How to Answer Odd, Insenstive or Illegal Interview Questions
Posted on September 18, 2014 by Jill MacFadyen, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
Learn how to handle odd, insensitive or even illegal questions with humor or grace and still get considered for the job.
I have been asked some pretty unusual questions during interviews and I’ll bet many of you have also. “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?” (Oh, please.) I once even had an HR VP quote the first part of a Latin phrase at me and ask if I knew the reference. (“Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres..”) Some weird synapse in my brain was triggered and yes, I did know and still didn’t get the job.
You might even be inadvertently asked illegal questions by an unsophisticated interviewer. Your age, marital status, national origin, race and religion are among those topics. I once was interviewed by a contingency recruiter who said as he gave me an arm punch, “I’ll bet you still have some pretty good years left in you yet.” I felt like an out-to-pasture race horse. Him, I should have confronted or reported because I obviously was never going to be passed on to the company. (By the way, I never shopped again at the company that this recruiter was representing.)
For each of us, the way to handle these situations will be different. Humor is one option. Another is to look behind the question to what should be really important to the clueless one. I am suggesting that you be savvier than the interviewer. Assume that he or she is innocent until proven guilty. Take a deep breath, relax and then answer.
*If you are asked something odd (similar to the tree question above), the interviewer might be trying to gauge your ability to handle stress or to see how professionally you handle situations. Act as if this is normal.
*If a reference to age is made and you are over the age of 40 (a protected classification), the interviewer might be wondering about your energy level. Give him an example of your positive energy. “At XYZ firm, I was known for my energy in solving problems with the most difficult customers.”
*If marital status or numbers of children or plans for children are brought up, the interviewer might be wondering if you are able to travel or work over time. “Are you wondering if I am willing to travel?”
*If a remark is made about the number of jobs you have had, he/she might be wondering if you would stay at the job for which you are being interviewed. You can explain any perceived job hopping and mention that you are looking for a company where you can stay and grow.
*If a remark is made about your first or last name being unusual, consider it a compliment and say thank you.
I worked for a VP/GM who would take the top candidate to lunch and return to tell me things I wish that neither of us knew, such as, “She just had her gall bladder removed three weeks ago.” I pointed out the error of his ways but he was just so very friendly that candidates volunteered more than was wise.
You also don’t have to volunteer personal information on your resume or during the interview. If you have a personal section on your resume, be careful what you share. In your answer to the “So tell me about yourself” question, you don’t need to volunteer anything that the company has no right to know. You must also monitor the personal information you share on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter—if a potential employer is interested in you, chances are they will look at your online presence, too.
Once you get the job, be careful what you share, with whom you share or how loudly you share personal information.
