Companies are so afraid of touching on issues that might be construed as excuses to discriminate that they don't communicate their expectations very well. As a result, human-resources policies that only a lawyer could understand replace common sense and forthrightness. There was a day when an employer could hire and fire at will, no questions asked. Walking through Manhattan once, I happened upon a restaurant owner having a spirited conversation with his chef, in Italian. He was on a balcony, and the chef was loading a small van below.
Some employees deserve it.
Why shouldn't an employer have the right to fire without keeping a four-inch binder cataloging the reasons. It's their dime. Our challenge is to match the companies with the candidates who can handle it. We have to read past the cliches to find out how much time the job really takes. And we need to go well beyond a candidate's resume even to personal things like whether a spouse is going to nix 80-hour weeks or regular trips to Hong Kong.