{"id":379687,"date":"2020-03-08T13:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T11:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=379687"},"modified":"2020-03-06T16:55:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T14:55:02","slug":"how-to-answer-these-5-inappropriate-job-interview-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/enterprise\/379687\/how-to-answer-these-5-inappropriate-job-interview-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"How to answer these 5 inappropriate job interview questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

As if the interview process wasn\u2019t anxiety-ridden enough, job seekers must stay vigilant for the occasional inappropriate question, says recruitment experts, Glassdoor – the subtly awkward questions that make you furrow your brow in confusion.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, hiring managers are not HR specialists; they are simply looking for a talented person to join the team. In the quest to hire a colleague, they might ask off-putting or inappropriate interview questions, it said.<\/p>\n

If you are the candidate what should you do? It\u2019s tough to outright correct a hiring manager or to refuse to answer \u2014 and that\u2019s where tact comes in.<\/p>\n

Tactfully answering any interview question is your best weapon in remaining composed, calm and focused on what\u2019s most important: evaluating if a company is really for you. The type of questions that are asked in an interview can be revealing of the company culture.<\/p>\n

Pay close attention to what is asked, what is discussed and how the interviewer conducts him or herself. Again, an interview is not only about a candidate being considered for a position, but it is also about a company being the right fit for you.<\/p>\n

Glassdoor has provided five examples of subtly inappropriate interview questions<\/a> that should cause you to raise an eyebrow of concern. “But, because you\u2019re a pro who is prepared, you\u2019ll be equipped with expert advice for how to handle anything that comes your way,” it said.<\/p>\n

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Example #1: \u201cMany of our employees are young guys who put in 14 hours days. Are you up for that kind of challenge?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why It Is Inappropriate:<\/strong> Any questions that dig into your age, race, national origin, gender, religion, marital status and sexual orientation are off-limits. It is a violation of Section 6 of the Employment Equity Act<\/a> (EEA) to discriminate against job applicants on a number of arbitrary grounds including race, gender, pregnancy, age and numerous others.<\/p>\n

How to Handle<\/strong>: Job search expert for The Balance Alison Doyle said: \u201cHiring managers are allowed to ask whether you can handle the workload and the schedule. When responding, discuss how you\u2019ve worked in the past, what type of schedule was involved, and explain how you can handle the challenges of this role.<\/p>\n

“Remember, if long hours aren\u2019t what you\u2019re looking for you don\u2019t have to take the job if you get an offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Example #2: \u201cCongratulations on returning to the workforce. Given your family, do you need a flexible schedule? Are you planning to have more children?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why It Is Inappropriate:<\/strong> A question about family should be a no-no but, alas, a naive interviewer, or worse, one that does not value women in the workplace may still ask them.<\/p>\n

How to Handle:<\/strong> \u201cA polite way to respond to questions about children is to answer that you\u2019ll be able to perform all the duties of the position,\u201d said Doyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s answering with a non-answer, but this can be more diplomatic than refusing to answer. The interviewer may not be aware that they shouldn\u2019t ask, and it\u2019s best to keep the conversation positive and focused on your qualifications and skills.\u201d While many parents may be tempted to discuss flexible work schedules in an initial round of interviews, Doyle cautions against jumping the gun.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better to stay that you\u2019re available to work the normal schedule for the job than it is to ask for flexibility this early in the hiring process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Example #3: \u201cWhen did you graduate from university?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why It Is Inappropriate:<\/strong> This one is a roundabout way that some interviewers try to hone in on a candidate\u2019s age. Again, age discrimination is protected against in South African labour laws.<\/p>\n

How to Handle<\/strong>: \u201cIf you\u2019re asked interview questions about when you graduated or your age, you have a few options for responding. You could answer the question, even though it shouldn\u2019t be asked, if you think that your response won\u2019t hinder your chances of getting a job offer,\u201d advised Doyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother tactic is to deflect the question and say that when you graduated won\u2019t impact your ability to perform on the job. A third option is to mention you\u2019d be glad to answer, but you\u2019re not sure why the interviewer needs to know. That could get you out of giving a direct response. At the least, you\u2019ll discover why you were asked and can opt to respond \u2013 or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Example #4: \u201cWe\u2019re a small company filled with strong, Type-A women. Is that going to be a problem for you, sir? Have you worked well with women bosses in the past?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why It Is Inappropriate:<\/strong> The question assumes that a man would have a problem working with women and assumes the worst in the candidate. This is one that is indicative of a potentially difficult company culture.<\/p>\n

How to Handle<\/strong>: \u201cNo matter how this question is worded, it\u2019s a tough one. It means that the hiring manager has put you into a category that\u2019s different than what they were looking for,\u201d said career coach Angela Copeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best answer when someone asks you about being different is often, \u2018Throughout my career, I\u2019ve worked well with all sorts of people. I\u2019m a great team player, and very excited about this opportunity to create value for the company.”<\/p>\n

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Example #5: \u201cWe like our employees to look and carry themselves a certain way. Do you think you will be able to set your financial hardships aside to rise to the occasion of working here?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why It Is Inappropriate:<\/strong> While it is discussed far less than race or gender in the workplace, white- and blue-collar workers alike can face socio-economic discrimination.<\/p>\n

How to Handle<\/strong>: \u201cA very difficult part of the interview process is what we can\u2019t see \u2014 the way we\u2019re being judged by appearances. Unfortunately, our culture often has unspoken class rules that we learn somewhat indirectly growing up. Anytime you\u2019re interviewing for a job, it\u2019s a great idea to learn all about the company and the culture,\u201d said Copeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo your best to dress in a way that the company and the hiring manager can relate to. If you have the misfortune of being asked a question like this one, put a positive spin on it. Say something like, \u2018You know, one of the great things about my background is that I have a track record of success working with diverse groups of people. I\u2019m confident I will succeed in this role because of my skills and experience.’\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read: 45 questions you should ask in your next job interview<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As if the interview process wasn\u2019t anxiety-ridden enough, job seekers must stay vigilant for the occasional inappropriate question, says recruitment experts, Glassdoor – the subtly awkward questions that make you furrow your brow in confusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":267145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13700],"tags":[7186,26],"class_list":["post-379687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enterprise","tag-glassdoor","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379687"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":379775,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379687\/revisions\/379775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}