Dealing with Difficult or Unethical Questions

“What fictional character most clearly reflects your outlook on life?” This is an actual question that an interviewer asked a colleague of ours some years ago when she was applying to college. To this day, she remembers the question because she panicked—not because she lacked an answer, but because she wasn’t expecting the question. An interviewer might use such unexpected questions to seek insights into the way candidates view themselves or to judge how well they think on their feet. Some questions are simply tricky—they offer a challenge to the interviewee but also a great opportunity to show one’s strengths.

Other questions are more than just difficult; they are unethical and sometimes even illegal. Questions that have no direct bearing on job performance and have the potential to lead to discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, and marital or family status are illegal in the United States. Although an organization whose employees ask illegal questions during employment interviews can be subject to a variety of penalties imposed by the federal government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), such questions continue to be asked, and applicants must consider how to answer them. There are at least five tactics you can use to respond to illegal questions (Stewart & Cash, 2014). By answering briefly but directly, tactfully refusing to answer, or neutralizing the question, you respond without giving too much information or inviting further inquiry. You can also consider posing a tactful inquiry—that is, asking another question in response—or using the question as an opportunity to present some positive information about yourself. These five strategies are outlined with examples in Table A.6.

Table :

TABLE A.6 TACTICS FOR RESPONDING TO ILLEGAL QUESTIONS

Source: Adapted from Stewart & Cash (2011).

Tactic Sample lllegal Question Sample Answer
Answer directly but briefly. “Do you attend church regularly?” “Yes, I do.”
Pose a tactful inquiry. “What does your husband do?” “Why do you ask?” (in a nondefensive tone of voice)
Tactfully refuse to answer the question. “Do you have children?” “My family plans will not interfere with my ability to perform in this position.”
Neutralize. “What happens if your partner needs to relocate?” “My partner and I would discuss locational moves that either of us might have to consider in the future.”
Take advantage of the question. “Where were you born?” “I am quite proud that my background is Egyptian because it has helped me deal effectively with people of various ethnic backgrounds.”