Interviewing is not fun, and it’d great if we could just get the jobs without the process. And these days, these rounds of assessment have gotten creative and weird. So most times we encounter questions that sound wrong, but there’s hardly anything one can do about it – these are people who are meant to hire us. Some of these include line crossing and others are just plain bizarre – but none of them make up for good experiences.
And these are just some instances that are proof of it.
1. I went for multiple interviews where I was asked about my relationship status. This year, in 2023. During one of the interviews, I was asked if I am “seeing someone” because it would “affect my focus”.
– Anonymous
2. “In an interview, the firm asked me if I’d be able to shift to a new city, where their company was located. They questioned because I am a single child and that could be an issue.”
– Snigdha Nalini Oreya
3. “While freelancing for a production house, the manager asked me if I was living alone or with someone. The person wanted to know my living situation because otherwise he’d help me and “offer his place”.”
– Anonymous
4. “I was about to get married, and interviewing for a job. So, the HR asked me if I’d be planning a child soon after getting married.”
– Shruti
5. “A British woman, who was interviewing me for work asked me if I’d be “allowed to” move out of the country. She assumed that my parents would be conservative, and was shocked to find out otherwise.”
– Anonymous
6. “The person asked me this – “How committed are you to practical jokes?””
– opinkers
7. “”How would you react to being let go from your position?” You mean, the position I haven’t got yet? You want me to discuss my hypothetical firing on the day of my possible hiring?”
– GRW810
8. “I was asked if I did drugs in an interview for a recruitment firm!”
9. “The person asked if I knew how to make coffee, because he likes starting his day with a black coffee. My profile didn’t require me to cook in the office.”
– Riya Anand
10. “Do you watch porn and if so, what kind? This was a second interview and the question was asked to me by the head of the department who is a friend’s mom.”
No amount of money, and no job title is worth dealing with such people on a daily basis. Let alone having to report them.