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While asking general questions about age or religion aren't clear-cut under discrimination laws, queries about a person's disability are not allowed.
Are you pregnant? What religion are you? How old are you?
There are certain questions most of us don’t expect hiring managers to ask during a job interview because we think they’re too personal or even illegal.
But while such inquiries aren’t always legal no-nos, they can be hazardous.
Cynthia M. applied for a job at Florida insurer, and believed she was more than qualified for the position. But during the interview she was asked about her religion and probed about her marital status.
“I was asked point-blank if I attended church and ‘which one?’ ” said Cynthia, who didn’t want her full name used because she feared it would hurt her continued job search. She was also asked if she had a family. When she told the recruiter she had a daughter, the interviewer asked, “Is that all?”
“That particular interview was very brief and there was zero response to my carefully thought-out letter I sent after the interview as a follow-up,” she explained. “I guess he didn't like that I was a single parent.”
A reader on our Facebook page, Linda Och, wrote recently that during a phone interview for a job she was asked her birth date and age. “I never heard from the employer again. I feel it was the cause of my not hearing about a second interview,” she maintained.
“Is this not discrimination?” she asked.
While you can’t refuse to hire someone based on a characteristic that’s protected under the nation’s labor laws, including things like religion or age, questioning a job applicant about such things by itself isn’t going to get government discrimination defenders banging down any company doors.
What happens as far as hiring decisions after the questions are asked is what ends up getting employers in legal hot water.
“Pre-employment inquires about a person's race, sex or pregnancy, national origin, religion or age are not technically illegal under the laws we enforce as long as they are asked of all people,” said Justine Lisser, a spokeswoman and senior attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Dads, are you feeling pressure to do it all?
“Employment decisions made on those bases -- such as denying employment to all pregnant women, or everyone who isn't a Christian, are illegal, however,” she continued. “When investigating a charge of discrimination, the EEOC will look at these types of pre-employment inquiries as indications of discriminatory intent.”
Nigel Telman, an attorney with Proskauer, an employment law firm that represents employers, said questions related to protected categories such as age or religion may seem innocuous to some hiring managers but can end up causing problems down the line. “An applicant who didn’t get the job can allege they told the employer something about a protected characteristic,” he noted.
Indeed, if there turns out to be a pattern pointing to discrimination against a certain group or groups, such questions may become substantiation of illegal practices.
In the case of Texas Roadhouse, questions by hiring managers about age are part of anecdotal evidence in the age-discrimination case against the restaurant chain brought by the EEOC last year.
The EEOC case alleges that managers were instructed to hire younger job applicants, and that older unsuccessful applicants nationally were told: “There are younger people here who can grow with the company” and “You seem older to be applying for this job.”
Texas Roadhouse officials did not immediately return a telephone call requesting a comment.
While asking general questions about age or religion aren’t clear-cut under discrimination laws, queries about a person’s disability are not allowed.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are prohibited pre-employment inquiries about an applicant’s disability, according to the EEOC.
The agency states on its “pre-employment inquires” web page that:
- Employers generally cannot ask disability-related questions or require medical examinations until after an applicant has been given a conditional job offer.
- Employers are permitted to ask limited questions about reasonable accommodation if they reasonably believe that the applicant may need accommodation because of an obvious or voluntarily disclosed disability, or where the applicant has disclosed a need for accommodation.
In addition, it’s illegal to ask questions about genetic information or family medical history under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the EEOC’s Lisser pointed out.
And, she added, “It is also illegal for an employer to advertise for specific characteristics such as sex, age or race.”
Given that personal questions could lead to claims of bias, you’d think employers would have abandoned the practice already.
“Some managers need a reminder that these questions are hazardous to the company,” said Richard Howard, an employment attorney with Meltzer Lippe. “Hiring managers should absolutely steer clear of questions regarding age, race, religion, pregnancy, and marital status.”
