To day I went to an interview. The company is some kind of
wedding/party service that needs attendants for the portable photo
booths they rent out on weekends. I didn't sound like a great job, but I
figure if I can handle a room full of college students without getting
into trouble, I could probably deal with digital photo booth, and it
would only be part-time.
When I entered the office, I was told to complete a form that consisted of several pages of basic logic and mathematics questions. Things like "what relation is your niece's brother to you." I briefly considered writing in that my niece does not have a brother.
One of the final questions intrigued me. It read "How many of each type of animal did Moses put onto the ark?" The question was an easy one (I am an atheist but I greatly enjoy reading the bible so I could see that it was a trick. It was Noah who sailed the seven seas after the great flood, not Moses) But seemed to have little purpose other than to test my personal knowledge of Bronze Age literature. The test didn't ask anything about work experience or availability, but I figured those questions would come during the interview proper.
The interviewer's questions were as follows:
"why didn't you dress up for this interview?" (This took me aback a little. I was wearing a dress shirt and brand new jeans that fit properly, but I replied that I felt a middle course was best because I didn't know how formal the company atmosphere was).
"Describe yourself." (I described myself as a responsible adult who teaches English part time, loves dogs, and works hard).
"Have you ever been let go from a job because of performance issues?" (Now we're getting somewhere I thought. And no I never have been fired for performance and, if the interviewer had asked, I could have told him that I tend to stay at any job for at least five years, even part-time jobs)
"How do you see the world, is it black and white or are there gray areas?" (Now my spider-sense began tingling. Three of my passions in life are politics, language, and religious studies. To me, this question seemed designed to give me an opportunity, without actually demanding it, to express my abiding love for Him and His son. Something like "Well, sir, my faith in Christ compels me to view the world in black and white terms because the Bible is clear on this etc." I enjoy listening to crackpot radio preachers when I can't sleep at night so I could probably rhapsodize for at least an hour on the absolute authority of the Bible before my conscience compelled me to come clean.)
Instead I told him the truth, that, when I was young, I was more "black and white" than I am now and as I became older, I began to feel that it was wiser instead to acknowledge the limits of what I know and work very hard to learn as much as I can.
He ended the interview, thanked me, and I left.
So here's my question: Was I discriminated against or has it become normal to ask biblical and philosophical questions instead of specific questions about work history and current abilities?
If a private business wants only Christians, that's their choice and their right. But this was a new experience for me and I'm not sure whether I'm reading too much into it.
Has anybody else had this experience?
When I entered the office, I was told to complete a form that consisted of several pages of basic logic and mathematics questions. Things like "what relation is your niece's brother to you." I briefly considered writing in that my niece does not have a brother.
One of the final questions intrigued me. It read "How many of each type of animal did Moses put onto the ark?" The question was an easy one (I am an atheist but I greatly enjoy reading the bible so I could see that it was a trick. It was Noah who sailed the seven seas after the great flood, not Moses) But seemed to have little purpose other than to test my personal knowledge of Bronze Age literature. The test didn't ask anything about work experience or availability, but I figured those questions would come during the interview proper.
The interviewer's questions were as follows:
"why didn't you dress up for this interview?" (This took me aback a little. I was wearing a dress shirt and brand new jeans that fit properly, but I replied that I felt a middle course was best because I didn't know how formal the company atmosphere was).
"Describe yourself." (I described myself as a responsible adult who teaches English part time, loves dogs, and works hard).
"Have you ever been let go from a job because of performance issues?" (Now we're getting somewhere I thought. And no I never have been fired for performance and, if the interviewer had asked, I could have told him that I tend to stay at any job for at least five years, even part-time jobs)
"How do you see the world, is it black and white or are there gray areas?" (Now my spider-sense began tingling. Three of my passions in life are politics, language, and religious studies. To me, this question seemed designed to give me an opportunity, without actually demanding it, to express my abiding love for Him and His son. Something like "Well, sir, my faith in Christ compels me to view the world in black and white terms because the Bible is clear on this etc." I enjoy listening to crackpot radio preachers when I can't sleep at night so I could probably rhapsodize for at least an hour on the absolute authority of the Bible before my conscience compelled me to come clean.)
Instead I told him the truth, that, when I was young, I was more "black and white" than I am now and as I became older, I began to feel that it was wiser instead to acknowledge the limits of what I know and work very hard to learn as much as I can.
He ended the interview, thanked me, and I left.
So here's my question: Was I discriminated against or has it become normal to ask biblical and philosophical questions instead of specific questions about work history and current abilities?
If a private business wants only Christians, that's their choice and their right. But this was a new experience for me and I'm not sure whether I'm reading too much into it.
Has anybody else had this experience?
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