by Catherine Twiss
Most skilled and professional interviewers know that there are certain things you simply can't ask at interview - but not everyone's a professional and horror stories abound about some of the questions asked at interview.
No go question areas:
Interviewers should not ask any questions that deal with sex, race, colour, disability, marital/family status, political persuasion, age, financial situation including whether or not they're a home owner. More specifically some of the stupid questions you might encounter include:
- Are you married/divorced/single?
- Which political party do you support?
- Have you any disabilities/mental impairment?
- How many children do you have?
- Are you planning to have children in the near future?
- Are you in debt?
- Have you ever had drugs?
- 8. Are you religious/Do you believe in God?
How to respond:
You have the choice to respond in a number of different ways. For example:
- You can respond with humour eg smile/laugh and say "are you serious, I'd rather not go there", or "that's a strange question, I've not been asked that before, why have you asked me"?
- You can get defensive and refuse to respond, though chances are your application won't be taken further, or,
- You could be honest and respond to their question but it's hit and miss as to whether or not what you say is what they want to hear!!
The first response above is recommended, best to stay neutral and 'not go there' in the nicest possible way. Lets face it do you really want to work for someone who is discriminatory or so ignorant of the law?
If however you believe an interviewer has crossed the line and you want to take action it's best to contact the Equal Opportunities Commission in your local state or territory.
Have you got a stupid or illegal question you've been asked and how did you handle it, blog us and share your horror stories with us
