Conducting an interview is an art.

Conducting an interview is an art. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a job or if you are a journalist trying to get information from a source. Know what questions to ask, how to ask them, and when to ask them is a specific skill set. 

It’s 2020 and some employers still ask questions during the pre-employment interview that are out-of-bounds. So, we’ve worked up a list of these questions that should be avoided and how to ask the right question about a given topic.

Keep reading to learn about our top 3 questions that are out-of-bounds when conducting an interview.

QUESTION ONE: PREGNANCY & FAMILY

Employers should never ask about plans to have children. This type of question is generally asked of females but not males. Such a question may be proven to be discriminatory in nature because of an underlying stereotype and or assumption that starting a family might affect the applicant’s ability to meet the demands of the job. In addition, they have little to do with the applicant’s ability to do the job. 

A more appropriate question would be:  “Do you anticipate anything that would affect your ability to carry out the responsibilities of this job in the future?”

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):

“An employer may not base hiring decisions on stereotypes and assumptions about a person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.” 

As an HR consultant to small business, I always advise my client to ask the right types of questions on a consistent basis, especially when multiple people deliberate over candidates in several rounds of interviews.

Let’s look at some other questions that could be troubling.

QUESTION TWO: DISABILITY, ILLNESS, MENTAL ILLNESS

Questions to avoid when it comes to topics around disability, illness, or mental illness include:

Q: “Do you suffer from an illness or disability?” 

Q: “Have you had a major illness recently?”  

Q: “Have you ever been treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist?”

Employers generally cannot ask disability-related questions or require medical examinations until after an applicant has been given a conditional job offer. This is because, in the past, this information was frequently used to exclude applicants with disabilities before their ability to perform a job was evaluated.

 Curious about the role that first impressions take in interviewing? Read more here.

QUESTION THREE: AGE

Questions to avoid around the topic of age include:

Q: “How old are you?” 

Q: “When did you graduate from high school?”

Employers should never ask you your age unless it is a bonafide requirement of the position. 

Questions such as these may be perceived to be evidence of age discrimination by an applicant over forty who is disgruntled when turned down for a job. I know of one employer in the past that worried older applicants would not have enough “runway left” to add long term value. The statistic that millennials will change jobs about ten times by the age of 42 dispels that mindset!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Questions on Gender, Marital Status, Disability, Age and National Origin should be avoided unless it has a legitimate business need for such information. 

2. Always have predetermined questions and review them prior to the interview and never “wing it.”

3. Adopt a mindset that your interview is intended to determine "How are you qualified to perform the job you are applying for?” 

Remember, hiring the right person is one of the most important decisions you will make in running a business. It can be complicated and overwhelming too.

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