Has a hiring manager ever asked you an inappropriate question related to age, race, religion, pregnancy, health, or marital status? Share your story below.
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What about the companies who advertise for positions but state if you are unemployed don't apply? This happening in Florida.........
With unemployment in Florida being at almost 10%. And we know how they under report those figures. Employeers here ask you about everthing. Regardless of what they say about discrimination. It is alive and well. And yes, if you have been unemployed don't bother to apply.
They are hiring in North Dakota in the oil and gas industry. Okay, its nothing compared to Florida, but jobs are awaiting...
I grew up in Florida and left 9months ago as the job market is so bad. I found Ohio to be wonderful and the people are great. It made me realize FL is not the place to be and there are many good places in our great country. Best of luck to those still looking, It will happen......
Cars have wheels - and so do busses. Why people feel they can only apply for jobs within a 10 mile radius of where they live, always mystifies me.
If there are no jobs in Place A and plenty in Place B, then why not move to Place B?
I did it.
Jay, I worked in the oil and fas industry when it was booming in wyoming in this last decade. At first the money was great then the cost of living skyrocketed and the wage stayed the same. When they moved to North Dakota the cost of living never went back down and the pollution they created never left with them. Right now the same thing is happening in North Dakota, it is impossible to find a place to live and what you can find is well over $1000 a month, making the wage feel like a $10/hour job. Most people are living in man camps or campers/tents. I had an offer to go up and run a frontend loader moving drilling rigs for $20/hour which is the exact wage I started at doing the same job in 2002, but yet the cost of living is triple what it was in 2002.
Seven and Robert, glad to hear that job mobility worked out for each of you. While I realize that some are 'stuck in-place' due to being underwater on their mortgage, there are far too many that only look locally (to your point, Robert).
Yup, BodyDouble, during the initial boom, the locals were caught 'with their pants down', with regard to housing. I'll bet Williston's building permits are through the roof now, though...
It's not always the job seekers that look for work ten minutes away, you know... a LOT of business demand "reliable transportation" (your own vehicle, not public transportation) and that you live within a 10-15 minute radius. This, again, is really none of their damned business; if you're frequently late, regardless of where you live, you're asking to be fired anyway. Where you live and how much time and money you spend to get to a much-wanted job should be irrelevant to employers so long as you cover your responsibility of showing up on time.
Sad to say, owning a vehicle with insurance and up-to-date registration and being able to afford gas and repairs puts Americans into an entirely different economic strata these days.
bodydouble; is correct; the wages are now at the 2000 year level, now 12 years later , inflation has been 2.4-3.6 % compounded for 12 years, and no increase, a 12 dollar per hour job in 2000, is actually paying 7 dollars in adjusted for inflation dollars, biggest kept secret by the bureau of labor.
So, if someone who is unemployed has a spouse with a steady job and can't find employment, the unemployed one is supposed to move hundreds of miles away to find a job? Is the person who is employed supposed to QUIT their job first? Then you have TWO unemployed people.
If they ask about religion, tell them you practice Voodoo and human sacrifice, if they have a picture of their kids, tell them that is the perfect age for your next sacrifice. Ask them if they want to come over for a BBQ, with your "Friends".
RobertPlattBell
Some of us have familial obligations that require us to be closer to home. Some places do not have reliable public transportation. Not all of us can afford to move, uproot kids from their schools, or be further away from the family and home. Some people do not, or can not drive a car...
That's hilarious, trust2112!!! Great Comment!!!
