Looking for a job and doing all the requisite document planning and interviewing is no fun. It’s not supposed to be. In fact, the process of job search is mind-numbing and repetitive. Thankfully, you survive after putting yourself through all the emotional changes and anxieties – even when you don’t succeed at getting the job! A committed job search is a testament to one’s stamina and will power. And if you’re doing it correctly, you’ve put yourself through countless interviews, been asked the same or similar questions a zillion times, and have gone through the process of preparing your answers to the most difficult questions to make the job search process less painful.
Much emphasis is placed on the necessity to practice your interviewing skills and develop the ability to answer pretty much any question asked on the fly, no matter how seemingly difficult or trivial the inquiry might be. And the ability to do so is important. To succinctly and accurately address an interviewers’ queries can mean the difference between interviewing success or failure.
But what should you do when an interviewer asks you a question you know they shouldn’t ask? Whether asked deliberately in hopes of you revealing something personal but irrelevant to your ability to do a particular job, or to see how you handle stress and discomfort, the “wrong” questions are all too frequently still asked. Yes, ignorance and inexperience are partly to blame; not all interviewers have the training or employment-law knowledge to fully understand what they can and can’t ask.
In many states, job applicants are not required to answer direct questions about age, religion, sexual orientation or disabilities during interviews. Specific rights may vary by state, but on the whole, those four areas are technically off-limits during most interviews. That the “wrong” questions still get asked too often is a remnant of the way things used to be done. Too many companies and their employees are not yet enlightened that those four areas are out of bounds.
Many formal job applications still ask for the candidate’s specific Date of Birth. That’s o.k., but it eliminates any guesswork about your age. Regardless, an interviewer can usually approximate your age if your resume reveals the year of your high school or university graduation. If your documents indicate you graduated from college in 2005, the base assumption that you were approximately 22 to 24 when you left school hints that your current age is about 42-44.
Age discrimination is a very real thing and many employers won’t admit it out loud but they want their staffs young and eager and cheap. They erroneously believe that older workers aren’t as productive or up-to-date with their skills and expect higher pay. If asked about your age, and the question doesn’t make you uncomfortable you can choose to answer it directly. Or you can choose to not answer it by saying something like, “I’ve been around the block a few times and likely have as much experience as anyone else on your team.” Or, “Regardless of my age, I can demonstrate the high level of competency you need for this position.” Said earnestly and without snark these types of statements should defuse the question of age. Reminding your interviewer that the question is illegal is not suggested!
Inquiries about disabilities and physical limitations have been part of the formal application process for a great many years. By putting these questions in front of all applicants, they aren’t considered legally prejudicial even though they were originally intended to filter out less able-bodied applicants. Many job announcements include specific ability requirements, such as, “the ability to lift and move up to 50 pounds several times a day,” even though that specific function may never actually be required. If you are asked a direct and specific question about a disability during an interview, there is usually no assumption that the same questions would have been asked of another person.
Regardless of whether an individual’s disability is visible to the outside world their employment challenges are staggeringly high. Stigma, fear, lack of understanding, ignorance, concerns about costs, and poor training are among the many reasons employers give for not hiring more people with disabilities. Those with extreme needs usually know to ask for accommodations that enable them to be productive. Most of those accommodations are inexpensive, and some can even be paid for by the states’ Department of Rehabilitation. In some communities, incentives may be available to employers that hire people with disabilities.
Depending on the specific question being asked, candidates can lessen the impact of the employers’ concerns by being direct and forthcoming about their disability and their accommodation needs, if any, and confirming their ability to do the job being applied for. But it is the applicant’s right to not address disability questions, keeping the focus on their abilities not their disabilities.
While this is an oversimplification of these matters, they are nonetheless important considerations for all applicants. Familiarizing yourself with laws surrounding hiring, agism, disability, protected classes, etc., is a necessity to protect your rights and know when you’re up against ignorance and bias.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against by an interviewer and been asked inappropriate or blatantly illegal questions, you have a choice: You can choose to answer or not. You can also choose to file a complaint with the nearest Human Rights Commission office and the U.S. Department of Fair Housing and Employment.
Employers talk a lot about the importance of company and departmental culture yet too often qualified people are
refused jobs because they are different than the employers’ narrow perception of what their staff should look like. In the process they deny their teams the benefits of working with qualified and diverse talent! It’s long past time for all employers to stop asking the “wrong” questions!
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