Job applicant left stunned after recruiter asks him to list his parents' education and job

Many job recruiters often stick to the usual—your work experience, skills, and maybe a few personality tests to gauge your fit. But what if a job application asked for your parent's education and income? Sounds bizarre, right? Well, a job applicant who goes by u/leftunreadit on Reddit shared a similar job listing, calling it "really depressing" and questioning its relevance.

According to the post, the candidates were not just selling their skills—they also had to disclose their parent or guardian's educational qualifications from when they were 18. Who knew job hunting required a family history report? But wait! They did not stop there. As if things were not peculiar enough, the recruiter asked the potential candidates to recall what kind of work their family's highest earner did when the job applicants were just 14.

"These seem like discrimination with extra steps. Why would they even need to know this, and what is the relevance?" the job applicant questioned. Moreover, they slammed the unconventional job posting, calling it unfair to ask about their parents' qualifications since they weren’t the ones applying for the position. The post sparked widespread discussion on the platform, with people calling out the recruiter for blatant discrimination.

For example, u/ny_knux commented, "I know from personal experience as an office administrator that this is a crock of s***. That information is used to discriminate." Similarly, u/odalol, who had a similar experience at a job interview, shared, "I got asked what my parents do for work in an interview once. I was 23 and looking for a part-time job, so I interviewed at a fancy jeweler for super-rich clients. I think it’s technically legal to ask about it here (Norway), but it is not widely done or widely accepted. It was weird, and I felt bad. Like they could tell, I’m not one of them. Anyway, I think they just wanted to rub it in." u/jewel_332211 wrote, "If your parents weren't college graduates that held professional jobs, just lie that they were/did. Stupid questions don't deserve the truth."

u/emotional-ebb8321 suggested, "If you are in the USA today, I would advise declining to answer such questions, as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are out of fashion these days, and it is increasingly questionable whether your answers would be used for the claimed purpose." u/ziggy_starcrust said, "They usually don't ask what career field they were in, though it's giving weird vibes. I do appreciate them specifying an age/point in time, though. You can grow up as a first-generation student and then have your parents get a degree later when you're an adult. I don't know what answer I'm supposed to give now. Lol!"

u/key-boat-7519, who looked equally pissed that the unusual question, wrote, "Companies toss these questions just to look diverse, even if your parents did stuff you never signed up for. It’s annoying and downright childish. I've tried CareerZone and ResumePro, but JobMate is what I ended up buying because it automates the tedious job application process and cuts through the nonsense, BS hiring questions." u/yourmomdotbiz commented, "If this is for a college application, it's to determine if you're a first-generation college student. I've never seen this on anything other than college applications."