@RobertPlattBell - Good for you. For the rest of us, no one will qualify a mortgage or a lease to a single unemployed person. That leaves no option to move to find a job unless a spouse has a job. I had IT jobs that required I have my own car and live within a 20 minute radius of the job location. The car was not used on the job and the stated excuse for this requirement was that one might have to go into the office at any time of day or night with no notice and more than 20 minute transit was unacceptable. The whole requirement was specious. There was zero reason to physically go into the office, even for emergency IT support, since almost all the work was remote and one mostly worked from home. The reality was that this was one of several criteria to ensure their candidate list was dominated by their friends and family H1B holders who lived in nearby apartments.
at a community mental health agency my wife works at the supervisor is practically refusing to hire younger people who are fresh out of college for an entry level position that pays $26,000 a year, all because she doesn't like working with young people. She keeps trying to hire experienced people in their 50s for this entry level job but they don't want it because the pay is awful.
Sounds like she should retire or be fired.
Been there. Or how about this, when you see a requirement list two pages long for a position that pays half of what someone who could actually meet those requirements routinely makes. Then they turn around and say "We can't find qualified applicants!"
That's because they're having that one new hire do the work of the two or three people laid off -- and they'll pay you an entry level wage (if that) if you are actually offered the job.
I believe age discrimination was a factor when I applied for a job at Longhorn Steakhouse. I had over 30 yrs experience in the restaurant/hospitality industry from diners to 5 star hotels/resorts yet I was not hired. Every single person hired to work there is UNDER 30. I'm over 50 and have not been able to find a REAL job in over 3 yrs.
Age discrimination or wage discrimination? The Supreme court has held that the latter is not illegal. You can fire a 50-year-old and hire two 25-year olds for the same price, and that is not illegal.
It sounds like you are wildly overqualified for what is essentially a job at a sit-down McDonald's. (Longhorn blows, and no, it is not good food). I think you would be better off applying for jobs with real restaurants (you know, the kind that don't serve steaks from a pouch, and are not part of a national chain).
But even then, restaurant work has never paid very well, in any event. Perhaps if you are head chef at a famous restaurant in NYC, you might make a lot. Or if you are a waiter at such a place, the tips are fabulous (too bad they blow it all on coke!). But most people in the food service industry don't make squat, particularly at chain restaurants.
Opening your own business is one alternative, but that is expensive and risky. But being an "employee" these days doesn't seem much better, at least in terms of risk.
The other side of the coin is health insurance. If they offer it, most companies might may $250 a month for a 25-year-old and $1000 a month (or more) for a 50-year-old. So hiring young is one way to get around this. Or hiring part-time and offering no benefits.
I am sorry to hear of your plight, but after seeing my Dad laid off at age 55 back in 1980 (during the last recession, which was worse than this one) I realized that careers are not forever. He never worked again, really. IT IS VERY TYPICAL to be laid off in your 50's and never work again in your field, at least a full salary.
So I started socking away money early on, planning on being let out to pasture by age 55. And I cut out things like smart phones and cable tv and car payments - in fact all debt. I can live on $20,000 a year now, quite comfortably.
I realize this is cold comfort to you, but to all you youngsters out there, consider spending less and saving more. Your "career" may span only a decade or two. This man's experience is a case in point.
And if you youngsters are thinking of borrowing $100,000 to go to college, think long and hard about. That kind of money, invested over a lifetime, could add up to a million dollars at retirement. Learning the classics? Or learn to weld? Think it over carefully.
Seems you can also fire a 50-year-old with 30 years of experience in IT and hire 5 Indians with 0 experience for the same price.
I've known Stateside IT professionals who were put in the position of training their offshore replacements.
Embarrassing and humiliating.
Thanks, Intel.
I was asked in a first interview over the phone my age, if I was pregnant or planning to
become pregnant at any time.
I was asked during an initial phone interview my age, if I had children, if I was planning
on having any children as that "would be a problem" for the small company.
Needles to say, various other things happened like my being asked to call a client and
use a "sleazy voice" to get business..It didn't last because they were so innapropriate.
This is one of the reasons I got the heck away from a life insurance sales job. We'd trek all over to see some big-shot speak and he would boast in front of thousands of people that no one was allowed on his personal sales team if they didn't attend church services regularly. And people praised him for being such a great and virtuous man. Of course, he also boasted that the company's "totally free, no strings attached" financial analyses would be taken back from prospective clients if they didn't either buy something right there, or give him guaranteed leads. A later annual compliance video had to point out that the last one was massively illegal (all w/o naming names, of course). Never heard anything about his other policies.
