Dumb employment interview questions.

I'll go one better -- I worked at a family-owned daily (at the time around 25K circulation) that allowed only one person in the newsroom to use the copier, the editor ... guy was nothing but a glorified clerk ...

 

Commonplace.

Right now, I am in a clearance process for a federal job. One of the forms I have to fill out asks me international travel over the last 10 years - people I met, my itinerary and where I stayed.

Do I remember where I stayed in Glasgow in 2005 or New Delhi in 2006? Uh, no.

I interviewed with an attorney who asked me pretty much all the illegal ones -- religion, marital status, etc.

In one with USAid, I was asked if I had been asked and funded by my armed forces supervisor to build a well in an Afghan city that ran on some power supply but had no long-term source of whatever power supply it was what I would tell the commander. (Much longer and convoluted than that.)

 

I don't work for the government, but I work with the government and I had to pass a pretty extensive clearance process.

I got a call from my roommate, who I lived with a good decade before I got this job and he said, "Hey, I have no problem being a reference, just give me a heads up." I had never put his name down in any capacity. It wasn't a factor, he is also one of my best friends, but I was pretty surprised how extensive they were. I didn't feel like they violated my privacy, but I was surprised at how thorough they were.

 

I think my favorite (second-hand) question was one a buddy was asked when trying to land a newspaper job out of college. He was engaged to a Hispanic woman, and so he decided to join the Hispanic Journalists Association (or whatever it's called). He figured he'd put it on his resume and get his foot in the door a lot quicker if they think he's a minority.

Anyway, he's in one interview and the person looks down at the resume, looks back up at him and mentions it, asking if he's Hispanic because he doesn't look Hispanic and doesn't have a Hispanic last name. My friend's response: "I'll answer that after you tell me what your company's policy is on asking illegal interview questions?"

Obviously he didn't get that job.

 

Is your mother a prostitute?

 

We're still trying to figure that out.

 

Isn't "HR moron" redundant?

 

when I was just getting started in TV, I asked a news director where the last two people who had the job I was interviewing for ended up so that I could get a sense of advancement. What I got was a lecture from her on how there was too much of a revolving door as it was and they didn't want to hire someone who was just looking to make the next jump. Two weeks later I read that she was on her way to another station.

When I made the jump to print, an SE asked me if I was seeing someone. It turned out the guy I replaced was married and the SE didn't like the idea of having someone who didn't want to work a 60-hour week because of some woman waiting at home.

 

Yeah, and if you want to work at a church, they ask your religious beliefs.

 

That would weed me out in two seconds flat. When the interview, or application, process gets that involved, there damn well better be some connection to the type of work I'm applying for.

 

It's a known fact that family stuff can get in the way. It's a single person's business.

I was on a two-person desk with a married guy (I'm single) and I switched several shifts with him because he wanted certain days off for family stuff. I was Ok with switching. But I did say, please understand that YOUR family reasons for wanting such-and-such time off are no more significant than MY single reasons for wanting a certain shift off.