5 ms·

The problem is that (1) is, to me, invasive. What if their "hobby" is to work for a political interest? What if it is religious in nature? What if it is sexu

The problem is that (1) is, to me, invasive. What if their "hobby" is to work for a political interest? What if it is religious in nature? What if it is sexual/adult in nature? What if they have no hobbies because they take care of a dependent relative? In these situations, the interviewer has backed the interviewee into a corner. They must either lie, evade the question, or expose their private life to a complete stranger. In not a single situation is this a good thing.

kohanz 10y ago
> What if their "hobby" is to work for a political interest? What if it is religious in nature? Would those really be considered a "hobby"? Generally a hobby is an activity done for pleasure during leisure time. You can get pleasure from such activities, but that's rarely the only motivation. Regardless of the definition, I don't think it's very difficult to come up with a vanilla answer for this that doesn't necessitate lying. I do agree that's a dumb question that doesn't result in any useful information for the interviewer.
- coreyp_1 10y ago
  What one person thinks is "fun" and is their "hobby", is subjective and therefore personal. Many people define their "hobby" as the thing that they do when they are not getting paid. That may be just watching TV, but that may also be volunteer work in one of the aforementioned areas. From personal experience, I can say that my "hobby" is something deeply meaningful to myself, but may disclose a protected status if probed during an interview. In that vein, I would rather not face the question as a condition to my employment. Quite frankly, it's none of their business.
partisan 10y ago
Agreed. Asking this type of question exposes one to liability. What if you don't hire them? What if they feel it was because of something they mentioned in answering the question? Personally, I look for someone who can get the job done well. I optimize my interview process for that purpose. Some people are looking to hire someone who will also be fun to hang out with so they optimize for that.
- paulcole 10y ago
  As far as the United States goes, very few hobbies are going to be protected classes. What are they going to say, "Oh, in my spare time I enjoy being old, blind, and Jewish."
  - DanBC 10y ago
    As GP says the answer might be "I don't have much time for hobbies because I'm looking after my old, blind, parent".
  - coreyp_1 10y ago
    What if their answer is: "Oh, well I go out every afternoon doing door-to-door proselytizing for the Jehovah's Witnesses." "I go straight home because my wife is expecting our 5th child." "I spend most of my time studying for the Citizenship test." "I spend my time at the VFW." "I used to do X, but since I got hurt..." "I sing in the choir at my church." "I make YouTube videos to support LGBT causes." For the vast majority of people, things that are a "protected class" are so much a part of their identity that it is even incorporated into their hobbies. The crux of the matter is, though: It's none of their business! (quite literally)
gadders 10y ago
I could imagine hunting wouldn't go over well in some places.

kohanz 10y ago

> What if their "hobby" is to work for a political interest? What if it is religious in nature? Would those really be considered a "hobby"? Generally a hobby is an activity done for pleasure during leisure time. You can get pleasure from such activities, but that's rarely the only motivation. Regardless of the definition, I don't think it's very difficult to come up with a vanilla answer for this that doesn't necessitate lying. I do agree that's a dumb question that doesn't result in any useful information for the interviewer.

coreyp_1 10y ago
What one person thinks is "fun" and is their "hobby", is subjective and therefore personal. Many people define their "hobby" as the thing that they do when they are not getting paid. That may be just watching TV, but that may also be volunteer work in one of the aforementioned areas. From personal experience, I can say that my "hobby" is something deeply meaningful to myself, but may disclose a protected status if probed during an interview. In that vein, I would rather not face the question as a condition to my employment. Quite frankly, it's none of their business.

partisan 10y ago

Agreed. Asking this type of question exposes one to liability. What if you don't hire them? What if they feel it was because of something they mentioned in answering the question? Personally, I look for someone who can get the job done well. I optimize my interview process for that purpose. Some people are looking to hire someone who will also be fun to hang out with so they optimize for that.

paulcole 10y ago
As far as the United States goes, very few hobbies are going to be protected classes. What are they going to say, "Oh, in my spare time I enjoy being old, blind, and Jewish."
- DanBC 10y ago
  As GP says the answer might be "I don't have much time for hobbies because I'm looking after my old, blind, parent".
- coreyp_1 10y ago
  What if their answer is: "Oh, well I go out every afternoon doing door-to-door proselytizing for the Jehovah's Witnesses." "I go straight home because my wife is expecting our 5th child." "I spend most of my time studying for the Citizenship test." "I spend my time at the VFW." "I used to do X, but since I got hurt..." "I sing in the choir at my church." "I make YouTube videos to support LGBT causes." For the vast majority of people, things that are a "protected class" are so much a part of their identity that it is even incorporated into their hobbies. The crux of the matter is, though: It's none of their business! (quite literally)

gadders 10y ago

I could imagine hunting wouldn't go over well in some places.