Shannon in Kansas City YT: Shannon's Bible Study IG:@showmeshannon

I’ve noticed that some people like to ask trick questions. Trick questions let people project the image they have of you and you inadvertently validate it. The question is more of a prompt or a test than wanting an answer. Trick questions also let people ask questions indirectly because they don’t have the nerve to say and ask what they really want to ask. This has happened to me several times in job interviews and last weekend at the grocery store.

Job interviews like to ask hypothetical questions and assume you’ve participated in the behavior they’re asking about. For example:

Question: Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work. (I’ve been asked this many times on job interviews. It’s hard to know how to answer this question.)

Truth: I haven’t had many conflicts at work. I usually get along well with other people. The few times I’ve had conflicts it was in high stress, low wage industries such as retail and food service. Those environments are prone to conflict. The people that I had conflicts with had a problem with me. There was no real conflict. I responded to their behavior with grace. They didn’t deserve it but that’s what I gave them.

What I said: I don’t really remember. I had a hard time answering.

What I should have said: I’m a professional. I’m applying for a position in a professional environment with other educated professionals. I focus on my work and anticipate others will do the same. I don’t anticipate having a conflict.

Question: How often do you think it’s acceptable to miss work? (I applied to Target years ago for a cashier position when I was asked this. I wasn’t hired.)

Truth: I rarely missed school grades k-12. I rarely missed classes as a college students. I rarely missed work. It’s hard for me to answer this question because this doesn’t apply to me.

What I should have said: I should have said that good attendance and punctuality are very important and I rarely missed school or work. I’ve missed commitments only when I’ve had a contagious illness.

Question: Do you anticipate not being able to work in the evenings? (I was asked this question in a job interview with a local city government for a programming position in the parks and recreation department.)

Truth: The job mostly operated M-F during business hours. Sometimes there were programs during leisure hours. This was stated in the job posting. I understood this and wouldn’t have applied if I couldn’t fulfill the demands. I think the interviewer was trying to figure out if I had children. I specifically think he was trying to figure out if I was a single mother. This particular interview was very messy and weird.

What I should have said: The job description gives the impression that this is mostly a job that requires traditional business hours with occasional nights and weekends. Can you be specific about the hours? Did I misunderstand the description? I have no time restrictions but I prefer to work mostly business hours.

Question: $30?

Truth: I went to the grocery store last weekend and requested $20 cash back on a debit card purchase. The cashier accidentally shut his draw before giving me my $20. The bagger was a supervisor and could open the drawer. The bagger/supervisor opened the drawer and asked me: $30? I’m unsure why he came up with that number. I’m pretty sure he could look at my receipt and know how much cash back I was owed. He thought he was going to catch me in a $10 lie. He was standing at the end of the aisle bagging groceries during the entire transaction.

What I should have said: I said what I should have said which was the truth. I asked for $20 which is the truth. The bagger/supervisor gave me my $20. I said have a good day and left.

Question:  So how did it go?

Truth:  I’ve been asked this question on jobs before.   As far as I know everything went fine and routine.   They are already ahead and know something I don’t.   They don’t want to share whatever information they have.  They want you to verify, confirm or admit to something that they already know about.

What I should have said:  Everything was routine.   If something was out of the ordinary or if there was a concern I would have let you know.  Is there something I should be aware of?

Some people ask questions to get you to talk.  They are often fishing for information they are afraid to ask about directly.  Sometimes they ask questions to get an answer that validates their bias.  Quite often questions are not really questions but prompts and tests. I’ve had to learn to differentiate between an honest question and a set up over time.