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. …read more

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? …read more

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 …read more

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 …read more

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 …read more

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 …read more