The 'Skinny' on Job Interview Questions

Several years ago I had a job interview with a locally prominent and well-respected organization. The person who interviewed me was highly educated and, at least at first, appeared very professional. He asked me the following questions: Are you married? Do you plan to become pregnant? How many children do you have? How is your health? How old are you?

Why were these questions inappropriate? What's Illegal, and Why? According to the American Civil Liberties Union book, The Rights of Employees and Union Members, federal law makes it illegal to discriminate against job applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, disability or age (if an applicant is over 40 years of age). In addition, some states forbid discrimination due to sexual orientation, romantic relationship, arrest record, political affiliation, marital status, color blindness, unfavorable military discharge, alien status, sickle cell trait, bankruptcy, or because an applicant is subject to a childcare support withholding order. Some interview questions can be construed as evidence of discrimination against legally protected classes of people. For this reason, interviewers should avoid questions that directly reveal an applicant's age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, pregnancy or disability. Three of the questions I was asked (the questions about pregnancy, health and age) violated the law because they directly sought to reveal whether I belonged to any of these protected classes of people. Questions that indirectly reveal protected characteristics may also be considered evidence of discrimination and thus violate the law. Examples of such unlawful questions include inquiries about marital status, number of children, friends or relatives working for the company, criminal records, credit rating, wage garnishment and terms of military discharge. The questions I was asked about marital status and number of children were unlawful because they indirectly attempted to reveal protected characteristics. Federal law does more than prohibit direct discrimination by employers; it also prohibits indirect discrimination by third parties. Employment agencies, for example, may not discriminate when referring applicants to prospective employers. Also, prospective employers may not ask references or former employers questions that the law bars them from asking the applicant directly. What's Legal? When interviewing a job applicant, a good rule of thumb is to ask only questions that relate directly to the job. To decide what questions to ask, keep in mind that the purpose of the interview (from the employer's perspective) is to discover which applicant is best qualified, most able and most willing to do the job. Evaluating an applicant's qualifications and ability is fairly straightforward - ask specific questions about education, training and work experience. Examples of such questions include the following: Have you attended any training courses for laboratory instrumentation? Which ones? On your last job, approximately how many pediatric patients did you draw per week? How much microbiology experience do you have? In addition to asking questions, an employer may require applicants to take tests to assess their proficiency in required skills. For example, a hematology supervisor might assess applicants' proficiency in manual differential counts by requiring them to perform diffs on a series of slides. Because it's more subjective, evaluating an applicant's interest and willingness to do the job may be more difficult than assessing ability. Even so, carefully framed job-related questions can help assess interest and motivation. To determine if a qualified candidate is also a good fit for the job, ask questions such as these: What attracted you to this position? What kind of work environment do you prefer? Describe the most difficult problem you encountered at work. How did you resolve it? Avoid Stereotypes I believe that when employers ask illegal questions on an interview, it is usually because they subconsciously stereotype people. That's not fair to the applicant, and it's not good for the organization. When interviewers rely on superficial stereotypes to judge an applicant, they fail to learn anything substantive about the person's real abilities and motivation. Equally bad, they send a powerful message that the organization has a biased corporate culture. In the job interview I referred to at the beginning of this column, the interviewer's questions revealed his biased belief that a woman's marital status and family obligations determine how she will function as an employee. I left the interview knowing that I did not want to work for that company. When I was called for a second interview, I turned it down. Laura Massey is a freelance writer with extensive managerial experience in a variety of clinical laboratory environments.