Is it prudent to disclose your legal medications to your present or prospective employer before taking a test?

Absolutely not, says Lawrence Beaumont, president of Pacific Medical in Tacoma. His firm conducts mobile-lab-unit drug screens and other testing services for employers.

"You could easily be discriminated against based upon the medications — and the suspicions of the employer about your fitness to perform the job," said Beaumont.

"Medications for cancer, AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and many others can cause employers to have a negative, preconceived profile of you, whether it's true or not."

Beaumont emphasizes that "medical information should never be disclosed to the employer. It should only be disclosed to a medical or testing-service provider."

The drug-screening executive says if you have tried "to prove discrimination, you know this is a very difficult task, so the employer simply moves on to the next apparently healthy applicant — and gets away with it."

Gut reaction


You may not be too surprised to learn that many hiring decisions are not scientific.

A survey of 250 executives by The Creative Group shows that 46 percent report they "rely very much on instinct when making hiring decisions, and 49 percent report they follow their gut at least some of the time."

That makes getting a job more of a challenge than most job seekers ever suspected: You can have the best résumé, skills and experience in the world.

You can be thoroughly prepared for the job interview. But satisfying someone's "gut" — that is not something even the most brilliant job applicant can prepare for.

"Interviewing is both an art and a science," said Tracey Fuller, executive director of The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service based in Menlo Park, Calif.

Leaving your job

No matter how tempting it may be to air all the dirty linen at your exit interview, it may not be a good idea.

Instead, "make the best of a bad situation ... and do not show anger or resort to blaming anyone," advises Cy Charney, author of "The Instant Manager: More than 100 quick tips & techniques for great results" (Amacom, $18.95).

The consultant points out that "a collaborative but firm attitude will allow you to depart gracefully, with as much dignity and cash as possible."

E-mail questions to Carol Kleiman at ckleiman@tribune.com. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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