How to Avoid Discrimination in The Job Market

Of course there is discrimination in the job market. Members of special groups fear it. Read this article to learn how to avoid discrimination while looking for jobs.

Discrimination examples

Nobody escapes discrimination. In the job marketplace, you're either too young or too old, too fat or too thin, a woman, African American, Asian, or person with a disability. So don't feel lonely. You're in good company because discrimination is part of your life and your job search campaign.

How to avoid discrimination when looking for jobs.

There are ways to handle age discrimination in the job market and to avoid it. Taking the usual route of answering ads and posting on the Internet is not the way to go about it.

You'll avoid discrimination by using the networking or referral method of finding a job. Friends and associates with whom you meet will instinctively refrain from referring you to any contacts who are likely to discriminate.

Prejudice aside, the major tool for getting hired is the power of networking. A staggering 80 percent of jobs available to you are not advertised, published, or posted. You find them by developing a plan that allows you to be referred from one executive to the next.

The plan I introduce to my job-search clients early on in their job search campaigns...

...is to make a list of people they know. Your networking list can be divided into five categories. Here they are in order of importance --

1.Your associates - colleagues with whom you've worked in your current and past places of employment

2. Your friends and family

3. Business cards in your wallet

4. Your address book

5. Professional people you know - your doctor, lawyer, and accountant. They're on your payroll and should be happy to provide referrals to their contacts.

When you contact people on your network list, explain your situation and what you do. Then ask, "Who do you know that you think I should be talking to?"

With this method, you'll always be passed on with a favorable reference until you meet your next job. As mentioned earlier, people you know will not introduce you to any of their contacts who are likely to discriminate.

Remember, the value of networking is not only the best way to avoid discrimination in the job market, but networking is also your most powerful reemployment tool.