Table of Contents
What questions are interviewers not allowed to ask?
Illegal Interview Questions
- Age or genetic information.
- Birthplace, country of origin or citizenship.
- Disability.
- Gender, sex or sexual orientation.
- Marital status, family, or pregnancy.
- Race, color, or ethnicity.
- Religion.
Which interview question is legally permissible?
Lawful Inquiries: “Can you lift 40 pounds?” or “Do you need any special accommodations to perform the job you’ve applied for?” or “How many days did you miss from work (or school) in the past year?” Such questions must be specific and relate to requirements listed in the job description.
How do you handle illegal interview questions?
Use a neutral and professional tone. By pointing it out, you are putting the employer on alert that you’re aware the question is off-limits. If they continue to ask the illegal question, you do have the right not to answer the question. And, you can always walk away from the interview.
How do you answer illegal interview questions?
How do I respond?
- Gracefully avoid the question and steer the conversation elsewhere.
- Keep your answers short, broad and general.
- Redirect a question to your interviewer.
- Ask the interviewer why the question is relevant to your job.
How do you answer unethical questions?
If you are asked a question that is too personal or may be illegal, you can choose not to answer. Instead, you may respond by stating that the question makes you uncomfortable and you’d rather stick to questions related to the position you’re interviewing for.
What questions are illegal to ask in a job interview?
What questions are illegal to ask during an interview? 1 Are you Hispanic? 2 Do you go to church? 3 How much do you weigh? 4 How old are you? 5 What country are you from? 6 Are you pregnant? 7 How many children do you have? 8 Are you married?
Is it illegal to ask someone their nationality in an interview?
As long as a candidate is authorised to assume employment where the job is located, it should be irrelevant what country they hail from or whether English is your first language. One’s nationality has no reflection in their job performance and this question is illegal for that very reason. 9. “Do you like to drink socially?”
Is it illegal to ask “Are you an alcoholic in an interview?
Unlikely to come up in an interview at all, this question has specifically been categorised as illegal in an interview setting to protect those who may answer it with, “No.” It protects the identities of recovering alcoholics, thus defending them against unethical treatment.
What should you not say in an interview?
This easily happens especially when you take candidates out for lunch or dinner. For example, avoid conversations that start out with you sharing the challenges of helping your kids with their homework after dinner. Seemingly innocuous interview questions, such as the following are illegal, or might as well be illegal: