The current employment situation is tough, meaning there is intense competition for relatively few jobs — which means employers are rejecting a greater number of...
Good communication skills are more valuable than knowing PowerPoint inside and out, according to a new survey, in which 67% of human resources managers said they would...
Employees who want a promotion sometimes get upset when they aren’t selected, especially if the job winds up going to someone they perceive as less skilled or...
Say a company exec asks you to hire his relative or friend, or he not so subtly urges you to give the application “strong consideration.” You want to reject...
The decision to outsource HR functions often means a lot of hard work. Hiring a consultant to sort through outsourcing options—whether for payroll, benefits...
With unemployment at its highest level since 1983, many applicants have far more experience and education than the job requires. But be alert: Advise hiring managers to...
Interviewers often have pet questions they use to test an applicant's quality. Sometimes, they're straightforward. ("Tell me about yourself.") Sometimes,...
Sometimes, it becomes clear early on that it was a mistake to hire that new employee. If it doesn’t look as though things will improve, it’s a good idea to...
A good employee who seemed happy quit after just three months. His supervisor never saw it coming. What happened? That unexpected turnover might have been avoided if the...
You view your employee referral program as a hands-down success, but take a closer look at those referred candidates. Do they have the same skills, backgrounds, racial...
Q. I was recently reviewing an employment application submitted by a candidate for an open position. Can we lawfully ask whether the candidate requires immigration...
If you are an Illinois employer with 15 or more employees and your application asks job-seekers to detail their criminal histories, expunged criminal records pose a...
Q. We require new employees to undergo pre-employment medical exams. May we require a new employee to cover the cost of the exam? We have 35 employees ...
You can use stable employment history as a legitimate selection criterion in hiring—if you do it right. The key is to allow employees to explain interruptions in...
The ADA protects job applicants from discrimination based on disability, and one of these protections is the right to be free from medical tests or examinations as part...
Q. We are considering applicants for a management position, including several internal applicants. Our policy is to obtain background checks on all candidates from a...
Q. We post all open positions on our web site. Is there a law (or at least a guideline) that requires jobs be posted for a certain period? We post most jobs for five...
Jobs evolve and often become more complex, so it makes sense to revisit job requirements when someone quits, retires or is promoted. There’s no better time to...
