Inside Express | Journey

Supreme Court Redefines Workplace Discrimination

By Job Journey on Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Two recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court have set a new precedent for future allegations of employment discrimination. According to USA Today, in a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled “that workplace discrimination can only be pinned on a supervisor who has the ability to hire and fire, rather than merely direct work assignments.” The New York Times expanded on this by highlighting the Court’s new definition of a supervisor as “someone authorized to take ‘tangible employment actions’ like hiring, firing, promoting, demoting, or reassigning employees to significantly different responsibilities.”

In another 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sided with employers again when it came to illegal retaliation. As NPR explained, “the court said that those claiming to be the victims of illegal retaliation must show that the only reason for the action against them was that they reported some discriminatory action.”

These rulings mean from now on discrimination charges against co-workers or other employees will be looked at much more closely and compared against the Court’s new guidelines. And that has major implications for future lawsuits based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

How This Could Affect You
As an employee, this ruling could impact you in several ways. If you believe you have suffered from workplace harassment or retaliation, it will now be more difficult to file suit for discrimination. It’s harder to file charges against your employer if the person harassing you is not a supervisor who fits the Court’s definition, even if that employee has truly been verbally or physically harassing you. And, even if you are able to move forward with a lawsuit, the required burden of proof will be much heavier, making it more difficult to win the case.

In regards to retaliation, if you do file, you must show that the retaliation was the determinative factor for the negative action.

The particular cases on which the Court ruled involved a lawsuit between Ball State University and a kitchen worker, and a suit between the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a doctor. These were not easy cases for the justices. It took seven months of consideration before they reached their decisions, and even now, some are calling for the decisions to be over-turned.

Uncategorized

What Do Employers Look For: Experience Or A Degree?

By mrsmith on Friday, August 16, 2013

According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center of college graduates, 86% believe that their education was a valuable investment. In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that college graduates had an income $19,000 greater than those with just high school educations. But in today’s job market, does a college degree carry more weight than skills or work experience?
There are many successful people who don’t have college degrees, most notably Bill Gates. As the CEO of Microsoft, he led the company in many record breaking years, including grossing more than $70 billion dollars in 2011. So don’t be discouraged, a degree doesn’t guarantee a top salary at any company.
Binghamton University in New York, recently released a report about transferable skills. Simply put, these are the skills that you have accumulated and improved upon that apply to numerous jobs and tasks. They could include efficiency in communication, teamwork, and organization, all of which can be gained through work experience. But how do you get your foot in the door without a degree?
Convincing an employer to hire you can be tricky regardless of your level of education. But, focusing on the transferrable skills in your resume can help your chances. To get ahead of the competition you have to focus on your strengths. If you don’t have a degree, list the skills you’ve gained from your previous employers that are applicable to the job you are looking for. Be specific about your skill level and give quantifying examples.
A college degree may seem to make finding a job easier, but there are ways to find a career without a college degree and there are great jobs that can be earned with hard work and diligence, whether it’s through scholarly pursuits or just good ole’ fashioned dedication. Are there skills that you have found that made you more valuable to your current or previous employer, let us know what you think in our poll.

Reader Surveys The Job Search

Poll: What Do You Think Employers Want Most When Hiring?

By Rachel Rudisill on Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Impressing an employer while applying for a job is a multi-step process. It’s a combination of having a stand-out resume and application, getting the opportunity to interview, interviewing well, and following up appropriately. All this activity is taking place on the job seeker’s side and conversely a flurry of work is happening with the prospective employer as well.

Matching job seeker’s skills and desires with employer’s requirements and workplace culture is no easy task. To assist job seekers, we’ve featured many posts exploring the ways to ace the job search process, including the benefits of hobbies, the value of networking, and the best preparation for an interview. Currently, Express is taking a look at the challenges faced by employers and the state of employment. This research has uncovered the personality traits desired in employees and which jobs are hardest to fill right now.

Now we want to hear from you! Share your experience with us in this poll.

Uncategorized

3 Ways to Prove Your Integrity on Your Cover Letter

By mrsmith on Thursday, July 25, 2013

A recent report from Express Employment Professionals showed that employers value work ethic and integrity over education when considering candidates for open positions, but how can you demonstrate integrity during the interview process? Cover letters have been known as a way to show off your soft skills and personality, but can also be great way to give some insight into your integrity. With the average read time of cover letters at less than one minute, you’ll want to keep your cover letter brief, but still take advantage of the opportunity to stand out.

Here are three options for demonstrating your integrity in your cover letter.

I’m Trusted.
After you read the job description or job posting, include a brief story in your cover letter of when you have been trusted in the past to take care of a related task. State how you handled the request and the pride you felt in completing the project. If you have specific measurements for the success of the project, include those or provide a quote from a note you received thanking you for your hard work on the project.
I’m Knowledgeable.
Share a quote or thought from an industry article or training, and explain what you learned from it. Explain how you stay informed on trends and changes in your industry and why you believe it’s important.
I Have my Own Values.
If you have your own personal values or mission statement, share that. Then explain why the job or company aligns with that. “The Leadership Challenge” by Kouzes and Posner, offers great advice in creating a personal values statement and how you can use that to guide decision making. If you don’t have your own values statement, review the values of the company you are applying at and select one that resonates with you and expound on that.

