Illegal Questions
Interviewing Skills | Office of Career Services

Unfortunately, there is still bias and prejudice in this country and people do ask illegal and inappropriate questions, most of which are asked to women. Questions like are you married and do you have any children are the most common. Usually, they are asked for a harmless reason, such as trying to find out if someone’s significant other would mind if the candidate travels a lot if they were hired or whether a baby in the family will cause the mother or father to run home every time there is the slightest problem. However, there may be other reasons that these and other illegal questions are asked and you should be prepared to handle them.

Of course, if you don’t feel offended and don’t mind answering a certain question, then there isn’t a problem. Many women don’t mind saying that they are married or have children. On the other hand, many do mind. In the case that you do mind, asking why the interviewer feels that the question is important usually will diffuse the situation and the prospective employer will hopefully realize that he or she is in dangerous territory. You may also want to say that the question makes you feel uncomfortable if they pursue this type of questioning. If this type of questioning continues, you may want to seriously consider whether you want to work for this person or an organization that supports this type of behavior. If you feel so inclined, you may want to write a letter to the interviewer’s supervisor stating that you have no interest in the organization because of the questions that were asked in the interview and then list the offensive questions.