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 NuggzTheNinja wrote:
Your employer buys your skill set and your time, not your soul.

There have been a couple bosses I had to less then gently remind them of that fact.
There are many individuals out there who really do want you to believe they own you.
Hence, why job hunting while still employed happens.

 Stevefamine wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

Crimson Heretic wrote:
depends on the job, the culture...also be warned, alot of employers will ask to view your social networking accounts or they will look you up. I hope you don't present pot themed photos on your crackbook page, pot may be legal in some places but it is not 100% socially accepted and often results as you being labeled in a bad light.

That is why I conduct my way on Facebook like my boss is always looking at it.

My job hires out a third party company to look at employee's facebooks. I took mine down and made another one under an alternate name

Ehh, I keep mine clean, nerdyou but clean.
Now god help me if they ever find out my 40k name.
I did a Google search for it and it has my pic and tons of pony and 40k stuff.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

Crimson Heretic wrote:
depends on the job, the culture...also be warned, alot of employers will ask to view your social networking accounts or they will look you up. I hope you don't present pot themed photos on your crackbook page, pot may be legal in some places but it is not 100% socially accepted and often results as you being labeled in a bad light.

That is why I conduct my way on Facebook like my boss is always looking at it.

Ha! Employers can try to look up my social networking profiles if they wish (they're all 'private' to anyone but friends).. But I'd refuse to give them access to my private accounts, it's really no more of their business than my bank account. Really, any employer that asks you give access to look through your social networking is taking the piss and should be told where to go. What next, letting them look through your window all evening to see what you talk about?

Similarly I'm surprised at the number of Americans that complain about drugs testing for the most routine of jobs. Is this really common? How have you been trained to accept this? Unless you're turning up to work stoned there's no reason it's acceptable to be asked to undertake testing for anything 'just because'. Shocking.

Crimson Heretic wrote:
depends on the job, the culture...also be warned, alot of employers will ask to view your social networking accounts or they will look you up. I hope you don't present pot themed photos on your crackbook page, pot may be legal in some places but it is not 100% socially accepted and often results as you being labeled in a bad light.

I'm old. I don't know what a social network is.

TBone has his own though.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:

Similarly I'm surprised at the number of Americans that complain about drugs testing for the most routine of jobs. Is this really common?

It is quite common though the results don't necessarily have any bearing on your employment, and the less routine your job the less likely you will be required to take a drug test.

 Sigvatr wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The times are changing, working with a full beard used to be a nono. Now I have lumbersexuals fixing my computer in it.
just keep it neat and no neon hair dye

No piercings is very important as well.

I've worked in IT as a programmer now for about 6 years. Over that time I've had hair past my shoulders, various length beards (almost hobo-scruffy at some points), and known people both in IT and client services with tatoos (sleeves that were visible when wearing short sleeved shirts, visible tramp stamps), facial peircings, died hair, long hair, beards, shaved heads, etc.

The only thing I've ever done to make it easier for myself in interviews is tidy it up. If I have a beard, do a little manscaping. I did cut my hair, but that was actually months before I was made redundant, so I didn't do it for my interview. When I mentioned it at the interview, the interviewer said he hoped I didn't cut it on account of them - they were perfectly fine with it.

You're really making it sound as if Germany is pretty discriminatory.

 Cheesecat wrote:
For context, these are the places I'm looking at:

The hospital, Home Depot, traffic person, bus sweeper, government jobs, Sun Peaks, Canadian Tire, Ajax, saw mill, BC Liquor, pulp mill, gold mine, Acres, Lafarge, streamline enterprises, CN and CP railway, John Deere, Labour Ready, Highland Copper Valley Mine, BC Hydro, Sperry Rail

service, carnival, Afton mine, NRI, Logan’s Truck Brite, New Gold Mine, construction worker, etc.

Lol, about half of these places, if I were the one hiring and you didn't have a full beard, I wouldn't hire you

Places like the hospital or anywhere that there's potential for working with/near food products, I would probably trim/cut the hair as it presents the image (even if it is falsely) that you "care" about getting your follicles into the company's products. Obviously, if they are interviewing you and they ask if you'd be willing to wear a hair net, you should say yes, because being employed and wearing a hairnet is better than being unemployed and broke


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Frazzled wrote:

I'm old. I don't know what a social network is.

