Editor’s Note: Happy Hour is an HR Dive column from Reporter Ginger Christ. Follow along as she dives into some of the offbeat news in the HR space.
Looking for a new job can be a job in itself. Writing cover letters, updating resumes and securing references can be time consuming and, to be frank, overwhelming — and that’s just when a company asks for the basics.
But a recent viral tweet lamenting the job search process in Los Angeles alerted me to just how involved — and personal — the job hunt can be. The tweet referenced a job ad posted on Indeed that said final applicants would be required to provide their birth chart.
Applying for jobs in LA is crazy pic.twitter.com/wpPsVKzzpp
— suzy (@valley_ghoul) August 13, 2023
The ad for a part-time personal assistant reads, “Final applicants will need to provide their date, time and location of birth for an astrological synergy assessment and sign a non-disclosure and non-compete agreement.” Neither the person who tweeted about the job nor the job poster responded to requests for an interview.
As a journalist, I’ve had to complete grammar and writing tests and report stories to prove my competence as well as alignment with a company, but that’s been the extent of my added hiring process tasks. I turned to social media to learn about others’ experiences with the job search.
One person had to take a driving test during an interview — for a dental assistant position — while others mentioned taking cognitive skills and aptitude tests.
Another challenged the limitations of ethnicity questions on applications, explaining that “the choices are usually White, Black, Hispanic, Hawaiian, two or more races, etc. Many other ethnicities don't identify as any of these. The only other choice is ‘decline to answer.’”
An HR professional offered this insight in a comment: Asking overly personal questions can hinder DEI progress in the workplace. She said the birth sign question “seems to be counterproductive and can easily introduce bias into the workplace. Progressive HR professionals have been striving to move away from such practices for quite some time. It often feels like taking one step forward and then encountering ten steps back.” And, in some cases, asking probing questions can be illegal.
The reality is that workers are making decisions about companies based on the interview process. Nearly half of the 1,500 respondents to a survey last year by hiring software company Greenhouse said they’ve turned down job offers based on negative interview experiences.
From some brief Googling, someone with my birthday – Dec. 24 – is ruled by Capricorn and “as much an enigma to themselves as to everyone else.” I hope that helps clear things up, boss, if you’re reading this.
