Off-limits questions cheat sheet
The topics you cannot ask about in an interview — age, family, citizenship, religion, disability — with safe substitute questions for the things you actually want to know.
Updated May 15, 2026
There’s a small but important set of topics you may not ask about in a hiring conversation. The rule isn’t “never bring it up” — it’s “never invite the candidate to disclose it, even casually.”
This cheat sheet pairs each off-limits topic with the legitimate underlying question and how to phrase that one safely.