[Publib] Questions not asked

[James Casey]

"Do you know of or can you foresee any circumstances that may prevent
you from working the hours required of this position or that might
involve extended absence in the foreseeable future?"  --- This kind of
question focuses on "doing the work" without approaching the kind of
"illegal" questions about religion, surgery, pregnancy, etc. you need to
avoid at all costs.  You don't want a new hire to surprise you with a
declaration that they can't work on Saturday or Sunday due to "religious
belief" or that they are two months pregnant or have major surgery
scheduled and will need to have three months off for medical leave
during the busiest period of the year.  

For a well qualified person, the leave requirements may not matter, but
it is always better to know "up front".  It can also cause a huge morale
problem if a new hire who represents badly needed support at a service
desk is able to slip through the interview process with demands for
leave that you cannot refuse after they are hired without breaching
discrimination laws.

For higher level executive positions (Director, Department Head, etc.),
particularly when the candidate may be from another state, it is often
essential to do a "Google" search to learn about what issues may have
arisen in past or current jobs that may not come up during the interview
process.  If a director candidate may have been at the center of some
controversy, been dismissed or faced charges for misconduct, this kind
of information sometimes comes up in the electronic media or in out of
state papers.  Again, bad press doesn't automatically mean that the
candidate should be disqualified from consideration, but you don't want
to be "surprised" after the new person is hired or on board.  

James B. Casey --- My own views
Director -- Oak Lawn Public Library
ALA Council Member


-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Sam
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 9:47 AM
To: Pub Lib
Subject: [Publib] Questions not asked

During a job interview, what question(s) do you feel are usually not 
asked of the candidate that you feel should be asked?

Thanks for any input.

Sam
_______________________________________________
Publib mailing list
Publib at webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/mailman/listinfo/publib