VOA慢速英語(yǔ): 美國(guó)面試中五個(gè)不合法的問(wèn)題（雙語(yǔ)）

美國(guó)面試中五個(gè)不合法的問(wèn)題

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.

人生中最緊張的情形是：離婚、面對(duì)死亡還有搬進(jìn)新家。很多人還會(huì)再加一個(gè)經(jīng)歷——面試。

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難，而且在面試期間，雇主也許會(huì)問(wèn)一些私人問(wèn)題。在美國(guó)，雇主問(wèn)一些私人問(wèn)題是不合法的。

See how they compare to job interviews in your country.

來(lái)看看他們的面試跟你們國(guó)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.

面試過(guò)程中，你需要展示自己最好的一面。你要把自己推銷出去，告訴面試官你是這份工作的最佳候選人。

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.

想要得到這份工作，你必須回答一個(gè)又一個(gè)的問(wèn)題。一個(gè)未來(lái)的老板想要知道你的技能、資格、工作經(jīng)歷以及期許目標(biāo)。

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.

面試官會(huì)問(wèn)些問(wèn)題，他們希望盡可能多的了解到面試人員的情況。這會(huì)導(dǎo)致力量的不平衡，會(huì)產(chǎn)生一些問(wèn)題。在美國(guó)，一些問(wèn)題不僅僅是難回答，它們還是不合法的。

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.

有很多網(wǎng)站為找工作的人如何準(zhǔn)備面試提供一些建議。也許你使用過(guò)這些網(wǎng)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.

下面五條是我最近做的調(diào)查中，所有報(bào)道里出現(xiàn)的5個(gè)方面的信息。在美國(guó)，所有這些方面的信息都被認(rèn)為是不合法的。

1.     Sex questions are off limits.

性別問(wèn)題是禁區(qū)。

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?”

面試官很容易基于面試人員的性別而歧視他/她。如果你是位女性，也許會(huì)被問(wèn)到：“如果你管理一組男同事會(huì)不會(huì)覺(jué)得不舒服？”倘若你是位男性，則會(huì)被問(wèn)到：“假如老板是位女士，你會(huì)不會(huì)覺(jué)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.

在美國(guó)，面試過(guò)程中，任何涉及到性別的問(wèn)題都不應(yīng)該被提及。但是如果提到這個(gè)問(wèn)題，不管你是女士還是男士，只需要陳述過(guò)去的工作經(jīng)歷，告訴面試官你能勝任這份工作。

2.     Questions about marriage and children are illegal.

關(guān)于婚姻和孩子的問(wèn)題也是非法的。

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.

有孩子的人喜歡談?wù)撨@個(gè)話題，但是在面試過(guò)程中，談?wù)摵⒆泳筒缓蠒r(shí)宜。諸如這樣的問(wèn)題：“你有孩子嗎？”或者“生完孩子后，你還打算工作嗎？”這些都不適宜問(wèn)。

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，未來(lái)的雇主想知道，如果你被雇傭后，會(huì)跟他們公事多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。雇傭職員需要花費(fèi)時(shí)間，人們常說(shuō)：時(shí)間就是金錢。但是因?yàn)槟橙擞泻⒆踊蛘呶磥?lái)想要個(gè)孩子就不雇傭人家是非法的。

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.

雇主這樣問(wèn)的話就合法：“你能工作多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間？”或“有沒(méi)有什么事會(huì)讓你無(wú)法工作？”這些問(wèn)題是合法的是因?yàn)樗鼈冎苯痈ぷ饔嘘P(guān)系而不是詢問(wèn)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.

在美國(guó)，涉及到婚姻狀況的問(wèn)題，無(wú)論你結(jié)婚是否，都被認(rèn)為是非法的。但是這些問(wèn)題很常見(jiàn)，問(wèn)一個(gè)人“你結(jié)婚了嗎？”是個(gè)含蓄的問(wèn)題，用一個(gè)問(wèn)題引出更多的問(wèn)題。問(wèn)關(guān)于婚姻的問(wèn)題是不合法的，因?yàn)檫@會(huì)指向你的性取向——同性戀、異性戀或者雙性戀。這只是你的事，與別人無(wú)關(guān)。

3.     Your Citizenship and Nationality are private.

 你的公民身份和國(guó)籍都是隱私的。

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.

美國(guó)企業(yè)雇傭的人員未被允許而待在美國(guó)也是非法的，但是公司能夠直接這樣問(wèn)來(lái)求證一下——“你能否在美國(guó)合法工作？”這樣就沒(méi)問(wèn)題了。

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.

如果面試官這樣問(wèn)：“你來(lái)自哪兒？”或者“你在哪兒出生？”這些問(wèn)題又踩到非法的界限內(nèi)了。這些問(wèn)題看起來(lái)似乎是無(wú)罪的，但是確實(shí)是不合法的，因?yàn)樯婕暗侥愠錾膰?guó)家。美國(guó)的雇主不能非法詢問(wèn)你的國(guó)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.

延伸到語(yǔ)言也是如此，雇主沒(méi)有權(quán)利知道哪一種語(yǔ)言是你的母語(yǔ)。但是，他們可以問(wèn)你還知道其它那些語(yǔ)言。

4.     Asking about religion is a no-no.

詢問(wèn)宗教問(wèn)題也不可以。

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.

雇主也許會(huì)通過(guò)問(wèn)你參加哪種宗教禮拜，來(lái)判斷是否會(huì)影響工作。但是問(wèn)你的宗教問(wèn)題就是非法的。

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

雇主可以問(wèn)你在周日是否可以工作，因?yàn)樵谥苋?，許多基督教徒會(huì)參加宗教儀式活動(dòng)。

5.     Your Age is your business. Not theirs.

  年齡是你自己的事，與他們無(wú)關(guān)。

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.

“你工作多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間了？”這個(gè)問(wèn)題看起來(lái)沒(méi)什么問(wèn)題，但這個(gè)問(wèn)題就是年齡歧視。面試官問(wèn)你何時(shí)高中畢業(yè)、大學(xué)畢業(yè)，甚至問(wèn)你的出生年月日都是不合法的。通過(guò)算數(shù)很容易能夠算出來(lái)你的年紀(jì)。面試官可以問(wèn)你在某一領(lǐng)域干了多長(zhǎng)，這個(gè)問(wèn)題仍然是跟工作相關(guān)，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.

面試中，很難回答個(gè)人問(wèn)題。畢竟，想得到這份工作，就不想讓問(wèn)題很難回答。如果問(wèn)題不合法或者讓你感到不自在，直接返回到你工作的問(wèn)題以及你的資歷上來(lái)。

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

當(dāng)然，如果你覺(jué)得問(wèn)的問(wèn)題很無(wú)禮或者不合法，你可以不回答。但是，這樣也許你也無(wú)法得到這份工作。

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

最后是個(gè)人的決定，但是你要了解自己的權(quán)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.

美國(guó)的這些勞工雇傭法與你們國(guó)家的法律有和不同？我們?cè)诹粞詤^(qū)一起談?wù)撘幌隆?/p>

I’m Anna Matteo.

我是安娜·馬特奧。

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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