Hey. Take it from a former HR person⦠this goes double right now.
I just spent some time putting in some job applications myself (not for HR, lol) and got about 15 interviews. And idk if itβs because of COVID uncertainty or if places just donβt fucking care anymore because they know people are desperate for work, but the amount of straight up illegal shitΒ my interviewers asked me was appalling.
(Thatβs not even counting the questions that were technicallyΒ legal but clearly fishing for information theyβre not legally allowed to ask.)
A tame example? Two questions into a phone interview, the guy on the other end of the line asked:Β βHow old are you?β
I saidΒ βExcuse me?β - giving him a chance to rethink that.
He didnβt.Β βHow old are you?β
βSir, you are not allowed to ask me that question.β
βWell, I want to know. Iβm asking.β
βAnd youβre legally not allowed to ask me that. Iβm not required to tell you my age.β
At that point, I guess he managed to remember an old HR bulletin or something (I hope to god he wasnβt actually HR himself), and he said,Β βWell, I need to know if youβre over the age of 18.β (Which is what he should have asked in the first placeβ¦ or not, since that was in the application that he could have read.)
βYes. Iβm over the age of 18.βΒ
And we moved on. Two questions later, he tried another illegal question. I called him on it again and ended the interview, citing that a workplace with such a clear disregard for the law, especially upon first contact with a potential employee, was not going to be a good fit. (They offered me the job anyway, lol. I didnβt send a thank-you or a response.)
At a different interview, the majority of questions wereΒ βfishingβ questions - just looking for that info theyβre not actually allowed to ask. (This person was also either not really HR or an HR person who was exceptionally bad at their job.)
I could tell they were getting frustrated when I dodged answering the personal stuff, and they actually got extremelyΒ upset when I mentioned later in the interview (re: less relevant work experience) I had worked in HR. They were super flustered for the remainder of our time, and I watched them skip over questions on their sheet they had clearly planned on asking. They KNEW they were being sketchy and were counting on me not knowing anything about HR - or my rights - and so they got upset when I did.
These were super tameΒ examples. Iβm begging you, if youβre job searching right now, PLEASEΒ know your rights. Please know what interviewers are allowed to ask.
Please donβt volunteer information or elaborate more than youβre required to about personal things. Save your words (and everyoneβs time) by elaborating why youβre good for the position/what you can do.
I may create a resource list on this shit later but PLEASE PLEASE KNOW THIS STUFF BEFORE YOU TALK TO AN EMPLOYER. This goes for anywhere youβre interviewing as well as your current employer. This also goes for HR. HR may be the person you go to when shitty stuff happens, but that doesnβt mean theyβre your friend (or competent).
They donβt need to know your age (beyond 16+, 18+, or 21+, depending on the job). They donβt need to know your medical history. (For the love of god, do NOT answer theΒ βhave you been diagnosed with depression?β question.) They donβt need to know if you have kids or whatever. They donβt need to know a LOT of those things that may appear on an application, including your veteran status, whether youβre on/have been on unemployment, etc. Theyβre not entitled to know specifics about your transportation (unless youβre using that transportation for the job, like Uber/delivery drivers). Look this up for your state/the jobβs state.
Beware questions likeΒ βWhat year did you graduate?β if youβre like me and donβt put dates on your resume (I just put amount of time spent at employers, not dates of employment). Theyβre fishing for your age. Itβs βOh, you know, 100 years ago,β if you feel comfortable making a joke, orΒ βAbout [generic number, like 5 or 10] years agoβ if not.
Also beware things like theΒ βWhat do you do in your free time?β question, even if you already work there. This is not a friendly getting-to-know-you question. This is a basis for judgement. Not up to an invisible standard? Theyβre going to be biased against you for pay raises, promotions, etc. Mention kids/lots of family/social engagements? Thatβs a tick against you for not being the kind of person who lives to work (yes, itβs gross and stupid). Mention lots of solitary things? Cool, thatβs their mental note to ask more from you because youβreΒ βnot doing anything anyway.β By all means, be friendly with your coworkers/talk about shared interests if you want, but it is noneΒ of your bossβs business, and be aware what could get back to them.Β
Donβt. Tell. Employers. Shit.
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