Employers Sometimes Ask People Applying For Jobs For Personal Information | Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample

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 that this information may be relevant and useful. Others disagree. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Here is a band 7.5 IELTS essay on this topic written by one of our students. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your IELTS essays, letters and reports corrected by me.

Band 7.5 IELTS essay sample

It is undeniable that companies nowadays ask applicants to fill the details about their personal choices and life such as their likes, dislikes and marital status. This practice is appreciated by a section of the society while opposed by others. Personally, I believe that revealing personal information anywhere in the job application is not beneficial. This essay will discuss both points of view, followed by a reasoned conclusion.

On the one hand, there are many people who consider that providing personal information to employers is advantageous for them because it enables the company to offer incentives that suit the interests of the staff. For example, employers sometimes offer free memberships of clubs and gym fitness centers, which is definitely helpful for workers. In India, product-based companies, for example, take all the relevant information about an applicant before offering a job and after joining, these companies provide free gym access and certain discounts on various clubs according to employee’s areas of interest. Hence, giving personal information is beneficial to some extent.

On the other hand, many consider these details irrelevant and I agree with these people. Firstly, during the application for a job, personal information does not play any role. To explain it in more detail, an application should have all the details about the candidate’s technical experience and educational details because a position is offered only on the basis of the candidate’s ability and not because he is married or sporty. Secondly, sometimes firms show bias when they learn about a worker’s marital status. For example, a bachelor / an unmarried person) can work in night shifts and he can work on weekends also because he is not married. Consequently, these companies may show a reluctance to hire married applicants. Therefore, making personal details available to companies could be harmful to workers. Also, companies do not need this information during the hiring process.

To conclude, it is a common practice among companies to collect the personal information of their employees. However, I strongly believe that it is not helpful anywhere and sometimes it can have a negative impact on employees.

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Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.

4 Responses

  1. Steffi says:

    Raising questions on hobbies and marital status by employers may sound irrelevant to few set of people. But in a roundabout way, it speaks on a person’s individuality. This essay will illustrate in detail on both the views.

    Inquisition on hobbies and passion of a person and also on their marital status is a conventional way of analysis about peculiar characters, handled by most of employers. For instance, say a person is single, the major optimistic factor would be he or she may have limited obligation towards family both financially and emotionally. This enhances their productivity in professional life. Hobbies exposes an individuals true nature. Lazy people are less active in extra activities such as sports, dance and so on. Overall examining personal views aids to discover employees productivity skills by employer.

    In contrast to the above mentioned statement, another set are not convinced to probe on personal information. Although it measures a person’s mental health and stability, it seems unambiguous to put forward a small investigation to study a person. This can be explained with an example. Recruiting for the position of mechanical engineer demands generous knowledge on automobile industry. In this scenario examining on personal information may sound insignificant but not irrelevant.

    Intererogation on personality is highly beneficial and acceptable. This factor outweighs the point that highlights it’s irrelevancy towards it. Thought I am not opposing this suggestion, I encourage in get to knowing a person.

  2. bahar says:

    Some employment applications include private questions about applicants’ personal life. In my opinion, having these data not only is related but also is beneficial and can help the employers to choose more wisely.
    Some people believe that insisting on having personal information about applicants is against their privacy and unfair. Anyone is worthy enough to have a safe zone and be able to choose whether they want to share their information in terms of their habits at home with others or not. Furthermore, informing about some personal datas leads the employer to make some presuppositions which could affect his choice and this judgement may lead to selecting wrongly between volenteers. For example, someone who has a child may be rejected because of this assumption that she could not be efficient enough at work due to distraction about her baby. However, it has been proved that many women who are mothers are taught to be more responsible for their job than others.
    Being aware of the employee’s personal behaviour or marital status is highly likely to be influential on the business improvement and the higher efficiency of employees, by using this information properly. Having these data leads to choosing a suitable position in the company for the applicant. For example, if somebody is used to being awake at night and sleeping during the day, they could be chosen for jobs that included night shifts. Moreover, it can eliminate many further problems. For instance, if the company does not have a smoking room,they should not employ a heavy smoker one.
    In conclusion, the profits outweigh the drawbacks. if the employers have the personal information about whom they are employing, not only could they make their choice better, but also they could gain more benefits from employers for the company.

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