You normally don’t want to come out and ask about drug testing during the interview. Really, there are not that many things that will immediately disqualify you, but that’s probably one of them.
Even if they don’t acknowledge it only, most people won’t hire a person who admits to using drugs. While there might be laws that now protect certain drugs, there is still a stigma associated with open and admitted drug use.
The problem is, how do you know if a company is going to drug test before they spring it on you? Companies don’t normally advertise online that they will drug test. And you don’t want to ask about drug testing during the interview.
So, how do you find out if a company drug tests?
You Can’t Ask About Drug Testing During the Interview
First thing to know is that you can’t ask if a company drug tests. Well, you shouldn’t ask. You will make a terrible impression during the interview.
During the interview, when you are in a position to ask questions, you should. It’s important that you ask questions. It makes you look curious and interested in the company.
However, you should not bring up drug testing during an interview. It’s not proper and it will make you look bad.
There are certain things you just don’t talk about during interviews. For example, you would not want to mention to people that you like to gamble. It just makes a bad impression. This is why you should never mention things like poker during a job interview.
If you’re curious about drug screening, you need to find out on your own outside of the interview. The best way would be to check with someone who already works there—which you can easily do if you have a friend or relative who works there already. Otherwise it’s best to use a review site like Glassdoor or even Reddit (though quite a lot of the information on Reddit is from people who are speculating and don’t have the inside info, so be cautious).
Do Drug Tests Matter Anymore?
You might wonder if drug testing matters anymore now that so many states have legalized drugs. The important point is that not all drugs are legal. The one most commonly discussed is marijuana.
If you are drug tested and show up as having other illegal drugs in your system, then it’s a major problem.
However, even having THC show up on a drug test can be an issue. And even if it’s legal in certain areas, that does not mean the workplace use of THC is approved.
Additionally, certain jobs are always tested for drugs even when the recreational use is allowed. For instance, in NYC teachers, daycare workers, nurses and other medical staff, and police officers are not allowed to have positive drug tests.
Certain laws have allowed police in cities like New York to not have to take drug tests, nurses and other childcare professionals are all expected to be drug free.
So, to summarize, drug tests still matter. Certain jobs in governments allow drugs like Marijuana, but others don’t. Most medical roles will not allow applicants to work if they have a positive drug test (they will be told to reapply after a few months) and roles that involve the supervision of children still involve drug testing.
In major corporations—think fortune 500—you might also be expected to take a drug test. This is because there are thousands of workers and it’s an almost government like process. There are huge HR departments that have hundreds of duplicate roles, and the corporate design is structured to safeguard against non professional workers.
Can You Email To Find Out?
It’s not a good idea to email a company and ask if they drug test. While that might get you the answer you’re looking for, it’s not a great look for applicants to ask about drug use.
A more common approach would be to search reviews online. Please like Glassdoor, Reddit (though you have to be carefull about out datted behavior).
If you are working wiht a temporary staffing agency, then it’s likely that they will have the information available on their website. However, temp staffing firms that deal with medical personel and other government or related work will have to drug taste. So, if you’re going to engage with a temp staffing agency then you can expect them to drug test.
Some Industries Drug Test More Than Others: Here’s The List
The fact is that the best way to find out which companies drug test is to look into the industry as a whole. Some jobs will always drug test, some almost never.
Everyone who has seen The Wolf of Wall Street might obviously think that financial jobs will drug test. But that’s not accurate. Most firms don’t drug test.
The irony of this is that you might see recreational drug use at a company party for a Hedge Fund, Investment Bank, Brokerage Firm, PR, Marketing, Private Equity, or Consulting agency party. It would be rare, but it might happen. Jobs in those industries do not require drug testing.
Why? For a few reasons. First, the people who work in those industries are not often drug abusers. Second, because their jobs do not involve operating heavy machinery, driving a truck, or operating on people or dealing with children.
The jobs where you will have to have a drug test are:
- All Medical Professional Work
- Drug abuse is very common amongst medical professionals. And the potential liability if an employee such as a Nurse is high on the job and injures a patient can be astronomical. Nurses, for instance, need to have a degree and a clean drug test to work.
- Non-Profit Case Managers
Many case mangers have diverse backgrounds: ex-offenders, drug issues (a common career path for recovering drug addicts is to work as a CASAC case manager) and criminal offenses.
- Government Workers
Government work is also filled with people with a varied work history including prolonged unemployment due to criminal activity and drug abuse. In order to make sure the person has successfully move beyond this period in their life, most government jobs drug test.
- Truck Drivers
Truck drivers need to have clean drug tests because they are operating heavy vehicles and can cause accidents if they are found to be driving impaired.
Any of these roles requires drug testing. In most instances, if the person is found to be a drug user, the employer will rescind the job offer. These jobs require a sober mind while operating.
The truth is that many people consume drugs and still work as nurses, truck drivers, and case managers. For many, they are able to find doctors who can prescribe them a “scrip” for the results. Some nurses even exchange tips on how to use synthetic urine to fool drug tests. However, this is not advisable since, if caught, you will be in trouble. Most hospitals will simply tell the nurse to retake the test in a few months when they have cleaned up and then they can start.
If you are applying to work for a administrative role, or a sales role, or anything that is clerical or operational, then you might not be tested. The smaller the company, the less likely it is that you will be drug tested. Large corporations are more likely to drug test.
Account Executives, Marketing Directors, Systems Analysis, Project Managers and the like rarely get drug tested unless the firms are multi-state corporations with huge bureaucratic HR departments.
A good rule of thumb is as follows:
Drug Testing Is Common
- Nurses
- Medical Workers
- Childcare Workers
- Social Service Employees
- Non-Profit Employees
- Government Employees
- Large Corporation Roles
Drug Testing is Not Common
- Executive Roles
- Investment Banks
- PR Firms
- Account Executive Roles
- Sales Professionals (non-retails, corporate sales)
Hey I’m Chris . 20+ years in the industry. I’ve worked every role from Executive recrutier to Agency founder and consultant. If you want to learn more or reach me,vist the about page or use my contact form.