Unethical And Unchecked Hiring Practices
We all know the hiring process is not perfect, that's why we have Fair Hiring and Labor laws to try and protect the rights of the individual. However, still personal preferences, preconceived notions, prejudice, etc. still manage to work against these laws. Worse yet, somewhere along the line it has become a real problem and a problem that does have detrimental effects on the company in the long run.
It should be an individuals qualifications, skill set, and work history would determine the best candidate. What should be is second place to what really is, and unfortunately I'm even guilty of it. I did not stand up or protest when I saw these things going on. Businesses wonder why they are having problems, the excuse is financial, but that is not the cause.
The corruption that has been allowed to continue and grow in the workplace is staggering. This article is just one example of how things need to change.
Dummy Interviews:
Internal positions destined for an internal candidate. It was a common practice to fill internal positions with internal employees. However; due to company policy the job position had to be posted and interviews conducted even though the internal candidate was 95% guaranteed the position. Or worse yet, the job requistion that was available is no longer valid due to cutbacks but we continued the interview process anyway... The interview process becomes a farce. One by one candidates take their time to come in and face the interview process not knowing that they have no chance of getting the position. It is a dog and pony show to placate human resources. I've been through the interview process, you prepare, practice, get dressed up, and of course the nervous butterflies right before.
Personally, my time is worth more than this, and I'm sure if the candidates knew what was really going on they would feel the same. Unless the job is real and a fair chance will be given to the candidate don't bother with this ridiculous charade. There are no checks and balances to catch this, I was even part of the interview process...
Prejudice In The Hiring Process:
Think you're immune to this because your skill set is too good, or you are blessed with a congenial personality and looks. Think you are immune since you are going after a low level position. Think again.
Internship program, is a program to give young people, usually high school level a taste of the business world. It is supposed to be a beneficial and educational program. Unfortunately even this simple exercise was contaminated.
In particular, one young lady stood out as very intelligent and handled the interview very well. I spoke with my manager afterward and was dumbfounded when he told me that we could not hire her because she was too beautiful and no one would get any work done. Even as a joke this was in bad taste, but I was even more disgusted when I found out, he was serious. I felt sorry for her realizing that this would probably be the case for her throughout her work life.
We ended up with an intern that played solitaire all the time...
If even a simple position like an internship is not immune from unethical hiring practices, what is... If she was too beautiful, would a person of lesser beauty work, how about a person that is over-weight, wears glasses, missing teeth - what is the perfect mold of a candidate so that they can get past this and be counted for what really matters, their skills and work ethic. Not to mention prejudice against people of certain racial, religious, or even political background.
I even had an interviewer ask me once if I was a good Christian. I would like to think I'm a good person and would prefer to leave religion out of it. Needless to say, I told him that I felt that my religious preference was none of his business. I didn't get that job! In hindsight, I should have answered with "I'm a Pagan". Most people get freaked out and think it has something to do with devil worship, but I digress...
There are no checks and balances to prevent this, and it has gotten worse. I've seen and heard more than just this, including bragging rights over "water cooler" gossip from people almost proud that they did not hire someone because of some conceived personal defect - not skills.
Wait a minute, you promised to name names. These examples are from my tenure at Compaq and the manager at the time was Robert Kutyba. However, bear in mind, this is just the tip of a very large and ugly iceberg and by no means confined to the former company, Compaq. I've seen the same problem at other companies I've worked for, and I'm betting that some of you reading this can also say the same.
Enough is enough, let's shake it up America and demand better of American Business!
