

Ask HN: How to deal with inappropriate interview questions? - kobot

A while back I had an interview with a fairly well known startup for an internship. The interviewer asked me a few personal questions - what did my parents do, do I have any siblings, what is my relationship status, whether or not my SO would be willing to move, etc. At the time I was a little creeped out but I didn&#x27;t think much of it since I ended up taking an offer somewhere else.<p>&lt;p&gt;Now it&#x27;s about the time that I&#x27;m going to start looking for a full-time job and I was wondering what I should say if that situation comes up again. If I say &quot;sorry, I don&#x27;t feel comfortable answering these questions&quot;, I&#x27;m afraid they might think I&#x27;m being prudish or something. I know startups are quite casual, but are these types of questions normal?
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dandrews
Your interviewer just sounds inexperienced to me. I'd deflect it: "That sounds
like an off-prem kinda question. Maybe one of these days we can meet for a
beer after work and swap stories."

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dnm
"Relationship status" is flat out illegal.

The personal family stuff is just wierd.

[https://duckduckgo.com/?q=things+you+are+not+allowed+to+ask+...](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=things+you+are+not+allowed+to+ask+in+an+interview)

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true_religion
Technically no question is illegal during an interview. However, if you ask a
question they may later use that as evidence of discrimination in the future.

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throwaway420
It all depends on the level of inappropriateness, how it benefits you, and
your personal comfort level with it. If you're applying for a super great job,
it might be in your self-interest to casually accept a few probing questions
like that if you think that it gives you a better opportunity to get the job.

If you're the litigious or confrontational type, you might be able to spin
this type of incident into a lawsuit or threaten them in some sly way to
guarantee the job. I wouldn't do it that way or recommend doing that, but
that's certainly an option for aggressive personality types.