Jesus sold life insurance. Little known fact!
Thanks to the erosion of what labor laws there are, and in NC the conservatives have made sure workers have NO rights, I i am pretty much free as an employer to hire and fire based upon my own set of purely arbitrary criteria...
For instance I canned a guy who claimed to not want to be forced to share his wealth and then I find out he is costing me 8K a year so he can save 1700 a year on his Tricare...I fired him on the spot for making me share my wealth...
I canned a guy because he would not shut about his christianity and how anyone who disagreed with him was going to hell...I disagreed with him and I won't be going to hell
Buddy you don't know if you'er going to hell or heaven until our LORD RETUNS.
If someone is an idiotic Born-Again Christian (the hatey kind) do you really want to work for them?
Clearly, that was what the job interviewer was getting at, by asking which church she "regularly attended" and whether or not she was married.
Working for someone like that would be hell, in short order. You are better off NOT getting the job.
Just walk away from employers like that. They will eventually go under. Their business model of serving only people of their religion will not work, in the long haul.
The good news is, of course, that those sorts of idiots are prime meat for the con-artists out there. All the con-artists have to do is say "praise Jesus!" and employers like that will hand them the keys to the safe, with predictable results. I have seen this happen on multiple occasions. It's Karma, I guess. But the fundies don't believe in that, because God thinks they are "special". How modest.
Engaging in any business activity based on non-business criteria (religion, race, fraternity affiliation, whatever) usually ends up being a bad bet. You end up turning away good people and embracing bad.
Just move on to the next job interview, and don't sweat it. It is their loss, not yours.
Dear RobertPlattBell:
I don't believe anyone should discriminate against someone for their religion but that person should NOT be free to run around and proselytize about their religion in the work place.
In my 50 years I have found that highly religious people make the worst employees, they spend more time worrying about what everyone else is doing that they do preforming their own job. Most "Born Again's" wear their religion on their sleeve and rub it in the other employees faces all day long. At my last job, Patty was a born again who made a point of introducing herself as a Christian. She would always say things to the other emplyess about how much more honest she was than they were simply because she was a Christian and they were not. Come to find out the woman was breaking every rule in the book, she had a dog hidden in the apartment they gave her to live in and it had crapped all over the place and she never cleaned it up, she would steal screeens off her neighbors windows when her drunk ex would ruin hers trying to break in, she was ordering parts and reselling them and the list goes on and on. I finally got them to fire her and when they replaced her they found another woman exactly like her, except even worse, this ones husband would use the bible to con all the elderly women who lived their into giving them money and doing all their house work for them. They had five lawsuits around town, 3 at Kroger alone, food poisoning, slip and trip, and cart damage to their minivan that was actually stolen from some old woman that had died. Both her husband and her son had keys to the other apartments and they were not supposed to. My tools were stolen and many of the apartements reportede things missing from their homes.
People who wear their religion on their sleeve do so because they are truly evil, like scott walker. they use religion as a cover for their lying, theft and con games they pull on other unsuspecting religious folk. I would never hire a religious wingnut.
The problem is they have weaseled their war in to positions of authority and are hiring other wingnuts and this is the reason for the loss of productivity and the increased workplace theft and comp claims, they are the most dishonest people on the planet.
The point is, what can you do about it?
You can try filing an EEOC complaint. Good luck with that. As the article notes, such complaints are very, very hard to prove. You can ask about religion, but proving discrimination based on religion is nearly impossible.
And if you file a suit, well, you'd better be sure you will win enough money to retire on, as that lawsuit will be a public record, and yes, employers check these things these days, and you will be completely unemployable.
Just don't go to work for idiots like that. Their businesses will fail anyway.
