Common Illegal Questions You Shouldnt be Asked During a Job Interview

Have you ever had a job interview where you wondered why in the world the prospective employer was asking certain questions that you thought were strange? If you thought they were strange, then you were probably right. There are certain questions that shouldnt be asked during a job interview. As a matter of fact, federal law prohibits an employer from asking questions that are not relevant to the job. All questions should be related to the job and not used to gather personal information.

Here are some of the job interview questions that you should not be asked during an interview, but employers tend to do it anyway:

What is your ethnicity? What is your sexual orientation? What is your religion? Do you attend church services regularly? Where were you born? How old are you? Do you have any disabilities? Are you married? Do you have children?

All of these questions have nothing to do with the job. The employer may ask if you have adequate transportation to get back and forth to work, but that is relevant to the job. It is relevant because your job depends on you being able to be there. The employer wants to make sure you can fulfill your obligation each day.

As for whether or not you have children or you are married, those questions are not relevant to the job. Most adults do have children and most adults do have a significant other. There are also many adults who dont have these things. Employers are not allowed to discriminate against you because you do have children.

Actually, an employer is not allowed to discriminate against you for anything at all. Many good candidates could be passed up due to discrimination. Everyone is to have an equal chance at getting the job regardless of their personal circumstances.

Unfortunately, there are still employers asking these questions and they are getting by with it. They have been known to ask questions such as, Will your children get in the way of your job responsibilities? They may even ask, Do you have adequate childcare so that you can carry out your job duties? These questions are not needed. Now, an employer may ask a question, such as Are you physically capable to carry out the job duties? This is a viable question for the fact that some jobs require heavy lifting or have other physical demands. If a person is not able to carry out those physical demands, then they may find that performing their job is very difficult. If someone says they are able to fulfill the physical demands, but they dont, then they could lose their job. This question cannot be considered a disability question.

If you find that you are being asked illegal questions in a job interview, it may be in your best interest to turn down a job offer. If they want to know why, there is nothing wrong with telling them that their questions were too personal. If they are going to ask you such questions during a job interview, then it is hard to tell how personal things would get when actually doing the job. You could be treading on shallow water and find yourself in a job that you would not like.

When you call an employer out on their illegal questions, you may be opening their eyes to what it is they are doing. Then again, you may not be. Just know that an employer that asks illegal questions is not exactly the type of employer you want to dedicate your time to.

Cover Letters and Customized Resumes

Your cover letter and your resume are the tools that you need to land the job you always wanted, but this means they have to be just right. They have to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, many individuals have a difficult time constructing a resume and cover letter that accurately depicts them. The good news, however, is that there are professional services that can help you out with this so that you can be adequately portrayed on paper.

How does it work?

When using professional services to construct your cover letters and resumes, it is a rather simple process. All you need to do at first is provide the company with information about yourself. This information will include:

Your name and contact information The goal you hope to accomplish by getting the job Your employment history Your educational background Any certifications, licenses, or publications you may have Volunteer experience References Any other viable information that may apply to your employment

Once they have all of this information together, they will be able to construct a very professional resume for you. It will be organized and the information will be relayed in a very professional manner that is straight to the point. You will not find any rambling on a resume or cover letter that is put together by professionals.

Because you may find these services on the Internet, they will most likely email you the finished product. Once you have the finished product on your computer, it is your responsibility to print it out. Make sure you do so on a high quality paper. You can purchase resume paper and letter stock through your local office supply store or department store in the office supplies section. It is important that your resume is made as professional as possible and the paper will help with this. It will feel good in the readers hands.

The effectiveness of a good resume

The effectiveness of a good resume cannot be underestimated. Imagine that you are responsible for hiring for your employer. You are handed a stack of resumes. Some of them have handwritten cover letters, the resumes have no substance, the paper they are printed on are of a poor quality, and nothing stands out when you scan them. But you do come across one or two that are printed on high quality paper, have cover letters that get to the point, and certain parts stand out when being scanned through.

So think about which you are going to choose. Are you going to give the poorly put together resumes the time of day? Probably not. When you have to hire someone and you have to hire them quick, you dont want to have to sift through a bunch of resumes that look like they dont have good candidates behind them.

So make sure you put yourself in the shoes of the individual doing the hiring when it comes to your resume. If youre insecure about creating your resume, then perhaps you need to have a professional do it. It is much better to have a company do customized cover letters and resumes that you know will be effective instead of taking a chance. Being that the job market is the way it is now, it is not really the time to take a chance when the jobs are far and in between. When you have an effective resume, you are increasing your chances of getting the job. Those with great resumes are the ones that dont have much trouble getting jobs in even the most unpredictable of job markets.

So make sure you put yourself in the shoes of the individual doing the hiring when it comes to your resume. If youre insecure about creating your resume, then perhaps you need to have a professional do it. It is much better to have a company do customized cover letters and resumes that you know will be effective instead of taking a chance. Being that the job market is the way it is now, it is not really the time to take a chance when the jobs are far and in between. When you have an effective resume, you are increasing your chances of getting the job. Those with great resumes are the ones that dont have much trouble getting jobs in even the most unpredictable of job markets.