This is freedom?
by digby
I'm always amazed at how narrowly people define freedom in this country. If you can carry a gun you're free. But if you have any objections to submitting to common behaviors like this just so you can put food on the table you are a whiner who just STHU. It's about the "tricks" employers use to investigate you in ways that circumvent discrimination laws (and common respect for privacy and basic human decency.) This is just one of them:
The car you drive and what's in plain view answer questions that the employer never asked you. I learned most of these car tests from a major health care IT provider. They'll look at type of car you drive and its condition. They'll compare that to your previous income. If you're driving a beat up clunker, but your resume says you were clearing six figures, something's not adding up. Sure, maybe you're frugal—but if other things are inconsistent, the car raises more questions. They might even ask you why you drive such an old car.
They'll look at the interior. Do you have fast food containers all over the place? How you keep your car tells them how keep your cubicle and could preview your work habits. If you've got an electric razor in the car, you don't take the time for proper hygiene. If you smoke, your car screams that habit. Even if you've cleaned the ashtray, that yellow film gets everywhere.
The most "evil" managers tell me they can ask your car questions companies don't ask during a job interview. The bumper stickers are the obvious give away. Answers about your politics, religion and age are all there. Less obvious are things like the magazines inside the car or a car seat. Employers shouldn't ask about your familial status. If you've got a car seat or other child related items, they know the answer.
Is it evil for them to look in your car? Absolutely. Do some companies do it anyway? Absolutely. They put themselves at risk for a discrimination suit. Most applicants aren't thinking the employer's looking at the car. You can't claim religious discrimination if it didn't come up in the interview. You also can't prove they looked in your car.
How do they know which car is yours? When you're doing the interview, an administrative assistant goes out and looks at the car. They'll keep a watch out for where you park or just look at the visitor parking. The really sneaky assistants give you a parking pass to put on your car. You think it's just a parking pass, but it's also a way of saying "Hey, I'm the person interviewing so check me out!"
This is the corporate world for you. Where you're "free" to accede to your employer's every demand for conformity to the most banal stereotypes and shallow psychological tropes --- as interpreted by corporate clones with less insight into human nature than your average zucchini.
The advice, by the way, is to be sure to leave nothing of yourself inside you car because you're being watched. You probably should borrow or rent a nicer one if you drive an old car. (And here I thought these sorts of superficial attitudes were only applicable to the entertainment business ...)
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