Purchasing

Mary Walker

Safe Job Searching
September 4, 2007

If you ever browse the internet, you have seen the Yahoo! Hot Jobs. The thing I like about their site is that they always are giving out tips to the workforce. Recently, for example, they pointed out that, “Unfortunately fraudulent job listings might appear from time to time.”

To protect yourself from fraud:

Make informed decisions before sharing your Social Security number with a potential supplier. Since I have not looked for a job in years, I have forgotten the process. Most employers will not ask for personal information until you arrive at their offices for an interview and are given a formal job application, so be wary if you are asked to give your Social Security number by phone, email or online.

Research the company using web sites operated by the Better Business Bureau and the United States Federal Trade Commission. Recently a friend of mine that was seeking employment did some searching on a company that had made him a proposal. In his search he found out that the President and Owner was a heavy drinker. This was a deciding factor on the job that he took.

Reframe from providing credit card or bank account numbers or engaging in any financial transactions over the phone or online with a potential employer/recruiter.

Withhold offering personal information (such as marital status, age, height, weight). Such questions might violate federal hiring standards and job seekers are not obligated to answer them.

Human Resource Departments publish lists of things not to ask. They go as far as an interview outline, questions lined out in the order to be asked. I have always felt if you were asked a question on an interview and you refused to answer. They would think you were trying to hide something. This would be points against you for not answering.

I can see an employers concern with hiring women with very small children. Day cares will not keep children with a fever and they have all sorts of rules as if your child has been sick when he will be allowed to return to the facility. In the last few years, I have seen more and more men staying home with the children when they are ill. One of my friends claims his wife makes more money than he does and it is not a problem for him to be off, where it is difficult for his wife to be gone from work. It is no longer the woman who has the sole responsibility of taking care of the home and the children, it is both parents.

A couple of years ago, I did a study on child care. There was an important female trial attorney in New York City that had a small child. She was a single parent and could not miss a court date. She started a child care center for children that were ill. In my town, there is a day care center next to the hospital. It is open 24/7. It provides private rooms with beds for sick children. There is a nurse on hand and it is located next to the hospital. This also provides care for the people at the hospital that work all different shifts where the average day care center would not accommodate them. We do not live in a world any longer where parents and grand-parents are near by to take care of the kids.

Posted by Mary Walker on September 4, 2007 | Comments (0)