Sample Check Verification of Employment and Reference Policy

Sample Check Verification of Employment and Reference PolicySample Check Verification of Employment and Reference PolicyIf you work for a company or organization with a Human Resources department, the chances are good that your company will have a policy about who can respond to a request for a reference. Your company is also likely to specify how to respond to a request for a reference. Companies do this to control the flow of information that is available to outsiders, even prospective employers. They are concerned about lawsuits, libel charges, and interfering with the job prospects of either a positively remembered employee or an employee who was a ?poor fit for their organization. It is legal for an employer to truthfully share information about a former employee. This information can include such specifics as job titles and general content of the jobs, dates of employment, and salary earned by the former employee. They may also legally tell the prospective employer whether they would rehire the individual, why the employee left their employment, and general examples and observations about how the individual performed. As long as what they tell the prospective employer is truthful, and especially if they have documentation of the facts that they share, a lawsuit is a long shot. However, in the litigious U.S., where people can sue anyone for anything at any time, former employers are understandably wary about what information they share with a prospective employer. Employers are also concerned about the skill of the employee who answers questions about a former employee. People who do background checking for a living or who work in HR departments are skilled at obtaining information from untrained employees - maybe more than you want the employee to share with a prospective employer - or anyone. Untrained employees also fall into the trap of giving opinions that are not based on facts and solid evidence. This can affect the chances of the former employee re ceiving a job offer from the befhigung employer. These are several of the reasons why sample policies such as the one that follows are becoming so common in organizations. Reference Check Sample Policy All employment reference check inquiries from current or former employees, prospective employers of current or former employees or other organizations should be directed to Human Resources for an official company response. Under no circumstances is any other employee authorized to provide a written or official employment reference for the company. All requests for employment references or employment verification must contain the employees or former employees signature authorizing the release of information. When the signature is present, generally, your company releases this information about current and former employees whether the individual is currently employed at Your Company,the employees current or last job title,the dates of employment at Your Company, andthe current or fi nal salary paid to the employee. Depending on the circumstances of the request, and input from the past or current employee, the company might release salary history, job title history, and whether the company would rehire the employee. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the President of (Your Company). Final Thoughts It behooves todays organizations to have in place policies that determine what - if anything - employees can share with prospective employers about former employees. Youll want to have studied the situation, written the policy, and trained all employees in how to apply the policy to themselves. As with any policy, additionally, obtain sign-offs from employees that they have received and understand the policy. It is then up to management and Human Resources staff to follow up to make sure employees follow the policy. Disclaimer Please musiknote The author makes every effort to offer accurate, common-sense, ethical Human Resources management, employer, an d workplace advice both on this website, and linked to from this website, but she is not an attorney, and the content on the site, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality, and is not to be construed as legal advice. The site has a world-wide audience and employment laws and regulations vary from state to state and country to country, so the site cannot be definitive on all of them for your workplace. When in doubt, always seek legal counsel or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct. The information on this site is for guidance, ideas, and assistance only.

What Not to Include in a Resignation Letter

What Not to Include in a Resignation LetterWhat Not to Include in a Resignation LetterIt can be tempting to let your employer know exactly how you feel about your experience at the company in yourresignation letter.There are several reasons why it would feel good to say how you really feel. Your motivation could vary from payback to catharsis to a sincere interest in providing feedback to your employer. Regardless of how much youd like to say it, dont do it. Saying the wrong things in your letter can bring unwanted consequences if you arent careful. Before you write your resignation letter, review these guidelines to avoid any damaging mistakes that could come back to haunt you. Here are 10 things not to include in a resignation letter. Dont Be Vague About Your Resignation Dont hand in a letter until you are koranvers you want to leave. Also, state a specific date for your departure in your letter. You want to be as clear and specific as possible, to avoid any confusion. Dont Say That You Will Be Leaving Immediately Research the norms or policies at your employer forgiving notice. Provide adequate notice and offer to help train any staff who will assume your duties even if you are certain your employer will ask you to leave right away.You want your parting impression to be that of a concerned professional. The exception would be if there are personal or work issues that preclude you staying. Here are some reasons why an employeemay not be able to give two weeks notice. Dont Include Anything Negative About Your Supervisor You may have worked with the most incompetent or negative boss imaginable. However, your letter of resignation is not a confidential document and may be shared with your supervisor. Remember that your supervisor might have to give you a recommendation in the future, or at least answer questions about you when a potential employer does a background check on you. Make sure you leave on good terms with your supervisor. Dont Dispara ge the Company, or Its Products and Services Avoid phrases like I am leaving to work with an industry leader that imply your current employer is inferior. Again, you want to leave the company