Voluntary Self Identification

[dareon]

Hi,

I've been on the site a lot for the last few years but have just been a stalker really. Sometimes I wanted to comment but didn't care that much. Anyways I am getting a little worried about my job so I have been starting to put out resumes. With larger companies with "diversity" policies they invite you for "voluntary self identification". I am a white male and I feel like that can not help their diversity. I have been doing it but don't want to be discriminated against. Anyone have any thoughts on this or have any direct HR experience dealing with this?

Thanks for the help. Also anyone know any entry level to 3 year EE jobs in Charlotte NC or western NC

[Thunder90]

May I be the first one to say...

IBTZ!

[Jet Jaguar]

Jobs ping.

[mlocher]

Self identify. Many companies don't want somebody that does not cooperate. In larger companies the HR department does not have a say in hiring -- it is the local organization and having a good interview is more important than what boxes you do and do not check.

Good luck in your job search, but with a little luck you can hold on to your current job until you find a good fit.

[Rembrandt]

Ten or so years ago, I was working for a Fortune 20 company. I was getting near the end of my career. There was a departmental meeting and the Director told us all, point blank, that future promotions were going to be almost exclusively females and blacks because the numbers just weren’t good enough. I retired very soon thereafter and have been thankful ever since.

[mlocher]

And welcome to FR.

[voteNRA]

While the last year has been pretty slow, I have found a few side jobs off craigslist here in MN so I would recommend checking them every couple of days.

Be selective with what you find there, maybe something will come up that you would be interested in perusing.

Charlotte Engineering Jobs section

Good Luck!

And welcome to FR

[Cindy]

Welcome to FreeRepublic.com Dare on.

Here’s the FreeRepublic.com key word jobs search:

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/lookingforajob/index?tab=articles

Here’s the current Looking For A Job thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2441076/posts

[Cindy]

Thank you for the ping Jet Jaguar.

[Jet Jaguar]

You bet.

[irishtenor]

Native American. I was born here.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Tell them you’re a transvestite, they will leave you alone!

[freespirited]

I think you should just tell the truth.

I would say that regardless, but if you are an electrical engineer, you should be in fine shape regardless of whether you contribute to the political correctness du jour.

[Minn]

but have just been a stalker really

Lurker?

[ThunderSleeps]

...it is the local organization and having a good interview is more important than what boxes you do and do not check.

I occasionally act as interviewer/hiring manager (rarely recently) and you are correct. We're in a technical field and honestly couldn't care less about candidates other than do they have the technical chops (education and experience) to get the job done.

The face-to-face interview is really just to see if they are personable (enough) to get along with the rest of the group without causing a disruption in the work environment. Mostly that is simple communication skills. We also quiz them on claimed knowledge to see if they really do know what their resume states. We'll sometimes quiz/push up to and beyond the claimed level of knowledge to see how the candidate handles stress - answer I don't know or try to BS their way through.

I'd say go ahead and self-identify. The only time I'd notice is if someone didn't, it might make me wonder what they're trying to hide. In spite of what the MSM would have us believe, I don't think racism, gender bias, age bias, etc. really exists in any significant way. In this day and age, we're all in very competitive markets. If you can help, you're hired. We'll talk about your purple hair later. ;-)

[rdl6989]

IBTZ at last.

[rdl6989]

Now that’s what I call a zot!

[octex]

Brought to mind a curious question...

Obama is a mulatto. If he had self-identified as white, instead of black, could he have been elected in 2008?

I don’t mean to hijack this thread by taking it off track. Just thought the self-identity thing was interesting.

Find the right firm, do good in an interview and don’t worry so much about the diversity thing. Many companies are opposed to the old Affirmative Action mandates because they did little to improve the bottom lines for them. Some firms may be looking forward to employing “whites” because of past experience with diversity issues.

[meadsjn]

With larger companies with "diversity" policies they invite you for "voluntary self identification". I am a white male and I feel like that can not help their diversity.

Good luck with that. That's been a stinger for white males for at least the past thirty years, and for the past thirteen months it has been a total killer.

You could opt for "other, American" as many are doing on the census form, or just declare as requested. In either case, plan on sending out over 2300 tailored cover letters and resumes over a 1.5 to 2-year period or longer, 300-500 phone interviews to 48 states, 40 to 50 in-person interviews, for one job offer.

That was 2006-2007. It's at least twice that bad out there now. Never give up.

[Vendome]

ZOT-Hole