A friend of mine went to work for a born-again lawyer. He was a crummy lawyer, and spent more time on purging his small firm, ideologically, than on practicing law.
He made people sign "loyalty oaths" and had them pray together every morning. He tried to get them to sign "non-compete clauses" too. The better Associates quickly left. The better clients got creeped out and left as well.
If you look at America in total, you will see that the most successful industries are ones that are not run by born-again people. Chick-fil-A notwithstanding, you don't see this sort of nonsense at most major corporations these days.
Just move on. If anything, the interviewer did the applicant a FAVOR by tipping his hand that it would be a crummy place to work.
And who wants a crummy job?
Body Double - I have seen this as well.
But con artists also fleece so-called "Christians" (I do not believe they are really follow the words of Christ, but some sort of hate-filled satan worship, based on the old Testament).
We had a neighbor who tried to rent out her condo. A tenant came in, saw her cross around her neck, and said, "My husband and I will have to PRAY about this!"
The landlady then shouted, "Oh, praise Jesus, you are a Christian!" and let her have the apartment with no background check, no first month's rent, no security deposit (the tenant said she could not pay these, due to "tithing")
Well, she never got any rent out of that lady. Turns out she was tithing to the crack dealer, and the "husband" was not a husband, but a pimp.
Born-Again Christians often make horrible businesspeople. I would not go to work for one. And thanks to careful planning, I don't have to.
The main management company out of Idaho was full of them too, that is why they keep hiring underlings that are christians. I was one of the few that was not Christian. I warned them about this last family they hired but they failed to listen and now they are paying for it. This manager and her huband are nothing but gypsies and con artists, they finally ended up getting me fired but John from the Management Company out of Idaho still emails me weekly to check up on how I am doing and to ask my adivce.
I think there is a concerted effort to "defund' the left by working their way into the human resources positions of companies in the town they want to take over then hiring wingnuts exclusively. The mormons did this to the local mining industy in the 80's and 90's and now the born agains are doing it to the rest of the jobs. I applied at one mine and was told they found other people who were better qualified for the position of underground Equipment Operator, I have over 20 years mining experience, a college education, my mine foreman/mine examiner papers and shot fire papers. The two people that beat me out for the job were both mormons with no experience, one worked two days underground then said the trona caused a skin rash so they moved him to the surface, the other worked a week then filed a comp claim on a back injury. They then called me and I told them to shove the job up their ass.
Bodydouble - I agree. The more a person runs around professing Christ as their saviour and saying things like "praise the Lord" the deeper their problems are - in my experience.
I am offended if someone asks me if I have been saved. I usually retort - "Are you saved?...How's that working out for you? My Religion is a personal issue for me and my business alone.
Bible bashers - Don't need em - Don't want em.
Regarding the article....Of course they ask questions they are not supposed to...who is going to stop them? When companies can legally pre-employment test you for tobacco use ( legal products ) or not hire you or even fire you for being overweight (they will never tell you ).....where is this leading us?
Another way not to be discriminated against is not to fill out on the employment application where it asks, "What are your hobbies." You'd be surprised how many biases there are in that section alone. When I used to study music I got denied two jobs in a row when I put down that I was studying voice and piano. On that basis I was told that I would be going "up to fame" and wouldn't need their job is why they didn't hire me. On the third job interview, I put nothing in the space asking about hobbies and I got the job. The only thing I've been able to do about as far as a music career goes is that I sing with a church choir. That's as far as I've gotten with music and we don't get paid.
Another thing that should be illegal is employers asking for your Facebook passwords to spy on your personal business. There is a bill pending in Congress right now to make this illegal for employers to be demanding your passwords on any social media.
I'd tell them that I didn't have one. If I were looking for a job, I'd probably take down my facebook page until I found a job.
That's if your Facebook page was even in your real name.
