In February articles in Forbes, entrepreneur and career coach Isaiah Hankel included among the recruiting trends a question that more and more of his clients have had to answer: “Tell me about a time you violated your own work ethic.” Yikes… Not so easy to answer, right?
Isaiah Hankel is the founder of Cheeky Scientist, a company that helps PhDs find jobs that match their skills. And, he says, more and more recruiters are asking this tricky question in interviews.
It seems to be a new way of asking, ‘What are your weaknesses,'” he explains in his article.
If the trend is real, it may be a way for recruiters to get a more authentic answer to the traditional “weaknesses” question, which usually calls for cautious responses, such as “I’m too much of a perfectionist!”
To answer the question, the career coach reminds us, “it’s best to choose a weakness that doesn’t compromise our ability to succeed in the job we want.”
A rather… marginal trend?
After doing some research on the subject, it appears that there is indeed a category of questions that address “ethical dilemmas” (see a reference here). Here are some examples of interview questions related to ethics:
- Tell me about an ethical dilemma you have faced.
- What would you do if you witnessed a colleague doing something unethical?
- What would you do if a supervisor asked you to do something unethical?
However, these types of questions seem to be uncommon in the French-speaking world. After checking with several Quebec recruiters, none of them had heard a question about violating “one’s own work ethic”. And many have found it inappropriate or even offensive, as it gives the impression of trying to trap the candidate.
I’ve asked the candidate if they’ve ever made a mistake or a bad decision,” says Julie Savage-Fournier, a systems optimization project manager in the health care system. What I wanted to know was if they recognized that they could make a mistake, how they realized it and how they corrected it. The nature of the error did not matter to me. Asking for a situation where the candidate went against their values or ethics, I find that a bit extreme. That’s a line I personally wouldn’t cross and I think it’s unhealthy to assume that this is something that happens routinely.”
Julie Gouin, who is a guidance counsellor, has never been asked the question. But she doesn’t see it as a negative thing.
Personally, I would like to be asked this question, because it would help me get my values out there and make sure they match the company’s.”
Feedback
During our research, we found a candidate who had already been asked this question in an interview. Her experience shows that this question should be handled with care.
It was my worst interview ever,” she says, wishing to remain anonymous. It was for a business development job with a sporting event promoter. I ended the interview wondering if I was looking for a job or if I had just been sued. It was the equivalent of two-bit psychoanalysis, which made me cry and wonder if I was really worth anything.”
Here’s a great way to torpedo your candidate experience!
