Getting hired in Israel

Leave the U.S. and you will be reminded that while we have crossed the line of common sense with litigation, the original intent for having some legal recourse is a good thing.

I have been hearing some of the "horror stories" from job hunting first hand from a friend here.  While most of the major public corporations follow international hiring standards, she has had some interesting experiences with a few private firms. 

Not long into a recent interview, she was asked, "What does your father do for work in the U.S.?" and then, "So, are you married? Do you have any children?" She handled this as gracefully as she could, by replying with, "How will that be relevant to the position?"  The hiring manager apparently viewed this as an open opportunity for debate, as his response was, "Well, if a woman comes in for an interview, and she has four children, don't you think I have a right to know this?"  A few minutes of this back and forth made it quite clear that she wasn't interested in working with these people, so she gave him the best response she could - "Well, I'm single, have no kids, and would you like to know when I'm ovulating?"

On the other hand, she has had better luck getting an explanation when not selected, whereas in the U.S. the standard response is, "we had many highly qualified candidates and had to choose the one who was the best fit for the position."  And that basically means, I'm not telling you a thing because I don't want a lawsuit.

I have been networking a little here so far, but haven't gone on any official interviews.  I'll let you know what I discover first hand, although my meager Hebrew skills will probably preclude me from access to the good story-making interviews.