Interestingly, I'm living on the other side of the world now in a country where companies routinely advertise for staff of a certain age, gender, and race -- this is very common. The resumes that I get on my desk not only have photos (something I never saw as a manager in the US), but age, religion, and other personal information that would not make it onto an American CV. In a way, it's disturbing and rubs me the wrong way, but in another way, it's a refreshing change. They're openly racist and sexist here. We are too (Americans), we just hide it and skirt around it. I don't endorse it or condemn it, I just think it's interesting to observe -- as someone who has had the chance to live and work in two very different cultures.
But the real question is, should you answer those types of questions? Is it OK to tell that prospective employer that the question is inappropriate and that you will not answer it? Would you then have a legal case for discrimination if the employer ended the interview?
I was in a panel interview for a .org (ironically, a risk science/innovation company) and was asked by the Director who I was voting for (in the last presidential election). Several people on the panel gasped when he asked this. I squirmed, but then told him that voting booths are private for a reason. He didn't look too happy with my response. He later asked if I had children, where I lived, if I was married, how old I was, and re-asked me the voting question. I had to ask myself, if he was willing to skirt the line on these issues, what other ethics would he willingly violate? I decided then and there he wasn't worth any more of my time.
I was denied a concierge job because they wanted to hire family type workers. I was married but didn't have any kids, so I didn't fit the profile they were looking for. They actually told me this in the interview - wish I had recorded it!
You don't want to work for a place that would ask these questions, so it's better to just get up and leave.
I was asked during an interview a long time ago what my view was on abortion. I was totally shocked. On another interview I was asked, point blank, if I had any children.
Another bias is when companies make you take a 'personailty profile' as part of the initial hire process, before you even talk with a human. You know the ones that ask you about stealing and such. These 'tests' are so outdated that an employer would easily reject a candidate for being honest about stealing pens, paperclips and whatever else, but they never ask about stealing time from the company, like spending time on business hours surfing the web, etc. That is a MUCH greater 'theft' from the company in pure dollars and is completely not accounted for in those 'tests.' Companies should wise up and realize that the business world has evolved past those sorts of tests and that seriously, who is going to admit to stealing in any case...???
I got laid off from my real job 3 years ago since then I have been working temp, part-time, seasonal or per-diem work all dead end work with no future. At the moment I have nothing and no income and recently took a very demoralizing step by applying for food stamps. I am 49, in great health and have been in the work force, in several industries since I was 13. I've never felt so defeated than I do now. Back in March I went on an interview at a small biotech company close to my home, which was great because my car had recently died and needed an engine which I can't afford to fix. The job was for a manufacturing position which I was very qualified for. I had a 1 hour phone interview with the Dir. of Operations, I had impressed her enough to move to the next stage which was a face to face with several people. What was supposed to be 2 hours ended up being over 4, which I took as a positive sign. One person I interviewed with was the CFO, for a guy with a high position he was not very good at interviewing as most of the questions he asked were more directed to someone in finance not a machine operator, he also questioned MY loyalty regarding several positions I have held over the last 3 years, seasonal, temp and part-time. The last person I interviewed with was a guy I would have been working along side off, he seemed like a nice guy, much older than me but it was one question that really brought me down. I was at one time a prison guard (corrections officer) for 12 years, I resigned 11 years ago to move to another state and also decided it was time for a new career. I was offered a promotion to stay but it was time to move on. The interview seemed like it was going good until he asked me this question " I see that you were a corrections officer at one time"? I said yes, for 12 years, moved up here 11 years ago. He then asked " does that mean if you get mad or don't get your way you are going to beat somebody up? I was in shock and really didn't know how to answer him. I told him my job was to calm situations, but I got the feeling that this guy was very intimidated by my background and size, I'm 6'4" 250lb competitive runner and cyclist. I thought it was a very unprofessional and inapropriate question, although not illegal. when I got home I was going email the Dir-Of Operations to take me out of the running as I thought that maybe the company would not be a very good fit for me as i don't want to be associated with insecure people that are intimidated by me. But because I was desperate for work I let it go and decided to wait and see if I got called back. I did send everyone a hand written thank you note but got a rejection email 2 weeks later.
