Lara=
Please re-read the message that I was responding to, because the way in
which it was written implied that this interviewer WAS penalizing
candidates for speaking about their families.  Since then, Audra has
clarified her meaning and I believe that she only meant she penalized
candidates for introducing inappropriate information regarding thier
families into the interview.  But, now that I think about it, who has
decided exactly what is inappropriate.  I'm sure some topics are obvious
such as sexual behavior or preferences, but perhaps others may be
slightly controversial such as a child's chronic health problems that
may effect thier decisions or work habits.  What do you think?
Tracie


Lara Taylor wrote:

>Tracie-
>I don't think anyone is talking about penalizing a candidate for talking
>about their family--the issue is whether or not it is appropriate for an
>employer to ask questions about someone's family IN AN INTERVIEW SITUATION
>(i.e., for purposes of evaluation of the candidate).
>
>It is absolutely not discrimination for an employer to "penalize" someone
>they are interviewing for mentioning their family.  It completely depends
>on how "mentioning" your family fits into the conversation at hand.  Of
>course there are times when people will choose their family over a
>job--this is not the point of this thread.
>
>
>
>                      Tracie Kay Evans
>                      <[log in to unmask]>          To:      [log in to unmask]
>                      Sent by: Museum             cc:
>                      discussion list             Subject: Re: More on hiring, in general
>                      <[log in to unmask]
>                      .LSOFT.COM>
>
>
>                      02/08/2002 10:45 AM
>                      Please respond to
>                      Museum discussion
>                      list
>
>
>
>
>
>Audra-
>Am I correct in understanding that you penalize candidates who mention
>things about thier families? Excuse Me?  This is worse then asking in the
>first place. This is still discrimination! My family is important to me and
>does play a factor in my decisions and can sometimes be illustrative of my
>abilities and skills.
>
> I ususally bring up something about my family during my interview.  I want
>to see how the employer feels about families because whether we want to
>believe it or not, they impact who we are and what we do.  There will be
>times when you must choose your family over work and I want to know how the
>employer will reaction to this.  I will not choose between family and work,
>because to be honest my family is more important than any JOB! (Yes, I mean
>that, JOB.  Stop kidding ourselves, you can quibble all you want but any
>kind of employment is still a job.)
>
>That does not mean however that I advocate taking advantage of an employer
>because of your family, but I have been in situations that once hired I was
>told that if I left work for family reasons I would be written up. We had
>to make ALL arrangements for unexpected illnesses and injuries ahead of
>time. (Like its possible too) So now, I want to know, how they feel about
>my family and unexpected events.  I know what your are thinking, that's
>illegal, and it might well be but employers can make your life very
>difficult if they want to regarding your family and thier demands on your
>time.  I also want to see how flexible an employer is regarding school
>activities, doctors appointments, and other similar kinds of situations, do
>you have the ability to change your schedule if something you didn't know
>about comes up.
>
>
>Tracie
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Audra Oliver wrote:
>      "As an employer I think it reasonable to ask how an applicant's
>      spouse and/or family might react to moving long distance. "
>
>      That would hold true if you were the employer and transferring the
>      employee, perhaps.  But as a prospective employer, I question the
>      appropriateness of knowing the applicant's marital/family status.
>      When I interviewed people, I did not ask about family. I did not look
>      favorably upon candidates that volunteered this information that I
>      considered inappropriate.  When asked as a candidate, I would say
>      that everyone was excited about the possibility, and sometimes I
>      would say that the "everyone" consisted of a mix of four-legged
>      species.
>
>      Isn't equal opportunity about hiring the candidate and not their
>      spouse/kids/mother?
>
>
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