Honesty is the best policy

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With good admin/secretarial skills and a keen attitude, Annette has a lot to offer an employer. However, what she would like in return is flexible hours that allow her to leave by 3pm each afternoon.

Annette wants to know if she should be upfront at a job interview about her ideal working conditions.

Jacky Carter, director of recruitment firm Hays Personnel Services, advises candidates to be honest.

"If you are not upfront from the beginning, it could be a waste of everyone's time as some employers just cannot accommodate that sort of flexibility," Ms Carter said.

She warns that even if you do land the job, if it has not been a considered decision by the hiring manager then you could get "the look" every time you pick up your bag to leave each day. The last thing you want when you have put in a productive day's work is to be made to feel guilty about leaving.

In the following Ask Kate column, Kate Southam looks at what you should do if you are asked an intrusive question during a job interview.

I've been shocked by some of the questions potential employers are asking during job interviews.

More than one Ask Kate reader has been asked "her" age. Yes, all the complaints about age questions came from women 30-something to 40 something. During a telephone interview one reader was asked whether she had any children. Another was asked if she was the grand daughter of a Kokoda Trail survivor and yet another was asked to submit a photo with a written application for a receptionist role.

In each case, the reason why the questions were inappropriate was because the answers could be used to discriminate against the candidate. Candidates are supposed to be judged on their ability to do the job advertised - not their age, gender, level of family responsibility and definitely not their looks.

Recent Newspoll research commissioned by CareerOne revealed 75 per cent of those surveyed had been asked intrusive questions at a job interview. In contrast to Ask Kate readers, the Newspoll research revealed those aged 18-34 were more likely to be asked their age. Those aged over 34 were more likely to be asked their marital status.

While it appears to me that women were more likely to get questions about their age, men have to contend with other pesky questions. An HR expert I spoke to told me men get asked to nominate their favourite sporting teams. Anyone who doubts the potential danger of a sporting question has never had a soccer, AFL, ruby union or rugby league-obsessed boss - of either gender.

Questions should be designed to test a candidate's ability to do the job. Yes, cultural fit is also really important but having a workplace filled with the same age group or sporting clique is stretching things way too far.

So what should you do if asked an inappropriate question? Remain pleasant and ask what the relevance of the information is to the job role. For those employers acting out of ignorance of the law, it might just get them to skip along with the rest of the interview with no harm done to you.

Pointing out that a question is "illegal" or retorting with - "you can't ask me that" will only put the interviewer on the defensive.

If you have been asked an especially offensive question, then you should think carefully about wanting to join the organisation at all. You can also make a complaint either to the HREOC or the Equal Opportunity Commissioner in your state or territory.

Companies who want to find out what questions to ask and which ones to avoid can also use the HREOC website.

Click on www.humanrights.gov.au/employers for information about the free CD Rom Good Business, Good Practice. If companies want to attract quality candidates in an ever-dwindling labour pool they need to polish up their interview technique. Recent research released by Drake International warned of the danger of permanent labour shortages in five short years across a range of sectors so employers should not think that there is plenty of good candidates out there.

By Kate Southam, Editor of careerone.com.au