Hiring Managers: Things You "Judge"

[Anonymous]

The laziest person on our team who has trouble making it in and always has weather/transport/etc excuses and mysterious illnesses literally lives down the street...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't put your address on your resume. While I shouldn't factor that in, I do wonder if the applicant is going to have commute issues.

I also wouldn't volunteer anything about your family life.

100+ do not put an address on your resume. Not only might people judge the distance but your neighborhood too. As a person of color, I try to remove anything that might trigger bias.

Just curious, as I'm another person of color thinking about testing this, but how do you handle the cover letter?

[Anonymous]

I don't ask any questions about their commute, but I do let them know that we have core hours of 10-3 and ask if that will be an issue for them. I also explain that core hours mean that you have to be in the office during those hours because a lot of people don't know that. Lunch not included, of course.

Obviously, I don't ever bring up kids as it's not legal, but most people I'm interviewing bring up their kids. If I'm asking questions about you, your interests, etc. and your only answers are kid related, it can be a red flag. It's best to not mention kids/family or even if you have a nanny during your first interview at all. Stick to just information about you and your skills.

I personally don't care about tattoos, fun color hair, body modifications (and there are NO rules prohibiting these in our office), but I have some older coworkers who do and will pretty much mentally write off those candidates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The laziest person on our team who has trouble making it in and always has weather/transport/etc excuses and mysterious illnesses literally lives down the street...

This is my experience too. I think the people who live close to work don't plan for traffic/weather because they aren't used to a commute, so when it happens, they are a hot mess. The person who lives in Ashburn knows that a rainy day or a really sunny day WILL affect the commute so they are always prepared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't put your address on your resume. While I shouldn't factor that in, I do wonder if the applicant is going to have commute issues.

I also wouldn't volunteer anything about your family life.

100+ do not put an address on your resume. Not only might people judge the distance but your neighborhood too. As a person of color, I try to remove anything that might trigger bias.

Just curious, as I'm another person of color thinking about testing this, but how do you handle the cover letter?

Don't go the PO Box route. I know a coworker who skips PO Box candidates because she feels like they're trying to hide something. I've tried to explain to her that some people live in the country where a PO Box is a must, but she doesn't believe those types of people exist in the DMV. I've also explained that sometimes people who share a house with several others will get a PO Box to ensure they get their mail. To this she says, "sounds like they're still living the frat mentality and wouldn't be good employees anyway." She's in her late 50s/early 60s and needs to retire because we lose so many good candidates to her backwards thinking.

[Anonymous]

As a woman, I wouldn't talk about my kids during a job interview. They aren't supposed to discriminate on that basis, but they almost certainly will.

[Anonymous]

I’m 35 and I agree with your coworker about the PO Box, based on my experience on our hiring committee.

[Anonymous]

I judge based on distance from the job as well as crazy email addresses. Yes, believe it or not some people put their ridiculous email addresses on their resumes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a woman, I wouldn't talk about my kids during a job interview. They aren't supposed to discriminate on that basis, but they almost certainly will.

I’m pretty sure my casual mention of my two young kids at home may have cost me the job so yes I won’t be mentioning that I have kids at all. Of course there is no way to know but it was such an awesome interview.

[Anonymous]

Do you think a man shouldn’t mention his kids either? I’m just curious because my DH is in the interview process and I tell him not to talk about our 1 year old twins. He doesn’t understand why that is an issue, but I just think don’t mention anything that may suggest your home life is somewhat busy and chaotic!!

[Anonymous]

I don't ask or care about commute. However, since we do IT support, I do ask whether they are willing and able to come in evenings or weekends if there is a problem. Doesn't happen too often (maybe a few times a year), but we want to make sure that everyone on staff can make it in in an emergency. I also ask whether their neighborhood is plowed regularly because occasionally these emergencies happen when there is snow on the road and someone needs to come in and get servers and systems back up so that those who are telework-ready can do so. I need to be able to call around and find at least one person who is available and I try not to have the same people have to come in every time (it's not fair that it is always the same people).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, it is illegal to discriminate based on familial status - it is prohibited by federal law. Anyone who is stupid enough to ask that question is opening themselves, and their company, up for a discrimination case if the person isn’t hired.

And which federal law would that be, that makes it illegal to discriminate based on family status?

I think this PP is getting Fair Employment and Fair Housing acts confused. It is prohibited by federal law to discriminate based on familial status in housing, e.g. when renting out housing.

[Anonymous]

What i don't get is if people discriminate based on where you live - why do they call you in for an interview in the first place? Seems like a waste of time and if your address is on the cover letter/resume, then they already know you're too far away for them (if they discriminate).

And I agree about not saying anything about your family in an interview. If questions come up like "what do you like to do in your spare time" or things like that - list your own hobbies - "I like to go hiking, reading, camping, whatever" Don't say "I have to drive my kids all over town for their after school activities."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The laziest person on our team who has trouble making it in and always has weather/transport/etc excuses and mysterious illnesses literally lives down the street...

This is my experience too. I think the people who live close to work don't plan for traffic/weather because they aren't used to a commute, so when it happens, they are a hot mess. The person who lives in Ashburn knows that a rainy day or a really sunny day WILL affect the commute so they are always prepared.

What surprised me was the tremendous number of people who are scared of bad weather, driving on the beltway (I've had two of these), etc. It's like if any tiny thing happens in their commute, they're incapable of getting to work and terrified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The laziest person on our team who has trouble making it in and always has weather/transport/etc excuses and mysterious illnesses literally lives down the street...

This is my experience too. I think the people who live close to work don't plan for traffic/weather because they aren't used to a commute, so when it happens, they are a hot mess. The person who lives in Ashburn knows that a rainy day or a really sunny day WILL affect the commute so they are always prepared.

What surprised me was the tremendous number of people who are scared of bad weather, driving on the beltway (I've had two of these), etc. It's like if any tiny thing happens in their commute, they're incapable of getting to work and terrified.

They're (legitimately) scared of other drivers! Sounds like you actually have smart workers who don't want to die.