Amy Lindgren
Do you know what a “gotcha” interview question is? Pretty much what it sounds like: A question the answer to which lets an interviewer think, “Gotcha!” As in, “Your answer revealed something you should have kept to yourself, but now I know all about it. Gotcha!”
If that doesn’t sound very nice, maybe you’ll be comforted to know that most interviewers have no idea they’re asking gotcha questions. They might be looking at them as simply interesting or mildly revealing.
Unfortunately, this is one of those circumstances where intent doesn’t matter as much as the result. And that holds true for the candidate as well. If you’re the job seeker, you need to avoid being “gotcha-ed” or whatever the past tense of that would be.
We need a definition
Since this is my own terminology, I get to make this up. A gotcha question is any query which (a) puts the candidate in a bad light when answered fully or honestly, and/or (b) forces the candidate into an awkward situation in regards to others in the room, and/or (c) compels the candidate to reveal information best held to later or never in the interview.
For example, “Please tell us the qualities you prefer in a boss.” Um, the quality of not asking questions like that? You can see the problem. No matter how the candidate answers, the boss for this role might not match that description. Now what?
Here’s a very classic gotcha: “Please describe a conflict with a co-worker and how you handled it.” The problem here is the premise that you get into conflicts. No matter how you answer, the damage is already done: You’re now a conflict-oriented person.
This question recently crossed my desk as a CEO’s advice for finding the right candidate: “What would you do if you were the CEO of our enterprise?” Uh-uh, nope, just no.
Since the CEO’s advice was meant for interviewers and not candidates, I won’t name or fault the originator of the question. But as a candidate, this query provides the fast lane to no-man’s land. Basically, you don’t know this company, this role, or this CEO well enough to position the answer appropriately. Which gives you about the same chances of success as a game of blindfolded darts.
You need to recognize the gotcha
The problem with gotchas is that you can’t predict the exact form they’ll take. Using the above definitions is only moderately helpful, since you’re not likely to remember it in the heat of an interview. Try this instead: When a question involves these words or their synonyms, it’s likely a gotcha: boss, co-worker, conflict, salary.
And if you don’t hear those words? The question still might fit the definition. Think about “What if” questions, such as: “What if you felt a new policy was a bad idea?” In my book, that slides easily onto the gotcha side of the page.
You need a strategy
Should you answer gotchas? For the most part yes, but maybe not directly. Take, for example, that conflict question. Rather than providing an example, what if you described how you generally avert misunderstandings? And note the change of vocabulary: You don’t “handle conflicts,” you “avert misunderstandings.” Here’s how that might sound:
“It’s hard to think of an example, mostly because my work style emphasizes clear communication. If there’s been a misunderstanding with a colleague, it’s usually because one of us missed a piece of communication somewhere. I’ve found that if I trace that back, I’ll see where it happened and we can start again from there. It’s been a very effective process for me.”
Does that sound a little rosy? That’s better than a four-minute he-said-she-said that ends with a weak resolution. When dealing with gotchas, your goal is survival; anything beyond that is icing.
Salary is one of the gotchas that can be delayed or not answered at all. The appropriate (strategic) time for that conversation is after an offer has been made, when you have the most leverage. Until then, it’s a screening question, meant to determine if you fit their range.
Your answer? This might do: “I’m confident your offer will be fair, but right now I don’t know enough about the job to give a useful answer.” Because you can’t risk being screened out, your strategy is to stay mum for the moment.
Now that you know how to recognize and answer gotcha questions, can you do it? Ha! Gotcha. (Yes, you definitely can.)
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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.
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