Question: When completing online job
applications, I'm asked to provide my college graduation date and Social
Security number. Does this give the HR department an opportunity to
discriminate against me? Also, if I don't answer the voluntary question
about my ethnicity, will my application be excluded?
Answer: Good questions. With so many companies requiring job
seekers to complete online employment applications, many other
candidates probably wonder the same things.
I'll address the ethnicity question first. Federal law prohibits
discriminating against job seekers because of race or gender, so being
asked to volunteer such information in a job application may seem odd.
However, companies ask the questions to collect data for the government
showing they are attempting to interview and hire diverse candidates.
If a company's data-collection system is designed correctly, these
details go into a database used to track sources of diversity and not to
recruiters, says Mark Mehler, co-founder of CareerXroads, a Kendall
Park, N.J., staffing-strategy consulting firm. Since recruiters aren't
supposed to receive this information, it shouldn't affect your interview
chances, he says.
"The recruiter doesn't see it, so it can't be used to discriminate,"
Mr. Mehler says.
On the other hand, many recruiters still can detect race and gender
from other information you may voluntarily provide. For example, the
college you attended or organizations you have joined can be giveaways.
As for providing the year of your college graduation, it's fine to
omit this information if you believe it might be used to screen you out
for age reasons. If you have the experience and skills the company is
seeking, you'll still be contacted despite not answering that question,
says Patrick Dailey, director of human resources for TXU Energy, a unit
of TXU Corp., in Dallas.
However, if it's a question that you must answer be able to submit
the application, don't assume the company is biased against older
candidates, Mr. Dailey says. Instead, view the question as a way for
employers to find the best candidates, not to eliminate them.
"Recruiters use graduation dates more to determine the number of
years of experience, not necessarily age," says Mr. Dailey. "It's to be
discriminating, not discriminatory."
Still, Mr. Mehler agrees that some older candidates should omit
college graduation dates from online job applications. He also suggests
that they include only their last several jobs on the electronic form.
"Just list the last 20 years of your work experience," he advises.
Your question about supplying a Social Security number concerns me
most. Companies typically ask for the number so they can use it later to
conduct background checks on serious contenders. But requesting Social
Security numbers at the application stage is premature and threatens
your privacy, says Mr. Mehler. I advise leaving the space blank if it
isn't mandatory. If you need to fill in the blank to submit the
application, make up a number, Mr. Mehler suggests. Let the company know
in a cover note that you supplied a false Social Security number due to
concerns about your privacy and that you'll gladly provide the correct
number later in the process.
Since truthfulness is so critical in job applications, I questioned
Mr. Mehler's advice on this. He recently conducted a seminar for company
human-resources and staffing professionals, and I asked him to poll
attendees on the issue. He asked them if they objected to candidates
supplying fictitious Social Security numbers on electronic job
applications. No one he polled had a problem with it, Mr. Mehler said.
While some people find jobs by applying for them electronically, more
often candidates are hired by talking with others and getting referrals.
It's possible that you'd find a new position more quickly by meeting
people who will refer you for openings than by completing online
applications.
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