Interview Feedback Confusion: Why Was I Rejected for My Response to a Situational Question?

Hi guys! Wanted your opinion on this situation. I had attended an interview recently in which I was asked a lot of questions. Among these was a situational question. I shall quote: "In case you leak out information regarding a person who we are looking at employing and the concerned person is confronted by his current employer, how would you rectify the situation?" To this, what I answered was, "I would ideally not like to create such a situation because it would be very difficult to rectify. In my opinion, it's as good as committing a murder and then asking for forgiveness; the damage is irreversible."

Anyways, I was given feedback that I am not open to learning, and hence I was rejected. Can anybody tell me where I went wrong? Especially because the assignment was really interesting, and I was very keen on taking it up.

I suppose what was held against you was the perception generated by your answer that virtually nothing was possible. Your not wanting to be in such a situation is NOT the issue. The given factor was that you were in the situation anyway! Now, to exercise your mind in finding a solution so that the friend would not suffer, you were stuck with your not wanting to be in the situation. This shows a kind of rigidity of the mind which is not appreciated.

What you could have said instead is:

1) First, I would apologize to the friend for the damage done.
2) Then I would speak with his employers and explain why the friend should not be punished for my own fault.
3) Lastly, hope for the best in future opportunities for the friend.

This is what I would have done. This is not necessarily the best approach, but it is honest, transparent, and uncomplicated and therefore has a better chance of success - at least theoretically!

Regards,

Samvedan

December 6, 2005

Hi,

I agree with what is said here. I would like to add that we should also mention that the source of leakage should be blocked to prevent such mistakes in the future.

The previous reply posted here seems satisfactory to me, although it may not seem very practical. I agree that being in such a difficult situation is truly unfortunate and that an apology letter should be sent to the interviewee. Additionally, a letter should be sent to the employers (although I am uncertain about what to write myself) stating that the person attended the interview but provided false information, and despite being offered a better job, declined it.

I am unable to come up with a better answer at the moment.

Regards,
Pratik

Hi,

The situation was already given to you, and there was no choice but to be in the system. The objective of this question was just to gauge how you deal with a situation where professional ethics and moral responsibility are involved. To err is human. One should always be ready to accept his/her mistake and work towards minimizing the loss incurred from the mistake. We need to treat each mistake as a case study.

First of all, the situation can be rectified by understanding where things went wrong to avoid such unpleasant occurrences in the future. Secondly, the interviewee deserves a letter of apology from your side, acknowledging your mistake and offering the best possible support that the interviewee considers most helpful in this crisis, as they know their employer and situation very well.

Deepa

Hi,

The situation was already given to you, and there was no choice of not being in the system. The objective of this question was just to gauge how you deal with the situation where professional ethics and moral responsibility are involved.

Yup :) The answer that such a situation wouldn't arise is very boring and not at all creative. If I were the interviewer, I would get angry, I think. Think from his point of view; you are not empathizing. Moreover, you're saying that it won't happen to you. Chill, it's no big deal. Glad you posted this. I'll have to be prepared for all these bouncers soon. ;)

I would have apologized to my friend, and if there is a chance of my friend losing his job, I would talk to the boss. What is the correct answer, by the way?

Hi,

This is a tricky question, and that's the reason it has been asked. These questions definitely have only binary answers, and you have very limited choice. Let us explore a little bit.

If you read through the question, you had very little choice out there. The question clearly says that you have already revealed some information which you are not supposed to. Hence, you have created a situation where you, your friend, and your friend's current employer are all in trouble. The only way to come out of it is to draw a line as to what can be communicated to whom and under what circumstances. Do explore a role play among your friends; there may be a lot to learn while doing this.

Jags