1. “Illegal” Questions
They aren’t really “illegal” but might give you grounds to sue if you weren’t hired.
The general rule of thumb: questions about your personal life that do not relate to your job performance are problematic.
What are example questions?
What are allowable personal questions?
If you are concerned about how certain aspects of your personal life will be perceived, read the institution’s inclusivity statement

2. How should you respond?
You can refuse to answer, and tell the employer you think the question is improper.
You can swallow your pride and your privacy and answer the question as asked.
You can answer the legitimate concern that probably lies behind the wrongful question, and ignore the improper question itself.

3. How should you respond?
Be prepared: decide before the interview what questions you will answer (and how) and which ones you won’t
You can answer the legitimate concern behind the wrongful question without answering the question directly
Resources:
ml#questions
.pdf

4. Role play…
Pair up, with one person playing the role of the interviewer, and the other the interviewee.
Ask a few questions, one that may be inappropriate
Practice responses

5. Congratulations! You have a job offer!!
Negotiations 101
Be honest about what you need to succeed at the institution and decide in advance if there are any non-negotiable needs
You should have at least some sense of this before your interview (perhaps even before you apply)
Be ready to work in creative ways with the institution to meet these needs (e.g., equipment or personnel sharing, writing a grant, etc.)
Trust your future department chair (or search committee chair)
They are not the holders of the purse strings
They should be advocating for you
Talk to a recent hire or someone at a similar institution about their experiences?

6. Things you can (?) negotiate
Salary
Initial teaching load
Start date
Startup funding (have a low, medium, and high wish list; make sure you know what should go into this)
Physical space (will any renovations come from startup money?)
Support for initial graduate student(s), postdocs, or technicians (will this come from startup money?)
Administrative support (IT, grant management, administrative assistance, etc.)
Others?