on as positive a note as possible. Dont Use Language That Implies You Were Unsatisfied at the Company Your letter is one of the belastung impressions you will make.If there is a negative tone to your communication, then you might be perceived as a disgruntled employeewith an attitude problem.If you want to point to a new job as an improvement, then emphasize how the position advances your career. For example, you might say I am moving on to a district manager position that will enable me to apply my strategic planning skills. Dont Mention a Better Salary as the Reason You Are Leaving Dont say youre leaving in hopes that the company will offer you more money. If they dont offer you the money, you are out of a job. Instead, if you want to use a new job offer as leverage to negotiate more money from your current employer, meet with your boss and discuss the situation. Dont Criticize or Imply a Criticism of Any of Your Subordinates or Co-Workers in Your Letter Future employers may reach out informally to individuals who arent listed as your references to determine whether you were a good manager or team member. Make sure you leave your colleagues and employees on a good note. In fact, consider writing a message to your co-workers and subordinates telling them you Express Your Gratitude With the Organization Individuals who believe that you appreciate them will be more likely to say good things about you. Therefore, try to mention any positive experiences that you are grateful for at the company. Dont Forget to Proofread Your resignation letter is one of the last samples for your employer of your writing skills and attentiveness to detail. Remember to proofread it carefully to avoid spelling and grammar errors. Consider asking a friend or family member to read it for you as well. 10. Dont use an overly positive tone that will seem insincere. For example, if it is well known that you had difficulties with your boss, dont say something like It will be difficult to leave such a capable and visionary manager as Brad. This will come across as sarcastic and even offensive. How to Address Your Concerns About the Job or Company Because you have already decided to move on, your concerns are probably better left unsaid. However, if you believe it is absolutely necessary to address your managers behavior or a difficult situation at work that led to your resignation, verbalize your feedback to a trusted individual in management or in human resources. Try to do so in a very objective manner, devoid of emotion.Your focus should be on specific problematic behaviors. If you balance your comments with some positives, it will enhance your credibility. You may have the opportunity to share your reasons for leaving in anexit interview. If thats not an option, schedule a time to address your concerns. Its best to do it as close as you can to your departure date, so your last days on the job arent any more difficult than they have to be because you ticked off your boss. Read Resignation Letter Samples One way to write a professional resignation letter is to read resignation letter samples. Use resignation letter samples as templates for your own letter. They can help you structure your letter, and can even help you think of what to say. However, do not simply copy and paste a resignation letter sample and send it to your employer. Be sure to change the details to fit your personal situation. If you are sending a resignation email message, make sure you review email message examples.

6 ways to master the art of the first impression

6 ways to master the art of the first impression6 ways to master the art of the first impressionAmy Cuddy, a psychologist at the Harvard Business School, has been studying first impressions for mora than a decade. She and her colleagues found that we make snap judgments about other people that answer two primary questionsCan I trust this part?Can I respect this persons capabilities?According to Cuddys research, 80% to 90% of a first impression is based on behauptung two traits. Subconsciously, you and the people you meet are asking yourselves, Can I trust that this person has good intentions toward me? and Is this person capable?We often assume that competence is the most important factor, and people have a tendency to play this up when they meet someone however, Cuddys research shows that trust is the most important factor. In order for your competence to matter, people must trust you first.If theres no trust, people actually perceive competence as a negative. As Cuddy said, A warm, trustworthy person who is also strong elicits admiration, but only after youve achieved trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.Since it only takes seconds for someone to decide if youre trustworthy and competent, and research shows that first impressions are very difficult to change, the pressure that comes with meeting new people is justifiably intense.If you try to project confidence but havent first established trust, your efforts will backfire. No one wants to end up respected but disliked. As Cuddy said, If someone youre trying to influence doesnt trust you, youre not going to get very far in fact, you might even elicit suspicion, because you come across as manipulative.Once you recognize the importance of trustworthiness over competence, you can take control of the first impressions you make. Here are some tips to help you make that happen the next time you meet someone new1. Let the person youre meeting speak firstLet them take the lead in the conversati on, and you can always ask good questions to help this along. Taking the floor right away shows dominance, and that wont help you build trust. Trust and warmth are created when people feel understood, and they need to be doing a lot of sharing for that to happen.2. Use positive body languageBecoming cognizant of your gestures, expressions, and tone of voice and making certain theyre positive will draw people to you like ants to a picnic. Using an enthusiastic tone, uncrossing your arms, maintaining eye contact, and leaning towards the speaker are all forms of positive body language, which can make all the difference.3. Put away your phoneIts impossible to build trust and monitor your phone at the same time. Nothing turns people off like a mid-conversation text message or even a quick glance at your phone. When you commit to a conversation, focus all your energy on the conversation. You will find that conversations are more enjoyable and effective when you immerse yourself in them.4. Make time for small talkIt might sound trivial, but research shows that starting meetings with just five minutes of small talk gets better results. Many trust builders, such as small talk, can seem a waste of time to people who dont understand their purpose.5. Practice active listeningActive listening