Illegal Interview Questions - What They Are And How To Handle Them

This article provides information on Illegal Interview Questions - What They Are And How To Handle Them

When it comes to successfully participating in a job interview for a job that you are interested in, there is a lot to remember to ensure that you give the best impression of yourself and you’re career history. So, what do you do when you get thrown an illegal interview question? If you haven’t even considered this a possibility as happening in an interview, it is worth some time. Though you want to impress the employer and get the job, you have to be able to retain your own rights as a candidate. So, what is illegal to ask, and how can you handle these questions if they come your way?

The following can never be asked of an applicant for a job position, simply because they are evident of possible discrimination on the part of the hiring party:

1. Race
2. Sex
3. Color
4. Religion
5. Birthplace
6. Age
7. National origin
8. Marital/Family Status
9. Disability

So, what do you do you they do ask you one of these questions? There are a number of options, depending on what you are most comfortable with:

• Answer the question
• Change the subject and avoid the question
• Answer for the legal intent of the question
• Decline to answer on the grounds of it being illegal

If you are asked a question about any one of the illegal topics above, you should consider the following:

1. Quality Company: If a member of the hiring team-which is representative of the company to you-is asking illegal questions of probable discrimination, do you really want to work in a situation such as that? Probably not. If they think that it is ok to inquire about certain aspects of your identity, it is obviously grounds for some of their decisions-and if you do have one of those characteristics, do you want to be subject to internal discrimination on a daily basis. This is something that should be closely considered when you decide whether you want to call them on their illegal action or not.

2. Deliberate or Not: It should also be considered that many hiring managers who commit this indiscretion are probably not even aware that they are doing so. They could be unaware of the parameters of the law, and therefore, not even meaning to discriminate with the answers.

3. File: At this point, you need to decide if you want to file a charge against the company for discrimination. If you believe that you have been demonstratively discriminated against for any one of the areas of discrimination above, you can file charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.