If the hiring manager or recruiter asks you an illegal question, you are not obligated to answer the question. However, you don’t want to say to them, “I refuse to answer that illegal question.” There are “legal ways” to answer illegal questions that a hiring manager or recruiter might ask you during the course of an interview.

First, let’s define illegal questions. Here is a list for you to consider:

1. How old are you?

2. Do you plan to have children?

3. Are you married, divorce or single?

4. What’s your nationality?

5. What’s your sexual orientation?

6. Are you …. (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc.)?

7. Do you have any disabilities I should know about?

These questions are illegal. Period. Most organizations know these questions are off limits, but when you add the people factor to the equation, it seems that somehow there are those responsible for evaluating candidates that find them self asking these questions. As a job seeker you are not required to answer them. You also don’t have to be the one to police the behavior of these organizations and their representatives who attempt to delve into these areas in an attempt to uncover information about you that will play into their biases.

Here’s what I recommend to you as a job seeker. First, be prepared for curve balls in the midst of an interview. Some people ask inappropriate and/or illegal questions to see how you’re going to respond. It doesn’t have to unnerve you. Be prepared. Second, it is ok to say, “My sexual orientation does not have anything to do with my qualifications for this position. I am happy to discuss my skills and abilities so that you and I can determine if this is a good fit for you and I.” You can say, “I would prefer not to get into a discussion about my nationality. However, what I bring to the table is the ability to work with diverse groups of people.”

In other words, respond to the question in a professional manner, than divert it back to the conversation at hand, the job you are there interviewing for. Don’t get distracted by their stuff. It doesn’t have to be a show stopper. Now, if an organization insists on pushing the issue with you on one or more of the questions I listed above, now you get to make a decision about whether you really want to invest any more time discussing your qualifications with the individual or the organization. If it appears that the organization is not the place for you. It is ok, to end the interview and politely excuse yourself, thank them for the opportunity to discuss your qualifications and leave. Be professional. And walk away. You don’t have to be the victim of other people’s ignorance.

Image Credit: sxc.hu

My daughter is in the midst of a job search this summer. If you have been reading my posts over the last three years, than you know that I expect her to work when she is not in school. There is no option. She had an interview this afternoon. As she and the hiring manager were discussing her skills and abilities, he asked her about her extracurricular activities. To her amazement, he was well versed on her Facebook profile and freely shared his knowledge with her in the interview.

She was surprised, and of course my response, “why are you surprised? I have told you over and over that people, organizations, hiring managers and recruiters will check out your online profile (s).  If you have an online profile on one of the social media sites, understand that organizations will find you and learn information about you that you may not necessarily want to share. For my daughter, she was not embarrassed by her profile, but she was surprised. I am glad for her experience. She has a crystal clear, tangible experience that she will never forget.  She understands that her profile is visible and that somehow hiring managers, HR recruiters have access. She understands from her experience how important that she represents herself well.

My daughter was surprised, so I thought I would say it again for the record for your benefit, “HR folks really do check out your Facebook profile.” Stop living in the world of self deception. Believe it. Believe me when I say that it matters what you do, what you say and what pictures you have on your profile. Your conversation matters. Your status updates matter. In my daughter’s case, her profile is fine. Yeah! The hiring manager was not discouraged, nor did he give her bad news at this point. But he clearly wanted her to know that he took a look and he learned information about her that she had not included on her resume.

Image Credit: sxc.hu

When a job seeker is sitting the across the table from a hiring manager or HR representative, what exactly are they looking for? For you, your hope and desire is that they like you and they pick you over all the other people competing for the job. But that is not what the hiring manager is thinking.

First, most hiring managers are frustrated with the hiring process. Many of them are overworked and stressed about their responsibilities and they don’t want to invest their time interviewing people who are not qualified to come into their organization. They want to get through the interviews as quickly as possible and get back to managing the issues they face daily in the organization.

Your assignment when you sit in front of a hiring manager or HR representative is to ensure that you are prepared. Prepared to illustrate through stories about who you are and what you will bring to the table and the value you might bring their organization.

The hiring manager has one goal in mind - they are determined to hire the RIGHT PERSON for the job. They are looking for qualified candidates who are self-starters. Hiring managers are looking for people that know how to solve problems. They are looking at your skills, your experience, organizational fit. Will you fit into this organization? This question of fit is not based on something objective. It’s about their gut. It’s about personality and it’s about people and projects that are already in process within the organization. Will you fit with their current team?

If you can look through the lens of the interviewer and see the world from their perspective it should change the way you prepare for your next interview. Take some time to study the person, the organization before accepting an interview.

Imaage Credit: sxc.hu

Before I get into my thoughts on Senator McCain’s choice for Vice President, I want to talk about the Vice Presidential job description. What does the Vice President of the United States get to do? Sarah Palin isn’t sure what the job requires, so I thought I would take a look.