It's like the Elk's Lodge, Free masonry, the bowling team, the local VFW, etc.... only without the physical hand shaking and actually talking to real people thing

 dogma wrote:

nkelsch wrote:

Enjoy being unemployed. Virtually every company now does a google search and social media search of every prospective candidate before interview and most do personal investigations/background checks after hiring at a minimum to verify college credentials and criminal records. It is easy, cheap and almost every professional company does it to some extent.

I've been employed whenever I tried to be since my Facebook account was created in 2004, without any attempt at sterilization. This is why I stated that, absent desperation, any employer that attempts to track you down on social networks like Facebook is probably not an employer you want to work for.

nkelsch wrote:

If you think having a prospective employer check out your social media existence is invading your personal life, then you are best suited for selling hotdogs on the beach boardwalk or oranges on the side of a highway if you must have your private personal freedom from your employer.

I think checking out certain types of social media is acceptable (LinkedIn being the best example), just not the types of social media that resemble Facebook (Google+ and Myspace being the most prominent examples) as I believe personal and professional lives should be considered separate. I also dispute the notion that people who believe what I do are only fit for "...selling hotdogs on the beach boardwalk...". I don't mean to toot my own horn but I probably make more than you do, and in large part because I don't hide from flaws brought up during interviews related to internet searches.

I also don't hide from my 'flaws', but "you shouldn't search that stuff' is not a defense and it is not only regularly done but common practice, especially in companies with HR departments who literally have people with full time jobs which do nothing but google incoming resumes and background check new hires. You can believe they should be separate, but you clearly know they are not and manage your social media footprint correctly. Your belief doesn't manage the reality of the business world that all employers, even the one you probably work for search and make judgement based upon your social media. Owning up to it or keeping your social media consumable by employers is what keeps you good, not railing about 'my private life has no impact on work'. If you refused to work for a company who checked your facebook, you would be unemployed. Sounds like even your company checked your social media and questioned you about it during your interview.

You would be surprised how many people lie about credentials and freak out when the first thing upon being hired is submitting to a background check to verify criminal record and university degrees. Social media is just the tip of the iceburg.




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 Howard A Treesong wrote:

Similarly I'm surprised at the number of Americans that complain about drugs testing for the most routine of jobs. Is this really common? How have you been trained to accept this? Unless you're turning up to work stoned there's no reason it's acceptable to be asked to undertake testing for anything 'just because'. Shocking.

It is pretty common. Any job which you operate machinery usually reserves the rights for random testing as part of the process, but pretty much most companies reserve the right to request testing as part of employment, and you sign away your rights.

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/asp/drugfree/drugs/dt.asp

Is drug testing legal?
In most cases it is legal for employers to test employees for drugs. No Federal laws prohibit the practice. However, there are several states that restrict or question an employer’s ability to randomly drug test employees who are not in safety-sensitive positions. Thus, it is very important that employers familiarize themselves with the various state laws that may apply to their organization before implementing a drug-testing program. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, someone with a history of alcoholism or drug addiction may be considered a qualified individual with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other Federal non-discrimination statues. As a result, testing for alcohol without individualized suspicions (e.g. pre-employment or random) is not allowable.

Usually a company has a policy they make you sign, they never use it, and then if there is an incident, they do one and it helps with termination. I know I would lose my job and clearances pretty immediately should I do any drugs.

When I was volunteering at a clinic on weekends I'd see tons of people come in for company mandated pre-hire drug testing - from truckers, to auto plant workers, to even investment bankers.

This was in the US.

Funny thing was that many people would ask me directly if there was a way to avoid pot showing up on the tests.

I told them, from what I heard, it really didn't matter if pot showed up. (I actually did hear from one of the banks, and one of the plants that they didn't really care about pot).

 Howard A Treesong wrote:

Similarly I'm surprised at the number of Americans that complain about drugs testing for the most routine of jobs. Is this really common? How have you been trained to accept this? Unless you're turning up to work stoned there's no reason it's acceptable to be asked to undertake testing for anything 'just because'. Shocking.

