VOA慢速英语: 美国面试中五个不合法的问题（双语）

美国面试中五个不合法的问题

The three most stressful situations in life are said to be ending a marriage, dealing with death and moving to a new home. Many people would add one more experience to that list – a job interview.

人生中最紧张的情形是：离婚、面对死亡还有搬进新家。很多人还会再加一个经历——面试。

Finding a good job is difficult enough. Add to that the fact that employers may ask some very personal questions during a job interview. In the United States, it is illegal for employers to raise some of these issues.

找到一份好工作很困难，而且在面试期间，雇主也许会问一些私人问题。在美国，雇主问一些私人问题是不合法的。

See how they compare to job interviews in your country.

来看看他们的面试跟你们国家的有何不同。

In a job interview, you must show your best side. You must sell yourself and show the interviewer that you are the best candidate for the job.

面试过程中，你需要展示自己最好的一面。你要把自己推销出去，告诉面试官你是这份工作的最佳候选人。

To do this you must answer question after question. A prospective employer will want to know about your skills, qualifications, past work experiences, and goals.

想要得到这份工作，你必须回答一个又一个的问题。一个未来的老板想要知道你的技能、资格、工作经历以及期许目标。

The interviewer is the person asking the questions. Interviewers want to learn as much as they can about the interviewee, the person seeking employment. This can cause an uneven balance of power and lead to some difficult questions. In the United States, a few of those questions are not just difficult, they are illegal.

面试官会问些问题，他们希望尽可能多的了解到面试人员的情况。这会导致力量的不平衡，会产生一些问题。在美国，一些问题不仅仅是难回答，它们还是不合法的。

There are many websites that offer advice on careers and how to prepare for a job interview. You may have used some of these sites, such asMonster.com and LinkedIn.

有很多网站为找工作的人如何准备面试提供一些建议。也许你使用过这些网站，例如：Monster.com 和LinkedIn。

The following five areas showed up in all the reports and lists I examined during my recent searches. All of these areas of questioning are considered illegal in the United States.

下面五条是我最近做的调查中，所有报道里出现的5个方面的信息。在美国，所有这些方面的信息都被认为是不合法的。

1.     Sex questions are off limits.

性别问题是禁区。

It is very easy for an interviewer to discriminate based on a person’s gender or sex. If you are a woman, you may be asked, “Are you comfortable managing a team of men?” If you are man you may be asked, “Would you feel comfortable having a woman as a boss?”

面试官很容易基于面试人员的性别而歧视他/她。如果你是位女性，也许会被问到：“如果你管理一组男同事会不会觉得不舒服？”倘若你是位男性，则会被问到：“假如老板是位女士，你会不会觉得舒服自在？”

In the United States, any question related to gender should not be raised during the job interview. But if gender does come up, answer the question by stating your past work experiences that show you can do the job, regardless of whether you are a woman or a man.

在美国，面试过程中，任何涉及到性别的问题都不应该被提及。但是如果提到这个问题，不管你是女士还是男士，只需要陈述过去的工作经历，告诉面试官你能胜任这份工作。

2.     Questions about marriage and children are illegal.

关于婚姻和孩子的问题也是非法的。

People with children love talking about them. But during a job interview it's not the time. Questions such as, “Do you have children?” or “Do you plan to work after having children?” are not legal to ask.

有孩子的人喜欢谈论这个话题，但是在面试过程中，谈论孩子就不合时宜。诸如这样的问题：“你有孩子吗？”或者“生完孩子后，你还打算工作吗？”这些都不适宜问。

Naturally, future employers want to know how long you plan to be with them if you are hired. Hiring people takes time and, as they say, time is money. But it is illegal to not hire someone because they have children or are planning on having a child in the future.

自然地，未来的雇主想知道，如果你被雇佣后，会跟他们公事多长时间。雇佣职员需要花费时间，人们常说：时间就是金钱。但是因为某人有孩子或者未来想要个孩子就不雇佣人家是非法的。

It is legal for a prospective employer to ask, “What hours can you work?” or “Do you have responsibilities that might keep you from doing your job?” These questions are legal because they are directly related to the job and not tied to your personal life.

雇主这样问的话就合法：“你能工作多长时间？”或“有没有什么事会让你无法工作？”这些问题是合法的是因为它们直接跟工作有关系而不是询问你的私生活。

Any question related to your marital status, whether you are married, is considered illegal in the U.S. But they are common. Asking someone, “Are you married?” is a loaded question, a question looking for more than what is simply asked. A question about marriage is illegal because it may lead to information about your sexual orientation -- whether you are gay, straight or bisexual. And that is no one’s business but your own.

