A job seeker recently shared a disturbing interview experience, revealing how a recruiter asked a series of “intrusive and inappropriate” questions. The individual recounted being shocked when asked about personal matters such as the number of earning members in their family and their marital plans. The job seeker felt the questions were irrelevant to the job and crossed professional boundaries.
“In today’s episode of Recruiters reaching a new low: Got asked about the ‘earning members in the family’,” the user on Reddit wrote. “Got asked this question bang in the middle of interview by the DIRECTOR of a marketing/ad agency (amongst other personal/intrusive questions) Mumbai/Ghatkopar based agency,” the Redditor further shared.
In the comments section, one user questioned why the company’s director was conducting the interview instead of an HR representative. The job seeker clarified that the initial interview was, in fact, led by someone from HR. However, things took an uncomfortable turn when they were asked about their age, followed almost immediately by a question about their plans for marriage, raising further concerns about the professionalism and appropriateness of the interview process.
Posted on Reddit, the story received over 200 upvotes and quickly gained traction. It sparked a wider conversation, with many users joining in to share their own uncomfortable or inappropriate interview experiences, highlighting a recurring issue in recruitment practices.
A user expressed, “Agencies reach new lows every week, so this is honestly not a huge surprise.”
Another shared a similar experience, saying, “I was asked my father’s occupation, yearly income, number of siblings, mother’s occupation, pin code of my address, and how I am going to travel to office once, by the HR before even scheduling an interview. She took all this information and didn’t even schedule an interview.”.
“I was asked the same question six months ago, and I said, “Excuse me?” Hoping he would refrain from asking it for the second time, but he did. I asked him how that mattered. He said he was just trying to understand how committed I am to my career. I got the offer but didn’t join the organisation. He later called me up and asked for the reason, I told him I was not comfortable with the questions that were asked during the HR interview. He tried to cover it up with some bs nothing happened after that,” an individual shared their own encounter, writing.
Several users pointed out that such intrusive questions are often deliberately used to assess a candidate’s financial situation, and, by extension, their level of “job desperation” and willingness to accept unfavourable terms. This sparked further criticism of exploitative hiring practices that prioritise control over candidate well-being.