate or other ID, and asking age on insurance forms.

2. Citizenship

Inappropriate: Are you a US citizen?

Appropriate:

• If you are not a US citizen, do you have the legal right to remain permanently in the US?
• What is your visa status (if no to the previous question).
• Are you able to provide proof of employment eligibility upon hire?

3. Criminal Record

Inappropriate:

• Have you ever been arrested?
• Have you ever spent a night in jail?

Appropriate:

• Have you ever been convicted of a crime?

4. Disability

Inappropriate:

• Do you have any disabilities?
• What's your medical history?
• How does your condition affect your abilities?

Appropriate:

• Can you perform the specific duties of the job.
• After hiring, ask about medical history on insurance forms.

5. Family

Inappropriate:

• Questions concerning spouse, or spouse's employment, salary, arrangements, or dependents.
• What kind of child care arrangements have you made?
• How will your spouse feel about the amount of time you will be traveling if you get this job?

Appropriate:

• Can you work overtime?
• Is there any reason you can't start at 7:30am?
• Whether an applicant can meet specified work schedules or has activities or commitments that may prevent him or her from meeting attendance requirements.

6. Marital Status

Inappropriate:

• Are you married, divorced, separated, engaged, widowed, etc?
• Is this your maiden or married name?
• What is the name of your relative/spouse/children?
• Do you live with your parents?

Appropriate:

• After hiring, marital status on tax and insurance forms.

7. Military

Inappropriate:

• What type or condition is your military discharge?
• Can you supply your discharge papers?
• What is your experience in other than US armed forces?

Appropriate:

• Describe the relevant work experience as it relates to this position that you acquired from a US armed forces.

8. National Origin

Inappropriate:

• What is your nationality?
• Where were you born?
• Where are your parents from?
• What's your heritage?
• What is your mother tongue?
• How did you acquire the ability to speak, read or write a foreign language?
• How did you acquire familiarity with a foreign country?
• What language is spoken in your home?

Appropriate:

• Verifying legal U.S. residence or work visa status.
• What languages do you speak, read or write fluently?

9. Parental Status

Inappropriate:

• How many kids do you have?
• Do you plan to have children?
• How old are your children?
• Are you pregnant?

Appropriate:

• After hiring, asking for dependent information on tax and insurance forms.

10. Race or Skin Color

Inappropriate:

• What race are you?
• Are you a member of a minority group?

Appropriate:

• None

11. Religion or Creed

Inappropriate:

• What is your religious affiliation?
• Which religious holidays will you be taking off from work?
• Do you attend church regularly?

Appropriate:

• Can you work on Saturdays and Sundays?

12. Residence

Inappropriate:

• Do you own or rent your home?
• Do you live in town?
• With whom do you live?

Appropriate:

• Inquiries about the address to facilitate contact with the applicant.
• Will you be able to start work at 8:00am?

13. Sex or Sexual Orientation

Inappropriate:

• Do you wish to be addressed as Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms.?
• What are your plans to have children in the future?
• Are you gay?
• What is your sexual preference?

Appropriate:

• None

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!

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There is no question that Twitter is the new social media tool of the moment. And, it should come as no surprise that scientists and other bioprofessionals have been slow to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. While the jury is still out on Twitter’s effectiveness as a research tool, there is a growing body of evident that suggests that it can be a valuable tool when conducting a job search. 

To that end, Miriam Salpeter, the owner of Keppie Careers wrote an incisive piece on leveraging Twitter to find a job or jumpstart your career. I excerpted relevant parts of the post that originally appeared as “Older Job Seeker: Want to Tweet Yourself to A New Job?”  While originally aimed at older employees, much of what is presented in the article is germane to life scientists of all ages who are seeking new job opportunities! 

Want to Tweet Yourself to A New Job?”

by Miriam Salpeter

Would you believe that you can tweet yourself to a job opportunity 140 characters at a time? It’s been done! Statistics show that job search networking is much more effective when you make “loose” connections – touching base with people beyond your immediate circle whose networks and contacts are much different from your own. With over 200 million users, Twitter offers an unparalleled opportunity to create an extended network.

Not convinced that Twitter is actually a high-powered job search tool? Read on to learn how Twitter can uniquely position you for job-hunting success!

What Can Twitter Do For You?

