You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic

Employers sometimes ask people applying for jobs for personal information, such as their hobbies and interests, and whether they are married or single.

Some people say this information may be relevant and useful. Others disagree.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
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It is a widely debated issue whether employers should ask for personal information of job seekers or not.
I personally favor non disclosure of personal information. However, my essay shall dwell upon both the viewpoints in the subsequent paragraphs followed by a reasoned conclusion.
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In this contemporary era, many companies ask for the personal information of the prospective employees before they join their organization.
Though my essay will discuss both sides of this view, I personally favor that sharing details with company is necessary to recruit a suitable candidate.

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In this contemporary era, many companies ask for the personal information of the prospective employees before they join their organization.
Though my essay will discuss both sides of this view, I personally favor that sharing details with company is unnecessary to recruit a suitable candidate.
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Although many people are in favour of organizations who seek personal information of potential employees, others disagree.
Both the sides have their own justifications and my essay will discuss them all.
As far as my own opinion is concerned, only educational and professional information must be shared, not the personal information.
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Points in favour of asking personal information:
crucial for choosing a better employee/gauge real potential of the candidate/suits the job or not
Better understanding of role that can be given to the prospective employee/better understand of the personality
cannot take risk to get an employee that does not fit the role/example: team player or like to work alone
interest and hobbies give insight of the candidate’s thinking and views/higher retention/lower churn rates in future
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Points against seeking personal information:
Issues with sharing of the private information of candidates/private information would be public in the company
discrimination/bias/
mostly irrelevant for company but crucial for the candidate
at times, such information is exaggerated so all the benefits expected are not there in the first place
subjective selection instead of objective selection
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To conclude, though past experience and educational details are needed to select an appropriate candidate, sharing of personal information is mostly irrelevant and should be optional.
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To conclude, though privacy of employees must be respected, information related to hobbies and marital status improves the chances of choosing a suitable team member.
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In conclusion, despite some concerns related to privacy of employees, personal information makes the selection of a suitable employee easier and more relevant.
This will also help in decreasing the attrition/churn rate of a company.
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In conclusion, despite some benefits related to getting a better understanding of employee’s personality, sharing of personal information put the privacy of candidate in risk.
It is an exercise which is irrelevant and does not serve any valid purpose.
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In light of all the arguments discussed above, one can easily conclude that (benefits/drawbacks) of seeking personal information from future employees are too great to ignore.
(please give 2 points in short form here.)
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Sample answer from Savreet

Personal information is mandatory to authenticate the identity of an employer by the company. Sometimes applicants are asked about their personal information such as hobbies, interests and their marital status, which is considered relevant and useful by some people. I believe that although it is useful in some domains, it sometimes invades the privacy of individuals. The reasons how it may help employers and how it may jeopardize an applicant’s personal space are explained in detail through this article.

First, the information asked is sometimes useful in defining certain parameters required in some jobs. However, it depends upon the nature of the job. Sometimes it helps in understanding the potential of employees as hobbies and interests reflect their personalities. It is a tool to learn about some skills like leadership, decision-making, ingenuity and sense of cooperation. An employer may also benefit from knowing a potential employee’s marital status. For example, it is a compulsory policy of airlines to know about the marital status of young ladies before recruiting them for the position of air hostess. This is because the working hours could be odd in the profession, and they have to move across territories catering passengers. Hence, it is preposterous to hire women with children.

On the downside, some people insist that employers should not ask about personal information like this. Some people opine that people can be judged on the grounds of religion and tenets. As a result, they have to face discrimination if their ideas clash with the employer’s beliefs. It also reduces the employment opportunities for women, as some private firms hesitate to recruit married women so that they don’t have to grant paid maternity leave. In this way, it negatively impacts the employers.

To sum up, I believe that personal information is useful in most cases, as it is an important indicator of a person’s personality and his comfort level with the job. It is, therefore, justified why employers ask out. However, it may limit employment opportunities to people with certain backgrounds or gender.