Have you ever been in a job interview and had someone ask an inappropriate question and felt like you were being put on the spot?
Well, careers expert, Erin McGoff, from the US, has shared how to respond to such questions in an interview — without feeling flustered or saying the wrong thing.
“Sometimes you’ll get asked a question and think, ‘wait, I do not want to answer that… do I have to?’” Erin said in a now-viral video.
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“If your answer to the question doesn’t directly relate to your ability to do the job, you do not have to answer.”
She added: “Most of the time, people may ask about kids/marital status/sexual orientation/etc by accident — just trying to make small talk”.
While many of the times people ask personal questions, they don’t know what they’re doing, the career expert explained that sometimes potential employers know exactly what they’re getting at.
“While they can’t ask about kids, directly, they might tell you about their ‘maternity leave policy’ to gauge you,” she explained.
“So, if someone asks you a personal question, don’t jump to conclusions. Give them the benefit of the doubt, and professionally divert.”
Erin shared multiple examples of potential inappropriate questions prospective employers may ask and suggested specific ways of responding.
The first example was if an employer asks: “So I see you’re married, do you have kids?”
The careers expert suggested diverting the question by focusing on the topic at hand and saying: “Oh you know what, we can skip the small talk and get right into the interview”.
If someone asks you whether you live with “a husband, boyfriend, or domestic partner,” first ask them to repeat the question and say, you didn’t get it”, she added.
If they continue to press you about it, Erin suggested another tactic, and you could say: “I like to keep my personal and professional lives separate if you don’t mind”.
Erin said another way employers can trick you into answering questions about having kids is discussing the job benefits and maternity leave policy.
“If they do this and ask if you plan on having kids, just respond by saying, ‘oh well, that’s a bit private’”, she said.
Erin said that another tactic an employer might try is by giving you a compliment and saying, “that’s a pretty engagement ring! Are you and your husband planning on getting married soon?”
The careers expert said if this happens, “acknowledge and redirect the question to so you’re looking for a new project manager, let’s talk about that”.
Lastly, Erin said if an employer attempts to ask you about your physical health and say something like: “So the job requires you to be on your feet a lot, so I have to ask: Do you have any physical conditions I should know about?”
Respond with: “You don’t have to worry about me, I am perfectly capable of doing the job well”.
Erin’s video has received more than 595,000 views and many had mixed opinions in the comments.
“I always lie when they ask me if I’m planning on having kids,” said one.
“A lot of the time when they are hiring, they’re looking for someone they can chat with, they’re hiring a potential friend as well as a worker so…,” added another.
“This is why I plan to not wear my engagement ring to any job interviews,” said a third.
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