What to do about unethical interview questions

It could be a form of situational example that he is presenting to you to see how you will stand up to difficult clients. Or maybe he wants to assess how easily you become agitated or frustrated.

Granted this is not an ethical way to proceed but, there is no guarantee that every employer will play by the rules in the interview process. 

Inappropriate questions are rare, but they do come up.  When it happens, you are left in the difficult position of deciding if and how best to address it. You will probably feel torn between your ethical rights and your desire to make the Employer happy.

In extreme cases, you may feel that you have to answer the question in order to remain in the race or that you will certainly compromise your chances if you refuse to answer.

The bottom line is this: you should not compromise your values or be expected to do so. Even if you feel that refusing to answer a question may cost you the job you owe it to yourself to walk away proud, if still unemployed.

Think about the alternative: do you really want to be working for the person who put you in such an awkward position. Will you be able to work with this individual and extend them any degree of respect? Perhaps more to the point, do you think you will have earned his respect by giving in? It could be a trick to see if you a have thick enough skin to stand up for your beliefs.

There can be any number of reasons why an employer would ask inappropriate questions, including inexperience or ignorance. Regardless of the motivation, your polite refusal to answer an unethical question should not reflect negatively on your candidacy. In fact, it may even help.