means concentrating on what the other person is saying, rather than planning what youre going to say next. Asking insightful questions is a great way to illustrate that youre really paying attention. If youre not checking for understanding or asking a probing question, you shouldnt be talking. Not only does thinking about what youre going to say next take your attention away from the speaker, hijacking the conversation shows that you think you have something more important to say. This means that you shouldnt jump in with solutions to the speakers problems.Its human nature to want to help people, but what a lot of us dont realize is that when we jump in with advice or a solution, were shutting the other person down and destroying trust. Its essentially a more socially acceptable way of saying, Okay, Ive got it. You can stop now The effect is the same.6. Do your homeworkPeople love it when you know things about them that they didnt have to share. Not creepy stuff, but simple facts that you took the time to learn from their LinkedIn page or company website. While this may not work for chance encounters, its crucial when a first meeting is planned ahead of time, such as a job interview or a consultation with a potential client.Find out as much as you can about all the people youre meeting, their company, their companys primary challenges, and so on. This demonstrates competence and trustworthiness by highlighting your initiative and responsibility.Bringing it all togetherIts the little things that make a first impression a good one, and the importance of establishing trust cannot be overstated. Now if someone would just tell this to the politiciansTravis Bradberry is the coauthor ofEmotional Intelligence 2.0and the cofounder ofTalentSmart.This article originally appeared onLinkedIn.6 ways to master the art of the first impressionAmy Cuddy, a psychologist at the Harvard Business School, has been studying first impressions for more than a decade. She and her colleagues found that we make snap judgments about other people that answer two primary questionsCan I trust this person?Can I respect this persons capabilities?According to Cuddys research, 80% to 90% of a first impression is based on these two traits. Subconsciously, you and the people you meet are asking yourselves, Can I trust that this person has good intentions toward me? and Is this person capable?We often assume that competence is the most important factor, and people have a tendency to play this up when they meet someone however, Cuddys research shows that trust is the most important factor. In order for your competence to matter, people must trust you first.If theres no trust, peo ple actually perceive competence as a negative. As Cuddy said, A warm, trustworthy person who is also strong elicits admiration, but only after youve achieved trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.Since it only takes seconds for someone to decide if youre trustworthy and competent, and research shows that first impressions are very difficult to change, the pressure that comes with meeting new people is justifiably intense.If you try to project confidence but havent first established trust, your efforts will backfire. No one wants to end up respected but disliked. As Cuddy said, If someone youre trying to influence doesnt trust you, youre not going to get very far in fact, you might even elicit suspicion, because you come across as manipulative.Once you recognize the importance of trustworthiness over competence, you can take control of the first impressions you make. Here are some tips to help you make that happen the next time you meet someone new1. Let the pe rson youre meeting speak firstLet them take the lead in the conversation, and you can always ask good questions to help this along. Taking the floor right away shows dominance, and that wont help you build trust. Trust and warmth are created when people feel understood, and they need to be doing a lot of sharing for that to happen.2. Use positive body languageBecoming cognizant of your gestures, expressions, and tone of voice and making certain theyre positive will draw people to you like ants to a picnic. Using an enthusiastic tone, uncrossing your arms, maintaining eye contact, and leaning towards the speaker are all forms of positive body language, which can make all the difference.3. Put away your phoneIts impossible to build trust and monitor your phone at the same time. Nothing turns people off like a mid-conversation text message or even a quick glance at your phone. When you commit to a conversation, focus all your energy on the conversation. You will find that conversations are more enjoyable and effective when you immerse yourself in them.4. Make time for small talkIt might sound trivial, but research shows that starting meetings with just five minutes of small talk gets better results. Many trust builders, such as small talk, can seem a waste of time to people who dont understand their purpose.5. Practice active listeningActive listening means concentrating on what the other person is saying, rather than planning what youre going to say next. Asking insightful questions is a great way to illustrate that youre really paying attention. If youre not checking for understanding or asking a probing question, you shouldnt be talking. Not only does thinking about what youre going to say next take your attention away from the speaker, hijacking the conversation shows that you think you have something more important to say. This means that you shouldnt jump in with solutions to the speakers problems.Its human nature to want to help people, but what a lot of u s dont realize is that when we jump in with advice or a solution, were shutting the other person down and destroying trust. Its essentially a more socially acceptable way of saying, Okay, Ive got it. You can stop now The effect is the same.6. Do your homeworkPeople love it when you know things about them that they didnt have to share. Not creepy stuff, but simple facts that you took the time to learn from their LinkedIn page or company website. While this may not work for chance encounters, its crucial when a first meeting is planned ahead of time, such as a job interview or a consultation with a potential client.Find out as much as you can about all the people youre meeting, their company, their companys primary challenges, and so on. This demonstrates competence and trustworthiness by highlighting your initiative and responsibility.Bringing it all togetherIts the little things that make a first impression a good one, and the importance of establishing trust cannot be overstated. N ow if someone would just tell this to the politiciansTravis Bradberry is the coauthor ofEmotional Intelligence 2.0and the cofounder ofTalentSmart.This article originally appeared onLinkedIn.

