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This is a guest post by Bill Allred, VP of Sales & Marketing at HireVue.
Modern employers must be concerned with risk exposure in their hiring practices. Technology advancements provide efficiency, but does technology also increase litigation risk? Employers must answer this important question, and below you will find a starting point to your research. So, are video interviews discriminatory?
In 2006 the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published the Internet Applicant Rule (IAR). The IAR defines the procedures that federal contractors must adhere to regarding applicant tracking in the information age. Although the IAR was written specifically for federal contractors, its standards are viewed as heuristics for all employers that seek to maintain anti-discriminatory practices. With particular focus on the video interview, this article will examine three parts of the IAR:
1. The IAR applies to any candidate who “submits an expression of interest in employment through the Internet or related electronic data technologies.” Specifically, the OFCCP lists the following “electronic data technologies”:
a. Electronic mail/email
b. Resume databases
c. Job banks
d. Electronic scanning technology
e. Applicant tracking systems/Applicant service providers
f. Applicant screeners
Although not named specifically, employers should assume that video interviews meet the definition of an electronic data technology in the eyes of the OFCCP (see footnote 1). Based on the assumption that applicants who perform video interviews do fall under the definition of the Internet Applicant Rule, what other sections of the IAR are relevant?
2. “The person’s application or resume shows that he or she has the basic qualifications for the position in question.” It continues, “The contractor considers the individual for employment in a particular position”. It’s important to note that the term “considers” is interpreted as “assesses the substantive information provided in the expression of interest with respect to any qualifications involved with a particular position.” The main difference between video interviews and the electronic data technologies named above – email, job banks, and resume databases – is that prior to a video interview, an initial resume screen has already been completed (see footnote 2). Only qualified applicants are invited to respond to a video interview, which asks the applicant about job related skills. Video interviews differ from video resumes on this point. In the case of a video resume, the candidate has not yet been screened for job-related qualifications, nor has the employer “considered” the candidate. Employers would be wise to carefully consider to risks of video resumes.
3. The Internet Applicant Rule “prescribes the records contractors must maintain about hiring done through use of the Internet or related electronic data technologies; for companies with fewer than 150 employees or a contract of at least $150,000, the record retention period is one year. Contractors with at least 150 employees and a contract of $150,000 are required to maintain the records for a period of two years.” It is recommended that employers ensure adequate archival from their video interview vendor.
In summary, video interviews comply with OFCCP requirements under the Internet Applicant Rule. When considering the legality of video interviews, the key points to remember are:
1. Conduct the video interview after considering the applicant’s job-related qualifications
2. Ensure the same equipment, process, and opportunity to similarly situated job seekers
3. Add transparency by archiving each video interview for two years
(1) In the FAQ of IAR, the OFCCP indicates that it will evaluate any technology employed in the recruitment process for the electronic transfer of data, and classify such technology as an “electronic data technology”.
(2) Regarding this detail the OFCCP explains, “The Internet Applicant rule does not specify how or when in the selection process a contractor may screen for a job seeker’s interest in the specific position, keeping in mind that the interest screens should be facially neutral and consistently and uniformly applied to similarly situated job seekers.” With regards to video interviews, “interest” is indicated when a candidate submits an application or resume, which are “facially neutral” media. After the indication of interest and “consideration” by the employer, recruitment tools that are not facially neutral – face-to-face interviews, video interviews, etc. – are appropriate to use.
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
Popularity: 2% [?]
One of the classic debates that many soon-to-be college graduates face is the decision to either continue with their education by moving directly on to graduate school, or to immediately join the workforce and worry about professional degrees after gaining some experience. It is a question, not unlike many other important choices we face, that doesn’t have one right answer and what’s good for one person may not be for another.
Recently, I was sent an article posted on FastWeb.com that discusses both sides of this issue, and thought I would share some of the advice with all of you as well as my own experience.
The article was written by Peter Vogt of Monster.com (where it originally appeared) and it chronicles the choices of two different women, Laurie Duffy and Carolyn Kaufman, who each made different decisions after graduation. Duffy decided to go straight to graduate school, while Kaufman spent some time in the workforce getting experience before she pursued a graduate degree.
“Graduate school is difficult and very much not the traditional college experience,” says Duffy, now an assistant account executive for the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, office of PR firm Mullen. The workload alone leaves little time for relationships or a career, she says. “So I chose to get my master’s right away, before I had a job I loved and couldn’t leave, or before I had a family to take care of.”
