“Is this normal or strange?” — Job seeker asks if job interviewers should be asking about her religion, siblings, and former company’s boss’s age

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean job seeker shared her unusual interview experience on social media, claiming that she was subjected to a barrage of questions that seemed to focus on her personal life rather than her professional capabilities.

In her post on r/askSingapore, she detailed how the interviewers delved into personal topics such as her religion, the number of siblings she had, and their occupations. She also shared that their conversation shifted towards her previous employment.

“The previous company was quite popular, and they kept asking me questions like, What is the director’s age?

They also asked me to open the company’s IG to show them, then they both looked at each other and smiled. They also compared their own followers to my previous company,” she explained.

Furthermore, when she disclosed her last drawn salary, she felt judged by the interviewers’ response as they said to her:  “$x, xxx? $x,xxx? really? $x,xxx?”

“Is this a red flag for a job interview? It’s the first time I have encountered this. Is it normal, and should I feel violated?”

“I wouldn’t have shared those things they were asking about.”

In the comments section, many agreed that the interviewers’ behaviour was highly unprofessional and not in line with standard interview practices.

One Redditor pointed out that personal information about her previous director or the Instagram page of her previous company was irrelevant to the job she was applying for.

Similarly, inquiries about her religious beliefs and siblings’ occupations appeared misplaced in the context of a professional interview.

The core purpose of an interview is to evaluate the candidate’s skills, qualifications, and compatibility with the organizational culture. 

However, in this particular instance, the interviewers’ questions appeared to stray far from fulfilling this objective. The Redditor said the two interviewers “were just gossipy and unprofessional.”

Another Redditor commented, “I wouldn’t have shared those things they were asking about…”

Adding to the discussion, some speculated that the company in question might be an SME, as they said that this kind of behaviour or ‘drama’ is often common in SME environments.

They then advised the job seeker to check the company’s Glassdoor reviews for more information on how employees are treated and the overall company culture.

Read also: “Job recruiters on LinkedIn ghosted me just because I replied 30 mins late” — SG job seeker asks, “Is this normal?”

Featured image by Depositphotos