Because you have sat through nerve-wracking interviews when you were the person being grilled, you promise yourself you will do your best to make job candidates comfortable when you are interviewing them. But keeping things comfortable is one thing; asking friendly questions that could be illegal could get you into lots of hot water – and could potentially put your company at risk of being sued.
From hiring managers who know the score, here are five job interview questions inexperienced managers should avoid asking job interviewees – and interviewees should know are out of bounds:
- How many children do you have? – It seems innocent, but personal questions not directly related to the job are off-limits. If you want to know about the interviewee’s time flexibility, you may ask if they are available to work overtime if needed or are comfortable working flexible hours.
- Where do you go to church? – Unless you work for a religious organization, questions about religious affiliation or the holidays people celebrate are a no-no.
- How long have you lived in the U.S.? – While you can ask if someone is legally allowed to work in the United States, you can’t ask questions about whether they are citizens, how long they’ve lived in the U.S., or what country they are originally from.
- Have you ever been arrested? – In some states, employers may only ask potential hires whether they’ve ever been convicted of a crime, not whether they’ve been arrested. People are often arrested and later cleared of any wrongdoing, and it is unfair for employers to discriminate against those individuals. Make sure you understand what the laws are in your state.
- When do you plan to retire? – Asking when a person plans to stop working could lead to charges of age discrimination if you’re not careful. If you’re trying to get a sense of how long a person plans to stay in the workforce, better to ask about long-term career goals.
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