Anyone who has ever been interviewed for a job position can relate to the amount of stress and psychological pressure connected to the situation. Therefore, doesn’t it seem unfair for companies to further distress their candidates by asking unanticipated questions about their personal life?
Susan Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal Blog certainly believes so. In her post, she regards simple questions relating to a candidate’s past history, such as: “When did you graduate from high school?” and “Are you currently using birth control?” as discriminatory questions that are too personal.
Although these types of questions may trigger some discomfort in the candidates, my personal opinion is that job interviewers have every right to this knowledge, as the applicants are in line to work at that organization for a potentially lengthy period of time. Consequently, Shellenbarger must sympathize for businesses, as they are most likely interested in hiring employees that provide the best fit, and least likely to cause internal problems in the organization. As long as questions are relevant to providing a better understanding of a candidate’s ability to do what is expected of them, companies should have the right to ask those kind of questions.
Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2010/09/13/when-job-interview-questions-become-too-personal/