Chicago Unemployment Rate

Chicago Unemployment RateChicago Unemployment RateChicago Unemployment RateChicago is the commercial and economic capital of the Midwest. Much like the rest of this region of the country, it struggled at the onset of the recession, but has since begun to see its unemployment satz decrease.Unemployment in ChicagoPrior to the Great Recession, the Chicago unemployment rate hovered around five percent, below the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.) However, this rate ballooned to almost 13 percent during the height of the recession.In 2014, Chicagos unemployment rate made a drastic turnaround. In February 2014, the rate hovered at nine percent. More recently, in May, 2015, Chicagos unemployment was around the six percent mark.Recovery from the 2008 RecessionChicagos recovery from the recession was sluggish in comparison to the rest of the country, although the city has recovered far more dramatically in the past year in comparison with the US unemployment rate.The Illinois state government played a large role in this drop. With debt obligations totaling more than $127 billion, Illinois continued to pay unemployment benefits longer than other states. With 29 Fortune 500 companies in the greater Chicago area, unemployment continues to fall.Another challenge for Chicago is the ability to find skilled workers in emerging markets such as high-tech industries. The herausforderung is unique to Chicago, as it still is home to many of the best schools in the country. The city must compete with other tech-focused cities such as Boston and New York for top IT talent. The lack of skilled workers is starting to fall, however, as the city ranks 37th in education according to recent Forbes rankings.Thriving Industries in ChicagoThe citys location on Lake Michigan makes it a prime hub for distribution of goods and transportation of goods and travelers. It is the third largest economy in the country and the ninth largest in the world. Publishing, ins urance, financial services, technology, and tourism are also major industries in Chicago that began the citys recovery from the recession.In addition, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange provides a major trading forum for futures and commodities. The construction industry has also recovered, especially in the downtown area, with many high-rise commercial and residential buildings planned for the near future.Other high-demand jobs in the area include information technology, sales, and surprisingly, manufacturing, which unlike the rest of the Rust Belt, continued to thrive in Chicago amidst the Great Recession. The sheer number of people in the city also provide a booming healthcare system, as Baby Boomers continue to age and require more intensive medical attention.Recent Commercial SuccessesChicago, like other Midwestern cities such as Saint Louis, enjoys a position as a startup company incubator, but on a far greater scale. Many of these companies are part of the high-tech industry, be tting on the increased need for networking and software solutions for major area companies. Other high-tech businesses produce apps for smartphones or other gaming systems and video games.Industries in RecessionThe recession caused many people who lived in the city to look for more affordable housing in the surrounding suburbs. While this didnt cause a huge fluctuation in the workforce, it did make local businesses suffer. Thus, the retail and dining industries felt the hit, while white-collar industries were less impacted by the exodus out of the city.Current Chicago RankingsAccording to recent Forbes rankings, Chicago is 107th on the list as the best place to do business in the country. This somewhat influences the job growth rate, which currently stands at 1.5 percent. Projected job growth annually for the next ten years is 1.5 percent as well, while the high-tech sectors make up 4.7 percent of the workforce.Another economic aspect that plagues the city is a high cost of living, which makes it the 155th city in the cost of doing business. The lack of skilled workers is starting to fall, however, as the city ranks 37th in education.A key measure of labor supply, the unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work. Use the links below to see unemployment trends from the 28 major metropolitan marketsAtlantamotownNew York CitySan FranciscoBostonHoustonPhiladelphiaSeattleChicagoLos AngelesPittsburghWashington, D.C.DallasRelated ResourcesPost a Job Chicago

Free Entry-Level Diesel Mechanic Resume Templates

Free Entry-Level Diesel Mechanic Resume TemplatesFree Entry-Level Diesel Mechanic Resume TemplatesEntry-level diesel mechanic resume schablones make things simple. its great for first-time resume writers. The basic design keeps the focus on you without design flourishes. It also enables you to make wise use of the page by helping you to balance your formal training with related skills. Take a look at the example to see how you can learn to craft a similar resume.Create ResumeEntry-Level Diesel Mechanic ResumeCustomize ResumeIndustry SnippetsWhen you view our free entry-level diesel mechanic resume templates, you will learn how to best write a resume to launch your career. Entry-Level Resume Pros and ConsOur free entry-level resume template is designed to meet the needs of applicants who want to broadcast their education, accomplishments, and hands-on experience in a simplistic way.Pros Great way to practice making this documentPros Easy for employers to readCons With no flair, you wo nt stick outCons You cant add charisma to itResume TextHenryAndersen123 Street,City, ST, 12345 (123) 456-7890 (H) (123) 456-7890 (C) emailisp.comProfessional SummaryMotivated Diesel Mechanic with a proven track record of success in servicing, repairing, and maintaining diesel equipment in fast-paced settings. Adept in troubleshooting, diagnosing, and recognizing equipment failure and devising strategies to prevent future issues.Skill HighlightsDiesel Equipment TechnologyPreventive and Reparative MaintenanceTroubleshooting and Issue DiagnosisInspection and RepairRoot Cause AnalysisWorkplace SafetyEducationGateway Technical College 2015Technical Diploma Diesel MechanicKenosha, WIProfessional Experience5/1/2015 CurrentDiesel Mechanic ApprenticeAFI Constructors, Inc. Kenosha, WIPerform preventive maintenance and repair diesel equipment, gasoline engines powering machines, and construction machinery using hand tools, precision measuring instruments, and machine tools diagnose and repa ir engines and electrical systems.Prepare accurate and complete work orders, including descriptive notes and listing all parts.Complete daily maintenance reports and logs, including Job Hazard Analysis documents.Assist with inspecting equipment and scheduling repairs prior to failure or breakdown recognize equipment failures and causes to eliminate future issues.Troubleshoot and repair construction machinery and equipment performance issues.Disassemble and reassemble engine systems to locate defects, and identify and examine parts for defects or excessive wear.Help recondition and repair or replace worn parts such as pistons, bearings, gears, valves, and bushings.

