Page 161 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 86

What would you do if you found out the company you worked for
was doing something illegal?

I might be nervous about a company asking this question, because I’d wonder what can of worms I’d
open up by taking this job! Most likely, this is simply a behavioral interview question designed to get
at your values, ethics, and loyalty.

They don’t want you to say that you’d call CNN and become the loudest whistleblower the country
has ever seen—what if you were wrong and you irreparably damaged the company’s reputation?

A calmer, more reasoned response they would be comfortable with would sound
like, “I would report it to my immediate supervisor, or if necessary, the Director or VP, and move up
the chain from there. I would want to know if this was an isolated incident involving just a few
people, or one person, and not a cultural mindset of the entire organization, and I would follow up
with it to see if it gets resolved.”

This answer shows that you are an ethical person who wouldn’t let something illegal and damaging
slide, but that you are also a loyal person who would take a calm approach that assumes it’s the fault
of only a few and can be corrected.