5 questions that you probably didn’t know are illegal to be asked during a job interview

Right now is a great time to have a technical education. Consumer trends indicate a strong preference towards gadgets and technological conveniences that can be incorporated into our daily lives (e.g. the internet of things). Couple this with a budding job market, and you have the makings for a relatively robust, well-paying career marketplace for programmers, engineers, product designers, and more. 

Now, while this is well and good for today’s technology professionals, generally speaking it can also create a problem for those new to the job market, or those who are re-entering in hopes of finding a better career. These two groups might not be aware of what information they should divulge about themselves, and what they should keep protected.

The following is a list of the five most oft-cited questions in interviews of technology professionals which are, technically, illegal for the hiring manager to ask. Being asked any of them is not always a bad thing — some hiring managers are just as much in the dark — but knowing in advance to your sit down with a potential employer what questions you should answer, and what information you should keep private, will help in presenting yourself as a stronger candidate rather than if you were to divulge any of this information.

What country are you from?

Granted, this may or may not pertain to you as an individual, but for the technology industry, this is pertinent to a large group of workers who come from outside the country in hopes of landing a job in the United States. As long as you’re authorized to work in the country where the job is located (something the hiring manager is allowed to ask), employers are not allowed to inquire as to which country you are from because nationality discrimination is illegal.

To this point, they also cannot ask if English is you first or second language.

Do you observe any religious holidays?

Somewhat branching off the first question, as different parts of the world celebrate different holidays, a company cannot ask you what religion you observe, nor what religious holidays you celebrate. This is because it will affect your need to take time off which, in turn, can impact how reliable you are seen as being in the eyes of the hiring manager. 

Getting out of the question is a bit tricky, but the best way to go about it is to simply state that you do not wish to discuss your religion, but assure the company that it will not interfere with your ability to do the job to which you are applying.

How old are you?

This question is less a problem for recent college graduates, and more so an issue for more mature candidates. Simply put, it is illegal for a company to discriminate against anyone over 40 on the basis of age. If the question is asked, you can play it casual and just recognize that while the hiring manager probably has a sense of how old you are based on your resume, you do come with a ton of experience for the company to draw upon. 

When did you graduate?

Again, similar to the question above, you are allowed to avoid answering this question because in doing so, you might be tipping your hand in terms of how old you are. This could lead to the company disregarding your application because you are deemed as being too old, too close to retirement, or too un-educated when it comes to the new way of doing things. 

To this end, you are technically allowed to leave the date of graduation off your resume to avoid giving the hiring manager the opportunity to do a little math. 

If the company presses for an answer on the matter, you can provide it, but then ask how / why this affects your candidacy. At this time, you may also want to give a second thought on your application to the company, and whether or not you want an employer where age is such an important consideration. 

How’s your health?

This one’s a bit tricky, but it is important to technology professionals. You see, the question can technically be asked if the job has physical demands like, say, lifting packages a certain number of times a day, or that one must be on their feet six out of the eight hours they’re on the job. While the company can ask you if you are physically capable of doing this on a continuous basis, anything that’s not tied to your performance on the job which, as technology professionals will more often than not be the case, is considered personal information, and not something that you are required to divulge.

Question suggestions via MentalFloss