What Does Amazing Resume Examples Mean?

What Does Amazing Resume Examples Mean? The Appeal of Amazing Resume Examples A quality resume must incorporate the suitable titles, easy to read fonts, different colours and in certain cases images. Work experience should be impressive, but projects have to be interesting. Selecting a design and resume layout is important for your work. An excellent resume ought to be standard. The Nuiances of Amazing Resume Examples Every CV we write is original and tailored especially to fulfill your requirements and requirements in the most efficient approach to acquire benefits. Its possible to easily edit the files and adjust the dummy content to your own info. Another page is acceptable, but anything past another page will likely be ignored. The CV template demonstrates how to format your Curriculum Vitae and lets you know what sort of information needs to be included. Including professional goals can assist you by giving employers a concept of where youre going, and the way you n eed to arrive there. It can be very frustrating and tedious to create your resume from scratch, and theres every possibility you will neglect to incorporate a few important element thats important that you earn an interview. In other words, resume templates can provide you that professional look which will help to raise your odds of winning an interview to land that dream job youre applying for. Dont use capital letters all around the place, bear in mind that your aim is to communicate a glaubenszeugnis as fast and as clearly as possible. The duration of your resume is vital. Dont fall in the trap of locating a template or sample that boxes you in to a particular method of presenting information simply because it appears simple to use, or because the format impresses you. Dont be scared to break from tradition when it has to do with the format or medium of your resume. If you locate a couple of templates whose designs you love, mix and match till you locate a format which wor ks for getting your message across. By having her very first name only at the peak of the resume in a special font, it sets it apart from the remaining portion of the sheet. A template may be a one-page resume, or a two-page resume, but until you understand what you need to spend the resume you dont understand what length will work best. fruchtwein free templates are made to be specific to certain industries, so its well worth browsing through the choices available that suit the work sector you would like to work in. Unless you happen to be a graphic designer looking for employment, theres no need to over think the plan of your one-pager. A great resume demonstrates the kind of person that you are. The website also supplies an extensive guide to the different fashions of resumes offered and the way to decide on the most suitable style for the sort of job which you are applying for. If youre going to use a paper edition of your resume, make certain to use a good printer. Wh at is Truly Going on with Amazing Resume Examples Resume for profession is crucial to your attention. The type of your resume depends not just on the job which you are applying for but also how you need to present your own personal abilities, job history and education. As you want to pick work, you have to be sure that you have perfect abilities for the positions whereby youre interested. Just concentrate on the roles youve had that are related to the job that youre applying for. The very first thing a CV has to do is get the interest of the hiring manager or employer. When you have job experiences that youre not proud of, or that arent pertinent to the present opportunity, you should just omit them. You know you have what it requires to find work, so make certain you let them know too Sites like Volunteer Match will assist you in finding volunteer positions that could help you grow your CV so that you can guarantee a prosperous entrance into tech and develop your profession al skills. AD Resume templates or CV templates are available anywhere on the web, such as job websites. The resume templates are totally editable and totally free. Templates may be used for making CV, resume so as to apply for jobs. Superior templates will also direct you through the resume-building procedure, which is particularly helpful if youre new to the procedure for building an effective resume. Even if youre sending your resume to a geschftlicher umgang in the exact same segment, the particular person who will read it for the very first time may not have any technical expertise. If youve reported or worked with someone thats well-known in your industry, it might be wise to mention it on the resume. Attempt to know the market of the organization you are asking for work, and identify what sort of difficulties they could be going through. Seems like a no-brainer, but youd be amused to discover the sum of people who lie in their resumes. Finding the Best Amazing Resu me Examples On any individual, you watch, you shouldnt locate an objective which may be too vague. The manual will help you through the procedure, with captions that tell you what things to write in each provided field. Possessing a format which makes sense and clearly highlights all the essential details of every experience makes it effortless for the reader to locate the essential information that shows your abilities. 11 Wonderful IT Resume Examples LiveCareer The huge majority of persons are left asking your self how they will need to format and compose a resume pattern that can be noticed by the possible firms. Many also consist of supervisory and management experience and the adherence to codes and the capacity to troubleshoot technical issues. Some templates are good enough to land an exemplary job since they expertly showcase your abilities. Notice how the example resumes are extremely specific when it has to do with technical skills.

