There are rules about what potential employers can ask or not ask during an interview. But don't let that fool you. They want to know all that stuff they shouldn't ask about and if you are evasive, you probably won't get the job. (Of course, that may not really be a bad thing. An employer that is willing to bend the law until it cries for mercy in the interview room may be willing to bend or break laws elsewhere. Interviews are a good indication about whether the company may be difficult, if not impossible, to work for.)

You should decide upfront what you want to do if you are asked a question that shouldn't have been asked. If you decide you don't want to answer the questions, be prepared with a graceful response, such as "I assure you that my maritial status will not impact my work performance."

Thinking noone can possibly have the nerve to ask those kind of questions in a job interview? Here are some of the things I have been asked:

• Are you a member of the Catholic church? (I expected that one - I was applying to be a librarian at a Catholic seminary college...)
• Are you married?
• Do you have a family?
• Are you a caregiver for any children or elderly people? (No, I am a robot, so have no attachments of any kind...)

But there is one that stands out as the most mind blowing, wacky interview ever. There were five or six slightly inappropriate questions and then:

You have your preacher as a reference. You aren't going to leave tracts all over, are you? What about lecturing people who smoke?

Jaw dropping shock...this was a major business asking these nutty and discriminatory questions. My response?

As an American, I strongly support freedom of religion and do not in any way try to force my beliefs on other people. I don't smoke, but if someone else wants to smoke, I don't feel it is my business to try to interfere.

Pretty good for off the top of my head while in complete shock, huh?

After the interview, the interviewer called my church and asked a bunch of similar questions. After she hung up with the church office, she called me and asked a couple more. She kept saying she wanted to hire me but was afraid of hiring a Christian. I'm assuming she finally happened upon a suitable non-Christian with a library science degree that loved to smoke??

And just in case you are curious, I do not take a job with any business that doesn't have the commonsense to conduct a proper interview. It simply doesn't seem worth the hassle.