7 Common Illegal Interview Questions to Avoid
Posted May 26th, 2014
When conducting a job interview, be careful what you ask: many common interview questions – questions that seem innocuous on their face – are actually illegal.
Read below for a list of seven illegal questions often asked during an interview.
- Are you married? Many interviewers ask this question out of a sincere desire to get to know the candidate on a personal level. But the question is illegal because it reveals a candidate’s marital status (obviously) and also could reveal his or her sexual orientation.
- Do you have children? This is related to the question above. Again, many interviewers ask this question innocently because they’d like to find a commonality with the candidate. But, because it could also be asked to see how committed a candidate may be to a job, it’s an illegal question (as is one that asks if a candidate plans to marry/have children). If an interviewer wants to learn about a candidate’s time commitments, a better question to ask would be “What hours can you work?” or “Do you have responsibilities other than work that will interfere with certain job requirements?”
- What country are you from? This question could be a very innocent one: a candidate has an accent and the interviewer is interested in finding out where the accent comes from. But as an employer, you can’t ask this question. If you’re worried that the candidate might be in the country illegally, you can ask if the candidate is authorized to work in the U.S.
- How long have you been working? Be careful here: asking such a question could reveal a candidate’s age and open you to a charge of age discrimination should you choose not to hire the candidate.
- When was the last time you used illegal drugs? This question is a bit tricky because it is OK to ask a candidate if he or she is currently using illegal drugs. A better question to ask would be: “Do you currently use illegal drugs?”
- What religious holidays do you practice? While an employer may want to know if a candidate’s lifestyle could interfere with the company’s work schedule, it’s illegal to discriminate against a candidate due to his or her religion. A better question to ask is the candidate is “Are you able to work on Sundays?”
- How well do you balance your personal finances? Also, “Do you have any outstanding debt?” Like a candidate’s criminal history, it’s illegal to discriminate against someone when it comes to personal finances unless it directly affects the candidate’s ability to perform in the position. You can ask for permission to check the candidate’s credit history, however.
If you’re concerned that your managers might not know the ins and outs of illegal interview questions, why not let Bayside Solutions perform preliminary interviews for your San Jose company? We can cull through resumes and interview candidates following your criteria and then send you just top two or four candidates. If you are looking for recruiting agencies in San Jose, contact us today.
