# Most inappropriate questions on a job application **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028 "2007-04-06T20:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/1 "2007-04-06T20:24:43Z")
I’m currently filling out the background check paperwork for a job application, and came across this gem, at the very end of the MEDICAL questionnaire: “If you have not served in any branch of the Armed Forces, state the reason why:” I still haven’t decided what to put down for a response(I haven’t served, by the way). ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/2 "2007-04-06T20:25:44Z")
I would answer “No medical reason”. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/3 "2007-04-06T20:28:09Z")
That is rediculous. I could understand if it said, If were rejected for military service for a medical reason, state that reason here. But as worded…that sucks. I would leave it blank or just say I never applied for service. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/4 "2007-04-06T20:38:05Z")
So … “Because I’m a _ **Commie** _!!!” isn’t the right answer? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/5 "2007-04-06T20:43:47Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] So … “Because I’m a _ **Commie** _!!!” isn’t the right answer? [/QUOTE] I wasn’t going to post my joke suggestion but since you did one…Here’s what you say. “Because I’m a flatfooted, morbidly obese, nearsighted homosexual with the IQ of a houseplant.” ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/6 "2007-04-06T20:46:18Z")
[QUOTE=CynicalGabe] I still haven’t decided what to put down for a response(I haven’t served, by the way). [/QUOTE] Leave it blank. That’s what I do with all stupid job application questions. Or, as long as we’re posting our joke answers now, “My grades were too high.” And yes - Military-Dopers, that is only a joke! ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/7 "2007-04-06T20:46:46Z")
“I was rejected on psychiatric grounds, and I’m going to kill you.” ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/8 "2007-04-06T20:49:15Z")
Oooooh! I’ve got a good one! Write: “Well… now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the restaurant, but Alice doesn’t live in the restaurant, she lives in the church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and Fasha the dog… CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/9 "2007-04-06T20:53:29Z")
What an odd question. There’s a medical section in the app? I didn’t know employers could ask about medical history. Isn’t there a law against that? At the last place I worked (a factory), our lawyers said we could describe the physical requirements of a job and ask the applicant if they could perform them, and that’s all. Apps from the 40’s and 50’s are a revelation. I ran across one that asked age, race, marital history, number and ages of children, clubs, religion, hobbies, and relatives. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/10 "2007-04-06T21:46:20Z")
[Here’s](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/ochs-phil/draft-dodger-rag-11443.html) a suggestion. During the draft I could almost see it - but now? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/11 "2007-04-06T22:39:37Z")
I was asked who my spouse/boyfriend was. “the liquor control commission needs to know”. Bullshit, dude. He took the app away so I couldn’t take it too the liquor board and get them fined. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/12 "2007-04-06T22:47:12Z")
I decided to put: “I decided to go to college instead.” ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/13 "2007-04-06T22:50:14Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] What an odd question. There’s a medical section in the app? I didn’t know employers could ask about medical history. Isn’t there a law against that? At the last place I worked (a factory), our lawyers said we could describe the physical requirements of a job and ask the applicant if they could perform them, and that’s all. [/QUOTE] I recently (as in a few weeks ago) interviewed for a job in information systems with a large organization. The job involves working indoors, managing a large number of database and application servers, making sure that mission-critical systems stay up, maintaining the security of those systems, etc. Think about the physical requirements of a job like that. I was given a list of pre-employment requirements (“If we make an offer, blah, blah, blah…”), among which was a physical exam including a TB screen and a doctor’s assessment of my: heart/lungs resting pulse/blood pressure height/weight genitourinary system skin various other body parts The only thing they \*\*\*didn’t \*\* \* want was a drug test. [QUOTE=AuntiePam] Apps from the 40’s and 50’s are a revelation. I ran across one that asked age, race, marital history, number and ages of children, clubs, religion, hobbies, and relatives. [/QUOTE] When I was applying for retail jobs in the mid-1980’s it was still routine for job applications to ask about the applicant’s hobbies and to what organizations the applicant belonged. No qualifiers as to “relevant to the position,” just asking for a list of hobbies and memberships. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/14 "2007-04-07T00:18:52Z")
[QUOTE=Doctor Who] “Well… now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the restaurant, but Alice doesn’t live in the restaurant, she lives in the church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and Fasha the dog… CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT.” [/QUOTE] You win the thread. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/15 "2007-04-07T00:24:02Z")
[QUOTE=cwthree] …genitourinary system… [/QUOTE] How did _that_ relate to the job requirments? :eek: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/16 "2007-04-07T00:28:50Z")
[QUOTE=cwthree] When I was applying for retail jobs in the mid-1980’s it was still routine for job applications to ask about the applicant’s hobbies and to what organizations the applicant belonged. [/QUOTE] I remember those! Bummed me out that they stopped asking that before I became a Mason. The hodgepodge of letters and numbers I could put on an app now! ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/17 "2007-04-07T00:49:41Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] How did _that_ relate to the job requirments? :eek: 😕 [/QUOTE] I think it was a fuckin’ job. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/18 "2007-04-07T02:01:59Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] [QUOTE=cwthree] …genitourinary system… [/QUOTE] How did _that_ relate to the job requirments? :eek: 😕 [/QUOTE] Darned if I know, although I do like **Manatee** ’s guess. Seriously - it’s a very large, very old, highly beaurocratic organization. I suspect that (1) they have one set of forms for all employees (encompassing both the folks who deal with clients, who must provide the same information, and the geeks hidden in the basement) and (2) they haven’t been sued since the form was created in 1923, so why change it now? ---
**Author:** ![Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zany_Zeolite_Zipper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/19 "2007-04-07T02:17:11Z")
[QUOTE=CynicalGabe] “If you have not served in any branch of the Armed Forces, state the reason why:” [/QUOTE] Bullets cause me to break out in Haemorrhage ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028/20 "2007-04-07T03:48:00Z")
1. I am a moonbat. 2. Whenever I hear the word “discipline,” I choke someone. 3. Due to a chronic nasal airway blockage, I am required to stick a finger in my nose every 15-20 seconds or risk asphyxiation. 4. My blood type is 6 7/8. 5. I am genetically identical to flies, except that I am not one. 6. All my internal organs are in the wrong places. 7. You know that sound Letterman used to make to unblock his ears? That sorta _snnnrrrrrrkkk_ sound? I do that _all night._ 8. Chronic Lethargy Syndrome. 9. I suffer from catatonic states, during which I have an uncontrollable urge to feed tonic water to cats. 10. I have eleven fingers. Look: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, and five more make eleven. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-inappropriate-questions-on-a-job-application/399028.md?page=2)