the OTHER test

[Brent -dot- Jones -at- Level3 -dot- com]

As someone who has been contracting a lot over the last few years, I've
noticed that more and more contracting agencies and (one presumes) their
client companies are requiring a drug screen prior to employment. I've been
in the field for 12 years, and had never been forced to consider the issue
until a couple of years ago. Now I come across it rather frequently. I'm
curious as to whether others have noticed this same trend and, if so, what
their reaction to it are.

I think this is on-topic to discuss here at TECHWR-L if, as I suspect, it's
something more and more of us must consider as part of the hiring/employment
selection process. As a potential employee, would a required drug screening
affect your decision to accept or reject a position with a company? As
someone who hires others, is a drug screening a part of your hiring process?
As a technical professional, have you ever been asked to undergo a screen?
Was it an issue for you at all? What was your response?

I'm not trying to start a discussion of whether or not drug tests are
acceptable, constitutional, etc. ad nauseum. I'm just curious as to whether
others are having to deal with the issue more frequently as professionals
than they did even a few years ago, and how it affects their decisions to
pursue or accept employment.

For my part, I've never accepted a position that required a screen. However,
this has been for a variety of factors, and I can't really say that the
screen was the deciding one (although it's certainly a strong negative
factor). I'm pretty sure that if a fantastic position came along, and the
only downside was a drug screen, then it wouldn't be enough to cause me to
turn it down.

brent

--
Brent Jones
brent -dot- jones -at- level3 -dot- com