At the Job Interview, Beware of Gotcha Questions

Impressing the job interviewer can be a challenge. That's why interviewees should always educate themselves about the job interview process before the interview! Many interviewers have experience in conducting many interviews. However, my research shows that many interviewers have not been competently trained, even though they have done a lot of them.

The "gotcha" question(s) is a two-way street just as the entire interview process itself. It is important for the career seeker to ask the interviewer relevant interview questions. For example, the job seeker could ask, "Where does this company see itself in 5 years?" The interviewer might answer with, "We are looking at a merger within two years with XYZ Corp." GOTCHA! The interviewer has just alerted the job applicant to an impending employment condition that could potentially affect the position applied for.

Mergers sometime involve restructuring and "layoffs or reduction in force". The applicant is now better informed about the advantages and disadvantages of working for this company. Another interviewee "gotcha" example to ask the interviewer, "What is the morale of the company's sales team?" The interviewer might answer, "Oh, we have a very positive and tight nit group of men, the last three were hired within 3 years of each other." GOTCHA! The interviewee is a female applicant who has just been told the sales force is all male and only males have been hired the last 3 three years.

That in and of itself does mean possible gender discrimination, but it certainly is useful info for making a decision about working for the company if offered the position. Asking the employer “gotcha” questions accomplishes four things for the job seeker;

(1)Digs out relevant info about the company that might not otherwise be revealed

(2)Shows the interviewee is knowledgeable about the interview process

(3)Shows the applicant has done the research on the company

(4)Puts the interviewer in the position of “working hard” to impress the interviewee

Yancey of TN 5:12PM November 11, 2008