Comments on: Freelance Writer Hiring Trends: Credit Checks and Drug Tests??

By: JoeAnne11

JoeAnne11 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:31:40 +0000

Well it is true that you can win a lot of money from drug tests. I know that there are always people who need to follow drug rehab treatment and as we know every medical service should be payed in our country. This is one of the best ways to make money, if you have the necessary resources of course.

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By: e-book,forum

e-book,forum — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:13:14 +0000

I once interviewed for a writing position with a well-known healthcare and social issues communications company in Massachusetts and they made me take that famous 3-hour personality profile (MMPP or something like that) and other quizzes. One quiz asked “What would you do if you were given $100,000?” and one of the answers was, “Give it to my church.”
(I found out later that the company's founder was a religious zealot.)

Then they asked me back for ANOTHER written psychology test. After that, they wanted to hire me but I ran away as fast as I could — I'm sure the urine sample was not far behind!

By: Louise Mraz

Louise Mraz — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:46:20 +0000

Hi Mike, Sometimes I feel the/your clients feel they need to get so personal so they can feel they are in control. Also, maybe they feel when they hire you and love your work, which they will, others will ask them, “where did you find him?' Is he safe, can I ask hin to work for me? I feel in this day and time there are a lot of people feel they need to be safe then sorry. Look at all of the people who believed in Maddoff. Yes I know we are just providing them with copywriting, not finances, but maybe people its one of the same. This was a very good interview with Denise Wakeman. Thank you for that.
Louise Mraz

By: mikeketcher

mikeketcher — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:56:51 +0000

I've experienced something similar with a large bureaucratic organization. This organization hired various types of contractors, among them building contractors. Their legal dept. instituted a rule that all contractors would have to jump through various types of hoops, including showing that they had liability insurance. I don't know if drug testing was a part of it. The company sent us a list of demands, and many of the people quit. However, after some negotiation, they determined that a blanket policy, covering every type of contractor, was a bad idea — and they changed their list of demands to fit the type of contract work that was being done. I can see why a large company would want to do drug tests on building contractors. I'm not sure how a credit check would be justified, but if you can talk to someone about the reasoning behind it, you might be able to get out of it. Even drug testing can turn up false positives, so everyone should be concerned about intrusive tests like that. Also, who knows where the result might end up? An officious peon in the corporate structure might just report you to the FBI.

By: Jill C

Jill C — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:36:52 +0000

Just saw the link to this in Mike's email newsletter. While their circumstances might be as Heather described, having big federal contracts that impose ridiculous conditions, I think the invasion of privacy is just too overwhelming to put aside and a trend that must not be allowed to proliferate. Mike, as one of the premier WP writers on the planet, you no doubt have many other clients as prestigious and well-paying and will certainly get more in short order. I hope you said not no, HELL NO!

By: Sheri

Sheri — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:47:03 +0000

“The rule was ALL contractors and employees had to pass the drug and alcohol test rather than sort out who might need to operate equipment and who wouldn't”

This is the key: few large companies (who usually employ a team of attorneys or retain a high-end law firm to draft these things,) value any individual resource enough to bother customizing their standard agreements/ policies or to make an exception for them. After all, there's always 10 or 100 or 1,000 other people who will eagerly agree to do whatever they ask - and they know it.

I've lost several potential clients due to their mandate that I sign a non-compete - because they work with coders/other tech people on extended contracts and it's standard practice.

I tried to explain that freelance writers doing an ad hoc job can't work this way…we need to market ourselves so we can pay bills and eat long AFTER this one $500 or $1,000 project is over. But no luck - they replaced me post haste with several candidates all too willing to sign their rights away.

By: Allan MacKenzie

Allan MacKenzie — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:20:22 +0000

Michael,
I'm a Canadian HR professional with over 20+ years experience, and our employment laws are very different than in the USA. So, I can only speak as an outsider. For example, it's against our Human Rights Act to conduct pre-hiring urine testing unless the postion has a BFOR safety component - I don't believe 'writer' would qualify as a safety sensitive position that could cause undue harm to others or yourself - however those pencils can be sharp

Anyway, this namless company is using their hiring SOP's for a freelancer which is quite interesting approach. My question to you is - if you are invoicing them for your writing services you are not an 'employee' you are a 'vendor', so why are they subjecting you to this process. When the telephone repair company person shows up, do they hand this person a cup at reception before letting into the office to fix the phone?

This is a very poor representation of HR practices and I'm sorry you had to experience this unprofessional process. Certainly doesn't lend any creditability to my profession

By: patiencepie

patiencepie — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:44:27 +0000

Then they asked me back for ANOTHER written psychology test. After that, they wanted to hire me but I ran away as fast as I could — I'm sure the urine sample was not far behind!

By: jay@ work at home

jay@ work at home — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:23:43 +0000

A urine test? They make It sound like you are going to be dealing with them face front to front. It's not like you are applying for a 9-5. Freelance work is being taken more serious, but outrageous steps are being put forward. Very strange IMO.