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Do surveys on a website count as job interviews?
Xix
Miami/LosAngeles/MoscowRegistered User regular
Miami/LosAngeles/MoscowRegistered User regular
If a company says they're hiring for some position on their website, and to apply you have to fill out a couple questions in order to get contacted, does that count as a "job interview"?
I ask because if a company is doing stuff like filtering out candidates based on their answers to some questions, isn't this a form of discrimination that could be illegal? The questions aren't related to age, race, orientation stuff like that- they're personality type questions not really related to a specific job or skills. I guess the goal is to find if someone is a good fit for the company culture or a clear thinker. Isn't this super illegal since there are questions like this you can't ask in an interview?
I ask because if a company is doing stuff like filtering out candidates based on their answers to some questions, isn't this a form of discrimination that could be illegal? The questions aren't related to age, race, orientation stuff like that- they're personality type questions not really related to a specific job or skills. I guess the goal is to find if someone is a good fit for the company culture or a clear thinker. Isn't this super illegal since there are questions like this you can't ask in an interview?
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Trying to find out if you're going to play well with others is a legitimate part of the hiring process.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Other stuff that may not be illegal but best avoided are things like, "Do you have a car?" when what they should be asking is, "Can you arrive at work on time?". Subtle difference but avoids possible issues.
I think you'll need to get pretty specific to be discrimination. You absolutely can ask questions based on personality. What's a time you displayed leadership? What happens when you had conflict in the workplace? How did you resolve it?
To you, what's the offending question? Like @MichaelLC shows above, you can get pretty close but not cross the line.
Unless the answers are like "The Torah" or "Ave Maria" and even then probably not.
If it's not religion, race, age, national origin, gender (and maybe sexual orientation) you have nothing. Even if they ask questions that only edge into those areas you only have the very glimmer of a case, probably not enough to pursue unless you're Captain Justice and independently wealthy.
Open-ended questions such as you provided are an opportunity for you to give a non-canned response that might connect you with the hirer. It is there to provide a point of reference to include you, not to exclude you. In the past 10-12 years or so we've had so many applicants to any position that we ask questions to illicit answers where we hope to find respondents who make us think "that's interesting".
Just to clarify you meant "elicit" there. "illicit" would have a very different meaning that still fits the context of this conversation. :P
Well, we don't what job they were applying for...
"Rate your grip strength: [] Very Light [] Light [] Medium [] Strong [] Very Strong"
Is this a "personality" type job? These seem like basic questions just meant to give you a chance to show some personality, something to make your application stand out from the hundred or so other resumes and cover letters that all probably say the exact same thing.
Think of it this way. If it was shared office position in HR with four 50+ women, you puting down you like Death Metal, you may not be the best fit. The opposite is true too. If it's a young helpdesk IT position and you say you like Easy listening while Drum and Bass is played at work, your going to have some conflict.
What is the last book you read:
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". It totally wasn't 50 Shades of Gray
I'm part of an IT department, and we all constantly work closely together. We recently hired two new programmers to join the team. All of us are rather sarcastic and quick to toss jokes at each others expense in good humor. We all know that no insult is intended, and we all both give and take our lumps. Its part of our team bonding experience. We are also all very independent go getters capable of jumping on issues before anyone else knows they exist and who know how to put our heads down when things blow up, stay cool in the crisis, and get things done fast.
As such, personality assessments were critical in the hiring of the two new people for our team. Someone who is sensitive and works at a slow pace would be crushed in our environment. They could be the best programmers in the world, but if they couldn't get along with the rest of the team, they'd probably end up quickly driven away. And we do use books and movies to judge people. If someone writes down "Monty Python" and "Lord of the Rings" they're far more likely to get a serious interview than someone who writes down "American Idol" and "Atlus Shrugged" because the first set fits in with our team more than the second.
1) If you have to ask, then you need to consult with the company lawyer.
2) If you don't have to ask, then there are much better ways to get at what you want to know, without any of the inherent legal risks of asking those types of questions, not to mention all on record.
It's actionable discrimination if you decide not to hire somebody on the basis of their religion. HR departments are generally told not to ask those questions because they can be interpreted as circumstantial evidence of employment discrimination, not because there is a list of "forbidden questions" somewhere, that, if you are asked them in an interview, you can call the discrimination police and have your interviewer hauled off in chains.
You appear to be filling out an application, but other people in the thread have assumed you are on the hiring side of the equation. If the latter is true somehow, go talk to your company's L&E atty for guidance.