Preparing Students for Responding To Illegal Selection Interview Questions
The selection interview is a very important communication event for all of us who seek employment because our ability to earn a living is at stake. The recognition that this kind of decision is being made and the uncertainty regarding how the interviewer might evaluate what we say undoubtedly contributes to the stress we feel. Beyond this, the potential is high for being asked to supply information that is not legally usable in the employment decision-making process. Research indicates that we might very well be asked an illegal question and that we are likely to answer the question directly, if asked (Springston & Keyton, 1988; Siegfried & Wood, 1983). Adding further to this problem is the likelihood that the interviewee has not been taught strategies for managing these questions (Siegfried & Wood, 1983; Wilson, in press). The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how strategies for answering illegal interview questions can be taught. First, the nature of the illegal questioning problem is discussed. Then, a plan for teaching strategies for managing illegal questioning is presented.
I Don't Want To Answer That! A Response Strategy Model for Potentially Discriminatory Questions.
Two studies examined the effectiveness of a model designed as an instructional aid in teaching coll,,, students how to respond to potentially discriminatory employment interview questions. Subjects in the first study, 91 students enrolled in communication classes in a mid-size Wisconsin university who were told that they would be asked to respond to potentially discriminatory questions and 99 similar students who were not told that they would be asked to respond to potentially discriminatory questions, were instructed to think about the type of job they wouln be seeking in the near future and were asked to write how they woui-.actually respond to a set of six discriminatory questions. Subjects for the second study, 291 adults identifieu from the mailing lists of the continuing and adult education division of a mid-size university in Alabama, were sent a three-page questionnaire asking them to write exactly what they would say if an interviewer asked them questions which, unknown to the respondents, were discriminatory. Sixty-two surveys were returned, for a response rate of 21.3%. Results indicated that although the demographics for the student and non-student populations differed considerably, the primary response strategy was the same--the overwhelming response to potentially discriminatory questions was to give the information regrested, even when the subjects were told that the questions were illegal. Findings suggest support for the model for interviewee responses to impermissible interview questions. (Three tables of data are included, and 17 references are attached.) (RS) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. *********************************************************************** I DON'T WANT TO ANSWER THAT! A RESPONSE STRATEGY MODEL FOR POTENTIALLY DISCRIMINATORY QUESTIONS Joann Keyton Assistant Professor
Defining and Quantifying Potentially Discriminatory Questions in Employment Interviewing.
A study determined what constitutes an illegal pre-employment question, reviewed current laws and literature on the subject, and determined the prevalence of illegal questions asked by organizations. Except in the case of specific statutory law, there is no prec_be way to define what constitutes an illegal question; however, state and federal guidelines as well as established case 1,,w provide fairly clear parameters. A survey of the human rights and labor departments of all 50 states, designed to determine which states had enacted stronger legislation than the general framework provided by federal legislation, indicated a range of no laws to very specific laws concerning employment screening. A survey questionnaire, designed to determine the extent to which employers would ask or consider asking illegal questions, was sent to 350 various organizations in Wisconsin and returned by 157 organizations. The sample of organizations was stratified in relation to nine basic industry types and the number of employees. Results indicated that: (1) a large majority of organizations are likely to be asking potentially illegal questions in their pre-employment screening process; (2) the food service/restaurant and wholesale/retail trade industries appear to be the worst potential offenders; and (3) larger organizations are less likely to ask potentially illegal questions than smaller organizations. (Twenty references, four tables of data, and an appendix containing a list of legal and potentially illegal questions are attached.) (RS) *****************************************x***************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *******************************************************************