When I was interviewing for one of my first jobs, the company wanted know if I was married, and wanted to meet with my husband to be sure he didn't mind the travel involved. After I got the job, we had hiring criteria for the people who worked for me as part-time merchandisers, including being a married woman whose kids were in school, with time available mid-day to work, and who only needed supplemental income.

Back then, you didn't hear that much about discrimination, but, that was only one blatant example. Federal and state laws prohibit prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not related to the job they are hiring for. That doesn't mean you won't get asked, even today. There are still companies that aren't aware of the rules or will try and discover what they want to know, regardless of the law.

Here's more information on discriminatory interview questions, what hiring managers can ask, and what they shouldn't be asking candidates for employment, plus options for handling discriminatory interview questions.

Job Interview Resources

• Difficult Interview Questions
• Best Answers to Interview Questions
• Interview Thank You Letters

_{Photo © Andy Hwang}

When the job market is tight,  it's more  important than ever to get the inside scoop on companies you're interested in working at.  First of all, the more information you have, the more effectively you'll interview. Secondly, company information will help you decide if you want to work for a company - or not.

Glassdoor, the company and salary research site, has excellent information for job seekers including company reviews, ratings, salaries, CEO approval rating, competitors, and much more company information. Job seekers can find and anonymously share company reviews, ratings and salary details.

Telonu.com is full of company reviews, rants, and raves.  You can search by company and location.  You can also see what site visitors have to say about people i.e. your prospective boss.  

Speaking of people, do keep in mind that reviews on all these sites are posted by individuals, including possibly disgruntled employees. So, use them as a tool to help gather more information about a company, but don't count on them as 100% accurate, because every employee's experience is different.

Vault  is another source of company reviews.  Site visitors can read company reviews, and get the buzz, uppers, and downers, for over 10,000 companies.  Company overviews are free, which is all you need most of the time.  You'll need to pay a fee if you want more details. 

There are also sites which don't contain actual company reviews, but do provide basic company information that's useful for job seekers. Browse the company list on WetFeet.com or search by company name to get an overview and company highlights.   For another quick overview,  Hoovers.com has a large company directory. Again, you'll need a subscription for detailed information, but the basics are free.

Another way to get inside information is to check who you're connected to at the company on LinkedIn.  Ask your connections what they can tell you about the company and what it's like to work for.  Searching by company name on Google is another way to find information about companies.   Search YouTube as well. You may find company produced videos with information on employment opportunities and company culture.

Here's more on  company reviews and getting insider interview advice from Glassdoor.

Related: Glassdoor | Company Reviews

_{Image Copyright Glassdoor} 

The unemployment rate dropped slightly, from 10% to 9.7%, in January, with non-farm payroll employment losing 20,000 jobs. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to increase in January, reaching 6.3 million. In addition, the job market remains really competitive with over 6 unemployed workers for every job opening.

Job losses continued in construction and in transportation and warehousing, while employment increased in temporary help services, health care, retail, and in federal government hiring.

The underemployment rate, which includes  people who aren't looking for work, but want a job, and those who are working part-time because they can't find a full-time position dropped to 16.5% in January.

Here's a really good explanation of the employment picture and what light there is at the end of the job loss tunnel from About.com's Guide to the U.S. Economy, Kimberly Amadeo.

Unemployment Extensions Running Out

On a related note, the current unemployment extension is set to expire on February 28.  According to the National Employment Law Project over 5 million unemployed workers will run out of benefits by June, including 1.2 million in March if an extension isn't passed.

 A new extension of unemployment needs to be passed soon in order for benefits to continue without interruption. Here's more on the National Employment Law Project's campaign to extend unemployment benefits.

Related: Unemployment Extension | Share Your Unemployment Story

For the sixth year in row, CareerBuilder is heading to the Super Bowl.  This year, the commercials (three are in the running for the Super Bowl spot) feature ads from everyday consumers who entered and won the HireMyTVAd contest.  

There were three winners selected, all of whom get a prize, but only one (not the ad that was too hot for TV) will be featured on game day.   Take a look at CareerBuilder's commercials - Job Fairy, (very) Casual Friday,  and Worst Seat - and vote for your favorite.

The focus of the ads is fitting in at work. In conjunction with the ad campaign, CareerBuilder surveyed to see how employees got along with their colleagues. Almost 40%, and more women than men, didn't feel like they fit in and were considering whether they should start to job search.  Given some of the crazy behavior reported, starting a job search might be a good idea for some of the workers:

• Co-worker ate the cheese off the pizza box at a company meeting.
• Co-worker talks openly about flatulence.
• Co-worker in the cubicle next to me wears 3-D glasses with the lenses removed.
• Co-worker repeatedly bangs a mallet on the table for no apparent reason.
• Co-worker whistles 8 hours a day.
• Co-worker chews tobacco and spits it into empty soda bottles
• Former boss brought a baby sippy cup to a meeting and started drinking out of it.
• Co-worker cleaned fingernails using a counterpart's business card while sitting in their office 

Related:  CareerBuilder | Ten Steps to Find a New Job

_{CareerBuilder Super Bowl Commercial Image Copyright CareerBuilder}