How To Deal With Awkward Employment Questions

There's a lot of awkward questions out there in the job and professional career environment that tend to catch a lot of people by surprise. I know a lot of these seem like they are trick questions and have a lot of different possible answers which seem like they might work but also might backfire. So, how can we approach some of these questions? Depending on the scenario, it seems like there's several cases we can present for what to do and say in each scenario. Either way, awkward questions are not the best thing that we want to encounter in conversation with profession colleagues, managers, or recruiters.

Let me start with salary. This is always an awkward question no matter who you are or what scenario you're in. The question may seem appropriate in certain situations, but that still doesn't stop it from being any less uncomfortable. If any job you're applying to, the topic of salary will absolutely 100% come up. This is a normal time for this discussion. How do you approach it? There's a couple ways....

In California, it is now illegal for a potential employer to ask how much you were making at your last role. If you offer this information up, that's on you, but currently you are not supposed to admit this information if asked. Instead, the question is expected or target salary. This is a better discussion, but of course any money-related discussion is still awkward.

Next question is "are you seeking other opportunities?". Typically, the answer is yes. In a job search, recruiters will probably ask this at some point. This is a super awkward question and I feel like I never have a good answer or know what the right answer is.

A lot of recruiters want to know how quickly they need to move pursuing you as a candidate. BUT, they might also see this as them being behind the curve and not putting forth the effort which they might if you were just starting your search.

I recently started contemplating the best ways to approach this scenario. On one hand, I'd love to say I have a conditional offer and the company needs to move quickly with me. On the other, I feel like I don't want to scare away anything. Typically, my responses for these types of questions seem to end up being non-committal. A quick answer such as, "I'm actively applying and have made it through the initial steps with some companies". This lets them know that you are in fact actively looking and they should be keeping an eye on you. It also doesn't make them feel like you're at an offer stage yet since you're in the initial phase. If they ask what companies you're applying with, I think this is a moot topic and the fact that you're looking for other opportunities should be enough. I pretty much dodge this question in terms of specifics.

One of the questions I despise is when someone asks what your biggest weakness is. I think the main reason I hate this as a question is that consciously knowing a weakness and doing nothing to try to fix is leaves it still as a weakness. How does one expect you to self-develop and still have an "identified weakness". Sure, we all have weaknesses! I get that, but having an answer to respond to that question with in an interview is literally an emotionally clenching discussion that makes my eyes roll because an interviewer has literally no other content.

Again, if someone has a known weakness, that literally means they aren't doing anything to improve themselves. Knowing you have a weakness and accepting it is a horrible response. So, in situations like this, I try to make everyone happen and point out things that I've wanted to improve on in my life. For example, "I've really wanted to learn more about XYX since I felt my knowledge wasn't up to speed on it, so I enrolled in an online course to improve my knowledge about it." That to me is the best answer possible. It shows motivation, drive, and the ability to self-develop all without directly saying what a weakness is.

The last major topic I absolutely despise is the 5-year goal or plan question. It's typical -- "where do you see yourself in five years?"....ugh. RETIRED!! Not realistically, but certainly I do. If you asked me that five years ago, I would have said something COMPLETELY different than where I ended up (thankfully!! I'm loving where I'm at now). How are you supposed to predict where you'll be or what you'll be interested in then. At least for me, my careers have developed faster than I know. This is definitely an awesome thing for me, but it also definitely impacts my 5-year plan!

So, what should we say? Well, I typically feel that this question is basically centered around having goals and having a plan for that. So, the specifics of the answer is really irrelevant. As long as there's an answer that includes a goal and a plan to achieve that goal, it's usually a pretty solid answer. Remember, distinguish between goals and dreams. I had one of my old Battalion commander's tell me one time, "there's a difference between goals and dreams. Goals require a plan, but dreams don't because they aren't reality." Still seems true to me and I've taken this concept to heart.

Hopefully you all achieve prosperity with whatever goals you have and whatever you'd like to do in your lives. Remember to always work toward what you want. Anything is literally possible if you have a plan and work toward it. The big idea with anything is truly wanting it. There's a HUGE difference between saying you want something and telling yourself you do, and truly wanting it more than anything. I have complete insight knowledge about this, and I can attest 100% to it. Keep it up!!