Being asked what your parents do for a living in interview

[Anonymous]

BTW the point of an Executive Search firm is to ask the questions companies can’t ask.

For instance I interviewed in Florida a Family run bank with 3rd generation CEO in a small town in Florida where bank was the cornerstone of community and had very Christian and conservative values. However they were growing bigger and more complex and wanted someone from big prestigious financial services company in New York City to relocate there.

The “wives” would be attending Board meeting offsites, picnics, community events even kids would be interacting each other. So the executive search firm did the digging.

My wife and kids thought it was funny all the questions the executive recruiter in NYC asking after my in person interview at their firm.

Well they flew me to Florida and my wife and three kids went too as mandatory they wined and dined us. Did not get job. But it really was a culture fit thing it was for the best. So thry ask for a reason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My European Firm their regulator likes Diversity and they get credit for hiring staff whose parents did not attend college. So a plus if parents are uneducated.

I interviewed a sales job selling investments to the rich and I was required to give them a network of 100 possible people to sell to. I had none so rich parents from Harvard would of been a plus

That was not an interview question, that was Rolodex harvesting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s trying to figure out how wealthy your family is and make an inference (not sure in which direction; you can’t tell with people like this) about your kid’s work ethic and discipline.

I don't think parents jobs infer about the person's work ethic and discipline at all. It just means that they have connections to certain people that may be beneficial for networking or business development cases. Some of the most successful law partners and financial executives come from humble backgrounds, went to their public flagship, and grind because they don't have that family wealth to fall back on. Completely inappropriate question, but class is not protected. If the interviewer was smart, they would have looked at the kid's LinkedIn and seen class indicators.

I agree with what you said but do not understand the LinkedIn part. How do you see class indicators from someone’s LinkedIn? I certainly can’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s trying to figure out how wealthy your family is and make an inference (not sure in which direction; you can’t tell with people like this) about your kid’s work ethic and discipline.

I don't think parents jobs infer about the person's work ethic and discipline at all. It just means that they have connections to certain people that may be beneficial for networking or business development cases. Some of the most successful law partners and financial executives come from humble backgrounds, went to their public flagship, and grind because they don't have that family wealth to fall back on. Completely inappropriate question, but class is not protected. If the interviewer was smart, they would have looked at the kid's LinkedIn and seen class indicators.

I agree with what you said but do not understand the LinkedIn part. How do you see class indicators from someone’s LinkedIn? I certainly can’t.

DP. Some people put their high school. College name is a partial clue. What people write about, what companies they follow, who their contacts are. Self-presentation (pictures, including the design of the banner). Based on last name, you may be able to find their parents or spouse.

It can be a bit like looking at someone's Facebook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Executive search firms in industries like financial services, if it's a firm that hires a lot of young female grads with no actually experience in financial services, are basically brothels.

No, the brothels are the investor relations departments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s trying to figure out how wealthy your family is and make an inference (not sure in which direction; you can’t tell with people like this) about your kid’s work ethic and discipline.

I don't think parents jobs infer about the person's work ethic and discipline at all. It just means that they have connections to certain people that may be beneficial for networking or business development cases. Some of the most successful law partners and financial executives come from humble backgrounds, went to their public flagship, and grind because they don't have that family wealth to fall back on. Completely inappropriate question, but class is not protected. If the interviewer was smart, they would have looked at the kid's LinkedIn and seen class indicators.

I agree with what you said but do not understand the LinkedIn part. How do you see class indicators from someone’s LinkedIn? I certainly can’t.

It's common for younger grads to have their high schools. Other examples could be club lacrosse team, KKG sorority, NOLS course, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It could be about networks.
Let's face it, most companies have something or some service to sell. The competent employees who can also make rain are going to trump the merely competent employee.

As a child of a livery driver and seamstress, it took me a pitifully long time to learn this about the corporate world. It didn't matter how hard I might work nor how talented I am. The guy who doesn't want to work hard but who's father is on the Board of a major company that might become a client is going to be offered the job over me.