1. Afford access to other professionals in your field. When you follow industry leaders, you’ll know who spends time with them, what conferences they attend (and what they think of the speakers!), what they’re reading and what is on their minds. This is great information to leverage for your search.

2. Provide exposure and credibility as well as personal and professional relationships when you connect to others in your industry.

3. Offer you a venue to demonstrate your expertise and share information in quick, pithy bursts of wisdom. This is perfect if you don’t have the time or energy to create a blog.

Unique Aspects of Twitter

1. It is casual and immediate and a great place to “meet” informally.

2. You’ll find an array of people on Twitter, including CEOs, top-level executives, hiring managers, recruiters and everyone in-between! It’s one-stop shopping for your networking needs. You’ll be surprised to find that stars in your field (mentors) may follow you if you reach out to them!

3. Unlike Facebook, where it is kind of creepy if you start trying to “friend” people who are connected to your contacts, it is acceptable (and expected) to follow people on Twitter because another friend or colleague does.

4. It forces you to be brief. Coming up with your “Twit-Pitch” – what you have to offer in 140 characters or less – will help you clarify your value proposition. Remember: less is more!

What To Do First?

1. Brand yourself professionally. If you are planning to use Twitter for a job search, set up a designated profile and account. Choose a professional Twitter handle using your name or some combination of your name and profession that sounds good and is easy to remember. For example, JaneSmith or MarketingExpertJane.

2. Take time to create a professional profile that will attract your target market. If you don’t have a website, link to your LinkedIn profile.

3. Before you follow anyone, start posting some tweets! Don’t succumb to the temptation to share your lunch menu…Tweet about an article, an idea or share a link of professional interest to your targeted followers. Do this for a few days. It may seem strange to be tweeting when no one is following, but you may be surprised to gain an audience before you even try. Once you have a great profile and a set of interesting tweets, start following people in your industry. Aim high! Follow stars – some will follow you back.

4. Continue to build your network by using Twitter Search and Twitter’s Find People tool. Manually review profiles and use Twubble to help you find new people to follow. Use directories such as Twellow and TwitDir. Grow your network slowly – you don’t want to follow 1000 people and have only 30 following you. That makes you look spammy, not professional.

5. Give, give, give! Think about what you can do for others. Don’t blatantly self-promote. Instead, help promote others. “Retweet” (pass along information someone else shared, giving them credit) – you will earn followers and friends this way. Those who know (and like) you will become part of your network and will be willing to help you.

Sustain Your Twitter Network

1. Twitter doesn’t have to be very time-consuming, but if it’s going to be part of your job search strategy, make a point to keep up with it by sending out something useful every day.

2. Read what other people write and respond. Join conversations and start your own.

3. Don’t be afraid to send a message directly to a star in your field. Simply address your tweet to @their Twitter name, and they should receive it. (Be aware that Twitter isn’t 100% reliable, so feel free to try again if you don’t hear back or have reason to believe your message wasn’t delivered).

4. Use the direct message feature if you have a private or personal note. Remember that the recipient may respond publicly, though.

5. Feel free to tweet that you are looking for an opportunity. (See below for a success story!)

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!!!!!!  (@biojobbblog)

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Whenever I do resume critiquing at scientific meetings, someone always asks about how to negotiate a job offer.  Most of the people that ask the question aren't even close to receiving a job offer and I do my best to deflect the question.  However, at a recent meeting, I spent 30 minutes with a PhD student who had received an offer advising him on how to get a better deal from his prospective new employer.  This got me thinking and I invited Joe Tringali, a veteran recruiter with lots of negotiating experience to write a blog post about strategies and things to consider when negotiating a job offer.

The "Dos" and "Don'ts" of Negotiating a Job Offer

by Joe Tringali

Invariably, the topic of salary negotiations in the interview process makes its way to the surface and, as a seasoned professional recruiter, I have a few thoughts that I would like to share with jobseekers.  During the course of my almost 30 year career, I have work as a traditional “headhunter” and also as on onsite contract recruiter for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, shifting gears and mindset as warranted by the particular client and the task at hand. In other words, I have been on both sides of the negotiating table either on behalf of a job candidate or a client company.

