How does one avoid the question of college graduation date? I was recently interviewing for a position and after asked about when I graduated with my masters, the interviewer said "wow." I asked why he said this and he said it was because I was at the beginning of when the field of "instructional technology" opened up. I did not get the follow up interview and wondered if my age had something to do with this and if there is a way around this question.
Answers
A smart recruiter would never ask this unless it's a requirement for the job. (i.e. for internship eligibility) I regret, not all people doing interviews are professional recruiters, and certainly not everyone asks the best questions.
One way to think about answering it is to say "I graduated before beginning my career..." because you will be documenting how long you've been working, so that's fair game. Or perhaps you can say "I pursued my degree midway through my career as a way to keep learning and growing..." if you went back to school. If pressed for a year, you may toss it back them asking something innocuous like "May I ask how that may factor into the requirements of the position?" and see what they say.
in the end a college graduation date is not a really great barometer of age, so if you end up telling them your graduation year, there is still much available for interpretation about your age. (For example, did you go right after high school, and if so, did you finish in 4 years?
Did you go early in your career, but not right after high school? Did you go late in your career after gaining more experience?) Age shouldn't matter (once you're 18, in most cases) so a recruiter should not be pushing you for it.
Whether on an application or in an interview, the employer can see by your number of years of experience whether you're new to the workforce or deep into your career. As long as you meet their minimum number of years' experience, the minimum education level, and are overall a strong match to the qualifications, they should not be concerned with your age and you shouldn't worry about it either.
I hope this helps.
-Scott!
That guy opened himself to lawsuits.
If the question is on a paper/E application I've never seen it be a mandatory field so you can leave it blank. I've been asked some stupid questions by interviewers and sometimes you just have to roll with it. If its a hill worth dying on for you document the encounter and talk to an EEO rep/DOL rep in your area.
Other way to go with it is to prepare a pivot/counter to how that translates to experience and be able to back it up.
Hi Kippie -
This is a great opportunity to use his fax paus to assist you in getting the position, depending on how you evaluate the particular situation. What I might do in your situation is tell him that he asked a question that creates exposure for his employer; that I am pointing it out to assist the company in preventing exposure; and that I know some people would consider pointing out his mistake to lessen my chances of getting the job, however, I am hoping that instead he will take this a showing character as I am risking blowing the interview to assist the company. (You might not want to go any further with that, e.g., don’t suggest he take a course in HR ! )
Alternatively I think you should just answer the question and forget about it. Focus on finding a job and not the errors of others. You didn’t mention other signs of age discrimination, so does it make sense that the guy may have asked you the question inadvertently? We don’t want to live in a world where people are looking to find the isolated inadvertent harmless mistakes of others and pursue them for benefit or punishment.
On the other hand if the interviewer is engaging in a pattern of conduct, would he ask this question or would he guess your age based on appearance? Of course people don’t always act logically, it could be the tip-off of age discrimination.
Oh also I suggest you put down your age on your resume to save time. Personally though I don’t know why anyone cares about age as long as you can do the job.
Thank you for service to our country.
A smart recruiter would never ask this unless it's a requirement for the job.
Be honest, everyone has an age. If they ask a question, answer it. What would you do if an applicant did not answer a question? This will put a question of if there will be a management issue in the future will you support company direction if you do not agree with the company direction. If you have issues on the interview, as the company individual, I would not continue the discussion and move on to the next candidate.
Age should not be an issue, you experience and accomplishments speak for them selves. As long as you have 20 years experience, not one year 20 times. Just like you, everyone wants problem solvers, not messengers to your office. Be that problem solver individual. Everyone want individuals that can develop their staff, be that individual.
Be the leader for tomorrow, not today or yesterday.
You know all this, but I just had to review it.
First, the question is not legal to ask. Since the interviewer did ask I would say that when the degree was achieved is not relevant since what is relevant is I have both the degree and 20 years of experience. If they press, answer like Scott mentioned- "May I ask how that may factor into the requirements of the position?" and see what they say.
Thank you.
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