8 Questions An Employer is NOT supposed to ask in the US, compared to Korea

How many of you were asked these questions when interviewing for jobs in Korea?

1. How old are you?

Forget my job interview, how about every time I ride a cab, talk to a student/teacher/parent, look to rent an apartment, or ask for a table for two at the restaurant?

2. Are you married?

See above.    For future reference.  Wedding band will usually mean yes.  

3. Are you a U.S. citizen?

Ok, I get this one -- for the E-2 I should probably be from one of the Big 7 Countries (Aus, Canada, NZ, Ireland, South Africa, UK, US).   In the US, however, employers have to wait until after making the job offer to check this status.  It is lawful for an employer to ask an interviewee if they are authorized to work in the US.

4. Do you have any disabilities?

Haven't been asked this one yet, but I imagine there are recruiters out there with a record of potential teachers' "issues."  I hope its just me imagining.  

5. Do you take drugs, smoke or drink?

I have a friend who was asked this question once in Korea.  All day long he had been grilled by a phalanx of representatives at a major corporation:  from HR, to members of the new team, the CEO of the division and even a stooge from the Chairman's office (it was a chaebol).   The questions ran the gamut of "Strengths and Weaknesses" to case studies and strategic analyses.  The last interview is with the COO of the entire chaebol, a man whose decisions drove billions of dollars in revenue.   He sits down, looks at my buddy, wrinkles his nose, smiles, leans forward and says:  "you a pretty heavy drinker?"  The second question was "do you golf in Korea?"  

My friend responded with: "let's find out" to the first question, "and not really" to the second.  He got the job.

6. What religion do you practice?

Korea's most popular religions are Christianity and Buddhism.   All Koreans take their religions seriously (with tolerance for others), but for some practitioners, the Church is seen as a great way to maintain the network and connections needed to further your career, social status and marital opportunities.    Same as anywhere else, I guess.

7. What is your race?

Duh.  Take a look!  For some reason, race still plays a factor in selecting private tutors for children.  Caucasion-looking (and I do mean "looking"; your name could be Griselda Rodriquez or Micky Muraki, but if your skin is white, you qualify) seem to be a preference for some schools/hiring parents that worry those who are not white won't have the same "accent."  Hard to believe that an African-American with 10 years experience teaching English, a Master's degree in Education from Chicago and authorship of 5 tomes on teaching ESL could be rejected for a job in Korea...

8. Are you pregnant?

Men cover your ears.  I'd be interested in knowing if any women were ever asked this question by potential Korean employers and, if they weren't, how they responded!

You've GOT to read the full article here from Porcshe Moran at Yahoo 

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