Are you taking drugs? Many companies have compulsory drug tests. If any of the illegal drugs are found in your body, you will be summarily rejected. Please understand that drugs can stay in the body for anything from 1 day (alcohol) to 30 days (marijuana). Hence, be careful - you are likely to fail the drug test if you have indulged in any intoxicants within the past 30-40 days. The most popular drug tests are for five main drugs, i.e. cannabis and their derivates, cocaine and derivates, opium and derivates, amphetamines and derivates and phencyclidine and derivates. These tests are known as NIDA-5. Some places, this five drug test is called SAMHSA-5. There are places which run a 10 drug test - the other five drugs added to the test are, barbiturates and derivates, methaqualone and derivates, benzodiazepines and derivates, methadone and derivates, and propoxyphene and derivates.

A secondary/ confirmatory test is a test which is done when the first drug test result is positive, but it should not be. This is more expensive and hence the employer may not be inclined to accept your request immediately. Be persuasive, polite and you may even offer to pay for the test. And hopefully, things will fall into the right perspective. This is one of the most important pre-employment steps. Once this is behind you, the rest would be a piece of cake.