ENGL510 Foundations of Professional Communication
Week 5 Discussion
The Ethics of Interviewing
Job interviews can be very stressful. No matter how hard we may try to prepare, we may be faced with difficult or uncomfortable questions that we didn’t see coming. On the other hand, there are some questions that are not merely difficult, but illegal. As noted in Chapter 9 of our textbook, employers are typically prohibited from asking questions related to any of the following.
Sex
Age
Ethnicity
Sexual orientation
Religion
Marital status
Political views
Disability status
Although there are exceptions where such questions may be allowed, these are quite rare. However, employers are not always aware of these rules. Imagine that in the course of a job interview you have been asked an illegal question, such as one of the following.
Are you married?
What church do you attend?
How many children do you have?
Who did you vote for in the most recent election?
Where were you born?
You have a few possible options: responding to the question directly (“Yes, I am married”), refusing to answer (“That is an illegal question and I refuse to answer”), or responding indirectly (“My marital status will not affect my ability to do the job”). In your initial post, pick one of the questions and tell us how you would respond, and why. After your initial post, provide helpful feedback in responses to your fellow students.
