Insights into the forces shaping our industry.

Q: Prudence, I recently had a telephone interview with a human resources person and she insisted that I tell her the exact date that I graduated from the university that was on my resume. She told me that she was required to obtain this information. If I did not give her this information she was required to end the interview and I could not be considered for the position. Is this legal? After I provided her with the year and month of my graduation the interview focused only on what jobs I had after graduation and before the relevant employment experience I have had in the last 20+ years listed on my resume.

A: It actually is legal and very common in interviewing. Human Resources and even my own staff will also ask for a candidate’s date of birth, not to gauge their age but to verify their degree and for the company to run background checks. While it may appear to be a case of age discrimination, it’s really just standard operating procedure.