在美国，涉及到婚姻状况的问题，无论你结婚是否，都被认为是非法的。但是这些问题很常见，问一个人“你结婚了吗？”是个含蓄的问题，用一个问题引出更多的问题。问关于婚姻的问题是不合法的，因为这会指向你的性取向——同性恋、异性恋或者双性恋。这只是你的事，与别人无关。

3.     Your Citizenship and Nationality are private.

 你的公民身份和国籍都是隐私的。

It is illegal for a U.S. business to hire someone who is not permitted to work in the country. But the only way a company can explore the issue legally is to ask the question directly - “Can you work legally in the United States?” Done.

美国企业雇佣的人员未被允许而待在美国也是非法的，但是公司能够直接这样问来求证一下——“你能否在美国合法工作？”这样就没问题了。

If an interviewer asks things such as, “Where are you from?” or “Where were you born?” they have, again, crossed into Illegal Land. These may seem like innocent questions. But they are illegal because it involves your country of birth. Employers in the U.S. cannot legally ask about your nationality.

如果面试官这样问：“你来自哪儿？”或者“你在哪儿出生？”这些问题又踩到非法的界限内了。这些问题看起来似乎是无罪的，但是确实是不合法的，因为涉及到你出生的国家。美国的雇主不能非法询问你的国籍。

This also extends to language. It is not the employer’s lawful right to know if a language is your first language. However, they can legally ask what other languages you know.

延伸到语言也是如此，雇主没有权利知道哪一种语言是你的母语。但是，他们可以问你还知道其它那些语言。

4.     Asking about religion is a no-no.

询问宗教问题也不可以。

Employers may want to ask which religious holidays you observe to see if it may interfere with work. But questions about your religion are illegal.

雇主也许会通过问你参加哪种宗教礼拜，来判断是否会影响工作。但是问你的宗教问题就是非法的。

Employers can legally ask if you can work on a Sunday, a day when many Christians attend religious services.

雇主可以问你在周日是否可以工作，因为在周日，许多基督教徒会参加宗教仪式活动。

5.     Your Age is your business. Not theirs.

  年龄是你自己的事，与他们无关。

The question, “How long have you been working?” may seem fine. But this question is all about age discrimination. It is also illegal for an interviewer to ask what year you completed high school or college or even your birthday. It is easy enough to do the math. It is legal for an interviewer to ask you how long you have been working in a certain industry. Again, the question is tied to the job and not your personal life.

“你工作多长时间了？”这个问题看起来没什么问题，但这个问题就是年龄歧视。面试官问你何时高中毕业、大学毕业，甚至问你的出生年月日都是不合法的。通过算数很容易能够算出来你的年纪。面试官可以问你在某一领域干了多长，这个问题仍然是跟工作相关，不涉及你的私人生活。

It can be difficult to answer personal questions during a job interview. After all, if you want the job, you do not want to seem difficult. If a question seems illegal or just makes you feel uneasy, simply direct the question back to the job and your qualifications.

面试中，很难回答个人问题。毕竟，想得到这份工作，就不想让问题很难回答。如果问题不合法或者让你感到不自在，直接返回到你工作的问题以及你的资历上来。

Of course, you do not have to answer any question that you feel is insulting or illegal. This, however, may cost you the job.

当然，如果你觉得问的问题很无礼或者不合法，你可以不回答。但是，这样也许你也无法得到这份工作。

In the end it is a personal decision. But always know your rights.

最后是个人的决定，但是你要了解自己的权利。

How do these employment laws in the U.S. differ from laws in your country? Let’s talk about it … in the comment section.

美国的这些劳工雇佣法与你们国家的法律有和不同？我们在留言区一起谈论一下。

I’m Anna Matteo.

我是安娜·马特奥。

______________________________________________________________

Words in this Story

candidate – n. a person who is being considered for a job, position, award,etc.

qualification – n. a special skill or type of experience or knowledge thatmakes someone suitable to do a particular job or activity

prospective – adj. likely to be or become something specified in the future

sexual orientation – n. the inclination of an individual with respect toheterosexual, homosexual and bisexual behavior

discriminatory – adj. unfairly treating a person or group of people differentlyfrom other people or groups of people. The noun is discrimination.

gender – n. the state of being male or female

hire – v. to give work or a job to someone in exchange for wages or a salary;n. someone who has been hired for a job