Job Description courtesy of Wikipedia

The formal powers and role of the vice president are limited by the Constitution to becoming President in the event of the death or resignation of the President and acting as the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate. As President of the Senate, the Vice President has two primary duties: to cast a vote in the event of a Senate deadlock and to preside over and certify the official vote count of the U.S. Electoral College. For example, in the first half of 2001, the Senators were divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats and Dick Cheney’s tie-breaking vote gave the Republicans the Senate majority.

Readiness to run the country?

Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska is 44 years old. Her political career in Alaska began in the PTA and she stair stepped her way into the Governor’s mansion. That is pretty impressive to me. Given her range of experience in Alaska as Mayor (2-terms) and Governor she certainly has some skills and abilities to run this country. The national issues we face, the national stage, dealing with the media scrutiny maybe the immediate concern for Sarah Palin.

One of the more valid questions I continue to hear concerning Sarah Palin, is her readiness to run this country should something happen to Senator McCain. That is a valid question, and as “hiring managers”, voters, I believe it is a question to consider before casting your vote for this ticket.

Should a Novice run this country?

Here is another question for you to consider before November 4th. Should a novice run this great country? In a word “NO”. That is one of my concerns with Obama, but I am equally concerned about Sarah Palin. She is a novice as well. Why would we allow a beginner to run this country? I don’t care which party ticket you are considering. Convince me that a novice should be running this country. If you work for a fairly large company and your HR department just hired a brand new entry level employee. Someone with maybe two years experience in your industry. The CEO dies, and you decide that the new employee with two years experience is the best candidate to take the helm at your company as the new CEO. Who does that? Really? Maybe a start-up company that is begun by a novice (See the story of Facebook). But American Express, AT&T, Wells Fargo Bank, GE, NBC, CBS, - you get my drift - these companies are not going looking within their ranks for the least experienced person to take over the organization. They will do a thorough search to find the best candidate, someone with experience, vision, integrity, experience, passion, experience, - again you get my drift. Here is a question for you - Why should we/would we hire a novice to run this country? Feel free to scroll down and leave a comment, I looking for someone to convince me that I should vote for either of these presidential tickets. Your thoughts and opinions are welcome!

Picture Credit: I Draw Pictures

What do I do if I’ve been fired has become the most frequently asked question I get asked weekly here at Interview Chatter. The question is usually written in a comment on my most popular post, So You’ve Been Fired. I thought I would take a moment a restate some of my recommendations to people who have been fired.

My Recommendations:

1. BE Honest, Don’t Lie - I can not stress this first point. If you have been terminated from your employer for cause or without cause, you are facing a rather large hurdle. Dishonesty on your resume or application, will only make scaling the hurdle more difficult.

2. If they ask you directly, “Have you ever been fired?”, the answer is “YES” in a word. My point here is, don’t try to skirt the issue. If they ask you directly, answer directly and then follow-up.

3. If you have been fired, and you admit you have been fired, you may be screened out. Be prepared. There is nothing you can do about it. What you can do is continue to move forward in your job search. Every hiring manager gets to decide who they will interview and offer a position. You can not control them. Don’t let it frustrate you. Move on to the next potential opportunity.

4. Choose out of “Shame and Blame”. No matter whose fault it is. Choose your ATTITUDE. How you respond to a termination, just or unjust will be one factor that will determine how long you spend in your job search. Savvy hiring managers can smell a bad attitude. They can sense when you are carrying baggage into the interview. Get your emotions in check. Choose out of frustration and choose to see your great potential.

More to come on this topic. In the meantime, please feel free to scroll down and leave a comment. How can I help you navigate the turbulent waters around terminations?

People do business with people they like. “People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Robert Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing.” People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. If this statement is true, than it is VERY important for you as a jobseeker to be likable - you are the product.

If a hiring manager has two qualified candidates, 90%-100% of the time, they will select the person they connected with in the interview. Typically, the person they liked best.

Here are a few things to help you connect and be the likable candidate:

1. Find common ground with the hiring manager and the culture of the organization

2. Find common ground within the organizational values

3. Find similarities in hobbies (check out their office and make appropriate connections)

*If you enjoy sailing and you notice the hiring managers has lots of pictures of their boat, make comments and/or ask questions.

4. Give genuine compliments

*Find something you genuinely like and give the compliment.

5. Be friendly and energetic

*Be yourself, use eye contact, and use your smile

*Smiling increases your face value

6. Demonstrate that you have done your homework. Ask good questions.

*You should invest time researching the company. Speak intelligently about your findings.

*Dialog with the hiring manager about their critical needs in the department you may work in

Remember, people do business with people they like. Your ability to be likable will never be a guarantee that you will get the job offer, but I do believe that your chances of receiving a job offer will increase exponentially if the hiring manager likes you!