What is the most effective way to handle an illegal or inappropriate question during an interview?

The first step in being prepared is knowing when a question is illegal or inappropriate, to begin with. All questions should be about your work skills and experience. Interview questions that do not relate to your ability to do your job should be considered off limits. For example, asking, "Are you married?" may not be illegal but is inappropriate.

Certain questions can inadvertently lead an interviewer to purposefully or subconsciously discriminate against you as a candidate. For example, if you answer "yes" when asked if you are married, an interviewer may jump to the conclusion that you are not willing to travel for your position, even if it is not true.

During the interview, ask yourself, "Does this question have anything to do with my work skills or experience for this job?". If the answer is no, you can consider the question inappropriate. So how do you respond to an inappropriate question? That can be a little tricky.

You can choose to answer the question honestly, but remember that this could unnecessarily jeopardize your chances of getting the job. You can also refuse to answer the question, which may be appropriate in some settings, but can also make you seem defensive or agitated.

The most effective reaction to these types of questions is to gracefully avoid answering and steer the conversation in another direction. Remember that in most cases, the questions are asked innocently, and you need to answer without seeming defensive or rude.

If the interviewer asks, "Do you have kids?" you can try and avoid answering by drawing attention to a family photo in his or her office and stating something like, "Well, it looks like you do. Is that your daughter in this picture?". This will distract them from the original question.

If there are no family pictures to refer to, you can still dodge the question by discussing reviews you have read about the company. For example, "I have read that this is a very family-friendly workplace, but I am more interested in learning about the specific job responsibilities. From the job description, it seems like a great fit for me."

With these types of approaches, you are avoiding the question, maintaining a professional demeanor, and changing the subject to something appropriate and relatable. If the interviewer does not let the question go or does not go along with the subject change, you may want to ask, "Is this relevant to the job I am applying for?"

In most cases, the interviewer will pick up on the fact that you are not comfortable answering the question at that point and move on. Well-trained interviewers know the types of questions that should be off-limits.