Taking the time to craft a cover letter that demonstrates your integrity can be one more way to stand out in the job applicant pool.

How do you demonstrate your work ethic/integrity during the application process? Share your ideas in the comments section below.

At Work Uncategorized Workplace Safety

3 Ways to Stay All Ears: Protecting Yourself from Hearing Hazards

By mrsmith on Wednesday, July 24, 2013

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, nearly 30 million people annually are exposed to hazardous noise levels and since 2004, 125,000 workers have suffered significant and permanent hearing loss.

Loud noises, the constant drone of machines, as well as hazardous poisons referred to as ototoxic chemicals can cause significant and irreparable hearing damage. Hearing loss can result in many workplace complications including an increase in stress, reduced productivity, and an increased risk of workplace injuries. Fortunately, hearing loss can be preventable. So how do you protect yourself from losing such a valuable faculty? Here are three prevention and safety suggestions to ensure that you stay all ears.

Wearing proper ear protection
Hearing protection devices (HPD’s) are a simple way to put a barrier between your ears and the ruckus of the workplace. OSHA requires employers to have an “effective hearing conservation program“ available to employees. This program requires employers to provide sound level sampling, informational material to inform workers of the hazards, and appropriate protective gear.
Regular Hearing Checkups
Another requirement for applicable employers is the implementation and maintenance of continual audiometric testing. These checkups are important and allow for employees to monitor their hearing and the effects that workplace noise has on it. By keeping an eye on your ears you can take preventative measures if hearing loss begins to develop.
Read the Materials Safety Data Sheets
Ototoxic chemicals are substances that can permanently damage the inner ear if you’re exposed to them. Industries that have potential exposure to dangerous chemicals should have materials safety data sheets available to employees in the form of a book or online. If you’re concerned that the chemicals you handle everyday may have an adverse effect on you, review the safety materials provided by your employer.

Hearing is important and without it, many daily tasks can be hindered by an impairment. Hearing loss is preventable but you have to do your part. If you have tips on how you protect your ears, share them in the comment section below.

Career Options The Job Search Uncategorized

5 Signs a Job Post Might Be a Fake

By mrsmith on Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Job seeking can be an arduous task. No matter what your skill level or experience, the job search can be scary or frustrating. To make matters worse, web villains maliciously place fake job postings on commonly trafficked job sites to lure job seekers into multi-level marketing scams or to entice them to provide valuable personal information that could compromise one’s identity.

The potential to be scammed may seem intimidating, but don’t let the possibility of being duped deter you from seeking the job of your dreams. Spotting a scam can be easy with a little insight from someone who has been a victim so here are five signs to look out for.

It sounds too good to be true.
Job postings are supposed to sound enticing and be informative. But, if a posting makes big promises like high salary with “no experience necessary” or big starting bonuses for entry level positions, as the saying goes, “It might be too good to be true.” Starting salaries are based on the job’s pay range and the applicant’s skills and experience. Entry level jobs usually mean entry level pay.
The job description is vague.
If the job is poorly defined, this can be a sign that the position isn’t real. A fake posting might say things like B2B sales which could translate to door to door solicitation. A legitimate company knows what they are hiring for and exactly what the job entails. A clearly defined description can help a company narrow down the candidate pool by providing information the jobseeker will need to decide whether or not they are qualified. If you don’t feel like you have a good understanding of what the job is from the description, follow up with a question before applying.
The job description has typos and grammatical errors.
Job descriptions and postings are often written by hiring managers and HR personnel. As a representative of their organization, it is their responsibility to ensure that outgoing communication portrays the professionalism of the company. If a job description is littered with grammatical errors, you might think twice before applying. Also look at the email address, if the email URL is not an organization’s website but something strange from a free email provider, use caution.
The company asks for credit card information.
A company should never need a credit card number to hire you and you should never pay for training unless the industry is regulated by the government and requires a license. Providing personal information can expose you to identity theft. So if the job posting has a form to fill out that doesn’t appear to be legitimate or asks for more than just simple contact information, be aware this could be a phishing scam.
The company name is ambiguous or missing.
If the post doesn’t contain a company name or has very little information, it might not exist. Always do research on a company before submitting your resume. A good way to find information is to type in the name of the company into a popular search engine and look for reviews from other job seekers. An important exception is staffing companies, the clients that use staffing companies often want to stay anonymous so the name may be withheld. However, the staffing company name and contact information should be verified as credible. In some contract and temporary positions you will work for and paid by the staffing company, making them the employer

Don’t let scammers get you down. Job seeking may seem like a lot of work but a safe job search can be simple by just being cautious. If you have a bad feeling, trust your gut.
Have you been a victim of a job scam? Let us know in the comment section below.

Career Options The Job Search Uncategorized

What is your biggest frustration as a job seeker?

By Rachel Rudisill on Monday, July 1, 2013

From pay to location to skill set, finding a job involves many factors. As a job seeker, what has been your biggest obstacle in finding the right match?

Poll closed July 18, 2013.