Posted on 22nd January 2010 by Vitaver Associates in HR
background checks, career tips, employment, employment background check
Employment background checks can feel violating and embarrassing. When a blight on my friend’s credit record showed up when applying for a summer bank teller job as a college student, she told me she felt like she had ‘deadbeat’ stamped on her head. Each time her boss tossed aside a loan due to a bad credit history, she turned crimson red. She resented the invasion of privacy because, despite one errant Visa bill while backpacking around Europe, she has maintained a perfect credit record.
The bank was entitled to my friend’s credit report, after she provided the required legal written consent to perform a background check, but here is a list of what employers cannot ask for:
- School and medical records
- Details on criminal records (in some states)
- Information on spouses
- Your salary at current or previous jobs
- Bankruptcy information is public information but cannot be used in a hiring decision
The increase in background checks has resulted in a rise in discrimination complaints. According to the E-RACE initiative, information from background checks cannot be used to discriminate against a potential employee based on race or color.
For more information on employment background checks and your rights, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is a good source of information.
Posted on 22nd January 2010 by Vitaver Associates in HR
If headhunters are now spending 70 percent of their time on social media, you should be working this job angle too.
Here are a few best practices:
With 45 million users across 150 industries, LinkedIn is a proven networking tool. In addition to building your own network, you may want to join industry associations that are linking members through LinkedIn. Drop by technology guru Guy Kawasaki’s Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job for some very useful pointers.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has famously called it the “sixth largest country in the world.” It is a great way to connect with new, old and prospective business contacts, but it is also where your friend with the tattoos and pierced nose may pop up to invite you to the latest rave.
Message: Be sure to employment proof your Facebook profile!
Twitter is becoming an indispensable tool for keeping up with your industry. You may even decide to Twitter yourself and build a following. If you want to keep up on the 3000-feet view of your industry, follow the number one exectweets, or catch up with thejobsguy for online job search strategies.
If you have one million Twitter followers, where should this go on your resume?
Posted on 22nd January 2010 by Vitaver Associates in HR
There has been a lot of buzz about how to find a job using social media. The social media sector has itself become a major employer. This booming sector is looking to fill positions in sales and marketing, content production, web development and, of course, human resource professionals to help staff all these positions.
If you are looking for resources to start your social media job search, following are some good tools
Mashable’s Social Media Job Listings is a must-use tool if you are seeking to enter the social media sector. In addition to social media job listings, you will find lots of good articles on social media job search strategies.
SimplyHired.com consolidates over 12,000 jobs under keyword “social media.” Indeed.com is another popular site with the Web 2.0 crowd.
There are even a few pure plays. While they have fewer jobs advertised, they are focused. Check out Web Strategy and Social Media Jobs and the Social Media Job Wire.
The latest thing in social media is the Ning Network. Jobs in Social Media is using Ning to create a busy online community hub for those who want to search for, chat about, and give advice on, social media jobs.
If you are just breaking into social media, consider searching “social media interns.”
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