Why you must answer illegal Interview questions

Illegal interview questions? Answer them

Illegal Interview Questions

We are all familiar with illegal interview questions. We have all been raised with the notion that, since they are illegal, we shouldn’t answer them. ANSWER THEM!!!! My advice to you is to not miss a beat and not blink an eye. Don’t just answer them; prepare for them. How is this different than the question, “How many ridges on a quarter?”. Make a stink around ANY question asked during the interview, and you will make the decision easy for the employer. Decline the candidate and move on.  The company may be wrong, but no one wants to hire a troublemaker.  I don’t want to hire someone who will cause difficulties for the hiring manager. Shit rolls downhill. I am looking up a tall hill with a steep incline.

There are no illegal interview questions

From a court of law perspective, there are no illegal interview questions. It is OK to ask, “How old are you?” in an interview. That question is NOT illegal.  It is illegal to base the hiring decision on the answer. The situation quickly becomes a chicken or egg scenario, and a Kobayashimaru is all rolled up into one. If you aren’t basing the hiring decision on this question, then why ask it? The company may be able to prove its innocence in a court of law. Going to court, the bad press and PR, it’s a nightmare. It’s the last thing I want to deal with on my watch as the head of an HR department.

I say that candidates should answer the illegal interview question and move on. Questions about age, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Answer them all. I fit two of the protected classes, and looking at me, some would say 3. As a minority, I appreciate the sensitivity around these questions as much as the next guy. I am here to tell you that many of these questions are asked during the interview process. What we need to remember is that the interviewer doesn’t know they are illegal.

Do we think interviewers intentionally want to break the law and jeopardize a lawsuit?

Many folks will tell you you don’t have to answer illegal interview questions. They would be correct; you don’t. We can ask if religion, age, or sexual orientation is relevant to the job. This is a perfectly good response. This answer is perfectly within your legal rights. You could even bring a lawsuit against the interviewing company.  A lawsuit isn’t going to get you the job. Any lawsuits will incur upfront costs and be highly publicized. It will make it difficult to secure any future job.

The real question

We won’t be hired by answering an interview question with an accusation or evasion. My advice is to be prepared for these questions and answer them effectively.  Your job is to prepare for the illegal interview questions so no one skips a beat during the interview process. Treat them like any interview question, such as “Tell me about yourself.” This should be answered in the same way we would answer Microsoft’s question, “How would you move Mt. Fuji?”

Want to make an interview awkward? Put up a fight on an illegal interview question. If there is a “situation” in the interview room, candidates won’t make it to the next stage. 

I practice mock interviews with folks over 40. When I ask their age, I get this look of horror. I always get pushback. Some candidates will evade or refuse to answer. Some folks will walk away from that mock interview. I am confident this will be a deal-breaker for the hiring company in an interview. This is precisely why I want to practice the question. Chances are the question will never be asked. I want them ready. I don’t want them to miss a beat.

Get the offer first, then roll your neck

You can decide whether the job and the company culture are right for you after you receive the offer. Put yourself in a position where YOU can accept or decline the offer. You don’t want the employer declining you because of some dumb-ass interviewer that didn’t know any better.

Some will say that by answering these questions, HRNasty is part of the problem.  Others will say that you are being violated and shouldn’t put up with it.  Some may go as far as to say I am encouraging the continued behavior.

My response to them is that:

1. These individuals are likely employed. When you need to pay the rent, you want to capitalize on every opportunity. (and there are fewer of them out there).  You can always leave a job when a better one comes along. Until then, focus on getting a job and paying the rent. Do not focus on eliminating yourself from the running.
2. Who is the most qualified person to determine if you should answer that question or not? You know your financial situation and your comfort level during an interview.

I want to go on record and propose an alternative option. Everyone is so conditioned to be sensitive to these illegal interview questions. Our first reaction, when asked about age or where we live, is to put up a defense mechanism. We feel like it is within our right to decline that question.

My advice: Prepare for these questions, answer them, and own the illegal interview questions and answers.

Why no training?

In a small company, there may not be an HR department. Hiring is left to the office administrator, who likely lacks HR experience and may not understand HR law. They are learning on the fly. If there is no HR department or a lack of focus on HR, there will most likely be no HR training on interviewing. I like VC Seth Levines attitude towards HR. He knows how to avoid these situations. 

Managers with no interview training will be put in a room with you and left to fend for themselves.  They will also come up with a verdict on whether or not you should be hired.  In this case, it won’t be the most qualified person that lands the job; it will be the candidate who is the best interviewer.

Not asked to be a jerk; they don’t know

These questions usually come from well-intentioned people. Employees who took time out of their busy day to interview someone. Just an appointment in their calendar with a resume attached. Can you blame them for not knowing anything different?

You just interviewed with a large company that has a full-blown HR department?  HA!  When was the last time you heard of anyone attending interview training? In a tough economy, training and development are often among the first departments to be cut. Often, the hiring manager will ask their senior personnel to conduct the interviews. The assumption here is that, since they are seniors, they have likely done this before and have received training, so there is no need to send them to an interview training program.  It is a vicious cycle.

If there was training, it consisted of a single statement. “It is illegal to ask these questions,” without explaining why.

Yes, it isn’t fair

So, I throw it out before you get all hot and bothered by the illegal question.  Yes, it is irresponsible, rude, and irrelevant to the job.  Shit happens.  Landing a job offer after being asked a few of these illegal questions is a job well done.  Quitting it for a better job is just plain Nasty.

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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