Duffy’s experience illustrates one of the most common arguments for pursuing graduate school sooner versus later. Other commitments can get into the way of furthering your education. And particularly once you start a family, it can be difficult to fit grad school into your life, says Nancy Stamp, dean of the graduate school at Binghamton University.
As you can see, there are some solid arguments for heading straight into graduate school so work or family obligations don’t sidetrack you. Additionally you are able to relocate easier if the school you want to attend doesn’t happen to be nearby to where you went to undergrad. However, there are numerous reasons why many people head straight into the workforce, like I did, and Ms. Kaufman outlines some of them in the article.
[Kaufman] intended to go to graduate school immediately after finishing her undergraduate degree in English and psychology in 1995 but put it off, because she couldn’t decide where to go.
“That was the best thing that could have happened,” says Kaufman, who teaches psychology full-time at Columbus State Community College and part-time at Otterbein College. “Developing my confidence and sense of competence, learning new skills and contemplating whether I really wanted to go back or continue what I was doing…was priceless and has helped me make better decisions after graduate school.”
My main reason for not going straight into graduate school was similar, in that I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career so it didn’t make sense to me to spend more time and money on a degree I may not even use. I wanted to get some experience, try some different things out and see what interested me enough to pursue further. As career expert Anna Ivey, author of The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions, says: “Grad school isn’t going anywhere. Take some time to figure out who you are outside of school.”
No matter which way you decide to go, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and that you will be happy with your decision a few years down the road. If you are likely to have trouble getting back into the swing of things academically after a hiatus, maybe you should plow right on through to grad school. If you are unsure of what you want to do, or need more experience to fully flesh out your interests then perhaps getting your feet wet in the workforce is the right move for you. Either way, good luck to you all.
Popularity: 5% [?]
A very important piece of finding a job, be it your first or not, is submitting a good resume. This simple document briefly sums up your qualifications and compactly and concisely tells a prospective employer what you can do. This is great, and still a very valid part of the equation in finding a job; but that equation is changing. While having a good resume will make sure you get past the first round of cuts, it won’t ensure you get hired.
More and more employers want to see some evidence of things you’ve done, in addition to what your GPA says you should be able to do. Articles like this one demonstrate that having a good academic track record is only a step in the right direction towards getting that lucrative job. You need to bolster your credentials by having some sort of portfolio or record of things that you have done. This poor guy has a 4.0 GPA in his master’s program and a 3.9 in his doctoral program and still relies on his mother for support. Odds are he is just letting his resume do the talking with no additional work to support it.
Depending on what you want to do for a job, any additional submissions you want to make with your resume will vary. If you want to be a financial analyst, show your employer your own portfolio or pick some stocks and track them for a 6-month period, providing analysis along the way. Submitting your personal blog about bird watching probably won’t be relevant here. If you want to be in digital media, graphics design or a similar field, why not have a personal website to display your work?
What if you don’t have a blog or a website to demonstrate the things you’ve been doing? Go register yourname.com, or yourname.org if it is still available and even if you have no real web-building experience, with a little persistence you can get the basics up there. Maybe your resume looks similar to 15 other candidates for a journalism job, but you’ve had a blog you’ve been operating for 3 years – show your employer!
Even if you don’t have a lot of experience on the web, or don’t think a blog would be relevant to your intended career, do something that shows initiative and passion. Spending a few hours on a Saturday afternoon setting up a personal website or beginning a stock tracking project could be all you need to separate yourself from the pack. Doesn’t that sound worth it?
Popularity: 27% [?]
Just wanted to give you a head’s up that ResumeEdge has activated a new coupon for $10 off any Professional and Executive level resume service. This coupon is good from March 18 - 29, 2008. To take advantage of this great offer, use the coupon code RE200803 at checkout. And also, for a limited time, ResumeEdge is offering a savings of $20 when you purchase a Resume and Cover Letter combination at ResumeEdge.com. ResumeEdge,
specializes in 40 different industries to provide the highest quality resume and cover letter services available, bar none. ResumeEdge is the leading provider of Resume Writing Services online and the chosen resume partner of Yahoo! HotJobs, CareerJournal, and Dice.com. Our website provides industry-leading resources for job seekers.
If you need resume writing help, check out ResumeEdge today!
Technorati Tags: resume, career, getting a job, college, real world, graduation
Popularity: 22% [?]