Officially my current job allows for the possibility, though in the 7 years I've been there, no one has been tested in any country we operate that I'm aware of.

The only jobs I've had where they did bother to test you were menial retail positions when I was young.

 daedalus wrote:

 Howard A Treesong wrote:

Similarly I'm surprised at the number of Americans that complain about drugs testing for the most routine of jobs. Is this really common? How have you been trained to accept this? Unless you're turning up to work stoned there's no reason it's acceptable to be asked to undertake testing for anything 'just because'. Shocking.

Officially my current job allows for the possibility, though in the 7 years I've been there, no one has been tested in any country we operate that I'm aware of.

The only jobs I've had where they did bother to test you were menial retail positions when I was young.

And the Army...

 daedalus wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:

No bigger company would want to hire people identifying as trans.

Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Boeing aren't big companies to you?

You must be stupid.

Microsoft, specifically, is one of the world's leaders in workforce diversity, followed by Google, Starbucks, and Amazon. I know several LGBT employees at various Boeing locations in the Pacific Northwest.

Did they show up to interviews wearing dresses?

If you show up to an interview in a dress and don't get hired, it's not because they secretly hate trans[insert appropriate gender-descriptor here].


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 daedalus wrote:

 Howard A Treesong wrote:

Similarly I'm surprised at the number of Americans that complain about drugs testing for the most routine of jobs. Is this really common? How have you been trained to accept this? Unless you're turning up to work stoned there's no reason it's acceptable to be asked to undertake testing for anything 'just because'. Shocking.

Officially my current job allows for the possibility, though in the 7 years I've been there, no one has been tested in any country we operate that I'm aware of.

The only jobs I've had where they did bother to test you were menial retail positions when I was young.

As a college grad, I've only ever done drug testing with the Marines. I was actually surprised when my current roommate (who works retail) mentioned he needed to get a drug test. I imagine menial labor type jobs probably need to filter out more bad eggs or something, or at least I imaging that's at least the logic behind it.

 DarkLink wrote:

 daedalus wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:

No bigger company would want to hire people identifying as trans.

Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Boeing aren't big companies to you?

You must be stupid.

Microsoft, specifically, is one of the world's leaders in workforce diversity, followed by Google, Starbucks, and Amazon. I know several LGBT employees at various Boeing locations in the Pacific Northwest.

Did they show up to interviews wearing dresses?

If you show up to an interview in a dress and don't get hired, it's not because they secretly hate trans[insert appropriate gender-descriptor here].

The original thought spurred from the recommendation that he wear a dress to the interview, hence the comment. I agree with you, though I don't think we'd hire anyone seeming to be male who showed up to an interview wearing a dress, and we also have very good PR on how much we love the LGBT folks.

 daedalus wrote:
[
The original thought spurred from the recommendation that he wear a dress to the interview, hence the comment. I agree with you, though I don't think we'd hire anyone seeming to be male who showed up to an interview wearing a dress, and we also have very good PR on how much we love the LGBT folks.

What if it's not a dress per se, but rather a kilt? (like, a legit one, not a plaid skirt being played off as a kilt)

If you don't hire a scotsman, who will?? Won't you think of the Scots!? Seriously, if you don't employ them, they get all wound up and start face painting with blue and white and running around with kitchen utensils yelling "FREEEEEEEEEDDDDDOOOOOOMMM!!" and stuff. It's a bloody PR nightmare

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The times are changing, working with a full beard used to be a nono. Now I have lumbersexuals fixing my computer in it.
just keep it neat and no neon hair dye

I completely lost it at lumbersexuals. Did you coin that term or is that the actual descriptor for these guys running around in plaid with huge beards and high fades?

 -Loki- wrote:

 Sigvatr wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The times are changing, working with a full beard used to be a nono. Now I have lumbersexuals fixing my computer in it.
just keep it neat and no neon hair dye

No piercings is very important as well.

I've worked in IT as a programmer now for about 6 years. Over that time I've had hair past my shoulders, various length beards (almost hobo-scruffy at some points), and known people both in IT and client services with tatoos (sleeves that were visible when wearing short sleeved shirts, visible tramp stamps), facial peircings, died hair, long hair, beards, shaved heads, etc.

