Have you ever sat down to an interview and been asked something completely off the wall? Perhaps something about your race, ethnicity, or religion? How did you respond? Did you politely decline to answer? Did you indulge your interviewer’s curiosity? Did you make the interviewer aware that his or her line of questioning was discriminatory? Regardless of which avenue you decided to take, as one recent Wall Street Journal article acknowledges, such situations can be difficult to prepare for. In addition to this, inevitably, some job seekers will be unaware that such questions are prohibited (with some exceptions) by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. So how should you respond?
The Journal article advises bosses, when participating in interviews, to “stick strictly to job-related queries.” Thus, job seekers should do the same: if an interviewer asks a question that is either overtly, implicitly, or borderline discriminatory, steer the conversation back to the job and your qualifications. In the meantime, make note of the question and, if it was seriously out of line, take such into serious consideration if you are extended a job offer. Think about this: if the manager interviewing you made inappropriate comments or asked improper questions during the interview, there is a high likelihood that he or she interacts with current employees in the workplace in a similar fashion.
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