I had a conversation yesterday with someone who works in the Human Resources department of a local company here in Portland about their hiring process. The company is pretty new to town and Portland is a town of well under 100,000 residents. And yet - her company receives a few hundred resumes every day! In fact, things have gotten so overwhelming there that now what may seem like an innocent mistake to you will grant your resume a one-way ticket to the recycling bin. Here are five easy steps you can take to at least keep your resume in the consideration pile (the rest is up to you):
- Follow Directions. All the resumes and cover letters are quickly scanned; any applicant that didn’t follow the directions set forth in the job posting exactly ends up in the trash. The director of H.R. figures that if you can’t follow simple directions properly, there is someone else in the stack of 100 resumes that can.
- Proof-read everything you write before you submit it. Last week the same H.R. department received a cover letter from a recent grad who likes to “work in a fast paste environment”. Their resume is now highlighted and posted on a board for the whole company to get a kick out of. Do you want that to be you?
- Apply for the positions you are qualified for. If you’re applying for your first job out of college, you need to begin in an entry-level position, just like everyone else. Applying for an upper-level or management position is a waste of your time and of Human Resources’ time. But further more - if they see that you’re applying for positions way out of your league, it looks like you’re simply not paying attention. It is unlikely that they would consider you for a job you might be qualified if you’ve already wasted their time.
- Appear professional. I’ve said this before but it bears repeating - if you’re applying to work in an office, its important to at least appear like an adult. De-tag drunken pictures on FaceBook; Record a professional voicemail greeting on your cell phone; and change your email address to your name or something appropriate. The same woman from H.R. mentioned above spoke to a candidate on the phone a few weeks ago who kept repeating just how qualified he was for the job he was applying for. At the end of the conversation she thanked him and asked for his email address; his response: exaggeration17@hotmail.com
- Follow up. Again, pay attention. If the job posting said “no phone calls, please” than don’t call. But do follow up. Send an email making sure your resume arrived alright (if there are 100 resumes arriving each day, you want to make sure your’s is at least one of them) and checking on the status of your application.
These stories seem a little far-fetched but I can assure you they’re true. And while some of their reactions may seem a little cruel, they’re all too common in any office you set foot in, and you don’t want to end up as one of H.R.’s stories. But more importantly - if a mid-sized company in a mid-sized city is receiving over a hundred resumes a day, how many is the company you’re applying to getting? If you want to even have a shot at an interview, make sure to avoid these seemingly insignificant (but easily remedied) yet costly mistakes.
Technorati Tags: resume, job application, graduation, college, entry-level job
Popularity: 40% [?]
If you feel like you need to delay the inevitable transition to the “Real World” a little while longer, WWOOFing might be the perfect alternative. World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (also known as Willing Workers on Organic Farms) (WWOOF) is an organization which facilitates the placement of volunteer workers on organic farms around the world. There are WWOOF groups in dozens of countries and across the U.S. each maintaining similar standards and working together to promote the aims of the WWOOF idea.
WWOOF volunteers (’WWOOFers’) do not receive any financial payment for their work; instead the host farm provides volunteers with food, accommodation and opportunities to learn, in exchange for assistance with farming or gardening activities.
The only expenses for the WWOOFer are the transpiration fees to get to their host farm, and a small annual membership fee to join the organization in the country they wish to work in order to access the database of participating farms in that country.
The advantages of WWOOFing:
There are many obvious advantages of taking time to WWOOF after graduation. For starters, you can WWOOF anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months. However, you’re essentially free to begin and stop whenever you’d like - unlike popular programs like Ameri*Corps or the Peace Corps, where you’re committed to the program for a number of years. With WWOOFing, you can treat it more like a summer vacation of doing-good before you begin your “Real World” job search.
The additional benefits are that you would be doing a great service to the world - promoting organic farming; you would meet a fantastic new group of people, providing you with a fabulous networking opportunity; it’s a much less expensive alternative to popular “work camps” or “volunteer vacations”; and lastly, any long-term, world-wide volunteer experience like this looks great on a resume.
The Disadvantages:
WWOOFing can be a lot more disorganized than a more established program (like the “work camps” and “volunteer vacations” mentioned above) and most volunteers are left largely on their own to find and facilitate their placement and arrange for their travel. Not all farms are held to the same standards, either. And while it’s generally pretty easy to find out from fellow WWOOFers which farms are the best and which to stay away from, sometimes choosing a farm to work for can be very hit-or-miss. And lastly, one of the large premises of RealWorldReally.com - while volunteering for an organization like WWOOF is a fantastic opportunity — for both personal enrichment and resume building — you’re still only delaying the inevitable.
For More Information:
[image by yancs]
Technorati Tags: WWOOF, WWOOFing, college, graduation, gap year, organic, farming, volunteer, green
Popularity: 20% [?]
