Comments on: 7 interview questions supervisors should never ask

By: L. Clem

L. Clem — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:47:47 +0000

i was asked to pray with clients during an interview and also told about bible study. The company I had applied to was not a “christian” company and this was my second interview. i was told that my sales skills were amazing and that they would be happy to have me, but the minute I said I would not feel comfortable praying with people, they changed their tune.

By: Wendy C.

Wendy C. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:41:35 +0000

Folks: IF IT IS NOT JOB RELATED — DON’T ASK.

By: Claire

Claire — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:13:45 +0000

How about saying, “I would be happy to answer this question (refrring to the inappropriate or illegal question) if you can describe how it relates to the job?

By: Linda

Linda — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:42:50 +0000

In response to Ellen’s posting, there are questions that can be asked to ascertain whether or not the employee can fill the requirements of the job without asking point-blank “Are you married?” or “Do you have plans to get pregnant?” V Mithe was correct in pointing out that basing hiring decisions on “assumptions” about the candidate is why we need all of these regulations in the first place.

Simply state what the requirements of the job are and ask the candidate if he/she can meet the requirements. If the job requires heavy lifting, state that the job requires frequent lifting of packages weighing 50# or more and ask if the person can do that? Don’t assume that the candidate can’t just because it’s a woman. Don’t assume that just because a woman has children that she cannot fill the travelling requirements for the job. State the requirements clearly, but don’t make assumptions or base your decision on stereotypes.

By: V. Mithe

V. Mithe — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:59:05 +0000

You may not realize it, but you just sited some of the reasons those questions are discriminatory. Employers cannot and should not assume that because someone is married with a family, it would cause a hardship if a job required travel. It can’t be assumed just because someone is not pregnant, that they can lift heavy weights.

I don’t think anyone agrees 100% with all of the laws, but there are clear reasons we need them. Besides, the job description should show job requirements (ie: lifting, travel, etc).

By: Ellen Richards

Ellen Richards — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:47:32 +0000

I realize that the law says you can’t discriminate against someone for age, marriage, sex, and a host of other variables, but I still don’t agree with it completely. There are some positions that can be affected one way or the other by a person’s status in one of these “nondiscriminately” conditions. If a position would involve having to be away from family for extensive periods of time, the employer deserves to know if that would create hardships on the employee that could effect his effectiveness on the job. If the position involves heavy lifting and physical activity, the employer should have the right to know if the employee may become pregnant and incapable of safely performing her work.
Why would anyone want to work for a company that would have discriminatory attitudes anyway? Both parties ought to be upfront with what they expect from each other before they are employed.

By: Janice Scherwitz

Janice Scherwitz — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:17:23 +0000

Hi Ellen
The reason you don’t ask these questions is because you cannot be discriminatory against someone because of their marital status or whether they have children, etc. You would not want a potential employer to assume that you were incapable of doing your job just because you were married. While I agree with you that there are too many regulations to follow, some of them came about because there was so much discrimination, especially when women began to join the workforce who were married, had kids, etc.

By: Ellen Richards

Ellen Richards — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:44:03 +0000

I guess that’s why I am not in HR. After a person is hired, it’s too late to find out if the person would not fit with the rest of the company. Doesn’t the employee have to fill out a deduction form for income tax, etc.? Why should it matter if the company asks if a person is married or not? If these questions are only asked after a person is hired, and then it creates a problem, how are you going to get rid of the employee? It would be better not to hire the person in the first place. In some situations, those kinds of questions may be necessary for the person to be fully qualified for the position. Frankly, I think the government has put too many restrictions on businesses. They ought to be able to hire and fire who they want. There is no consitutional right to work at a particular company.

By: Joseph V. Monaghan

Joseph V. Monaghan — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:18:06 +0000

Another thought about asking marital status during an interview; it can certainly be perceived as discriminatory when paying insurance premiums for single versus family coverage or maybe the interviewer thinks being single means the person being interviewed will be less responsible than a ‘family employee’…there are so many solid reasons why irrelevant questions should not be asked.

By: Joseph V. Monaghan

Joseph V. Monaghan — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:13:23 +0000

It is incredulous to think that some interviewers still ask irrelevant and discriminatory questions. It demonstrates the reason why HR must conduct training related to Managers and Supervisors, possibly hand out ‘do & don’t during the interview process’ and double check their employment applications to ensure marital etc. questions are not asked.
My guidance to managers is to qualify the individual, who has already been pre-screened by HR, as to how that individual will fit with the mission and values of the company. Assuming the individual meets the knowledge, skills and abilities required of the written job description, the training and certifications needed and the initial HR assessment resulting in a referral to the hiring manager, the questions that can be asked are limited; it is the managers perception of how the individual will fit and contribute that are most important to be asked by the manager.