This Domain For Sale. Contact us for more information.

Recruiting on the Web Requires Special Record Keeping for Legal Purposes

by Lesli Peterson, Business Analyst, VCG
with Phil McCutchen, Marketing Manager, VCG

With the age of the Internet upon us, recruiting methods have expanded dramatically. Staffing companies now regularly use the Web to locate qualified candidates for their open positions.

The most common methods include searching Job Boards and Corporate Websites. Job Boards, whether belonging to the staffing company or otherwise, allow recruiters to post specific positions, asking applicants to submit their resumes or follow a link to a registration page on their website. Corporate Websites are now allowing recruiters to post jobs for general or specific positions and permitting candidates to register with the Staffing Company and/or apply for a specific position.

Unfortunately, many Staffing Firms are in the dark about how to address certain recordkeeping requirements. Providing much needed light is the 1978 Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) published by the government to resolve inconsistencies between the EEOC(1), DOL(2), DOJ(3) and OPM(4).

The UGESP, which requires that certain records be kept for reasons of measuring disparate impact, have published clarifications on the issue with regard to new technology. The following questions have been published as a three-part "test" to determine if your business should report race, gender and ethnicity information about an individual:

• Is your business acting to fill a particular position?
• Is the individual following your standard procedures for submitting an application?
• Is the individual indicating interest in a specific position?

If the answer is 'yes' to all of these questions, information about race, gender, and ethnicity must be obtained and recorded by your business.

Let's review some examples as it relates to the new technology being used by recruiting and staffing companies today.

• A person registers with your business on the Internet and sends you an email indicating they are looking for a receptionist position. Even if you have receptionist positions open, this person has not indicated interest in a particular position and therefore, gathering information is not necessary.
• As a recruiter, you search a Job Board for a .NET developer because you have a specific job you need to fill immediately. Even though you have a specific position in mind, you do not need to collect information on those resumes you reviewed for this position. Resumes posted to Job Boards are not considered applicants of your position.
• You find a resume on a Job Board and it looks great. You call this person and speak with them about the position. They are very interested and indicate they want to send you an updated resume. This person now knows about and is interested in the position. Additionally, they are following your standard submission steps by sending you an updated resume. You are required to record their information. However, if you call them and they indicate they are not interested or they do not return your call, it is not necessary to record their information.
• You have a job posted on your corporate website. One of your registered candidates applies for the position using your website. This person has gone through all the proper channels to inform you of their interest in a specific position. You are required to gather their information.

The difficult part of this process for staffing and recruiting firms is not so much about knowing when as it is about knowing how to capture the information in a timely and efficient manner. With sophisticated staffing software such as VCG's StaffSuite WorldLink or WebPAS WorldLink, recruiters and staffing firms can electronically capture race, gender and ethnicity information at all the right times in the process, thus helping them stay legal.

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• U.S. Department of Labor
&@149; U.S. Department of Justice
• Office of Personnel Management (formerly the Civil Service Commission)

Lesli Peterson is a Business Analyst with VCG, Inc., the leading provider of staffing software to the staffing industry. She has nearly 10 years staffing industry-related experience. Phil McCutchen is Marketing Manager for VCG, Inc. He has been associated with the staffing industry for over 13 years, and has more than 25 years of marketing related experience. For more information: VCG Staffing Software

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Careers & Employment Information:

Have You Given Up On Yourself?
Have you given up on yourself? Have you decided to take the easy road and coast for the rest of your life? Have you come to the decision that you have done all you could possibly be expected to do in your life now it is someone else's turn? As you get older you may not be able to run as fast, swim as far, hit the ball as hard or even concentrate as long as you used to but is that the reason to give up? .

How To Find Quick, Free, Job Search Resurces
There are many free job search resources availablein any community, large or small. These resourcesare available to the aspiring CEO as well as to the person who wants to make sandwiches.

Dealing With How Would You...? Questions
I'm always preaching about proper preparation prior to interviews. If you research the position and company carefully, you can anticipate likely questions and prepare excellent answers.

Applying for a Job in China
Working in ChinaWorking in China is very common now. Either you are sent to China by your company or you apply for a job to be stationed in China.

Job Interviews: Ill File a Grievance!
I recently went to a retirement party with my husband for one of his co-workers. I worked at this same place six years ago (that's where I met my husband, but that's another story), so I knew most of the people at the party.

Signs of a Healthy Work Environment
There's no denying that a healthy work environment is a top concern for most employees. Review any employee satisfaction survey and you're apt to find this issue among the top five concerns of your staff - sometimes above the issue of pay.

Surprise! Accounting is the Hot New Major
There was a time when accounting was the boring college major that many people regretted signing up for. A constant barrage of numbers, statistics and spreadsheets was none too interesting.

Searching for Jobs Online
Searching for jobs online is easier than ever, but also more confusing than ever. Any Internet user doing a job search online will find that they can choose from hundreds of national employment listing web sites and the numbers can often be staggering.

Adapting To Change In A Changing World
Have you learnt a new skill or improved upon your existing skill in the last six months to one year?According to the world acclaimed management guru and Writer Professor Peter Drucker - "The only skill that will be important in the 21st century is the skill of learning news skills. Everything else will become obsolete over time.

The Hidden Job Market: Real or Imagined?
The hidden job market has been touted as the place to go if you want to find the best jobs. It's been said that this sector of the job market accounts for seventy-five percent of all the job openings out there.

Should You Make A Career Decision Based Upon A Career Quiz?
Q. I'm about to graduate High School and I don't know what I want to be "when I grow up".

How To Conduct A Successful Job Search Campaign
1.Define your objective: Know what kind of work you most enjoy and perform the best.

Fascinating Ways to Make a Living Doing What You Love May Be Closer Than You Think...
You don't have to look very far to find fascinating ways to make a living. Opportunities are literally everywhere? if you're looking, that is.

How to Negotiate The Best Salary and Benefit Packages
Salary and Benefits NegotiationOne of the most difficult aspects of job searching for many people, especially those who are just starting out or who are making a mid-career change, is actually the salary and benefits negotiation aspect. This is true partly because some people are just naturally uncomfortable with negotiation in general and also because they may not feel knowledgeable enough about the job market to be able to effectively negotiate for better pay and benefits.

9 Tips on Creating a Professional Emailed Job Application
With the advent of the Internet, many of us have the opportunity to apply for work through email.However, just because this is the Internet and email is so fast and convenient, that does NOT mean you should give up professionalism and polish!FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT.

Reactions to Job Loss; Getting Past the Emotions
Without doubt, job loss through downsizing or redundancy, is a major event for everyone when it happens. Most of us invest so much of ourselves in what we do that job loss can take away our sense of status and belonging, as well as the routine and support that work provides.

Where Will Your IT Staff Come From NOW?
The labor recession is over. During the course of the recession, almost 500,000 IT positions were lost according to publicly collected data and anecdotal information suggests even more.

15 Tips for Writing Winning Resumes
The thought of writing a resume intimidates almost anyone. It's difficult to know where to start or what to include.

What You Should Know About A Medical Billing Specialist
Whether you are a person who is thinking about becoming a medical billing specialist or a company looking for a medical billing specialist, then this article is for you. There are several things that you should be aware of in the medical billing industry and I will walk you through them so that you will have the background information that you need to help you make a decision that will best suit your needs.

You're Ready for a Career Change - Is Your Resume?
You finally did it. You made the decision to leave a career that makes you dread every Monday morning and pursue one that you feel is your true calling.