Let’s look at some career damaging activities that all employees or future candidates should avoid. These are things that can cost a professional that future dream job.
Driving while intoxicated—Understand that it’s not just about driving while intoxicated, but any alcohol related offense (driving under the influence, possession of an open container, underage drinking charges, etc.) is detrimental to your job search. Employees and job applicants with alcohol/drug related charges will not only create the potential for a significant increase in liability insurance cost for the employer, but are assumed to have questionable judgment when making decisions. Retaining this employee or hiring this applicant would be seen as a serious risk to the company. For that reason alone, most employers have a zero tolerance for these types of offenses that can continue for up to 5 years past the actual offence!
The real question that the companies are left with is; If this has happened once, will it happen again? Most employers will take the position that it is “better to be safe, than sorry.”
The best rule to follow – Don’t even think about it, don’t drive after drinking. Appoint a designated driver.
Have Bad Credit? Perception is everything. If you apply for a job and have bad credit, the likely perception of the employer will be “If they can’t manage their own finances, why would we want them to be able to affect ours” Regardless of the position you are applying to, whether it’s loading trucks or managing the accounting division, you make decisions every day that can affect the financial performance and well being of the company.
If you’re not able to manage your own debt, employers may find you more likely to take financial risks, or even make some extra cash or by padding that expense account to compensate for things you can’t buy yourself. A common example that can hurt your credit is not paying your bills on time. In general, any application that asks for a social security number is fair game for potentially impacting your credit score.
There are a few organizations online that will offer you a free credit report once per year. If you have not done so recently, get a report and make sure everything is correct.
Poor Social Networking Practices – A recent industry survey noted that over 35% of employers search social networking sites to screen job applicant. This number is rising fast with less than 20% checking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace a year ago.
Employers don’t usually search with the hopes of finding something negative about you. In fact, the opposite is true- they’re looking to confirm the information on your resume and hoping to find more proof that you’re a good candidate who really can help their company. However, employers can’t predict how their search will end. Employers in the survey listed these items as reasons they have chosen NOT to pursue the candidate:
- Information about alcohol or drug use (41% of managers said this was a top concern)
- Inappropriate photos or information posted on a candidate’s page (40%)
- Poor communication skills (29%)
- Bad-mouthing of former employers or fellow employees (28%)
- Inaccurate qualifications (27%)
- Unprofessional screen names (22%)
- Notes showing links to criminal behavior (21%)
- Confidential information about past employers (19%)
Network abuse – Is anyone watching? That not so appropriate email you can send to friends or the 45 minutes you spent shopping online can easily be monitored by your employer. The purpose of your online activities is a big concern to your employer. Most companies do not want to monitor with the expectation that they will catch someone. Rather, they truly do it for protection and record keeping if should something bad should occur. Whether their goal of monitoring is to identify risk for harassment suits, or recognizing employees that “surf the net” instead of taking care of customers, they have the right to know what you are doing with their network – especially when they are paying you to do something else.
Badmouthing - A common mistake that that can be made in conversation, whether that be face-to-face or electronically, can be talking negatively about previous employers. If you are disgruntled about your past experience, that same mistake can easily be made in the interview. We’ve all had or know someone who’s had a weak supervisor or someone they didn’t work well with. Regardless of the situation, candidates should think twice before sharing their opinions publicly. What you say may reflect more negatively on yourself than the person or company you’re talking about. Be very careful when asked about a former employer that you did not really like. Sometimes it’s best to just let it go.
Honesty and Integrity – Being dishonest, cheating, or lying is bound to catch up to the offender, sooner or later. It could turn into a not so flattering reference for you, or a refusal to give a reference other than the required confirmation that you were employed there. Dishonest activity could also cause you to be passed over for a promotion. In some cases, where company policy is violated, it can also result in dismissal.
How would you explain that to a prospective employer? An employer may ask you, “What caused you to change jobs from that company?” Answering that question could be a “lose-lose” proposition. Have you ever thought about the fact that a hiring manager may already know the answer to the question and they just want to see if you will answer it honestly?
Certainly there are many things that can affect one’s career. This may be just a short list. In most cases, a dose of “common sense” is all that is needed to avoid one of these pitfalls. As a recruiting agent for our clients, we are asked to “Find the Best”. Certainly, if during interviews or background checks, something damaging to ones career is found, it can seriously affect our ability to refer an otherwise very high quality candidate. For all of our sakes, it’s best to avoid the pitfalls. It may not be your career that’s at risk, but possibly with some of the aforementioned knowledge in hand, you can help a friend or colleague avoid a career damaging pitfall.
