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. v.7

Nowadays the selection criterias for job application are becoming a subject of debate, due to those who believe employers should take personal information about the applicants into consideration, while there are the ones who support this data being collected is unnecessary for the process. This essay will discuss both sides of the argument and I will provide my opinion on this matter. Considering the advantages of gathering such information, most companies are now pursuing professionals with very specific set of skills and lifestyles. The increase in complexity of activities developed by our society has resulted in some very restrict requirements, such as availability for travelling and unpredictable shifts. For example, those who work with maintenance of aircraft may be required to immediately travel to a different country to attend an airplane that is grounded. As a result, if a company does not properly profile its job applicants, by checking if they are married or have offsprings, it may realize later on that the employee is not suitable for the requirements of the job. On the other hand, many argue that employers should not assume candidates will necessarily blend its personal and professionals matters, as this could be pointed as a form of discrimination against certain groups. The selection criteria taken by corporations should only take technical factors into consideration, as this is the element that mostly defines their performance. For instance, while single parents are more likely to be subjected to schedule limitations, companies cannot be sure if this limitations will actually affect their professional results. Consequently, companies may ended up wasting the opportunity to hire a great talent due to its wrong assumptions, based only on hard data taken from an application form. In conclusion, I believe both sides have merits. Even though I understand that employees should ask for personal information to properly profile their candidates, I strongly support that hard data alone cannot show the whole picture of a professional, and therefore companies should always ask for clarifications before arriving to any conclusions.