The Impact of the Flynn Effect on Recruitment

The Impact of the Flynn Effect on Recruitment Have globally skyrocketing IQs affected applicant screening? It is as if some unseen hand propelled scores upward at an unvarying rate between 1952 and 1982, a rate of 6 IQ points per decade, with individual nations scattering randomly around that value Culture-reduced tests of fluid intelligence show gains of as much as 20 points per generation (30 years) performance tests show 10-20 points and verbal tests sometimes show 10 points or below.James R. Flynn, in his 20-nation study, IQ Gains Over Time Finding the Causes,1998EYE CLUE/Image Michael MoffaAt present rates of fertility and mortality and in the absence of changes within countries, the average IQ of the young world population would decline by 1.34 points per decade and the average per capita income would decline by 0.79% per year.Gerhard Meisenberg, Wealth, Intelligence, Politics and multinatio nal Fertility Differentials, Journal of Biosocial Science,2009If applicants, clients and recruiters are all, on average, getting smarter (or dumber) with each passing year and passing generation, what are the implications for the business of recruitment? If is actually the wrong word. It should be when, which, according to the research, may have been as early as the industrial revolution, or as recently as 1918, 1932 or 1950, depending upon which research and criteria of intelligence are tapped.The Flynn EffectIn 1994, American-born psychologist, James R. Flynn, now a professor at University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, made news headlines and scored a flood of research citations because of the Flynn Effect, named after him by the authors of the best-selling 1994 book The Bell Curve, Harvard psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and American Enterprise Institute political scientist Charles Murray. (J. Philippe Rushton, a University of Western Ontario researcher whose own research cl aims about white-black IQ differences have stirred up a hornets nest of controversy, has argued that the Flynn Effect should be called the Lynn-Flynn Effect, after researcher Richard Lynn, because of a 1982 article by Lynn (in the respected journal Nature) which identified the trend in Japan.)The Bad News Tolled by The Bell CurveIn a sense, The Bell Curve seemed to break the badeanstalt news, while Flynn heralded the good. Theto many, gloomycentral thesis of The Bell Curve is that, more than anything else, IQ is the predictor of your odds, if you are a non-Hispanic white, of being unemployed, living in poverty, getting divorced, being incarcerated, having an illegitimate child, being a chronic welfare recipient, and/or being a high school dropout. IQ even trumped parents socio-economic status (SES, in the research jargon) as a predictor of these outcomes, e.g., 0% of those with IQs over 125apparently M.A./Ph.D.-level intelligencesurveyed were chronic welfare recipients, high school dropouts or ever incarcerated. Not one. However, critics of The Bell Curveand there are manyargue that Herrnstein and Murray got it entirely backwards Low SES causes low IQs, not vice versa, the critics insist. To follow that debate, you can read the aptly titled 1995 book, The Bell Curve Debate, a collection of 81 expert essays.What makes this bell-curve hypothesis come across as bad news to many is that The Bell Curve research suggests that even though you cannot easily shape your IQ, it is virtually certain to shape you and your life options and outcomes. Unlike parental SESwhich thanks to the socio-economic upward mobility typical of developed countries, can be surpassedones, IQ, like a tattoo, is generally both ineradicable and inalterable.The Good News Told by FlynnOn the other hand, the good news, disseminated by Flynns research, is that IQs have risen dramatically in the past two generations, and not only in the U.S. or some select countries, but globally, with estimates of the increases varying between as much as 30% and no less than 5%, depending on which test welches administered and re-administered to determine the trend, the age group, the country, the time span, etc.In his 1984 paper, The Mean IQ of Americans Massive Gains 1932 to 1978, Flynn reportedThis study shows that every Stanford-Binet and Wechsler standardization sample from 1932 to 1978 established norms of a higher standard than its predecessor. The obvious interpretation of this pattern is that representative samples of Americans did better and better on IQ tests over a period of 46 years, the total gain amounting to a rise in mean IQ of 13.8 points. (IQ Gains Over Time,Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence,1994). The basic approach used in all of these studies was to administer the most current IQ test of a given type, e.g., Raven Progressive Matrices, Stanford-Binet or Wechsler, and then re-test using the much older tests of previous decades. The results consistently revealed much highe r scores on the re-testingincreases not attributable to the mere fact of being retested (an effect that was carefully controlled for and eliminated in the testing).This result has been interpreted by Flynn and the research community as indicating that a score of 100 on a more recent test actually is equivalent to a much higher score on the earlier tests, the gain depending on the test and the age group. One figure cited is that the average IQ is no longer the nominal 100 of the normalized bell curve, but more like 113.8-115 (depending on the test), which is more than enough for high school graduation and many college diplomas, whereas 100 is 4-5 points short of high school graduation, on average.What is astonishing about the Flynn Effect, is that it is world-wide, dramaticin terms