Jesse And Al Should Read This!

Instead of getting all bent out of shape over innocuous remarks made by the President of Mexico, perhaps the Lord and Prince of African-American Ideological Imperialism (that's Lord Jesse and Prince Al) should know just how Americans apply for those jobs they so vehemently claim Mexicans are stealing.

The good folks at Careerbuilder.com recently took a peek into the matter. In a survey of 600 hiring managers, 70 percent of them reported the following bizarre behaviors displayed by American job applicants. [1]

Now listen carefully Lord Jackson and Prince Al:

• No shows-they make the appointment for the job interview then do not show up

• Compulsive watch-checking during the interview

• Interviewee asking the interviewer to hurry up the interview

• Applicants literally running from the room as soon as the word "drug testing" is mentioned

• Applicants telling the hiring manager that the company has a black aura and leaving the interview

• Applicants showing up for the interview in T-shirts and jeans

• "One job hopeful arrived at his interview displaying a hairy chest, medallion, strong cologne and a wad of gum in his mouth. And which is worse: the applicant who wore a housecoat and slippers or the one who wore his slippers with a bathing suit and T-shirt?" [2]

• Applicant singing the national anthem

• Trying to sell the interviewer a car

• Applicant drops to the floor and starts doing Yoga during the interview

• Applicant lapses into doing celebrity imitations

• Applicant tells interviewer he wants the job so he can get the employee discounts and then retire in 2 months

• Applicant tells the interviewer that George Bush was his last supervisor at his previous place of employment

• "Another admitted he didn't do all of the duties listed in his résumé - but he assured the hiring manager that it didn't matter." [3]

• Applicant asks for a raise during the interview

• Applicant asks how soon he can have the interviewing manager's office

• "Applicants offered their interviewers gifts, money, and even sex in return for a job offer, and one job seeker offered to shine the hiring manager's shoes." [4]

Now this is NOT to say that all Americans show up at interviews a "brick shy of a load". I would not dare make such a generalization. So let me go on record so I don't get a lot of nasty emails. Not every American without exception shows up at job interviews with "the porch light on but no one's at home". Just a lot of you apparently do.

Do not, and I repeat, do not do these (are you still listening Lord Jesse and Prince Al?) at job interviews. I guess no one told you these were not good things to do when applying for work:

• Pick your nails
• Light up tobacco or other smoking products
• Fart
• Belch
• Pick your nose or any other bodily orifices
• Scratch your private parts
• Spit

I am not making this stuff up. Americans really will do this, and more, at job interviews.

This behavior is what Mexicans would call "uneducated". And you know what? THEY ARE RIGHT!

So Lord Jackson and Prince Albert, perhaps you should take a long and hard look at the reasons American employers are hiring more and more Mexicans!

What do you think of that?

[1] Weirdest Interview Behavior by Laura Morsch, CareerBuilder.com

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He is a columnist with Cricketsoda.com and the Magic City Morning Star. He is also listed with Ezinearticles.com. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico. His newest book Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can now be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241


