Do holidaying habits relate to your ability to work?

It cannot be denied that the job market is becoming more competitive as a result of the economic climate, and consequently job interviews are becoming increasingly tougher. Yet I was shocked when I heard of some of the questions asked at interviews for sales assistants at a new shop in my town. The shop will remain nameless, but suffice to say it is a well known chain store worshipped by the young and naive on the loose with daddy’s credit card and a penchant for pink and navy stripes. The sorts of questions being asked included ‘What do your parents do for a living?’, ‘Did your parents go to university?’ and even ‘Where do you usually go on holiday?’ It cannot be denied that interviewers often ask questions such as the latter as an icebreaker, to relax candidates at the start of an interview, and perhaps it is important to match the staff to the clientele of the store, but surely none of this information is relevant to a candidate’s ability to serve customers to a high standard? Several people refused their interview after hearing the sorts of questions being asked, for fear of being rejected due to their holidaying habits rather than their qualifications or ability to do the job.