of the massive increase in average IQ scores and that its cause or causes are still being debated and investigated. Equally dramatic are some of the implications for matters of life-and-death, and, less dr amatically, for recruiting.What has continued to mystify and divide researchers ever since Flynn published his results is the question of what has caused the global increase in IQswhich many of them, including Flynn, have argued is not the same thing as a global increase in the genetic component of intelligence, at least because the time scale is far too short for natural selection or evolution to have bred such a huge jump in intelligence.Why the Surprise Rise?The following have all been cited, debated, dog-eared and/or dismissed by some researcher or otherImproved test preparation and practice, e.g., because of modern cram schools, standardized test guidesThe ongoing modern shift from concrete to abstract thinking (Flynns most recent hypothesis, in his book What Is Intelligence?)The stimulation and information explosion of the 20th-centuryThe rise of computer skills and jobsDramatically increased post-secondary education (necessitating more academic streaming, at the expense of vo cational training, and a shift in emphasis to verbal skill cultivation in high school)Longer schooling in general (including cram schools, private tutoring, expansion of public school services, longer school year, e.g., Japan and China)Global urbanizationComplex technology (requiring and engaging high-level cognition, e.g., choosing software settings)Global gains in socio-economic status (with attendant nutritional and motivational gains)Smaller families (only children have, on average, higher IQswhich may partially account for the Chinese whiz-kid phenomenon)Delayed childbirth (e.g., to the extent it correlates with improved SES)Flaws in IQ test design and/or administration (e.g., some of the re-tests were unsupervised)Eradication of various childhood diseasesLamarckian inheritance, viz., genetic transmission of acquired skills to the next generationDecline of farming (and its more concrete, motor-skill oriented intelligence)The Industrial Revolution (at least as a catalyst for the decline of agrarian intelligence)(Educational) TVVideo games (contributing to certain cognitive skills, such as tracking multiple stimuli, short-term memory and eye-hand coordination, but at the almost certain expense of others, such as thinking)The unique visual characteristics of Chinese written characters (that require visual processing similar to that of visual IQ tests, like the Ravenas a partial explanation of high Chinese scores)Better schools and teachers (rejected by Flynn, noting that gains tend to disappear the more the test content matches that in school curricula)The Lethal Implications of Rising IQ ScoresIn his 2007 book, What is Intelligence?, Flynn cites a potentially lethal consequence of rising IQ scores the use of outdated IQ tests and norms could lead to the execution of someone convicted of a capital crime who, by todays standards, would be legally adjudged mentally disabled, although normal as measured by his test taken decades earlier.Before considering the i mplications of this massive shift in IQ scores, trying to fathom the causes seems a reasonable prior task, to the extent that identification of the causes can reveal the implications. For example, if the gains are attributable to the quick visual judgments required in playing globally-marketed computer gamesa skill more germane to fluid visual tests like the Raven Progressive Matrices test than to crystallized Stanford-Binet and Wechler tests, the observed largest Raven Progressive Matrices-based increase in IQ scores will matter only in recruitment of those kinds of skills.On the other hand, if improvements in nutrition and elimination of toxins, such as air- or water-borne lead, are key factors, the gains will, once again, not translate into anything relevant to high-level recruiting. Thats because the improved nutrition and elimination of lead will overwhelmingly affect those whose low scores were caused by their under-exposure to nourishing food and overexposure to lead. Hence, despite the increase in their IQs, they still wont be competitive with the highest scorers, who are precisely those who are overwhelmingly most likely to apply for high-powered jobs.Otherwise, if the gains are to a significant extent attributable to ECEearly childhood education or to watching TV, surfing the Net or reading owners manuals for hi-tech gizmos, the score increases are more likely to show up in applicant traffic.(Non-)Implications for RecruitmentWhat are the implicationseven if not so gravefor recruitment? Does it mean that a 25-year-old job applicant is likely to have an IQ substantially higher than a 50-year-old applicant, even if that younger applicant cant stop saying Im like.? No.First, some of the data indicate that the older the test subject, the greater the gains have been over the years, when compared to the performances of same-age older and younger test takers decades ago. Flynn cites British Raven test data that show gains of 20 points for 18-32-year-olds bet ween 1942 and 1992, but gains of 30 points in the 33-67 age groupSecond, according to some studies and some tests, the greatest gains have been among the low-scorers on IQ testspeople unlikely to end up in your recruiter office, causing a skewing, rather than a simple and uniform shifting of the scores.These results indicate that even though the average IQ score has dramatically increased, the increases have not been uniformly distributed across the bell curve. What this means is that the mental picture of an IQ bell curve being rigidly shifted as a whole to the right, with the mean shifting from 100 to, e.g., 113.8, is the wrong image. Instead, the far left, lower scores have disproportionately shifted to the right, while the highest scores have hardly budged. The genius boom has not happened.