Meanwhile, other questions are not just annoying – they are illegal.
Discrimination against a protected characteristic is against the law, external, meaning an employer cannot treat you less favourably based on your age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
Employment lawyer Roy Magara says that women being asked if they intend on having children in an interview is a “quite common” kind of bias. He says he has also seen a case where an older candidate was told he didn’t get the job after an interview because he didn’t fit the “vibe” of a younger team.
If you think these sorts of biases took place in your interview, Roy says you can send the company a subject access request, external to see how they discussed your application internally.
Worst-case scenarios like these can make interviews feel very difficult, especially considering the control employers have over candidates.
Euan Cameron, co-founder of hiring software Willo, says that even with this power imbalance it’s important not to overthink what an interview is.
“An interview is just a conversation between two people,” he says.
Of course, as in Tiara’s case, it helps when both of those people show up.
