爱思英语编者按：怎样为求职面试做准备，很多辅导和咨询课程都会讲到。但是当面试官谈到工作与生活关系方面的话题时，一些问题可能是求职者完全没有料到的。

Prepping for job interviews is the subject of plenty of coaching and advice. But when job interviews turn to juggle-related topics, some questions can catch interviewees completely unprepared.

Some women readers say they have been asked, 'What are your child-care arrangements?' or 'Do you plan to have a family any time soon?' Author Bob Rosner identifies other 'toxic questions' in his book, 'The Boss's Survival Guide': 'I love your accent; where are you from?' (This one suggests ethnic or racial discrimination.) 'When did you graduate from high school?' (This one smacks of age discrimination.) 'Are you currently using birth control?' (Again, implies pregnancy discrimination.)

To avoid appearing to discriminate based on sex, bosses should stick strictly to job-related queries. Employers with 15 or more employees are covered by federal anti-discrimination law, which makes sex and pregnancy discrimination illegal; a few states, including New York, New Jersey and California, have anti-bias laws covering smaller employers.

Some managers try to startle interviewees into candid revelations about their personal values or philosophy. Ad executive Michael Mathieu told the New York Times that he likes to ask candidates, 'What is the meaning of life?' He said, 'It's a fun question because no one's expecting it.' One of his favorite answers, he added, was, 'Are you talking about my business life or my personal life?'更多信息请访问：http://www.engbus.cn/

Rather than probing too much, one of my bosses on a previous job many years ago took the opposite tack: He simply stopped talking and stared at the applicant for a minute or more of stony silence. The strategy: To size up candidates' poise. Would they jabber senselessly to fill up the silence, pose an intelligent question, or squirm in anxiety?

Meanwhile, nannies seem to be the target of oddball queries from potential employers, as I've reported previously. Some parents ask nanny candidates, 'How often do you bathe?' or, 'Do you have a boyfriend?' Others say they have been asked if they have sexually transmitted diseases.

Readers, have you been asked surprising or disarming questions in job interviews? Or inappropriate ones? If you have been on the hiring end, what are your favorite questions? What do you think is the right boundary against probing too much on personal issues?

一些女性读者说，面试官曾问她们：“你的孩子由谁照管？”或者是：“你打算很快要孩子吗？”《老板生存守则》(The Boss's Survival Guide)作者罗斯纳(Bob Rosner)在这本书里列举了其他一些“有毒问题”：“我很喜欢你的口音，你是哪里人？”（有种族歧视意味。）“高中什么时候毕业的？”（让人联想到年龄歧视。）“目前有没有采取节育措施？”（又歧视孕妇了。）

为避免性别歧视的嫌疑，老板应当把问题严格限制在与工作有关的范围内。员工不少于15人的雇主受联邦反歧视法律管辖，性别歧视和孕妇歧视都属违法。纽约、新泽西和加利福尼亚等几个州的反歧视法律还管辖规模更小的雇主。

一些经理人会问一些令求职者意外的问题，让他们不小心坦露自己的价值观或人生哲学。广告业经理人马蒂厄(Michael Mathieu)对《纽约时报》(New York Times)讲，他喜欢问求职者“生活的意义是什么”。他说，这个问题好玩，因为没人料到我会这么问。他还说，他最喜欢的答案之一便是：“你在谈我的职业生活还是私人生活？”

我多年前一份工作的老板并没有问得太深入，而是采取了相反的策略：干脆什么也不说，直愣愣地盯着求职者一分多钟。这样做是为了考验求职者的自信，看他们是胡乱地说一通以求不至于冷场，还是问一个充满智慧的问题，或者是在那儿紧张不安地扭捏？

另外像我前面写到的那样，保姆求职的时候，似乎很容易被问到一些奇奇怪怪的问题。一些家长问保姆应征者：“多久洗一次澡？”或者是：“有没有男朋友？”还有一些人说，她们曾被问到自己有没有性传播疾病。

读者朋友，你在求职面试中有没有被问到让你意外、或让你解除戒备的问题？有没有被问到不合适的问题？如果你当过面试官，你最喜欢问的问题是什么？你觉得应该怎样把握一个度，不至于过多地打探求职者的私人问题？