Asking the right interview questions can help you find the right candidate. From updating your stale interview questions to assessing a candidate’s personality with behavioral questions, there are many ways to determine a candidate’s qualifications.
However, not every question you might think of is appropriate to ask in an interview.
In fact, some questions are illegal. Even if a question is not strictly defined as illegal, asking certain questions can lead to a lawsuit.
According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, not hiring someone based on certain information, like religion or race, is illegal.
So, to help you ensure your interview questions are appropriate, we’ve compiled examples of questions not to ask in an interview for you to consider below.
5 Questions Not to Ask in an Interview
1. How old are you? How long have you been working for?
This is one of the top questions not to ask in an interview! While unintentional, this question can be seen as an indirect way of asking a candidate’s age.
In general, not hiring a candidate due to their age can be considered age discrimination. This can apply to both older and younger candidates.
Other inappropriate variations of this question can include asking things like when they graduated high school, how old their children are, and so on.
A legal interview question alternative: Are you at least 18 years of age? Can you share more about your role at previous jobs?
2. Do you have any plans on having children?
This question is inappropriate for numerous reasons.
First, not hiring a candidate because she is pregnant is forbidden under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
Additionally, this can also be considered discrimination against a candidate due to medical or health-related information, which is also illegal.
While you can’t explicitly ask a candidate about their plans on having children, there are broader ways to ask a question that doesn’t require unnecessary personal information.
A legal interview question alternative: If necessary, would you be willing to relocate for this position?
3. What is your national origin? Do you have citizenship in the United States?
Asking a candidate where they are from can be considered inappropriate as it can lead to race, ethnicity, or even citizenship discrimination.
Generally, there are few if any situations that would require you to ask questions like this. One situation that may call for it would be ensuring a candidate can work in the United States but should be phrased to ask this instead.
A legal interview question alternative: Are you authorized to work in the United States?
4. Have you been diagnosed with any serious illnesses within the last few years?
Other types of questions not to ask in an interview include ones inquiring about medical status.
You may unintentionally consider this question when trying to determine if a candidate can perform certain job requirements.
Nonetheless, asking about specific medical information is not appropriate.
What’s the best way to ask a candidate if they can perform certain job requirements without asking about health conditions?
Your first step to achieving this would be to have an accurate job description prepared. By sharing this during or before the interview, you can then ask a candidate broad questions on how capable they are regarding certain tasks.
A legal interview question alternative: Are you able to complete the various tasks and responsibilities of this role?
5. Are you religious?
Unless your specific role or organization is religiously affiliated, and thus religion is a genuine qualification, asking about a candidate’s religion is unnecessary.
Some indirect questions to also avoid asking include ones about a candidate’s weekend schedule. Unless this role does require a candidate to work on the weekend.
A legal interview question alternative: Are you able to work a flexible schedule if this role calls for it?
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