Fundamentally, job seekers need to understand the “economics” surrounding their search; who—the candidate or employer—has the most leverage in the relationship? Is there more demand than there is supply for a candidate with a specific set of skills or is there an excess of talent allowing an employer to choose the absolute best candidate for job. That said, consider the following:

A candidate who has received an offer can always try to negotiate to see how far they can push  the employer. As a rule of thumb, the initial offer that is proffered is usually not the best offer and if you aren’t satisfied with it, try and negotiate for a better deal.  If you ask and you don’t get what you want, the initial offer will likely still stand but you won’t have any regrets or say to yourself “I should have asked” if you eventually accept the offer. On the other hand, if the offer IS negotiable, it’s most likely only negotiable within a finite range. To that end, you must “come to the table” knowing your worth and what the compensation and benefits standards are for comparable positions in the industry. Rest assured that the prospective employer is at least as prepared as you are (usually more so) when it comes to negotiating offers. After all, most companies have dedicated compensation departments that spend a good portion of their workweek establishing fair compensation ranges. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask and attempt to negotiate, but simply that you must temper your expectations and not “expect the world.” Typically, employers are limited with what is negotiable in an offer. Things that are typically not negotiable are base salaries and healthcare and financial benefits. Other things like vacation time, sign on bonuses, relocation costs etc are. The reasons why base salary and benefits are not negotiable are because companies try to maintain internal equity among its employees.

When to negotiate? The obvious answer is to negotiate from a position of strength—when a formal offer has been extended (but never before). The offer signals that a company “wants you” and the candidate ought to consider the offer as it stands. Assuming the offer is fair (and the candidate SHOULD know his/her worth as part of the search process), accept it and move on with your career. Should you feel it isn’t quite up to par based on your understanding of your skills and marketplace demand, you might consider a conversation that sounds something like the following:

“I’m thrilled to receive the offer and am trying to find a way to make this work for both parties. My understanding of the market ( from online research, university career services, friends with similar experience, in similar roles, in similar geography,  is that an offer of 2k more might be more in line. IF there is any way you can bump the offer up by 2K, I will accept it and start on XXX date”

In other words, you are offering something back (acceptance/start date) in exchange for a possibly bump in the offer (most companies want you to start sooner rather than later). The worst case is that the employer comes back and says they cannot do any more with regard to compensation. Depending upon your assessment of the situation, you might then try to negotiate additional vacation days or an increase in relocation costs to offset the $2K that you need to feel comfortable to accept the offer. If the answer is still no, the original offer stands until you either accept or reject it—the decision is yours. Generally speaking, most offers are fair and in the range you might expect given your background and years of experience in the industry. But, only you can determine whether or not an offer is right for you. Ultimately, that decision ought to be based on compensation requirements, job responsibilities, geography, and whether or not an offer will meet your needs at this particular time in your life.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

Joe Tringali is a Principal with Tringali & Associates, Inc., a recruitment consulting practice based in Manchester, New Hampshire. He has over 30 years of progressive experience in the field of Human Resources and is particularly well-qualified in the design and implementation of creative staffing programs and executive search practices within the Life Sciences. Some his clients include Pfizer, Eisai Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Biogen Idec, Genzyme , TKT/Shire , Harvard University and Infinity Pharmaceuticals.

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Losing a job or getting laid off is without a doubt one of the more emotionally devastating events that most people face. Unfortunately, in these troubling financial times, many more people are likely to face this likelihood than any other time in recent history.

However, if you lose or have lost a job, it is important to keep your situation in perspective and realize that it isn’t the end of the world and that there are things that you can do to find a new job! Having said that, like most other things in life you will have to work hard to achieve that goal! This will require organization, commitment and dedication to the job search. And, the best way to conduct a successful job search is to approach it and treat it like a full time job! To that end, attempt to divide each day into manageable list of tasks and allocate sufficient time to accomplish them—just like you would at a full time job. Also, since time is usually no longer an issue, you can spend some of your time researching new opportunities, networking with others or finding new contacts who might be able to help you get your foot in the door at a prospective employer’s company or organization.

Sitting in front of a computer all day, applying for online jobs on company websites and job boards isn’t going to cut it—mostly because you won’t hear back from most of the places where you submitted online job application. In fact, I think that the online approach to job hunting almost guarantees that you will become dejected, depressed and hopeless. 

