Female job seeker shocked by inappropriate comment during job interview, says panel members ‘bet’ on her marital status

SINGAPORE: A job seeker was shocked when one of the panel members made an inappropriate comment about her marital status during a job interview.

On Tuesday (March 11), she shared her experience on Reddit’s ‘Singapore Raw’ forum, stating,“I had an interview this morning, and before it even started, one of the interview panel members asked if I was married. I said no, and then he looked at the other panel member and said, ‘Aha! You bet wrongly!’ I’m not sure if I’m overreacting, but is it just me, or was that a bit off-putting?”

Many Singaporean Redditors were quick to criticise the panel members’ behaviour, calling it “disrespectful” and unprofessional. They agreed that such remarks have no place in a formal interview setting and should have been kept out of the discussion.

One Redditor said, “If they’re sitting in an interview, it surely means they must have some level of superiority. And for them to comment like this speaks extremely lowly of them. It would be a red flag for me to continue further if they’d offered.”

Another commented, “They should have kept that horseplaying among themselves.”

A third shared, “Lousy company with massive red flags and unprofessional HR who think employees are funny play things. Consider yourself lucky. Also report to Glassdoor asap.”

Interviewers should steer clear of sensitive or discriminatory questions

Job interviews should be about your skills and qualifications, not your personal life. According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), interviewers should stick to job-related questions and avoid anything sensitive or discriminatory.

If you get a personal question that seems out of place, you can ask, “May I know how this relates to the role?” If they give a valid reason, it is up to you whether to answer.

But if it seems totally unrelated to the job, you can politely say, “I’m not sure how this is relevant to the role, so I’d rather not answer. I hope you understand.” Likewise, job application forms should only ask for details needed to assess if you are suitable for the job. They should not ask for personal information like age, gender, race, date of birth, religion, disabilities, marital status, pregnancy status, or family responsibilities unless there is a clear and valid reason for it.

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