PHWP: Good Company

Over dinner this week a friend described a recent recruiting fiasco. She overheard a co-worker ask a potential hire, “So, are you married? Do you have kids yet?” If you are cringing right now, I can relate, but obviously the employee did not know there was anything wrong with this type of “icebreaker” questioning.

Employees that interview potential hires often go into interviews without any background or training in HR or employment law, which can end disastrously. Employers that train employees before they enter situations that can ultimately put the organization at risk will find that it is worth the effort. Just because an employee is capable of managing a team of analysts, doesn’t mean that employee should be representing your organization at the interview table.

As an employer, you wouldn’t hire someone who isn’t adequately prepared to do the job, and as such, it does not make sense to send an employee who’s unprepared to conduct an interview. Take the opportunity to train your employees before you send them out to represent your company. First impressions are important and often an interviewee’s first exposure to your organizational culture, so impress them, don’t leave them wondering if they have been discriminated against.

What questions your employees ask during interviews is important, but the questions they don’t ask are crucial. That’s why we developed a tool -- Interview Questions: Are Yours Legally Sound? -- (yes, it’s actually a quiz) to help everyday employees who find themselves having to conduct interviews.

Readers – what about you? What’s the most bizarre, inappropriate or illegal interview question you’ve been asked?

Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/helenk/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0