Being asked what your parents do for a living in interview

[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.