8 illegal questions from a recruiter during a job interview!
That's it! You've landed an interview for a company and you're trying to anticipate the questions the recruiter might ask you.
However, some recruiters do not hesitate to ask questions that are illegal because they are very intimate and personal.
Here are 8 illegal questions that could be asked and how to react to them with courtesy and intelligence!
1-"Areyou single?"
This amazing question is about your privacy. The term "private" in "private life" is not there by chance. The recruiter is not there to know your secret garden but to know your motivation and skills. Especially since your personal situation has no bearing on your suitability for the job.
Remember, this is a job interview, not a date. The recruiter therefore has no right to ask you this inappropriate question.
To dodge this illegal question, you can simply politely say that you find this question too personal and that whether you are single or not has no bearing on the quality of your work within the company.
2-"Are you in good health?"
A recruiter may ask you for a certificate or medical exam for certain positions. This is the case for the building trades, which require significant physical endurance.
For other professions, on the other hand, this illegal question is illegitimate. By doing so, the recruiter seeks to minimize the risk of absences and sick leave in the company. This question may be discriminatory. Your recruiter is not your doctor and your health problems are none of their business.
They must therefore respect the principle of medical confidentiality and you are not obliged to provide them with your medical history.
3-"Who are you voting for?"
Just like when you go to the polling booth to vote in elections, your vote for a particular political party or figure is your business. Political choices belong to the private sphere and the recruiter is not entitled to ask you to do so. In addition, it is information that could lead to discrimination against you.
Your political views have nothing to do with your skills or the way you work. If you are asked this question, you must ask yourself if you really want to work in a company with such recruitment methods.
4-"What is your religion?"
Regardless of your religious beliefs and your relationship to faith, a recruiter cannot use a religious criterion to select you. Your religion is intimate and belongs only to you.
When faced with this question, answer politely in the same way as you would for the question "are you single?" : that this question is too intimate and that you feel that it is only about you.
5-"Are you planning to have children?"
This is an illegal issue that is specific to women. The recruiter wants to know if the candidate will be taking maternity leave during her career.
It is also offensive and discriminatory to women who are already underrepresented in certain professions. This sexist question conveys the idea that women have to make a choice between their career and their family life.
You are therefore not obliged to reveal whether you have a family plan or not, whether you intend to be pregnant or not, or whether you want to have children.
6-"Have you ever been in trouble with the law?"
Jobs such as a cash security guard, a security guard or even an animator in a holiday centre are subject to this rule. The recruiter may therefore ask you if you have a clean criminal record.
However, for other professions, this is an illegal question that does not need to be asked. If you've ever been in trouble with the law and paid your debt to society, you don't have to justify your criminal record.
7-"Where are you from?"
This question can be asked by the recruiter in a completely naïve way if, for example, they have recognized the origin of your last name. However, it is one of those illegal questions that can be motivated by prejudice.
This consideration has absolutely no interest in an interview. Don't hesitate to point this out to the recruiter who would ask such a question.
8-"Are you gay?"
The fact that you're gay, bisexual, transgender... is not expected to have an impact on a candidate's recruitment . Again, your sexual orientation is intimate , and you don't have to share it if you don't feel like it.
However, if the employer uses it as a criterion for hiring or not hiring an employee, he is guilty of discrimination and risks criminal sanctions.
Before an interview, find out what questions you may or may not be asked. When faced with illegal questions, do not hesitate to point out the inappropriate or inappropriate nature of the question. Remember that the purpose of an interview is only to assess your suitability for a position.
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