Do employers have to prove that they are interviewing a mix of candidates?

[mama]

Just trying to curb my enthusiasm. I've finally gotten an interview with a great local company. I don't want to get my hopes too high at this point, it's only a phone interview, and the job description was very non-specific.

It occurred to me that, since I am a 55-year-old woman, they could be making themselves look more inclusive by giving me an interview. Does anyone know if the EEOC requires companies to provide statistics on their hiring and interviewing practices?

Now, back to the positive thinking for me!

[UrbScotty]

1. No federal rules that I know of. The company itself might have an internal policy

to that effect, however.

A lot of companies have several particulars in terms of how to go about their employee selection process. Someone I know worked for a large company that required managers to ask certain questions during the interview.

As for interviewing candidates with diverse backgrounds, some companies and organizations do have such policies. The most famous is the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview at least one non-Caucasian when hiring a new head coach.

This company may have a similar policy, and who knows about your state's law (I can't imagine Taft or Kasich supporting such a law). But who knows?

[dmallind]

2. Not unless they are a government contractor under review

Responsible employers do keep such records, but mostly as pre-emptive defense against litigation. Somewhat strangely, it's a GOOD sign if the phone interviewer is reading from a script. It means they take seriously the idea of being fair to all applicants and asking them the same questions. Some are better at hiding the script than others, but personally I confess it up front and explain that it's to make sure we don't favor some applicants over others in our questions.

While I do not doubt at all that age discrimination exists, it's not universal. The last five people I have hired were all mid 40s and up - 3 definitely over 50 IMO (obviously not allowed to ask although things like graduation dates give clues) and in the 5 companies I have hired people for not one has ever by word or action hinted I should bias myself against people by age, or any other criteria really, unless you count one that wanted a stable work history and lots of experience for one particular role, which I suppose shows a bias against the very young.

[The empressof all]

3. Bigger Companies and Non Profits have internal policies

My experience has been that they call in the five best "resume" fits then go from there. So if you are called in for an interview it's a one in five shot to get the job. It's time consuming and expensive to interview especially if they put you through the grind of interviewing with HR, supervisor and the team.