How To Handle Job Interviews As An LGBT+ Candidate: Your Rights And Protections

Attending a job interview can be a challenging experience for most candidates. On the one hand, this is your chance to shine and impress. On the other, you’re afraid of making mistakes and falling short of the employer’s requirements. For LGBT+ job seekers, there’s an added concern: whether you’ll face discrimination for simply being yourself. It’s an understandable and valid worry. Knowing your rights and protections is the first step to combating that concern and improving your confidence.

Let’s look at how the law protects you as an LGBT+ job seeker in the UK and in the US.

How Does The Law Protect LGBT+ Job Seekers?

Anti-discrimination laws protect individuals from being treated differently and less favourably because of certain personal traits. That means that an employer can’t judge your suitability for a job based on, for instance, whether you are part of the LGBT+ community, are married or in a civil partnership, or have a disability. These personal traits are called protected characteristics.

UK Anti-Discrimination Laws

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 protects individuals from discrimination at work, in education, and in other areas of life. It also provides a way to complain if you are discriminated against.

Under this act, you can’t be discriminated against because of:

• age
• gender reassignment
• being married or in a civil partnership
• being pregnant or on maternity leave
• disability
• race including skin colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin
• religion or belief system
• sex
• sexual orientation

The Equality Act 2010 also protects anyone connected to someone with a protected characteristic or anyone who supports a claim of discrimination.

The situation regarding anti-discrimination is slightly different in Northern Ireland. You can find more information on the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland website.

US Anti-Discrimination Laws

In the US, there are several laws relating to anti-discrimination, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 offers protection against discrimination at work, including job applicants, because of:

• race
• colour
• religion
• sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender status, and pregnancy)
• national origin
• age (40 or older)
• disability
• genetic information

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also protects anyone who has made a discrimination complaint or supported a discrimination claim.

What Questions Can’t Be Asked During An Interview?

You can’t be asked interview questions about your protected characteristics in the UK. This means that as an LGBT+ job seeker, you can’t be questioned about your gender, sexual orientation, or transgender status. For more information on illegal job interview questions, visit the gov.uk website.

While questions about protected characteristics aren’t considered illegal in the US, employers are advised to avoid these questions to prevent discrimination claims and to promote diversity and inclusivity.

Preparing For An Interview As An LGBT+ Job Seeker

Now you know your rights and protections as an LGBT+ candidate, here are our top tips to prepare for your job interview.

Do Your Research

That means:

• scouring the job description to match your skills, experience, and qualifications to what the employer wants
• finding out about the employer, for instance, their company culture, attitudes to inclusion and diversity, plans for the future, and career opportunities
• looking into the employer’s competitors and equivalent companies
• finding the latest news and developments in the industry

Diving into research arms you with questions to ask and answers to provide at the interview, but will also help you to understand whether this company is a good fit for you.

Consider What Questions You Might Be Asked

That means common questions like ‘why do you want to work here?’, questions specific to the job and the industry, and more personal questions like ‘tell me about yourself’.

You can’t predict every question you’ll be asked, but you can prepare by practicing answers to the questions you expect to face and the questions you’d like to be asked.

Keep your replies:

• relevant to the job, company, and industry
• concise and to the point
• upbeat and positive

This is also a chance to consider how you’ll answer a question about your protected characteristics. In the UK, the situation is clear. That type of question is illegal, and you don’t have to answer. Bear in mind that the interviewer may not realise they’ve asked an illegal question. Be polite and professional. In the US, these questions are discouraged but not illegal. One approach is to ask the purpose of the question. How is it relevant to your suitability for the job? Again, be polite and professional.

Make A List Of Questions You Want To Ask

Job interviews aren’t just about the employer questioning you. This is also your chance to make sure the job and the company offer what you want.

What information do you want to take away from the interview? That might be the team dynamic, opportunities for training, or your day-to-day routine. Make a list of questions and don’t be afraid to ask them during or at the end of the interview.

Get Clear On What You Need From A Job

Before you even apply for a vacancy, it’s a good idea to have a clear picture of what you need from a job. That might be how much pay you need to cover your bills or working flexible hours to fit around your children. These are the must-haves that you can’t negotiate.

There might be other factors that would be nice to have but aren’t essential, such as gym membership or share options.

Knowing the difference between your must-haves and your nice-to-haves will identify the working conditions that must be in place before you can accept the job.

Wrapping it up

The key to handling a job interview as an LGBT+ candidate is to know your rights and protections, do plenty of research, and practice how you’ll respond if you do face questions about your sexual orientation, gender, transgender status, or other protected characteristics. Whether you refuse to answer that type of question, assert your rights, or reveal who you are is up to you. How you respond is completely within your control.