Q. I have been looking for a different job for a couple of months and noticed that I am being asked questions in interviews that seem totally unrelated to the job that I am applying for. I have been asked questions such as, what do I like to do in my spare time when I'm not working? What were the last two or three books that I read? And what did I think about each of the books? Do I play golf? Where did I go on my last vacation? I did not expect these types of questions and I was really not prepared for them. I have been wondering if it is even legal to pry into a person's personal life like that. What kind of answers are they looking for? Is it acceptable for me to say that I do not want to answer any questions about my personal life?
A. The people who have responsibility for interviewing for job openings come from different areas of a company and from various professional backgrounds. Although many companies have a human resources department that does a great amount of interviewing, they also encourage or require managers and potential co-workers to participate in interviewing. As a result of this, and of the fact that more information is needed than what is on the resume, an applicant can experience very different styles of interviewing and a wide range of questions.
Without knowing the type of job that you are applying for, the examples of questions that you mention in your letter all appear to be acceptable to me and would not fall into an illegal category.
So why are they asked and how might you handle them?
They are asked to generally explore indirect or peripherally related aspects of your personality.
For example, do your answers show curiosity and interest in the world around you? If I were interviewing you for a market research position, I would want to know if you were naturally drawn to gathering information, I'd try to assess your attention to detail and your memory for facts.
If people in your field tend to work endless hours and burn themselves out, I might be interested in a candidate's hobbies, personal interests, and other factors that might suggest awareness for the need to balance work/life issues.
People often list their outside interests on their resumes to demonstrate a well-rounded personality and because those interests may spark a note of interest with the interviewer and perhaps relate to an aspect of the work that was not highlighted in an ad for the job.
An example of this would be an applicant who is being interviewed for a writing and proof reading job who learns that the company's public relations department needs assistance in taking pictures at events and due to his hobby in photography he can be more valuable to the company than other job candidates.
Certain jobs require skills such as networking that are not easily discovered in an interview and therefore indirect questions may help the interviewer assess these skills.
The relevancy of a question can also relate to the level and the type of job. The golf question would puzzle me if you were applying for a job as an accounting clerk; but if you are a candidate for a job such as a commercial lender or a vice president of sales, where many people meet and make business connections on the golf course, then the question might be relevant.
A lot of business is conducted in informal settings such as at a sports event, over lunch, or at a charitable fund-raiser.
Some of these questions are used to try to break the ice and create a more relaxed feeling and conversational tone to the interview.
My suggestion is that you bone up on these types of "personal" questions and that you should expect more of them in the future. A good conversation including these nonjob-related topics can give you a marked advantage over someone who struggles with their responses.
I do not recommend that you answer these types of questions by saying that you do not want to answer any questions about your personal life. Although you might feel you have successfully avoided that type of question, you will actually appear to be trying to hide something about your background and you will most likely not be invited back for a second interview. It never helps your cause to act offended when asked a reasonable question in an interview. Of course I want to clarify that I am not suggesting that you answer any illegal questions about your personal life.
Employers want to know more about a potential employee than just their qualifications for a particular job. They are trying to tease out information and a style of thinking that will help them determine if you are a good fit with the company and its corporate culture.
Interviewers are looking to see if the applicant is generally curious, are they capable of being passionate about anything, such as, the Patriots, traveling, home remodeling, photography and the like, and are they well informed enough about what is happening in the world to have meaningful conversations with customers or peers in the industry.
I spoke with someone the other day who was interested in finding a professional position working in a bank or other type of financial institution. My conversation with him revealed that he knew nothing about the one of the biggest bank frauds ever that had just occurred and recently been reported from France. It was not only in the headlines of every newspaper that day, it was also talked about on TV and radio programs and highlighted on the Internet.
I was struck by his ignorance of this current news and it informed my thinking about him as a potential high-level candidate.
Although most of these questions may not be deal breakers, you should be prepared for questions of this type to continue. Your preparation is especially important if you are looking for a managerial role where relationship skills are critical and your discussion with the interviewer can take various turns outside of your specific skill set.
Take the time to think through your answers and you will become more comfortable with this conversational style of questioning.
I have always felt that a great interview is a great conversation.
A. No, you are not required to offer The Commonwealth Connector Health Insurance options to all employees.
The new Massachusetts healthcare reform law requires that all employers with 11 or more employees must comply with its regulations. One of the key requirements is the adoption and maintenance of a Section 125 Plan, often referred to as the Cafeteria Plan, which you have already done.
This plan is set up to enable employees who are not eligible to participate in your company's health insurance plan, if one is offered, to purchase it through the state on a pretax basis.
This law does recognize the need for certain categories of employees to be excluded from the employer's obligation to offer this right to health insurance through the state.
If you employ anyone who less than 18 years of age, you do not have to offer that employee or employees the opportunity to purchase this type of health insurance.
Another category of employee that you can exempt is part-time workers who work less than 64 hours per month. Those employees that you hire on a temporary or short-term basis for less than a 12-week period can also be excluded.
If you are in the restaurant, catering, or a service business, you can exclude the waiters, waitresses, bartenders, and other service employees who, on average, earn less than $400 a month.
Workers from other countries, international employees, who work on a seasonal basis, and for less than 16 weeks, are exempt.
Lastly, the law allows exemptions for two categories of students:
Student interns or cooperative education students and students who work for an educational institution that they are attending which requires them to have health insurance.
For more detailed information about this law and employer's obligations, I suggest the website: MAHealthConnector.org.
Linda J. Lerner is an executive coach and a human resources consultant to small businesses and individuals. She can be reached at linda@lernerconsulting.com.
E-mail questions to jobdoc@globe.com or mail to Job Doc, Boston Globe, Box 55819, Boston, 02205-5819.
