Ask HN: Can companies ask for private info before any interview/offer?
Here is what they ask:<p>Hi XXXXX!<p>Thank you for reaching out to us, may I ask you how you found us and what peaks your interest in XXXXXX ? You have built some impressive tools, and I think we can offer you a set of great challenges in your daily work. You can find a brief intro to XXXX: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;XXXXX.XXX&#x2F;onepager.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;XXXXX.XXX&#x2F;onepager.pdf</a><p>I will briefly outline the steps of our hiring process so you have all necessary information and know what is going to happen. Luckily, it&#x27;s not that complicated. As a startup, we can allow our hiring process to be a lot simpler and faster than what you will find at most big companies! We just want to evaluate a few core competences, the rest we can teach you.<p>Step 0: CV<p>Could you please share your CV, including:<p>- date of birth<p>- phone number<p>- physical address<p>- citizenship<p>- marital status<p>- IBAN<p>- Copy of your passport<p>After we collected all information we will start the evaluation process. Please note that if there is some personal information which you prefer not to share yet, that is ok! We hope that you can send this to us before the interview in step 2. Furthermore, any confidential information can be encrypted using my PGP key: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;XXXXX.XXX&#x2F;pgp.asc" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;XXXXX.XXX&#x2F;pgp.asc</a><p>Step 1: Challenge
We first give all of our candidates a challenge. This challenge is by far our most important means of evaluation, so your effort will be greatly appreciated. Instead of a whiteboard interview, we have chosen for our test to be more similar to the type of work that you will be doing at summitto on a daily basis. That way you know what is awaiting you and we know that you are up for the challenges ahead. Although most of our applicants have been able to finish their challenges in a weekend, we do not set a time limit on any of our challenges, and the time is not taken into account in our evaluation. For us, communicating well and achieving good results are more important than the speed at which you can achieve them. We prefer quality over quantity, same as in our daily business!<p>Step 2: Interview
If the results of the challenge are promising, the interview will only be a formality in which you can talk to our team members during two to three interviews. This is really just a social check to see if we like each other and to see whether we can work together for many hours a day in the same room ;) but no more tests or coding required!<p>Step 3: offer
You made it. The challenge looks great, we match on a personal level, and you&#x27;ve managed to excite us about your talent. We&#x27;ll send you an offer as soon as possible, normally within a week, and we will discuss which items and equipment we can order to get you all settled in our office.<p>We&#x27;re looking forward to working together with you!<p>Secure regards,