In my opinion, the best approach to a job search (after losing a job) is to recognize that anything less than full time commitment to finding a new one likely won’t be successful. Based on my own and other’s experience, a successful job search consists of a mixture of focused and disciplined online and IRL activities. Developing and implementing an ordered and strategic job search provides jobseekers with organization and a “structure” that will likely help to ward off feelings of confusion, dejection and hopelessness experienced by most people who have lost jobs. For more ideas and suggestions on how to transform your job search into a full time job please check out this excellent article by Phyllis Korkki.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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Whenever I do resume critiquing at scientific meetings, someone always asks about how to negotiate a job offer.  Most of the people that ask the question aren't even close to receiving a job offer and I do my best to deflect the question.  However, at a recent meeting, I spent 30 minutes with a PhD student who had received an offer advising him on how to get a better deal from his prospective new employer.  This got me thinking and I invited Joe Tringali, a veteran recruiter with lots of negotiating experience to write a blog post about strategies and things to consider when negotiating a job offer.

The "Dos" and "Don'ts" of Negotiating a Job Offer

by Joe Tringali

Invariably, the topic of salary negotiations in the interview process makes its way to the surface and, as a seasoned professional recruiter, I have a few thoughts that I would like to share with jobseekers.  During the course of my almost 30 year career, I have work as a traditional “headhunter” and also as on onsite contract recruiter for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, shifting gears and mindset as warranted by the particular client and the task at hand. In other words, I have been on both sides of the negotiating table either on behalf of a job candidate or a client company.

Fundamentally, job seekers need to understand the “economics” surrounding their search; who—the candidate or employer—has the most leverage in the relationship? Is there more demand than there is supply for a candidate with a specific set of skills or is there an excess of talent allowing an employer to choose the absolute best candidate for job. That said, consider the following:

A candidate who has received an offer can always try to negotiate to see how far they can push  the employer. As a rule of thumb, the initial offer that is proffered is usually not the best offer and if you aren’t satisfied with it, try and negotiate for a better deal.  If you ask and you don’t get what you want, the initial offer will likely still stand but you won’t have any regrets or say to yourself “I should have asked” if you eventually accept the offer. On the other hand, if the offer IS negotiable, it’s most likely only negotiable within a finite range. To that end, you must “come to the table” knowing your worth and what the compensation and benefits standards are for comparable positions in the industry. Rest assured that the prospective employer is at least as prepared as you are (usually more so) when it comes to negotiating offers. After all, most companies have dedicated compensation departments that spend a good portion of their workweek establishing fair compensation ranges. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask and attempt to negotiate, but simply that you must temper your expectations and not “expect the world.” Typically, employers are limited with what is negotiable in an offer. Things that are typically not negotiable are base salaries and healthcare and financial benefits. Other things like vacation time, sign on bonuses, relocation costs etc are. The reasons why base salary and benefits are not negotiable are because companies try to maintain internal equity among its employees.

When to negotiate? The obvious answer is to negotiate from a position of strength—when a formal offer has been extended (but never before). The offer signals that a company “wants you” and the candidate ought to consider the offer as it stands. Assuming the offer is fair (and the candidate SHOULD know his/her worth as part of the search process), accept it and move on with your career. Should you feel it isn’t quite up to par based on your understanding of your skills and marketplace demand, you might consider a conversation that sounds something like the following:

“I’m thrilled to receive the offer and am trying to find a way to make this work for both parties. My understanding of the market ( from online research, university career services, friends with similar experience, in similar roles, in similar geography,  is that an offer of 2k more might be more in line. IF there is any way you can bump the offer up by 2K, I will accept it and start on XXX date”

In other words, you are offering something back (acceptance/start date) in exchange for a possibly bump in the offer (most companies want you to start sooner rather than later). The worst case is that the employer comes back and says they cannot do any more with regard to compensation. Depending upon your assessment of the situation, you might then try to negotiate additional vacation days or an increase in relocation costs to offset the $2K that you need to feel comfortable to accept the offer. If the answer is still no, the original offer stands until you either accept or reject it—the decision is yours. Generally speaking, most offers are fair and in the range you might expect given your background and years of experience in the industry. But, only you can determine whether or not an offer is right for you. Ultimately, that decision ought to be based on compensation requirements, job responsibilities, geography, and whether or not an offer will meet your needs at this particular time in your life.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

Joe Tringali is a Principal with Tringali & Associates, Inc., a recruitment consulting practice based in Manchester, New Hampshire. He has over 30 years of progressive experience in the field of Human Resources and is particularly well-qualified in the design and implementation of creative staffing programs and executive search practices within the Life Sciences. Some his clients include Pfizer, Eisai Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Biogen Idec, Genzyme , TKT/Shire , Harvard University and Infinity Pharmaceuticals.

