Politics and religion are the two topics most families know not to venture into over dinner.In some countries and cultures, it’s downright rude to pry into these personal beliefs. At my family’s Thanksgiving table, it’s dangerous at best. In job interviews, topics such as these are exceptionally bad form
Other interviewers have made these mistakes before, meaning you don’t have to go through the same embarrassment of overstepping or offending. Even more of a liability, certain interview questions are illegal to ask and should be avoided lest your company is in the mood for a lawsuit.
Before you walk into the interview room, look over
These questions are illegal to ask in a job interview according to both federal and state laws. A limited few can be asked if an employer is able to prove that those qualities are relevant and necessary to fulfill a job’s specific requirements.
These exceptions are referred to as bona fide occupational
Interviewees have the right to not respond or to move past any of the aforementioned questions. In cases of discomfort, interviewees may consider leaving the interview, as interviews are as much for the candidate as they are for the company. In all situations, ask yourself if the question at hand has anything to do with your ability to perform the job.
If the questions are irrelevant and seem to come from a place of discrimination, move past them. Interviewers can ask questions around these topics, such as what hours per week you are available. If you have regular conflicts regarding your religion, those conflicts are something for the interviewer to be aware of.
Your specific beliefs, however, remain your private information.
These questions aren’t always offensive, but they are unnecessary. While you may think it’s funny to sit candidates through an in-person Buzzfeed quiz, they’ll leave feeling as though you’ve wasted their time and were never truly interested in their candidacy.
In order for candidates to take your company and the interview seriously, avoid questions such as the following which have no real place in a professional conversation.
As before, feel free to communicate to a potential employer that you feel uncomfortable answering that question, or explain why you feel it is not something they should have asked. If you’d like, turn the situation around by asking them a question.
“Could you please explain the relevance of this question to my performance in the role,” is a great way to reverse the question without seeming argumentative in an interview. If they don’t have a good answer for why they’re asking this question, you are justified in thinking it is inappropriate, and the employer has just given you a reason to not answer them.
When asked trick questions, it’s natural to want a moment to think of a reply. Feel free to take a minute to dig inside your brain and develop your answer. The pause may feel awkward, but your answer will benefit. Try and think of the question as a metaphor, and answer in such a way that exposes your values.
The actual question at hand is not what the employer wants answered. They want to know your priorities and understand your critical thinking skills to determine how you arrived at a decision. As with the other types of questions, if any “what-ifs” read as inappropriate or unnecessary, use your voice to speak up and say so.
There’s a reason some interview questions are illegal, and it’s because the power of employment can sometimes cause employers to take advantage of their interviewees.
G2 Crowd employees almost 200 employees, almost all of whom have held other positions before accepting their current role. It is inevitable that the employees and teammates here would have their own anecdotes regarding suspect, humorous, or wildly inappropriate interview questions.
Allow these first-hand retellings to steer you away from providing candidates similarly awkward experiences.
“I came into a company as a referral by a friend. As soon as the interview began, the lead asked me what all my friend had told me to say. A lot of companies have referral programs, but it’s still not appropriate to assume a candidate has been ‘coached’ or otherwise given an unfair advantage."
– Jordan Wahl, Senior Content Marketing and SEO Specialist
“At a former interview, I was asked how much money I was making. First off, it is illegal in many states (like California) to ask that question and secondly, it is totally inappropriate and makes it unfair on how much you can counteroffer.” - Kevin Benson, Senior Global Event Specialist
“A former
coworker of mine was asked what his religious views were, and if he was a ‘family man.’ The job had nothing to do with either questions.” - Romana Amato, Marketing Operations Manager“I had a director of sales ask me if I was a lion or a gazelle. I shared I’d be the lion in the picture, but then he asked if I would hunt to eat or hunt for sport. It very poorly circled back to some cheesy sales reference.”
– Malcolm Brown, Business Development Representative
There are a lot of power-hungry bosses out there who enjoy using interviews as a time to intimidate and strike fear into candidates. If that’s the kind of work environment your company enjoys, feel free to disregard all of the aforementioned advice (except for the “illegal questions” section – I strongly recommend you do not disregard federal and state law).
If you were asked one of these questions and feel uncomfortable with working in an environment that fosters an inappropriate interview process, you may want to learn how to decline a job offer politely and professionally.
If your hiring team is focused on using interviews as an opportunity to show off your fantastic organization and culture, then interviews will be inclusive, enjoyable experiences. They’re not meant to be easy; they should still challenge candidates and spur them to deliver the best responses possible.
But interviews are a reflection of the company standing on the other side of the glass. The questions you ask provide candidates an inside look into the heart of your
Grace Pinegar is a lifelong storyteller with an extensive background in various forms such as acting, journalism, improv, research, and content marketing. She was raised in Texas, educated in Missouri, worked in Chicago, and is now a proud New Yorker. (she/her/hers)
You’ve slaved away for years studying, scaling, aligning, kerning, and saturating.
Every job interview is different, but there’s one question at the bottom of an interviewer's...
It’s safe to say that many of us are familiar with the Boy Scouts' motto: Always be prepared.
You’ve slaved away for years studying, scaling, aligning, kerning, and saturating.
Every job interview is different, but there’s one question at the bottom of an interviewer's...