At least you got an interview. I've been having trouble getting that far! I had to interview with three different people just for a part-time restaurant / bistro position at an LAX hotel, only to be told, "If we don't need you for the full shift, you WILL be sent home." And "home" at the time was a 40-minute drive away through heavy traffic.
Maybe if we didn't have 11-20+ million illegal immigrants taking our jobs and causing our wages to be lowered, we would all do better.
Jose and Maria are not just taking fruit picking jobs. They are taking YOUR jobs and while they do, you all are paying for their kids to go to school so they can compete with YOUR children for jobs later.
Americans are stupid and weak............
250 pound competive runner? Yeah, OK.
I have been saying for years to anyone that used the excuse that "illegals do the work that no - one wants to do" the answer of "Yeah - like drywall and concrete and roofing and framing and landscape jobs" ( all things I have had to stop doing because you can't make a living wage anymore).
I say to them that if the illegals were taking the police and fireman and teacher and nurse and mid level manager jobs - I guess you'd be ok with that?
I am not living in illegal barracks style homes sharing communal meals sending my money back to a third world country with the intention of leaving someday...I am trying to live HERE and PAY TAXES and enjoy the priveledge of Citizenship while contributing to our society.
I don't blame the illegals for wanting to come here. But, don't they have their own Countries? I can't help but think that if they work as hard in their own Countries as they do here that those Countries would improve and they would'nt want to come here anymore?
We have a legal immagration process. It should be respected. By disregarding it and coming here anyways - in my eyes that makes them a criminal. We have enough criminals already.
It is past time for the laws on the books that it is illegal to hire illegals to be enforced. If the Companies that hire them are found guilty and fined more than the money they save by not hiring legal citizens - then I doubt we would have a illegal immigrant problem anymore.
Politicians won't do what the will of the people is because they fear losing the Latino votes. ( there are many non - latin illegals as well ) This is a riduculous situation that needs to be resolved.
What about jobs that locate themselves in newly developed business parks so new they arent in GPS or on a map? Usually located far away from a bus line & in an area soo expensive only & offering part time @ low wages so only wealthy white students take their jobs. Not illegal but it happens.
Simply answer "NOYDB" and move on to the next question. When asked by the interviewer why you answered in such a manner, repeat the question to him or her and see how they like it. Ask questions about their mom. Ask about anything that doesn't relate to the job requirements. Turnabout is fair play.
BTW? For those who can't figure it out, it means "NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS".
You're welcome.
My company will only hire military vets. They are disciplined, have already demonstrated a good work ethic and a commitment to duty and appreciate a good job. Among vets you can find a wide range of skills and in those rare instances we will pay to provide additional training.
I'm a veteran (served two times in the Navy), but my experience (as a photographer / media specialist) and my higher education (B.A. in English plus additional college courses) isn't something that companies exactly jump at... even though my last full-time job put my worth at $16/hour (later, $17/hour part-time) due to my exceptional abilities.
I've been to veterans job fairs, resumes in hand, only to find that the positions being offered want security clearances (my Secret clearance ran out some seven years ago), engineering experience, etc.
So all the discipline, good work ethic, commitment to duty, attention to detail and clean-nose living (never been arrested or in court for myself or anyone, no addictions, no history of disciplinary or anger management issues, no history of drug use, no drinking, etc.)... these matter for nothing.
It seems that if I was an alcoholic engineer with ten kids on welfare and a history of violence, then I could find work with companies looking to hire veterans!
You can ask the question... but, you can't use the response as part of the hiring decision... Give me a break... if the response is not going to be part of the hiring decision, then there is no reason to even ask the question... Asking the question should, in and of itself, be illegal...
