Last year I was made redundant. As part of the severance package I was sent to a ‘talent and career management’ organisation. Some of the sessions were fairly useful, for example the ones that taught me how to write a US CV (for a start I learned that they call them resumes here). Some sessions were irritating – for example the one where some ‘expert’ told me that the reason European CVs tend to have more personal info about interests etc is because “it’s a different pace of life in Europe, they have more time.” Yeah right.
Some bits were more shocking. For example I learned that it is ABSOLUTELY NORMAL to be subjected to a drug test prior to being accepted for a job. OMG! I was completely in a state of shock (and still am for that matter). It took 5 mins for me to pick my jaw back off the table.
What an absolutely enormous infringement on personal privacy! I don’t even smoke cigarettes let alone anything else but if I wanted to spend my weekends stoned out of my skull I think that would be my business and not anyone else’s. I mean if it doesn’t affect someone’s work – why should they know?
Also, to get longer term readings, they could use hair, but instead, a possible new job has to start with your wee changing hands. Eeeeeuw.