Certain questions are illegal for interviewers to ask. How old are you? Are you married? Are you pregnant? Height? Weight? Do you have any disabilities? Which church do you belong to?
And then there are those questions that catch you off guard. You're not quite sure whether they are illegal, strange or just plain out there.
During one of my most recent interviews, I encountered a few ambiguous comments/questions. "Why haven't you found a job yet?" A few minutes after we started the interview, the employer said that I was well-spoken and that I had great experience, so, why hadn't I found a job yet? I asked for clarification in order to give myself a few seconds to wonder where this question was coming from. I said that the job market is pretty tight right now and there are fewer jobs than there are people looking for jobs. Competition is stiff. After thinking about it for a second, I started to take it personally. "What's wrong with me that I haven't found a job yet?"
We chatted a bit more, then came the shocker, "How are you surviving?" That was very strange. I've been unemployed for 5 months, so sure, one can wonder how we've survived this long on my husband's salary and my unemployment, but to actually be asked that question was very awkward. I asked for clarification again and he said, "How are you eating? How are you paying your mortgage?" Dumbstruck and in awe, I answered that we're very frugal. How would you answer a question like that?
The kicker was when they told me that I was over-qualified. I kind of knew that going into the interview, but I'm not one to turn down an interview. I challenged this statement with the fact that there are a lot of skills that are transferable between industries and job functions, blah, blah, blah...but to actually hear, "You're over-qualified." That just isn't nice.
You've probably guessed by now that I'm sharing this because I did NOT get the job. And I'm okay with that. What are some of the off-the-wall questions you've been asked and how have you answered (or not answered) them?
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I've been asked "How do you feel about your direct supervisor being younger than you?" That was a little shocking, because at the time, I was just in my late 20's. How much younger could they be? Did I come across as that much older? Thinking back, I'm wondering if this was inappropriate as it related to age discrimination.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how often illegal comments and questions happen. What is it with these people in management...it is like they never heard of the basics in employment laws. Well, here's my story if you care to read http://jessicabond.blogspot.com/2008/03/has-this-person-interviewed-you.html ,
ReplyDelete1. There is nothing wrong with you.
ReplyDelete2. People who have never been laid off in a wholesale downsizing are just... well... a bit clueless. It is not completely their fault that they have just been in the right place at the right time or just lucky enough to never have been exposed to the reality of today's employment environment. Although almost everybody I personally know in IT has been laid off at least once since 2000, there a still a ton of hiring managers in areas outside IT that really have no idea that it is often the top performers (who are often also the top earners) that are let go in massive layoffs. And that an unexpected change in employment can take a while to reverse. So, having never been exposed to this piece of the real world, these semi-clueless hiring managers (and some HR people) are justifiably nervous and truly don't understand how supply and demand in the labor market works. It may not be worth the time to try and truly educate them, but it is probably necessary to have an explanation for the gap in employment.
3. See my take on Overqualified at http://whojobseekers.blogspot.com/2009/04/o-word.html.