A typical employment form contains sections that allows employers to dive a little into your past and personal life. However, during an interview employers are only allowed to ask questions that will allow them to judge how well you might perform in a position if the job is offered to you. Laws and regulation govern the selection process of an applicant. Employers are not allowed to ask questions during an interview based on race, religion,sex,age, national origin, ethnicity, and disability.
We have listed a few examples of questions that you should avoid answering (these are just examples but they give an idea on what not to answer during a job interview).
- We have a young group of people working for us. Do you think you can work well with colleagues that are much younger than you?
- How many children do you have? How old are they?
- Who did you vote for in 2008?
- Do you have any disabilities or health related problems?
- Have you ever been convicted?
- Are you religious? What church do you go to?
- Are you married? May I ask what your spouse does?
- Where are you from originally? You don’t sound like you were born in U.S.
- Do you rent or own a home?
- What would you call yourself: saver or spender?
Avoid answering interview questions that relates to:
- date of birth, age
- anything related to your health
- your credit history or finances
- religious affiliation
- political affiliation
- national origin
- arrest record
- marital history
- any personal information (family, number of children, etc.)
Those are some of the things that you don’t have to and shouldn’t answer during an interview. Some of these information are already collected through the job application form and interview questions should focus only on your ability to perform the job for the position you are being hired.
