Interviewing

First.. from the legal standpoint.

Employers can no longer discriminate against potential employees if they fit into any of the following categories:

1. They do business with Fed. or State Govt.;
2. They have more than 15 employees;
3. They receive Govt. contracts in excess of $50,000;
4. They engage in interstate commerce.

This process of legislating fairness began with the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This act was designed to prevent discrimination based on race and/or national origin.

1963 Equal Pay Act: Provided that employers must provide equal pay across genders if everything else is equal. Requires equal pay for equal work, providing that the jobs are substantially equal in skill, effort, and responsibility. Permissible pay discrimination under the Act includes circumstances in which pay differentials between men and women in the same job title are due to:

1. seniority system,
2. merit system,
3. system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or
4. differentials based on any other factor other than sex.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibits discrimination in programs receiving Federal funds. Two programs under this act, according to the ACLU briefing paper #17, are the framework for what we today call Affirmative Action:

• Title VI: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in federally-financially assisted programs.
• Title VII:Prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex (including pregnancy).

This Act also forces employers to provide "reasonable accommodation" to religious practice. In addition, this act was the first act that specifically addressed gender bias in hiring practices. This act stated that an employer could not not hire because:

1. The assumption that men could do the job better;
2. Personal preference for males as employees;
3. assumption that co-workers, clients, or customers would prefer a male;
4. common gender based stereotypes; and
5. State laws designed for the "protection of women."

One landmark legal victories won under Title VII moved the nation closer to the goal of equal opportunity. In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled in Griggs v. Duke Power Co. that hiring standards that effectively excluded minorities were illegal unless employers could show them to be a job-related business necessity.

Executive Order 11246 (1965), as amended by Executive Order 11375 (1968): (This is the act that we refer to when we invoke Affirmative Action) Prohibits discrimination in employment practices of Federal contractors who receive $50,000 or more in federal funds and have 50 or more employees. Requires affirmative action be taken to provide employment opportunities for qualified women and minorities.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967: Prohibits discrimination in employment of individuals over 40 years of age and older, except in special circumstances.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972: Prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving Federal funds. Covers programs and activities including students loans and scholarships, access to courses, housing, health services, athletics, career services and publications.

Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1972: Requires affirmative action be taken to employ Vietnam era veterans, special disabled and disabled veterans by employers receiving $10,000 or more in Federal funds. Amended in 1992 to cover all veterans.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Prohibits discrimination in programs receiving Federal funds on the basis of disability.

• Section 503: Requires affirmative action be taken to provide employment opportunities for qualified persons with disabilities by employers receiving more than $2,500 or more in Federal funds.
• Section 504: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs receiving federal funds. Requires reasonable accommodation qualified persons with disabilities, except in cases of undue hardship is shown.

Civil Rights Act of 1991: Amends Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adding the protected category of "disability" and provides for appropriate remedies for intentional discrimination and unlawful harassment in the work place. The 1991 Act does not affect court-ordered remedies, affirmative action, or conciliation agreements, that are in accordance with the law.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment (Title I), by state and local governments (Title II), in public accommodations (Title III) and in telecommunications (Title IV).

All of this is rendered moot by the notion of B.F.O.Q.. A BFOQ (Bona Fide Occupational Qualification) is a trait that is considered essential for performing a particular job. This list includes work experience, training, education, skills, physical attributes, and personality traits. This is the clause that determined the outcome of the Hooters case.

Thus, current law precludes discrimination upon the grounds of: Age, gender, race, religion, physical appearance, ethnic group, and sexual preference. The federal government has created such a paper monster that 99% of business who employ more than 100 folks have an Affirmative Action officer, whose job it is to make certain that the business has not discriminated while hiring.

For more information about the legal aspects of the employment seeking process....check out: ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union WWW site or the ACLU Free Reading Room, A publications and information resource of the American Civil Liberties Union National Office:
gopher://aclu.org:6601
ftp://aclu.org
Or via email mailto:infoaclu@aclu.org ">aclu@aclu.org

The Actual Interview

1. Initial appearances are vital. Resume and cover letters will arrive in a pile with tens to thousands of others. Yours must stand out in a positive manner. It must be well written. It must look professional. It must be task specific.
   For entry level positions, you are often, initially, lumped into a "cattle call." You must stand out. Interviewers develop biases early in the interview which will bias their final decision. You must appear professional, intelligent, well spoken, motivated, and a good candidate. If the firm you're interviewing has hired headhunters or a screening service, then the task is even tougher, as the interviewers get bonuses if you work out as an employee; but they make their initial buck based on how quickly they wade through the mess and fill the opening.
2. Interviewers tend to be influenced more powerfully by favorable rather than unfavorable data; this is compounded by the powerful effect that unfavorable data has when it comes early in the interview.
3. The interviewer will make their decision in the first 4 minutes based on absence of negative information and the interviewers personal preference.

According to Charles S. Goetzinger "An Analysis of Irritating Factors in Initial Employment Interviews of Male College Graduates," The 25 things that will kill your chances are:

1. If you are caught lying
2. show lack of interest in the interview...merely shopping around.
3. have a belligerent attitude...is rude or impolite
4. lack sincerity
5. are evasive concerning personal information
6. are only concerned with salary
7. are unable to concentrate
8. display a lack of initiative
9. are indecisive
10. have an arrogant attitude
11. have a persecuted attitude
12. try to use pull to get hired
13. have dirty hands or face
14. are cynical
15. are intolerant/has strong prejudices
16. are late
17. have a limp-fish handshake
18. are unable to express themselves clearly
19. show lack of career planning
20. have not done research into the company's history/products
21. want to start in an executive position \par\tab
22. lack maturity
23. have low moral standards
24. present an extreme appearance
25. oversell your case

TIPS for Survival

1. Realize that being nervous is natural
2. BE HONEST
3. If you're asked a question you don't understand:
   • . Paraphrase
   • Ask for Clarification
   • Remember that many Interviewers like to startle or embarrass you to watch your reactions.
   • Never over or underestimate your abilities
   • Be interested and show it!
   • Be active and dynamic
   • Give information about problems or shortcomings, not excuses
   • LISTEN WELL
   • Do noting merely for the sake of being a "good applicant."
   • Don't give canned answers
   • Be yourself, not who you think a good employee is.
   • Interviewers place emphasis on achievement, motivation, and being informed than on academic performance.
   • If you disagree with the interviewer, you may get the job, but studies show you'll get a much lower starting salary
   • The interview will have more impact on hiring than will any other part of the process including past experience.

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