(On the other hand, in one paper, Flynn maintains that the increase is uniform and across the board. However, this seems to be a minority report in the research corpus.)Flynn Non-Effect on Sho rt-ListingGiven that the average applicant a recruiter will be short-listing is very likely to come from the high end of the scale, where scores have risen very little, if at all, the Flynn Effect is not so likely to manifest itself in the screening.This null observation is of critical importance in offsetting any age bias that might be based on any misconception that the Flynn Effect suggests that younger applicants, on average will have higher IQs, and therefore be smarter, on average, than older applicants.Credit the Schools?It also merits emphasizing, as Flynn noted, that the most dramatic gains in scores have not been on tests like the Stanford-Binet that involve reading, vocabulary and other school-influenced skills. The Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler IQ tests measure crystallized intelligence that includes verbal skills and general knowledge-influenced dimensions of intelligence, unlike the Raven Progressive Matrices, which is a purely visual IQ test involving row and column information processing.Its the latter kind of test, across many cultures, that has had the biggest jumps in scoressuggesting that teachers and schools cant take much credit for the gains and that verbal fluency in an interview is an unsound basis for concluding that the applicant, of any age, must be one of the highest-gain IQ test-takers, e.g., someone who took the Raven Progressive Matrices test.Moreover, there is clear and paradoxical evidence that the younger applicant may be drawn from a pool that, on average, had substantially lower S.A.T. scores than the older applicants age cohort. In The Mean IQ of Americans Massive Gains 1932 to 1978, Flynn, addressing the precipitous drop in S.A.T. scores between 1963 and 1981, states..these values entail a decline in non-IQ personal traits, motivation, self-discipline, and so forth, from 1963 to 1981 of such magnitude as to constitute a national disaster. The first step is to calculate how much a one-if both IQ gains and SAT losses are taken to be real, rather than artifacts of sampling error, then the deterioration of non-IQ personal traits among young Americans must have been very great.But 1984, except perhaps politically, is a long time ago. To what extent that deterioration has continued up until today is hard to gauge, given that the S.A.T. was replaced in 2005 by the S.A.T. Reasoning Test, which has a drastically different format and contents.The Need for CautionStill, Flynns data and observations are still quite relevant to the recruiting process, for the inverse correlation between IQ and S.A.T. trends can manifest itself even in the formation of informal judgments of an applicants skills and aptitudes. As a recruiter, you are not very likely to ask for or get IQ, S.A.T or other applicant scores. You are far more likely to not even care. But, like everyone else, you cant help getting impressions, having hunches and forming opinions about how smart an applicant is and in what ways.Like a former president o f Mensa, who identified anspruchsvoll people by a certain sensitivity around the mouth and eyes, you will, of necessity, if your processing does not include aptitude testing, use your intuition. Hence, given the inverse IQ-S.A.T. correlation or the latest equivalent inverse relationship, you may get a confused impression of an applicants abilities, or worse, mistakenly take the higher/lower of the two indicators as the only indicator.For example, an applicant caught up as a statistic in the precipitous decline in written and oral fluency may nonetheless have high-order intelligence. If you cant see that, imagine Stephen Hawking. On the other hand, a highly articulate candidate possessed of a phenomenal memory may be unable to reload his stapler or follow your corporate structure flow chart.That caveat offered and given that you probably cannot help speculating on or estimating an applicants intelligence, what workable concept of intelligence can you adopt? Thats a challenge, especia lly since IQ scores have increased much more rapidly than the genes that determine intelligence could have, suggesting, as Flynns research does, that the gains are due to changes in what is learned, how it is learned, how soon and how fast, not in innate capacity.Duking It OutMy advice about how to approach applicant intelligence is implicit in what, in retrospect, I regard as one of the most entertaining moments in my entire education In a psychology seminar I audited for fun during my graduate studies in philosophy at Duke University, the professorvisiting from Princeton, as I recallasked the group, What is intelligence? just as Flynn did, more recently, in the title of his 2007 book.A very eager graduate student rattled off a pedagogical mantra Its what we measure utilizing a Stanford-Binet test, cross-correlated or supplemented with a Wechsler, based on test items that are valid and reliableThe professor interrupted her and said, No, no.What we do is look at someone and say, Hmm mlooks intelligent. We then administer all sorts of tests until we find the one that best confirms our intuition.Not ready to give up, the student shot back, But what happens if you look at someone and say, intelligent, but I look at him and say, not intelligent?Clearly prepared for this and/or very intelligent, the prof, faster than lightning, shot back, Well, in that case..we take a second look at you.