More Resources

Manage Your Boss - And Get Ahead!
It's clear there are a number of common issues faced by business people across totally unrelated industries and environments. This series was created to provide some perspective and guidance to executives as they negotiate their way up the corporate ladder.
Business Experience is YOUR Security Cover
Some may want to interpret "independent" to mean WITHOUT others. None of us are truly independent or able to make it in life alone.
Do You Need Help Writing A Winning Cover Letter?
Your cover letter is critical to your success. It sets the tone.
Cover Letter Magic: 4 Ways To ASK For The Job Interview - And Get It!
Just how important it is to ASK for the job interview clearly and directly in your cover letter?IT'S EVERYTHING!So the question remains: how effectively are you ASKING? The following four ways will help you nail down many more job interviews. Try them all and see which ones work best for you.
Overcoming the 7 Roadblocks Women with Families Face Making Career Changes
Family is the driving force of our lives. You need family to support you and in most homes you need money to support your family.
Successful Job Seeking - The Importance of Your Cover Letter
As an employer I receive many job applications each week. Some cover letters are so well written that I am compelled to review the attached resume even if our company is not currently hiring.
Self Describing Skills - Key Strengths
You need to be the best you can at describing your best qualities; particularly your key strengths. In my coaching practice I generally, at some point, ask my client: "What are you good at?" purely as a means to establish if they have already thought through this most important question.
Alert! An Over-50 Jobseeker Has Just Entered the Building
Interviewing Tips for the Older Job-seeking PopulationA red alert is probably melodramatic, but I'm sure jobseekers in this age bracket probably feel there is one. The bulk of the job-seeking population is currently facing job-search woes that the elderly population has been experiencing for years.
Getting Your Online Health Care Administration Degree
Are you thinking about getting your online health care degree but don't know where to start? Afraid of choosing the wrong college or school? Here's a simple guide to help you get started building the career that you've always wanted.Making the decision to get your online health care degree is not any easy one.
Fuzzy Headed Job Goals Lead to a Fuzzy Headed Life!
May I clarify in this article what I believe to be "fuzzy headed" life and job decisions. I believe both are entwined: life and job.
Business Dress for Women: Making Impact
Buying a suit can be an important investment when you are trying to improve your look for business or career advancement. Wearing a standard off-the rack suit for business or a job interview does not always mean success.
Spiritual Practices Offer Peace and Acceptance
Facing career transitions and daily life challenges can leave us feeling lonely, stressed and anxious. How do we manage to deal with the financial and emotional stress of having a home, a car, work (or no work), kids and a spouse in this too-busy world?Spiritual practices can help us navigate through the turmoil of work and life transitions with more acceptance and peace.
Why a Professional Resume?
As a job search tool your Resume is your main calling card. It explains who you are and what you have to offer.
Book Summary: How to Work with Just About Anyone
This article is based on the following book:How to Work with Just About Anyone"A Three-step Solution For Getting Difficult People To Change"By Lucy GillPublished by Fireside/ Simon and Schuster 1999ISBN 0-684-85527-5206 pages"I just can't seem to get along with this person!"Every office has that one difficult person to work with, who affects productivity due to a terrible attitude, chronic tardiness, or simply drives everyone else up the wall. Here is the answer to common problems in conflict management.
How to Get the Job You Want in Any Economy... Act Like a Headhunter
Having spent the last few years of my career in the staffing and recruiting industry, I'm asked all the time by friends and relatives if I can help them find a more desirable job. I've helped my fiancé get a job, helped my college buddies get jobs after graduation, and even helped a few high school buddies find jobs having not seen them for years.
Skills Make Labor More Valuable
As you know by now, if you have been a long time subscriber to our weekly E-zine, I'm a very big proponent of activity, labor and discipline. In fact I devoted one of the five major pieces to the life puzzle (in my book under the same name) to the subject of activity and labor.
4 Niche Job-Search Tips
Looking for a job on the Internet can be daunting. Where do you start? What Web sites are best for your industry?If you're suffering from "job search overwhelm," take heart.
Salary Negotiation: How To Earn More Money and Respect From Your Employer
Despite how important fair pay is to most of us, effective salary negotiation is an often misunderstood and avoided topic. Current research indicates the average duration of a position today is 3.
Seven Steps to Better Networking
If published statistics are accurate, employment agencies and search firms fill about 20% of all jobs in the US. Job boards fill anywhere between 2% and 8%.
How to Change Careers and Still Pay the Bills - 5 Key Steps
Studies show that more than 50% of people are unhappy in their jobs yet few will actually make a career change in 2005. Why? Most people let fear stop them yet successful career changers know that fear is simply a sign that you are headed in the right direction!Follow the 5 key steps that successful career changers actually take to overcome their fears and make a sustainable change.

