Barack Obama took the oath as our 44th President almost 2 weeks ago. Obviously, the most pressing issue is the economy. Unemployment passed the 7% mark for the first time in 16 years and this number is expected to rise significantly in 2009. Job seekers encounter all kinds of difficulty in their search and here are a few changes he should implement as part of his policy:
Background Check for Credit Score/History : Employers should be prohibited from checking a candidate’s credit score and history. There has never been a study that correlates a poor credit score with low performance. Eastern Kentucky University did a study of this in 2003 and found no correlation. Some say this is a civil rights issue, and I agree. It is the ultimate Catch-22. Would somebody poor and without a job likely have a poor credit score? Check out the story of Brenda Matthews and how her job offer was rescinded because of her credit scores.
As a manager, would you rather have 10 sales people with perfect credit scores or 10 with terrible scores?
No income questions: Just as age discrimination is a big no-no, income questions should be prohibited as well. If a person is qualified, then they should earn the fair market wage for that position. Period. Hiring managers and recruiters blindly ask “How much did you make last year?” This is not a relevant question as a predictor of performance. Job Seekers need to act as their own “agents” and revealing this number puts them in a very weak position for negotiation. Lying about what you make can be uncovered in a background check – but is it really lying when you are trying to get the best wage possible? If an agent is negotiating your salary, then this is positioning, not lying.
#1 by Dave P on January 31st, 2009 - 8:55 am
I disagree with the income questions. Often times this is how a hiring manager/company determines the market rate.