We are coming up to the annual right of passage for doctoral students – the hiring interview – or as I like to think of it amateur hour with accounting faculty playing like they know something about HR and talent acquistion.  It amazes me every year the nature and type of questions I hear that accounting faculty have asked job market candidates.  Indeed it is a wonder to me that there are not more lawsuits against U’s who send out unprepared interviewers to carry out job interviews at the European Talent hunt and the Miami Beach camp.  I think the only reason to date there have not been any public lawsuits is the richness of the accounting job market so that everyone gets a job most years and hence has no reason to sue those schools who sent totally ill-suited folks to carry out interviews.

Almost annually I hear of doctoral students being asked about martial status, when an applicant is going to have children, sexual orientiation, political orientation, religious orientation (asking if you are saved is not kosher) etc etc etc.  These questions are not only invasive but in most countries and states illegal to ask during a job interview.  Furthermore, most of the time they are asked by folks that do not know that they are doing something wrong by asking the question – ignorance is not a bliss.

Any U that is sending off interviewers should ensure that a careful game plan is put together and that the interviewers have a clear understanding of what is and is not permitted to be asked.  After all, do you really want your institution to be the first one publically shamed????????