WFIM Blog: How to Make a Splash in the Business World

by Sandy Baer

August is the only month without a holiday but April celebrates several beginning with All Fools Day on April 1. How did this rather odd tradition begin? After all most holidays commemorate a hero or religious events, not foolishness. The history of All Fools Day is as strange as the practice of playing tricks on friends and family.

There are conflicting explanations but the most widely accepted traces April Fool’s Day to 16th century France when in 1564 King Charles IX declared that his country was switching from the previously used Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Rather than observing the New Year around April, New Year’s Day shifted to January 1. But some people did not accept this change and it was these people who were mocked as fools for celebrating the New Year on the wrong date.

This was particularly true in rural France as news did not travel at today’s gigabyte speed and it might have been months or even years before everyone learned of the calendar change. These people became the butt of jokes. Uncertain as to why, a common one was to hook a cardboard fish to a person’s back. For uncertain reasons today, people in France who are fooled on April 1 are called “Poisson d’Avril”, which literally means the “April Fish”. When Napoleon married Marie-Louis of Austria on April 1, 1810, he earned the moniker “Poisson d’Avril”.

In Denmark just five years earlier, Hans Christian Anderson was born on April 1, 1805. He wrote more than 150 fairytales so if you are not inclined to pranks, read Cinderella to celebrate April. Another literary hero born in April (23/1564) was William Shakespeare if you prefer sonnets to fairytales. It is of note that Shakespeare died on his birthday in 1616. Famous Americans born in April include Washington Irving, Dorothea Dix, Henry Clay, Butch Cassidy, Thomas Jefferson, Clarence Darrow, and Babe Ruth as well as Emmylou Harris, Alec Baldwin, Wayne Newton, Collin Powell, David Letterman and Doris Day.

It was on April 3, 1860, that the first Pony Express rider left St. Joseph, MO with the mail but it was not until April 6, 1909, that Robert E. Perry and his party of explorers reached the North Pole. April appears to be a month for adventure as Paul Revere made his midnight ride to warn the Americans that the British were coming on April 18, 1775.

Not only is the second week of April designated as National Gardening Week, Earth Day is April 22. Senator Gaylord Nelson spearheaded a “national conservation tour” with President John F. Kennedy in the 1960’s to raise environmental issues to the political limelight. It was not until 1970 that a grassroots protest led by Nelson formally established “Earth Day”. Nelson first conceived the idea for “Earth Day” after visiting Santa Barbara and witnessing the devastation from a horrific oil spill off the Central Coast in 1969.

So celebrate April and plant a garden, clean up a beach and our world will be better every day. No fooling.

Have you ever wondered which questions are (and are not) OK to be asked in an interview? No matter which side of the table you’re sitting on, it’s good to know these forbidden questions.

Forbidden Questions—Age
1. “How old are you?”
2. “What is your date of birth?”
(You may ask, “Do you meet the state minimum age requirement for work?” and “Are you over 18 and under age 65?”)

Forbidden Questions—Availability for Work and Travel
3. “Can you work Saturdays and Sundays?”
4. “Do you have children?”
5. “What are your child care arrangements?”
(You may ask, “These are the hours of work—can you attend work during these hours?” and “Work sometimes requires overtime. Can you work such a schedule?” and “Do you have any obligations that would keep you from work-related travel?”)

Forbidden Questions—Birthplace and Citizenship
6. “Where were you born?”
7. “What is your native language?”
(You may ask, “Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?”)

Forbidden Questions—Clubs and Affiliations
8. “To what organizations do you belong?”
9. “Do you want to tell me about any of your memberships relating to the performance of this job?”

Forbidden Questions—Disabilities
10. “Do you have a disability?”
11. “Have you ever filed for workers’ compensation?”
12. “Have you ever been treated for any of the following conditions or diseases (followed by a checklist of various illnesses)?”
13. “How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year?”
14. “What prescription medications are you taking?”
15. “Is there any health-related reason you may not be able to perform the job for which you are applying?”
(You may ask, “Can you perform the essential functions of the job for which you are applying?” and “Can you demonstrate to me how you would perform those functions?”)

Forbidden Questions—Economic status
16. “Have you ever had your wages garnished?”
17. “Do you own your own home?”
18. “How long do you plan to work on this job?”
19. “Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?”

Forbidden Questions—Name
20. “Have you ever had your name changed?”
21. “What is your maiden name?”
(You may ask, “Is there any additional information we need about your name to verify your employment/education record?”)

Forbidden Questions—Relatives
22. “Who is the relative to be notified in case of emergency?”
23. “Are you married?”
24. “Do you have children?”
25. “Do you plan to get pregnant?”

In the USA there are very few exceptions that allow exclusion from employment for any of the reasons listed above. If you want to read more about this subject visit http://www.eeoc.gov/

by Blaire Kilbey

I find it amazing how everything is being reviewed on the Internet. From Yelp and Trip Advisor to finding a qualified doctor. But can they be trusted?

I stayed at beautiful vacation rental in Glen Ellen, smack in the middle of Sonoma’s wine country. Paradise. Perfect. Loving Owners. I enthusiastically referred friends to The Hacienda, loving everything about it.

Recently The Hacienda was beckoning me in my dreams and moments of stress, so I got on line to see if I could perhaps make a return visit. WHAT? I was bolted out of my fantasy by a scathing review about it.  Confusion set in. Had the owners changed? Is there another “Hacienda” in Glenn Ellen.  What the heck?

I called The Hacienda only to find out that it was indeed my beloved vacation rental and nothing had changed.  Apparently a recent visitor didn’t approve of the cabinets stocked with gourmet herbs, the wine and champagne in the refrigerator, and spa robes in the closets.  They felt the place was lived in….

I sure hope people don’t believe everything critical written on the Internet or some wonderful opportunities will be lost. Like most things, consider the source and find out for yourself.