Must you use the word trump in your reply? I am not joking.

NP and language lover here. That word is sadly ruined for me and I try other ways of stating the same meaning!
It's incredibly unfair but there you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s trying to figure out how wealthy your family is and make an inference (not sure in which direction; you can’t tell with people like this) about your kid’s work ethic and discipline.

I don't think parents jobs infer about the person's work ethic and discipline at all. It just means that they have connections to certain people that may be beneficial for networking or business development cases. Some of the most successful law partners and financial executives come from humble backgrounds, went to their public flagship, and grind because they don't have that family wealth to fall back on. Completely inappropriate question, but class is not protected. If the interviewer was smart, they would have looked at the kid's LinkedIn and seen class indicators.

I agree with what you said but do not understand the LinkedIn part. How do you see class indicators from someone’s LinkedIn? I certainly can’t.

High school and internships/fellowships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s trying to figure out how wealthy your family is and make an inference (not sure in which direction; you can’t tell with people like this) about your kid’s work ethic and discipline.

Nope. It's to determine what high net worth people you have access to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD interviewed at an executive search firm for a post-grad job recently.

She had a phone screen and then went into their office for in-person interview. Head of HR’s questions were all personal and nothing related to the role or behavioral or her experience in internships. One that turned her off particularly was “what do your parents do”. She found it very insensitive and classist. I’m a teacher and my husband is a small business owner living comfortable upper middle class but not “rich” lives. Also was probing her on what her siblings do and where they live aka do her parents bankroll their life with a shiny post-grad apartment.

How legal is this? I find it very unfair but maybe because I’m not in corporate I’m not used to these kind of scenarios.

By any chance did she list an Associate’s Degree on her resume?

OP here. She is graduating with her Bachelor's degree this May.

[Anonymous]

This is when your is supposed to lie. Tell the interviewer what they want to hear.

Good lesson for your kid to learn now.

[Anonymous]

I actually was on an interview panel today. Government not corporate. We are not allowed to ask questions like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually was on an interview panel today. Government not corporate. We are not allowed to ask questions like that.

I am not allowed to ask questions like that either. But interviewing I noticed some firm the person doing interview will open up about themselves. For instance they are married, have kids, where they grew up, hobbies, what their spouse does for a living.

Then they throw in tell me about yourself. They did not ask. Now you are in situation you don't share which is weird, or you do share which can also be weird.

Tell me about yourself when asked first you are purely business.

But when inteview and women doing interview said I will say a little about me, I have two girls, I am a swim Mom, I grew up on Long Island, my husband worked at Lehman Brothers when it went under we ended up moving to DC he got a job at Freddie Mac, we moved here and I was a SAHM for 2-3 years as girls young now back at work. Moving here was great my girlsg o to BCC and we live Chevy Chase and are active in community. We go to Rehoboth a lot in the Summer where we have a beach house and so on and so on.

Then you get well tell me about yourself? How do you answer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD interviewed at an executive search firm for a post-grad job recently.

She had a phone screen and then went into their office for in-person interview. Head of HR’s questions were all personal and nothing related to the role or behavioral or her experience in internships. One that turned her off particularly was “what do your parents do”. She found it very insensitive and classist. I’m a teacher and my husband is a small business owner living comfortable upper middle class but not “rich” lives. Also was probing her on what her siblings do and where they live aka do her parents bankroll their life with a shiny post-grad apartment.

How legal is this? I find it very unfair but maybe because I’m not in corporate I’m not used to these kind of scenarios.

I don’t think it’s illegal although it’s not something I’d ever ask. I have had interns/entry level candidates mention voluntarily that their parents worked the same job they were trying to get at and that they understand the nature of the job duties/that made them more interested in working for us etc. and I wouldn’t take it negatively if someone’s parents did not work in our industry.

[Anonymous]

Super nosy and inappropriate.