My three favorite job interview questions:
1. "Do you have any problems working for a woman?" The interviewer was a woman. I was later told that her question was inappropriate, unless she also asked female applicants the same question.
2. When applying for a job at a cheese cake company, I was asked: "Why do you want to devote your life to cheesecake?" (I laughed and didn't get the job.)
3. A psychological profile (no win) test question given by a county sheriff's dept: "If you wanted to murder someone, would you use a gun or a knife?"
How about someone that asked "Why should we hire you"? I'm thinking do I need to make up fictional stuff or should I say "I suck & totally unqualified for this job". Sometimes its no right or wrong answer but how you respond. Alot of times when they ask stupid questions they have no intention of filling the position & some companies advertise endlessly just to claim a tax credit. Hundreds of interviews & years later not a single person hired. But numerous tax credits for advertising!
If you are being asked too many questions in an employment interview that make you uncomfortable/give you the impression they are discriminating in some way and not just looking at your skillset and seeing if you would fit the position and company or not; then YOU also have every right to end the interview, get up and LEAVE. They are likely walking a very fine line legally. (You can also report them afterwards if you feel they are in fact discriminating.)
Why on earth would you even want to work somewhere that made you that uncomfortable about your personal life in the job interview? Okay, they may be within their "legal rights" to ASK such questions, but you are not at all obligated to discuss your religion, race, family life, etc. in an employment interview. You can also ask them why they need to know this information that was possibly not in their advertised job description. If their answer doesn't make sense to you, then GET UP AND LEAVE. And if it makes you feel better, TELL the interviewer you are not interested in working somewhere that discriminates against _____. And DO report them.
You have a skillset that you are also selling to a prospective employer and your ability to be a good fit for that company/employer. It doesn't matter if it is a fast food restaurant or a 5-star chef postition for example. Everyone has skills and someone somewhere needs your skillset. You have ____skills; You are valuable to someone somewhere, so you have the Ace. (They are also "in need" or would not be advertising for someone to work there.)
In other words, you too can say no. There are many more fish in the sea; keep looking, listen to your instincts about the prospective employer too (which may well be crooked and/or in trouble of some kind) and stay positive!
(And down the road one day when you are working somewhere that respects you for what you accomplish on that job, regardless of your race, religion, family ties, etc -- you can sigh with relief that you didn't try to go to work for that "other company" which is now under investigation, letting workers go, going bankrupt....)
Imagine trying to apply for a job when you have a service dog. Just about a guarantee you're not going to get it.
Excuse me, Hooters can't advertise for female waitresses? And the list of "sex" specific jobs goes on. What a PC world we live in.
Hooters has been sued before for only hiring attractive, female servers. Or for not stocking plus-size uniforms, etc.
Usually they just quietly don't hire people who don't match their image. No reason given. You can't sue for discrimination, even if it's bloody obvious, unless they say flat-out that that is the reason they're not hiring you. And they're not stupid enough to do that.
But occasionally a server will gain weight or get pregnant while she's working there, and has a legitimate claim if they try to require her to lose weight or shuffle her into a different job while pregnant.
Earth to Bill from Oregon.........I believe Hooteres does employ men for other jobs. And if you are a guy and want to dress in those clothes then knock yourself out.
I'm most obviously pregnant right now and wonder if this will hinder my chances of landing a job if I can land an interview.
My spouse thinks me showing is a way to "test" the employer; if they hire me when I'm pregnant (thereby knowing I'll be taking 6-8 weeks off soon) then they are likely an employer who I want to be working for.
Any job I can land is a step forward from where I'm at.
It seems to me that if they are going to ask inappropriate questions, tell them so. Don't let the interviewer off the hook, take his name. Write it down. Make him wonder if he's going to be reported. Sure you won't be hired, but you probably weren't going to be hired anyway if your religion isn't the "right one". But, don't let it slide. Make them accountable and always wondering if they are overstepping the line, because they are.