This may not be legal, but the interviewer can still ask questions about mental health and marital status, so it’s best to be prepared.
I had more conversations with my junior female colleagues than I thought, discussing whether they should wear a wedding ring for the interview. Many people have been advised or read in some advice columns that they should not wear a ring, or anything that might indicate their personal situation to the interviewer. Based on my experience, most of my colleagues finally decided not to wear a ring. They do not want to be asked questions about their partner or children, which may make potential employers question their seriousness about the relocation or possibility of relocation. Obviously, your decision to reveal your personal identity—as a wife, mother, ethnic or sexual minority—is a very personal decision.

This is also a very important decision, because research has shown that disclosing such information during interviews will affect how potential employers view applicants’ seriousness in their work, their willingness to work for a long time, and the possibility of eventually offering them a job. In a study on academic recruitment, sociologist and Kellogg School of Management professor Lauren Rivera concluded from her field observations of recruitment conferences that the academic recruitment committee "actively considers women when selecting recruiters" Instead of men-the status of the relationship", the way is as follows: it ultimately puts women at a disadvantage. In another study by psychologists Alexander Jordan and Emily Zitek, it was found from a fictitious Facebook page that job applicants were either single or already Married participants felt that married female job seekers were less diligent than single female job seekers and were less suitable for demanding jobs.

I think we can agree that someone’s marital status should not determine whether they are hired. However, whether explicit or implicit, it does seem to play a role in hiring decisions. This is why we provide protection to job applicants, allowing them to keep this and other information confidential when they choose. Questions about marital status, pregnancy, religion, and mental health, to name a few, should not be asked-not necessarily because it is illegal to ask these questions, but because they open up the candidate's answer to the question Possibility is used against them during the recruitment process. In the end, for example, it's best not to know that the job applicant is pregnant, so that it won't affect your decision to hire her.

If it's better not to know, it's better not to ask. However, this is where many of us slip and fall. We often forget how difficult it is for people to refuse a request or avoid answering a question, especially when the question comes from a potential employer.

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In a study of applicants for the medical residency program, researchers found that 66% (more than 7,000 out of approximately 11,000 respondents) reported that they had been asked a potentially illegal interview question. 53%, or more than 5,700 respondents, said they had been asked about their marital status, and 24%, or more than 2,500 respondents, said they had been asked if they had children or planned to have children. Not surprisingly, these issues are more likely to target women than men. Applicants also reported that they were asked about their age, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation—all of which are protected categories of information, which means that employers cannot legally use this information to make hiring decisions. However, as we have seen above, once you have this information, it is difficult not to let it affect your judgment of the candidate, good or bad.

According to many interview advice articles for interviewers, if you are a job seeker and you are asked one of the questions, you should "politely refuse to answer". This is a good suggestion-in theory. But research shows that refusing to answer these questions is much more difficult than we realize. For example, in one study, women who faced an interviewer asking obviously inappropriate sexual questions felt too uncomfortable and feared to refuse to answer, even though they would definitely refuse when considering the situation. It is also difficult to "politely refuse to answer" personally sensitive questions, such as whether you are married or plan to have children. We are unwilling to offend others—especially those whose control results are as important as potential job opportunities—and refusing to answer questions feels like a reliable way to imply that the interviewer is not sensitive to the question in the first place. This is not the kind of rapport that most interviewees hope to establish with interviewers.

Therefore, most people do agree to answer personal questions in interviews, even if it means disclosing personal life information they wish to keep confidential. As part of a work research project, organizational behavior researchers Catherine Shea, Sunita Sah, and Ashley Martin found in a study that 83% of respondents felt obligated to answer personal questions. Although interviewers in this study were more likely to view these questions as useful ways to understand candidates, respondents were more likely to view them as discriminatory questions. In the end, Shea and colleagues found that this had a negative impact on interviewees and employers. Not surprisingly, based on previous studies reviewed, respondents who were asked about their marriage and family status were unlikely to get the job. As for the candidates who got the job? It turns out that they are unlikely to accept it. Similarly, in the previously described survey of medical residence applicants, a significant proportion of applicants who were asked about such personal information in the interview reported that they downgraded the offending items in the ranking list. Therefore, it is not only the interviewer who fails, but also the interviewer.

Most of us want to be good people. We do not want to discriminate against job applicants, and we strive to comply with the existing rules to protect people from employment discrimination. But we also want to connect with people, and we know that small talk can be awkward. We may try to eliminate differences by asking personal questions while assuring candidates that they don’t have to answer. "So, do you have children?-I really shouldn't ask you this, so don't think you have to answer." But, of course, interviewees don't really think they can refuse to answer such questions. Therefore, they answered uncomfortably. Our failure to recognize the pressure that our problems put on others to respond can have a real impact on the diversity and representation of individual candidates and employers and the wider workplace.