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I have heard from many jobseekers, who—despite many years of work experience— are having difficulty finding full time employment. During economic down turns many companies cannot or are reluctant to hire full time employees. However, this doesn’t mean that there is work to be done. Consequently, many firms look for part-time, temporary or contract workers to handle the work that must get done to maintain operations.

Melanie Wanzek of CTW Features wrote an excellent article on why taking a temporary job might be a great opportunity for those who can’t find full time employment. Temporary jobs provide an opportunity to learn new skills, apply old skills to solve new problems or to gain experience in your profession.

For those of you who think that this may be right for you. Here are several questions you should ask a prospective employer when considering whether or not to accept a temporary or contract job opportunity.

1. Who will my supervisor be?
2. What hours will I be expected to work?
3. Is there a dress code?
4. What is the work environment like?
5. Do temporary workers have their own workspace or is it shared?
6. How are my benefits different or similar to full time employees?
7. Is there more scheduling flexibility for temporary workers?
8. Is there a possibility that this temporary opportunity might turn into full time employment?

Scientist who may be interested in contract work please check out a previous post that I wrote on this topic.

Until next time

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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Do you ever wonder whether or not you are getting paid enough at work or what the person sitting next to you makes? I bet most employees think about this from time to time—especially around bonus time. This isn’t surprising because salaries are one of the best kept secrets at most companies and organizations. Keeping salaries under wraps is good for morale mostly because it minimizes resentment among employees However, because nobody really knows how their salaries match up with their co-workers, determining what constitutes an acceptable salary can become problematic for jobseekers and long time employees. Not to worry—Monster.com has created several salary tools that can help when negotiating a salary for a new job or determining whether or not it is time to ask for that long overdue raise!

Check them out and let me know what you think!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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The advent of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Linked In have been a boon to recruiters and human resources (HR) professionals. Social networks represent a vast and easily-accessible source of job candidates whose professional credentials and personal information are readily available to determine whether or not they may be potential new hires. While the effectiveness of recruiters and HR professionals to source new talent is debatable, I contend that there is nobody more qualified than employees at a company to identify prospective new employees who may bring value to an organization. A number of forward-thinking companies have realized that the best way to find “right fit job candidates” is to mine the social networking contacts of their existing employees. To that end, Appirio and Jobvite, two San Francisco, CA-based start ups, developed software platforms that allow their clients to link employee social networks and candidate sourcing solutions to employee referral programs. 

A hiring company that uses Appirio’s application, ask its employees who belong to Facebook to add the application to their personal pages. When new jobs are available, Appirio’s matching engine searches the Facebook pages of an employee’s friends and uses job titles, geography and key words to determine which friends might be a good fit for the available positions. Once identified, a friend receives a referral from the employee inviting him/her to apply for the job (if interested). If the “friend” is ultimately hired, Appirio’s application allows the company to identify which employee found the match and offer a referral bonus. To address privacy concerns, the list of possible matches is available to only to friends/employees—not the hiring company or Appirio.

Jobvite offers a similar service but in addition to Facebook, it also searches and mines friend/contact information from Linked In and Twitter. And, anyone who receives a Jobvite referral can also search his/her own network to identify suitable job candidates and pass it along again. Jobvite recipients who are hired can be tracked to the original sender, so that the employee can receive a referral bonus—even if the Jobvite referral has been passed from one inbox to another up to six times.

Despite the explosion of job boards, social networking sites and social media tools like Twitter, employee referrals are still the most effective way for jobseekers to find new jobs. The Appirio and Jobvite solutions represent a novel way to leverage employee relationships to match jobseekers with prospective new employers. However, in this job market, I wouldn’t sit around and wait to receive an Appirio or Jobvite invitation from one of your social networking friends. Instead, I recommend that you put your social networking sites to good use and tell everyone you know that you are actively seeking employment.  Because at the end of the day finding a new job is all about networking!

Until next time...

Good luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

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