How to answer inappropriate questions in a job interview

There are some questions that are off limits during job interviews – including asking your age. And here’s how to respond if you’re put in an awkward position.

Inappropriate interview questions are common and there are multiple ways to respond.

The interviewer may try to find out your age, or if you have children or are married – all questions that are illegal if they are unrelated to your ability to do the job.

They might ask “What do you like to do on the weekends?” because they want to know if you spend time with your children.

They disguise it as caring about your well-roundedness but they are trying to find out about your family and marital status.

You do not have to be so open and tell your entire life story.
They can sometimes guess something about you in the job interview in the hope you will confirm, deny or react.

Employers can find roundabout ways to ask inappropriate questions. Picture: iStock

If they directly ask something inappropriate, you can say with a laugh “Oh you can’t ask me that, it’s actually illegal”.

If someone asks “How old are you?”, say “You will find out when I fill out the employment form”.

If someone asks “Are you married?”, say “Could you explain to me the relevance of that question for this job?”

You have to stand your ground even in an environment where you really want the job.

You have to be firm.

They know exactly what they are doing and if they don’t, they shouldn’t be running companies or HR departments.

For married women, I sometimes recommend not wearing a wedding ring to a job interview if they feel that is going to hinder their chances of getting a position.

It’s a personal choice, however I always did that and I know plenty of people who have done that for leadership roles.

For women, some interviewers assume if you are married then you have got kids and don’t have time for the position.

It doesn’t apply for men, though.

Amanda Rose says some women take off their wedding ring before a job interview. Picture: John Feder

Inappropriate questions are asked in all industries but particularly for jobs that are extremely demanding.

Small businesses can get a bit nosy and might not know the legalities of things but it happens in all industries and at all levels.

Not every company does it but it is still very common.

Amanda Rose is a business consultant, workplace trainer, LinkedIn influencer and founder of six organisations – and now she is tackling your career questions for SMART Daily every Monday.

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Originally published as How to answer inappropriate questions in a job interview