3 "Harmless" Job Interview Questions You Shouldn't Have to Answer

Job interviews can be a nerve wracking experience. There you are, trying to make the best impression possible with a complete stranger. A stranger who will probably have a big say in whether you will get the job you want or not.

Answering job interview questions can make you feel like you are in elementary school again, trying to pass a test that can mean the difference between summer vacation and summer school. But, as challenging as most job interview questions are, there are some questions you should not be asked, and should not have to answer.

Many job interview questions (like those about race or religion) are easy to define as being inappropriate. But some are more difficult to spot.

Here are three job interview questions you shouldn't have to answer.

Questions You Shouldn't Have To Answer

1. How Many Kids Do You Have? Seems like a harmless enough question, even in a job interview. And, chances are, anyone who hires you will find out how many kids you have sooner rather than later. But a perspective employer can't refuse to hire you because they've decided you having kids means you won't be as reliable as someone who doesn't.

2. Are You Married? Another seemingly harmless question. But your marital status should not be used to determine whether or not you should get a job. For example, an employer can't decide that, because you're single and don't have kids, you don't need the job as much as someone who's married with children.

3. Are You Planning to Have Kids? If you and your job interviewer are hitting it off, you might find them asking if you're getting married soon, or planning to have kids, and it might seem like a perfectly harmless question. However, the danger of this question is that some perspective employers might decide not to hire you because they don't want to deal with maternity leave down the line.And not hiring a woman for that reason is a kind of discrimination.

What To Do When You Are Asked These Job Interview Questions?

It's one thing to know the questions you shouldn't have to answer during a job interview. But what should you do if you are asked one of those questions?

Well, you can refused to answer by pointing out that this isn't a question the person giving the job interview should be asking you. But, let's be honest, doing something like that in an interview probably won't make the best impression on the interviewer.

So, most people asked one of these questions will probably go ahead and answer them. However, later, you can report that perspective employer's hiring practices to the proper agencies, especially if you think not answering a question, or answering one of these questions a certain way (saying that you have three kids) may have kept you from getting the job.