9 Questions You Can't Ask Candidates in an Interview

Well, you can, but you might put your organization at risk. Under the laws of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or EEOC), it is illegal for employers to discriminate against someone because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It's also illegal to retaliate against that person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. And the law applies to every aspect of employment, including recruiting and interviewing. 

As Taylor Swift says...It's me. Hi. I'm the problem. It's me.

I'm sure we've all been in interviews where the you're-my-new-best-friend banter starts to come out. But sometimes that small talk can lead interviewers down tricky paths. So before you receive that dreaded letter in the mail with EEOC in the top left of the envelope, check out the 9 questions below to NOT ask in an interview. These are obvious (hopefully) and maybe not-so-obvious examples: 

• Age - “what year did you graduate?”

• Disability - “what’s that accommodation for?”

• Race - “where is your family from?”

• Religion - “what church do you go to?”

• Sex/marital status - “what does your partner do for work?”

• National origin/citizenship - “when did you move to the US?”

• Financial status - “how much retirement do you have saved?”

• Military service - "what branch did you serve in?" or “when were you stationed there?"

• Arrests/convictions - “what did you do time for?”

With the search for talent being the Wild, Wild West right now (not Will Smith’s version), you can take the simple step of doing your best to avoid discrimination lawsuits. Also, if you do receive an EEOC letter, make sure you have an employment lawyer in your back pocket.

If you want to talk about ways to design an amazing...and compliant...candidate experience for your organization, schedule a virtual coffee chat with me today.

My new-best-friend banter includes Taylor Swift (obviously), food, and pop culture puns.