Every year, millions of employees apply for job vacancies in various companies. Most of them are got selected through an interview stage. During an interview, the interviewer asks various questions to determine whether the candidate is fit for their company and culture. However, there are many companies that ask unnecessary questions which are related to your personal life. They ask unfair questions to discriminate against potential employers and find reasons to reject them. So if you want to get selected, you need to avoid or skip such unfair questions. Many companies even take benefit from a candidate by asking unfair questions. For instance, the company may persuade a candidate to work for a low salary.
Let’s discuss those questions that you must deny or avoid to get selected.
Questions to avoid in the job interview
How old are you?
Many companies notify job vacancies by mentioning minimum and maximum age limits. So a candidate must read well to know the age limit before applying for the post. A hiring manager sometimes asks this question to discriminate against age. Age discrimination mostly affects people who are 45 years or older. In other instances, younger people are sometimes offered a much lower salary than they actually deserve. The recruiter said to them that after working there, they would slowly gain experience, and their salary will also increase. So if possible, try to avoid this question.
Are you married?
This question is sometimes asked to know whether the candidate has family commitments because that may prevent her/him from working long hours. This question is often asked of female candidates as they care for their families. Moreover, the company thinks that married employees might take more leave to care for children or apply for maternity leave which will hamper their work. So they do not prefer to hire them.
But if the candidate is single, the employer may think to hire them because they can work for a longer time and will also take less leave because they do not have family commitments. Moreover, they can persuade them to work for a lower salary. So don’t give the answer to such a question.
What religion do you practice?
As practicing a religion is your personal matter, your religion does not matter in a professional place. So a company should never need to ask this question to a candidate. But if they ask, that means they may think of discrimination. Either the employer may be biased against a certain religion or they reluctant to give holiday on their particular occasion. So ignore this as much as possible.
Are you planning to marry or start a family?
This question is generally asked of a female candidate. By asking this question, the employer wants to know whether the candidate is planning to take a long leave. So that they can decide whether to hire the candidate because if they take maternity leave, then the company has to hire a temporary worker to cover the leave period. Moreover, the employer also fears that such an employee may demand a high salary in the future to take care of the family.
What salary do you currently earn?
This type of question is usually asked of such a candidate who is working in any post. By asking this question, the employer can determine whether they must pay the full value of the job. So either try to skip this question cleverly or try to know the company’s salary range for the particular post. Then answer according to that. But many people think that if they say a higher salary, then they may get more salary. But that does not always happen, so you must know the salary range.
Do you drink alcohol?
Usually, this type is not asked by the recruiter directly. They may ask this question as an extension of conversation surrounding any office party or celebration. They may also ask how you want to enjoy your life. If the employer asks this question, do not give the answer or ignore it. This is an irrelevant question, so do not down your personality or image by answering such a question.
Points to remember
- While addressing interview questions, you must properly present your work skills and experiences. Try to mention your work with some anecdotes in detail, which will help you show your capability and stand out to the interviewer.
- Do not share any information about your private life, such as your family or likes or dislikes, unless the information is relevant to the job position.