The only thing I've ever done to make it easier for myself in interviews is tidy it up. If I have a beard, do a little manscaping. I did cut my hair, but that was actually months before I was made redundant, so I didn't do it for my interview. When I mentioned it at the interview, the interviewer said he hoped I didn't cut it on account of them - they were perfectly fine with it.

You're really making it sound as if Germany is pretty discriminatory.

You would never have made it through the door here.

 trexmeyer wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The times are changing, working with a full beard used to be a nono. Now I have lumbersexuals fixing my computer in it.
just keep it neat and no neon hair dye

I completely lost it at lumbersexuals. Did you coin that term or is that the actual descriptor for these guys running around in plaid with huge beards and high fades?

He is not making that up.

Go to the place a day before you're supposed too.
Check out what everybody else is like and try to fit in.
Fitting in as part of the team, can be vital in getting the job.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 trexmeyer wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The times are changing, working with a full beard used to be a nono. Now I have lumbersexuals fixing my computer in it.
just keep it neat and no neon hair dye

I completely lost it at lumbersexuals. Did you coin that term or is that the actual descriptor for these guys running around in plaid with huge beards and high fades?

He is not making that up.

While sad, it is true.... but as a guy with a "huge beard" and a moderately "military-esque" hair cut, not everyone who wears plaid plus beard, plus haircut is a "lumbersexual"


For one thing, *I* know how to use an ax, as well as a wide variety of powered tools. I also do not wear glasses to be ironic. I wear sunglasses, but they are the same make/model as what I wore my last 2 years in the army and so look nothing like what hipsters (aka, Lumbersexuals in this case) wear.

Most places will at least require you to keep it in a ponytail (at least that was the norm when I worked in retail)

Sometimes, I do feel like showing up at work with a Warhawk and tactical beard.

 KiloFiX wrote:
Sometimes, I do feel like showing up at work with a Warhawk and tactical beard.

That's what I love about working as a plumber. I can dress however I want and nobody bats an eye.

 Squidmanlolz wrote:

 KiloFiX wrote:
Sometimes, I do feel like showing up at work with a Warhawk and tactical beard.

That's what I love about working as a plumber. I can dress however I want and nobody bats an eye.

Is it true what they say about plumbers and housewives? Lol, j/k and sorry digression but I had to ask.

They don't dare look directly at you. OMG the crack is a valley of Death!

 KiloFiX wrote:
Sometimes, I do feel like showing up at work with a Warhawk and tactical beard.

I have wanted to do that for so long but my hair no grow past 2" long :(

 KiloFiX wrote:

 Squidmanlolz wrote:

 KiloFiX wrote:
Sometimes, I do feel like showing up at work with a Warhawk and tactical beard.

That's what I love about working as a plumber. I can dress however I want and nobody bats an eye.

Is it true what they say about plumbers and housewives? Lol, j/k and sorry digression but I had to ask.

And what happens when the plumber and the milkman both arrive at the same house at the same time?

 KiloFiX wrote:

 Squidmanlolz wrote:

 KiloFiX wrote:
Sometimes, I do feel like showing up at work with a Warhawk and tactical beard.

That's what I love about working as a plumber. I can dress however I want and nobody bats an eye.

Is it true what they say about plumbers and housewives? Lol, j/k and sorry digression but I had to ask.

Not in the least. Most people carry the "Fix my gak and get out" attitude.

Not in the least. Most people carry the "Fix my gak and get out" attitude.

Well yea, you're a stranger in their homes. Now SWMBO is very friendly to people but I'm just polite.

 trexmeyer wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The times are changing, working with a full beard used to be a nono. Now I have lumbersexuals fixing my computer in it.
just keep it neat and no neon hair dye

I completely lost it at lumbersexuals. Did you coin that term or is that the actual descriptor for these guys running around in plaid with huge beards and high fades?

I heard it on a podcast. Like Wordfunk I think.

I work for a major investment bank and there are dudes with long hair in my office. It's 2015. I'm occasionally surprised at how puritanical Americans can be...

As long as you make an effort to look smart you should be fine. Maybe tie it up so it's a little neater, but I wouldn't go chopping it off. The only thing I will say is that if you're working with industrial machinery, I'd maybe avoid having long hair, for safety reasons.