An interviewer should not ask you questions about your age, religious background, ethnicity, marital status or gender. However, an interviewer might not be aware that they’re actually asking you something that’s inappropriate, with the intention of them being friendly or trying to find out a little bit about your personality. Some examples of illegal questions might be: “How old are you?” “Do you have any children?” “What’s your religious background?”
Now the reason why they should not ask these questions is because it bares no reflection on your ability to do the job and it also has the potential for it to be discriminated on.
How can I handle inappropriate questions?
When an interviewer asks a question that you feel is inappropriate, remember that you do not have to give any information that you feel uncomfortable with. This situation is always a difficult one, when you come across it in an interview, however there’s a couple of different ways that you can answer. One of those is to remain professional and pleasant and ask the relevance of the information to the position. Another way would be to think about what the employer’s real concern is behind the question and structure your answer to address this. If you feel comfortable answering the question, then another way is to answer it or provide a direct response.
Examples of inappropriate questions might be: “How old were you when you completed your degree?” Let’s assume the employer’s concern is that you do not have the experience or maturity to handle the role, so you might answer by talking about how your skills and experiences have been appropriately addressed and matched towards the role and position.
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