Illegal Job Interview Questions and Answers
Federal and state legislation prohibits employers from asking certain questions during the interview based on race, religion, creed, sex and age. Not all employers are familiar with these laws, particularly small employers. What should you do if you are asked one of these illegal questions? Experts say if you want the job, you should ignore their illegality and answer the questions. Others recommend that you very tactfully point out that the question is illegal. Whatever you decide to do, keep in mind that if you offend the interviewer, you will not get the job offer.
What should you do if asked an illegal question? If you want the job it wouldn't be wise to point out to the interviewer that he has asked a bad question. Instead, just answer it unless it offends you so much that you feel the need to point out the insult. You can simply respond, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel that question is relevant to the position for which I'm interviewing." Of course, if you do this, chances are you will offend the interviewer and you won't get the job.
Another tactic to win more job offers is to volunteer information that it is illegal for the interviewer to ask. For example, if you're a young female you know that the interviewer is concerned that you're planning to start a family soon or already have a house full of young children that might interfere with your job. Since he isn't supposed to ask you anything about children you can volunteer this information: "I decided a long time ago that I do not want to have children, so I have no family obligations now or in the future that could prevent me from traveling extensively if offered this position" OR "My children are away at college now, so I can work late and on weekends if necessary."
Question 94: How old are you?
Employers are not allowed to ask age-related questions, such as your birth date or the year you graduated from high school in order to determine your age. However, it isn't hard to guess a person's age from their appearance or from the work history that appears on a resume. An employer can ask you to verify that you are at least 18 years old. Why do employers ask age-related questions? An employer might be concerned that you are either too young or too old to do the job, but usually, the discrimination is against the old rather than the young. So, there are two ways you can answer this question: (1) Tell them it is illegal to ask this question and you will be reporting them to the proper authorities (and not get the job offer); or (2) emphasize the positive without giving out your exact age. Good answer: "I assume you're asking me this question because you might be concerned that I am not up on the latest in computer science because of my age. I am over 40 and know significantly more about computer software than I did when I graduated from college at the age of 22. I have kept up with the latest developments in computer science, and in addition, I have considerable experience in the field."
