The Secret Illegal Question | Important Interview Questions

Some queries can leave you horrified and the secret illegal question is one of them. The interviewer has that one particular question in the back of his mind but since he or she never mentions it, the anxiety hits you.

TRAP: Much more frequent than the illegal question is the secret illegal question. It’s secret because it’s asked only in the interviewer’s mind. Since it’s not even expressed to you, you have no way to respond to it, and it can there be most damaging.

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Example: You’re physically challenged, or a single mother returning to your professional career, or over 50, or a member of an ethnic minority, or fit any of a dozen other categories that do not strictly conform to the majority in a given company.

Your interviewer wonders, “Is this person really able to handle the job? Is he or she a ‘good fit’ at a place like ours? Will the chemistry ever be right with someone like this? But the interviewer never raises such questions because they’re illegal. So what can you do?

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ACCEPTABLE ANSWER: Remember that just because the interviewer doesn’t ask an illegal question doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it. More than likely, he is going to come up with his own answer. So you might as well help him out.

How? Well, you obviously can’t respond to an illegal question if he hasn’t even asked. This may well offend him. And there’s always the chance he wasn’t even concerned about the issue until you brought it up, and only then begins to wonder.

So you can’t address “secret” illegal questions head-on. But what you can do is make sure there’s enough counterbalancing information to reassure him that there’s no problem in the area he may be doubtful about.

For example, let’s say you’re a sales rep who had polio as a child and you need a cane to walk. You know your condition has never impeded your performance, yet you’re concerned that your interviewer may secretly be wondering about your stamina or ability to travel. Well, make sure that you hit these abilities very hard, leaving no doubt about your capacity to handle them well.

The same applies if you’re any different from what passes for “normal”.  Make sure, without in any way seeming defensive about yourself that you mention strengths, accomplishments, preferences, and affiliations to strongly counterbalance any unspoken concern your interviewer may have.

Were you aware about illegal question in interviews? Have you encountered a situation where the interviewer was hesitant to ask his query? We’d love to know in the comments about other interview questions.

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