How to Answer Inappropriate Interview Questions
An interview can be difficult to navigate even without the added stress of trying to diplomatically point out inappropriate, aggressive, or downright illegal lines of questions. We asked you to share the craziest interview question you’ve been asked on Facebook and heck you all answered. To help future job seekers navigate these choppy waters, we’ve taken the worst and strangest of your interviews and asked experts for advice on how to deal with them.
Thanks to all the readers who shared their experiences with us. Your questions fell into several categories.
Puzzle
Although these questions are becoming less popular, many of you have come across them while looking for a job. Some of the puzzle questions you shared included puzzles such as:
- Why are manhole covers round instead of square?
- How are hotel showers designed to provide hot water almost instantly?
- How would you count how many cows there are in Vermont?
- Count the number of lampposts between cities A and B.
As Alison Greene, CEO of Ask the Manager , explained in our post about weird interview questions , teasers are often asked to understand how you think about a problem rather than knowing if you have the right answer. Even if you’re not a huge fan of these questions, try walking the interviewer through your thought process and then (hopefully) moving on.
Personal questions
These types of questions are difficult because interviewers often use them to make assumptions about you as a candidate, which in some cases is illegal. Mary Jo Fitzgerald, Economic Communications Manager at Glassdoor , advises you to know your rights as a candidate, and if the interviewer crosses the line, you can contact your local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to file a claim. (Employers cannot ask questions about your age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, religion, or any restrictions.) Some of the personal questions that have been shared by readers have come pretty close or crossed that line:
- What church do you go to?
- Are you planning to have children?
- You have a boyfriend? (A variation on this: are you married?)
- Who did you vote for?
- What kind of car do you drive?
Fitzgerald offers several different ways to bring the conversation back to your qualifications and get away from the annoying question:
You can use two useful phrases: either “The question does not affect my adherence to the position …”, or say bluntly: “I am not comfortable sharing this personal information, but I am happy to discuss other important issues. experiences. “ Both allow you to control the direction of the conversation and highlight why you deserve the position.
Of course, if the questions are truly offensive or show that the culture is not right for you, you can always end the interview early. It’s hard not to be uncomfortable, but you can try something like, “I understand that I am not the right person for the position. Out of respect for your time, I would like to finish the interview now. Thank you very much for the opportunity to meet today. “
Seemingly unrelated to work
Slightly different from puzzles are questions that test a skill unrelated to the role you’re interviewing for, or that seem unrelated to work. Some of them that you have shared with us:
- Who is your favorite Beatle?
- Get something out of your bag and tell us about it.
- Sell me this pen. (For administrative work)
- What would you do if an employee showed up with a pistol and started shooting at people?
This last question is wacky and honestly I don’t know if there is a good answer to it (if you can recover from the shock of being asked). For some other types of questions that are seemingly unrelated, you have to decide at that moment why you think they are asking you this. They may want to see how you react when you are thrown into a quandary, how creative you are, or how you think.
It doesn’t make interview questions good, but it does help you figure out how to answer them. If you think you know the purpose of the question, try to show them that skill. If you are not sure how this relates to the job, you can ask for clarification: “Can you tell me how this relates to this role?” or “Can you explain a little what you are looking for by asking this question?” And if the question is really unexpected, try Fitzgerald’s suggestions above to redirect the conversation back to your qualifications.