Youth jobless rate 12.36%

INTERVIEW TROUBLES:Young people reported being asked to go out by their interviewer or being told lewd jokes, an online survey by yes123 job bank revealed

By Lin Yen-tung and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The unemployment rate among the nation’s young people is 12.36 percent, while 19.2 percent of respondents to a yes123 poll reported experiencing sexual harassment at job interviews.

The online job bank said the survey was conducted to advise job hunters on resume writing and interview techniques.

Among respondents who reported sexual harassment, 31.9 percent were asked about their sexual orientation, 28.8 percent reported being told “lewd jokes,” 20.8 percent were asked to go drinking or dining with the interviewer, 18.1 percent were asked to go on an outing with the interviewer and 15.3 percent reported unwanted contact, the survey said.

In addition, 76.5 percent of young job hunters report being asked uncomfortable questions by interviewers about their private life, ranging from their relationship status, plans for marriage or having children, mental and physical health, zodiac sign or blood type, the survey said.

Yes123 spokesman Yang Tsung-pin (楊宗斌) said that inappropriate questions or advances could constitute “workplace discrimination,” and that “unequal power relationships at the workplace” are partly to blame.

Yang said jobseekers should politely refuse to answer improper questions, or ask the interviewer the professional purpose of the line of questioning and give answers that address the professional concern instead of the questions themselves.

When respondents were asked to choose the most frustrating part of the job-hunting process, 70 percent said that writing a self-introduction in their resume was the most problematic, 64.7 percent cited their lack of professional skills and certificates, while 60.3 percent said it was their lack of previous work experience or membership in a club.

Of business agents polled in the survey, 48.1 percent said that they consider applicants who submitted an additional English-language resume to have an advantage over those who did not, while 92 percent said they prioritized jobseekers who provided a photograph of themselves in their resume, the survey said.

Chang Hsiao-wen (鄭曉雯), director of human resources for the hotel industry at yes123, said the greatest challenge for job hunters was that a resume has a 30-second window to pique interest.

A complete resume should include academic credentials; a brief family history that includes the applicant’s ranking by age among siblings; ambitions and expectations in working for the industry; plans for career advancement in the near and intermediate future and a showcase of the applicant’s unique skills and positive traits, Chang said.

In addition to a professional-looking photograph, the job seeker should demonstrate an ability to accommodate the employer’s needs and a willingness to learn, while a clear and specific curriculum vitae is also highly important to success, Chang added.

The online survey was conducted from July 7 to Wednesday last week with online questionnaires directed at young job hunters who graduated or completed military conscription this year.

It had 1,500 valid samples and a margin of error of 3.32 percentage points.