1980 (employment, credit check, interview, application)

[RedJacket]

I graduated high school in 1980. That summer I needed a job so I started checking the ads in our local newspaper.

I found a Country Club that needed a bartender so I thought, well I did some bartending at a place my Grandma owned. I knew how to pour a draft beer, make some mixed drinks like a Manhattan, Martini, 7/7 and a few others.

So I wrote that down on a sheet of paper along with a few other things about myself. I sent it off to the Country Club and about a week later got called in for an interview.

A few days later I received another call and was told I could start immediately. It worked out very well and I was there for two years.

Those were the days. No background checks. No credit checks. No bullsheet hoops to jump through. Yeah, I know, it was just a bartender job, but most jobs didn't require all the pre-hiring crap today's jobs do.

[Charles]

Maybe true, maybe not. Sure that was a bartender job and you were 18 or so. You're 48 or so now, your job experiences now are for a 48 year old person, probably more responsible, higher paying, more at stake. My next door neighbor's 18 year old kid is working stock for $10 an hour. I doubt he received too much background check.

[hnsq]

I was hired as a waiter 6 years ago that same way.

Being hired as a bartender and being hired as a project manager are VERY different processes.

[SouthBound47]

Yep, not much goes into hiring very low level jobs. At some I'm pretty sure if you write down that you have a pulse, you'll get an interview.

I was hired at my first job because a guy I deliver the paper to saw my ethic and hired me at his convenience store at 13. Then I worked flipping burgers, the manager knew my Dad and my Dad told him I was looking for work, and I started the next week. Then I went to a gas station, I walked in, talked to the manager, and walked out with a job - same with my next job.

Now I'm looking at higher up jobs and they are far more difficult. I don't think that it has much to do with the year, but with the type of job and the amount of damage a bad candidate can cause. If it's high risk, it deserves high scrutiny.

[Aptor hours]

Actually even to work at Walmart, Home Depot, Shaws for any postion at all you need to have a drug test. I know that Home depot is also requiring a drug test, and a background test for every single employee. Rite Aid requires this very long in depth personality test that they try and trick you into saying that you think it is ok to steal or punch people which is really really odd, but, having worked for Rite Aid I understand it.

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by Aptor hours

Actually even to work at Walmart, Home Depot, Shaws for any postion at all you need to have a drug test. I know that Home depot is also requiring a drug test, and a background test for every single employee. Rite Aid requires this very long in depth personality test that they try and trick you into saying that you think it is ok to steal or punch people which is really really odd, but, having worked for Rite Aid I understand it.

Macys is easy to get on. No drug test anyways. Just suck up to them and you will be fine.

[YAZ]

Brings a tear to my eye......

I'm a machinist in the aerospace industry and it takes at least 1 month to get hired......from first interview to starting date.

Background check
Reference check

Reality check.....

then....

Drug screen
Physical/eye exam

Employer test
I recently took the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. Haven't seen that test since college.




Back in the good 'ole days, you walked in and filled out an application. The plant manager would talk to you for 30 minutes and ask if you could start tomorrow.

[Oildog]

One month is quick...

Prior to the Checks you have two phone interviews. Then you get a face to face, then the checks/screens then an offer (hopefully). Easily 2-3 months.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by SouthBound47

Yep, not much goes into hiring very low level jobs. At some I'm pretty sure if you write down that you have a pulse, you'll get an interview.

I was hired at my first job because a guy I deliver the paper to saw my ethic and hired me at his convenience store at 13. Then I worked flipping burgers, the manager knew my Dad and my Dad told him I was looking for work, and I started the next week. Then I went to a gas station, I walked in, talked to the manager, and walked out with a job - same with my next job.

Now I'm looking at higher up jobs and they are far more difficult. I don't think that it has much to do with the year, but with the type of job and the amount of damage a bad candidate can cause. If it's high risk, it deserves high scrutiny.

I wholeheartedly agree with drug tests, and criminal background tests (though I can't imagine a very small local business like a diner or gas station spending on them either). I have an issue with credit checks though....especially in this economy, some people have bad credit for reasons completely out of their control, especially if it was a medical issue in this era of no health care for the middle class. Even for a job that "traditionally" (i.e. pre-2000s) used a credit check (like many banking and finance jobs), there needs to be a way to somehow account for that.

[YAZ]

Originally Posted by Oildog

One month is quick...

Prior to the Checks you have two phone interviews. Then you get a face to face, then the checks/screens then an offer (hopefully). Easily 2-3 months.

Yeah, the background check can take a while as previous employers tend to not call back. It's understandable.....they don't care. And that takes time, even just to call back and verify employment. The "checker" actually has to catch 'em at their desk.

Recently, I contacted a couple of ex-bosses via e-mail so I could use 'em as references. They will use the interwebby to verify employment and to tell my prospective employer what a great guy I am.

Hopefully......