Page 185 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Bonus:

How to Handle Illegal Interview Questions

Because of the United States’ strong anti-discrimination laws, many job interview questions are
actually illegal—this includes questions about your gender, children or future children, marital
status, nationality, religion, disability, and age.

However, this doesn’t stop all employers from asking them. Not all of them ask with bad intent—
some are just trying to make conversation with you and maybe find common ground—but the question
is inappropriate just the same and you do not have to answer it.

You don’t want to come right out and tell them that what they are asking is an illegal question they
have no right to know the answer to. That tends to increase the tension and create an antagonistic
conversation you might not be able to turn around, and your job interview will be ruined—even if the
employer actually had a high level of interest in you as a candidate.

If you can, try to tactfully dodge the question without actually answering it. Here are a few illegal
interview questions with ideas for how to address them.

Questions About Gender
Usually these questions center around something like, “Do you really think you can run a team of all

men?”
A good answer would just slide right past that and say:
“I am very comfortable in a management role. In my last position, my team achieved X.”

Questions About Children
These are usually tied to gender, asked only of female candidates. They might say, “Do you have

good childcare?” meaning, “Are you going to call in sick when you have to take care of your kids?”
You should say:
“I am absolutely committed to my professional obligations and to the people here who would

depend on me.”
If they say, “Are you planning on having children?” or “Are you planning on having more

children?” Unless you are pregnant right at that moment, I would just say, “No.” First of all, you never
know what the future holds, and second of all, it’s none of their business.

Questions About Marital or Family Status