Yahoo! Finance had a great article this morning on things an employer can’t ask a candidate.  These things range from your age to your marital status.  This topic plays well into the presentation I have been doing all across the United States about recruiting and Web 2.0.  Just looking at someones facebook and/or LinkedIn page could put you and your company in peril.  (Shameless plug, for my next speaking engagements click here!) We are working hard to make sure employers are not barred from asking about past criminal history, however, many states and the EEOC would like to see things differently.  These things don’t change the fact that we are in a tough economy, people need to work.  Because of these desperate times, candidates sometimes take desperate measures…..They Lie!  Employers can still comply with the EEOC, ADEA, ADA, OFCCP, Order 11246, ETC, etc, etc….and still find quality candidates that tell the truth. How you ask?  Read the thousands of articles, white papers and positions statements we have written on our Blog and University.

According to Yahoo!

The rough economy has made many people desperate for a job. In their eagerness for gainful employment, many people may overlook improper interview questions. Depending on how they are asked, questions about personal topics such as marital status, race and health are more than just poor manners – they are illegal under federal and some state and local laws. These types of questions can be used to discriminate against applicants, and it is your right not to answer them. Here are eight questions your employer cannot ask you.

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The author of this blog hits the nail right on the head with regards to employee referrals.  It’s important to ensure that the person you are looking to hire is qualified for the position you are hiring them for.  Relying on an employee referral as the sole basis of your hiring decision could result in a waste of time, money and resources.  It’s vital to substantiate your employee’s claims of a good hire with a proper background check. 

The Dreaded Employee Referral

By Simon Meth, ERE.net – March 13, 2010

Popular opinion is that employee referrals are the #1 source of hire in a corporate environment. I believe that to be true. But are employee referrals the #1 source of quality hires? I doubt it! Following are some thoughts from my own experience. Your mileage may vary.

Companies often pay a referral bonus to encourage employees to refer their friends and former colleagues to open positions. Bonuses range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. I wonder sometimes if referral bonus programs are incenting the intended behavior in employees. I’m often on the receiving end of numerous internal referrals that are so off the mark that it’s laughable. How can one candidate be a fit for multiple engineering positions in multiple disciplines? Most likely they cannot be.

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Greetings from the booth #219 at ERE Fall Expo in sunny, but not so warm Hollywood Beach, Florida.  There appear to be a number of attendees at this conference, which leads me to my first question: Why is everyone waiting in line for food when they could be talking to us about background checks?  C’mon people, we’re raffling off a Nintendo Wii, and you know conference food usually stinks.

On a serious note, ERE decided to broadcast a live feed of the conference on their website.  Very innovative, but I wonder if doing so both now and in the future will discourage people from attending.  Why spend the money or the time at the conference, when you can just tune in for the sessions that interest you?  Of course, a live feed can’t replicate perhaps the most important part of any conference, networking.

I attended a great panel discussion about cutting technology in staffing, moderated by Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler of CareerXRoads and featuring Cheezhead’s Joel Cheesman.  They most technologies they mentioned most were Twitter, SMS messaging, and IM.  Wouldn’t it be great if background checks could be done that way?  Maybe in the future!

Anyway, back to the conference.  Things picked up since I started this post.  We’re going to be doing a podcast with Steve Curtis from iCIMS’ in a little bit.  I’ll keep you posted.