So we interviewed a guy and made him an offer.  He would need to be driving for work, so we advised him that the MVR was one of the checks that would be required.  He laughed it off and made a joke about how he had a clean driving record and was not worried whatsoever about any background check that was required.  However, the MVR came back as a mess and he was not insurable under our fleet insurance policy.  So we couldn’t hire him

As a side-note, it’s always entertaining when they want to call and want to debate their MVR with you.  I just direct them to the “Summary of Rights” form that they were sent.  But it’s a shame that people can’t be honest when they are faced with the fact that you’re going to check their background.  I mean, you’re sitting there, knowing that I’m going to be looking at your driving record, you have multiple occurrences and points on your it…and yet you sit there, smile and joke that there’s nothing to worry about.  It’s pretty pathetic and a waste of everyone’ time if you ask me.

But given the current economy, the number of layoffs that have occurred and the number of people currently out of work, I have changed my philosophy.  Now I’m telling people that this is the best time to be recruiting and hiring, because there are some significantly qualified individuals who have been laid off through no fault of their own.  But it seems that I might be in the minority with that opinion…

The Huffington Post has featured several articles examing employers who are basically practicing discrimination by saying that “the unemployed will not be considered.”  Companies such as Benchmark Electronics and Sony Ericsson have actually advertised that way in writing.  You can read the full article here.

So is it true to say that “the best people are already working?”  In my mind, absolutely not!  A second article, which you can read here, continued the discussion about the unemployed and how some companies may consider a recently unemployment candidate, and how those companies weakly tried to defend their decision by saying candidates need to be current with knowledge in their fields.  So apparently if I just got laid off, I may have lost my experience and education…

I’m glad The Huffington Post named the companies that are doing this, the job boards that are allowing these postings and quoted (by name) the recruiters who were supporting this approach.  Our company has done some downsizing – not because we wanted to – but because we had to.  And I know many other companies have had to do the same.  And for lack of a better description, I think it’s extremely short-sighted for recruiters (and the companies they work for) to subjectively decide that if you got laid off, it was your fault and you’re not a worthy job candidate as a result.

Even though it was an aged post, it was fascinating nonetheless.  Because nothing ticks me off more than when an applicant shows up for an interview wearing a baseball hat, ripped jeans and proceeds to respond to a text messages during our time together.  The lack of respect shown these days by applicants interviewing for positions at all levels is scary.

It shouldn’t matter what position you’re interviewing for.  I mean, I don’t think you need to show up in a suit for an interview with Wendy’s, for example, but at least wear some khaki pants and a button-down shirt.

Look at it this way – you only get that interview to make a first impression.

Here’s an interesting article I came across today.  It was published by MSN Careers yesterday.

It’s called “10 Things to Leave Off Your Resume” and in my opinion, you couldn’t pay for better advice.  When I’ve taught resume writing classes in the past, these are issues that I bring up too.  If you’re a job candidate, enjoy and make sure you read this article very closely.

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Click here to read an interesting article by HR Morning on the city of Bozeman’s (Montana) hiring practice – where they do exactly what I just mentioned.

Frankly, I’m not surprised at all by the “outcry” from the HR community regarding Bozeman’s hiring method.

I’m a realist.  When recruiting, of course I Google names and check free web resources – including social networking web sites.  But what I find with Facebook and My Space is that those pages are often private at the request of the member (which is exactly what I think they should be and should remain).

If you’re looking for a job, change your status on those sites to private so I can’t see it.  I really started preaching this to the graduating college seniors who attended my seminars last year.  Yet, this advice is also applicable to most job seekers out there.

I would never give my consent or provide my username and login.  It should be interesting to see where this issue goes from here.