More Careers & Employment Information:

Related Articles

How To Become a Mortgage Broker
The mortgage industry accounted for $1,815,949,279,000 in loan transactions in 2004. That's one trillion, eight hundred and fifteen billion, nine hundred and forty-nine million, two hundred and seventy nine thousand dollars.
Five Facts You Must Know When Changing Careers
Too often in life, we fail. We fail not because we set our goals to high and miss achieving our aspirations.
Start Working Before You Get Hired
What if there were a way to *prove* to any sane employer that you alone were the one to hire?Would learning how to do that interest you? I thought so.I call this the "start-working-before-you-get-hired" job-hunting method.
Finding Employees For Insurance Industry Jobs
Finding the right employee for any job opening can be a challenge to say the least, and this is no truer than in the insurance industry. With considerations ranging from experience and education to their personal skills, the decisions faced by recruiters and employers can be of critical importance.
What Not To Include In Your Resume
Do you have a difficult time determining what does not go in your job resume? The rule of thumb is to only put enough information about your qualifications in your resume in order to get the employer interested enough to contact you about an interview.If the information doesn't highlight your qualifications, keep it out.
Resume Layouts ... The Hidden Pitfalls
Options for Resume LayoutsThere are many options of available to today's job seeker. With a quick change of graphical elements such as fonts and style, the feel of a resume can change from traditional and conservative to creative and modern.
Job Interviews & the Magic of Music
Can music help you with your next job interview? It just might! Here's how. First, it can help you during your research, preparation and practice.
Resurrecting the Perfect Resume, Part One
Is your resume dead? Don't be so quick to say, "No way!" Of the hundreds of resumes I've seen written by job seekers of all backgrounds and educational levels, easily 95% qualify to be labelled as dead-but-not-yet-buried.
Prepare for Your Performance Review Before You Start the Job
When you start a new job, you probably realize the first three months are critical to your long-term success. Everybody's eye is on the "newbie" as you learn the ropes.
Women Who Quit Work Abrubtly After Childbirth - Are You the Type?
According to statistics one out of every five pregnant women will not return to work. Quitting abruptly after childbirth could wreak havoc on your finances, your career and even your relationship with your partner.
Resumes, Networking, Headhunters - Useless Without Marketing Sweet Spot
A career transition is no longer about getting your hands on a list of contacts, networking with headhunters, or going online to look for work. It's better than that.
Self Describing Skills - Key Strengths
You need to be the best you can at describing your best qualities; particularly your key strengths. In my coaching practice I generally, at some point, ask my client: "What are you good at?" purely as a means to establish if they have already thought through this most important question.
Are You Tired of Hiring Other Peoples Rejects? - 12 Mistakes Recruiters Make and How To Avoid Them
When John applied for a job at Oakland Company, his resume looked fabulous, showing tremendous talent and advancement. His qualifications were beyond question and he built immediate rapport with everyone in the interview process.
How to Transform a Boring Note Into A Killer Cover Letter - Part II
In Part I, we covered how to grab the reader's attention with the opening sentence. Nowwe'll get them interested, arouse desire, and get them to take action.
About Your Work
I like Simon, one of three judges on American Idol. I find his feedback refreshingly honest.
Unlimit Your Life!
Do you have a tendency to think in absolutes?Is everything good or bad, black or white?This type of thinking can severely limit your options. Or worse, prevent you from getting an accurate picture of what'spossible.
Taking Your Words Seriously
When we ordered the stained glass window as an accent piece for our home, the artist-proprietor told us he was a bit behind. "So," he said, "to be on safe side, plan on six months.
Working Abroad - Employment Advice In Spain
Jobs and employment on the Costa BlancaThe Council of Europe regulations forced Spain to end all restrictions on the free circulation of European Union workers as of January 1st, 1992 - which means that all EU citizens can work in Spain under the same conditions as Spaniards complete with employment contracts and employers contributions into the Spanish Social Security system on your behalf, giving both yourself and your dependants, access to the Spanish National Health Service. These rights extend even to family members who are non EU nationals.
Resume That Effectively Promotes You!
Imagine for a moment that you have created a wonderful product. You are excited at the possibilities of attaining name, fame and wealth marketing this product.
Rev-Up Your Network!
Whether you are looking for a job, new clients or feel the need to expand your list of professional contacts, networking is the answer.So what are you saying to yourself right now? "Yuck, I hate networking.