Appropriate interview question

[Anonymous]

Sounds like they want someone to work 60 hrs a week but pay for 40. I'd pass. A well-run workplace ought to be able to describe their work schedule so that you can decide if it fits; not ambiguously put it back on you to figure out what they mean by "flexibility."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like they are letting you know that long hours or late nights might be required and they want to know if this is going to be a problem.

If it is a problem, then you'd be ahead to say something and look for a different job.

If it depends, then ask for more specifics. Do they mean late nights or do they mean weekends? How frequently? Interviews are an opportunity for you to learn about the job.

+1000 There is nothing worse than hiring somebody who agrees to flexibility because they need the job but then that employee can't work extended hours due to other commitments.

OK, but why not be upfront about the requirements then? If I see a job advertised as 40% travel, I know that it's not even worth applying. Why not say, "frequent nights and weekends required?"

OP here. I think it is odd that they say it requires "flexibility" but do not specify what that means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like they are letting you know that long hours or late nights might be required and they want to know if this is going to be a problem.

If it is a problem, then you'd be ahead to say something and look for a different job.

If it depends, then ask for more specifics. Do they mean late nights or do they mean weekends? How frequently? Interviews are an opportunity for you to learn about the job.

+1000 There is nothing worse than hiring somebody who agrees to flexibility because they need the job but then that employee can't work extended hours due to other commitments.

OK, but why not be upfront about the requirements then? If I see a job advertised as 40% travel, I know that it's not even worth applying. Why not say, "frequent nights and weekends required?"

OP here. I think it is odd that they say it requires "flexibility" but do not specify what that means.

Maybe it's intentionally worded that way to weed out early those who will be/ are truly not flexible. Most employers need or would like people who are flexible as needed by the employer - not by the employee. By leaving it open, they are simply saying "we need you to be flexible in your flexibility". Maybe it will require late nights, or early mornings, or skipped breaks, or not at all. They just want someone who is able to deal with that (which not everyone is, and that's their prerogative)

[Anonymous]

And if you have to qualify flexibility, it's not really being all that flexible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is reasonable. I recently received a rather generous offer (30% raise) to a number I never thought I would earn.

I turned it down because of these issues. The problem for me is I have medical issues which require flexibility (I never know when I will be out for a few weeks or longer....disability coverage is a must, either they pay or I pay)

I don't think it is a reasonable way to phrase a question. So would it be ok for them to ask if you had any medical issues they should be aware of? Because that sounds a bunch like "do you have kids" question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is reasonable. I recently received a rather generous offer (30% raise) to a number I never thought I would earn.

I turned it down because of these issues. The problem for me is I have medical issues which require flexibility (I never know when I will be out for a few weeks or longer....disability coverage is a must, either they pay or I pay)

I don't think it is a reasonable way to phrase a question. So would it be ok for them to ask if you had any medical issues they should be aware of? Because that sounds a bunch like "do you have kids" question.

They do ask this. In the form of "do you need any accommodations to perform the work of ....."

[Anonymous]

OP, since it's first round in the form of a one-way survey, if you have any amount of flexibility in your schedule, I'd just say yes. If you get to a person-to-person interview, that would be the time to bring it up for clarification.

[Anonymous]

What kind of job is it? That might help us.
There is a difference between jobs where you can work at home and jobs where you have to be in the office.

For example I can not work past 5:30 as I need to pick up my son by 6pm BUT I can work from home in the evenings and sometimes I take EARLY AM conference calls with my South Asian colleagues. So while I have restrictions I have made myself flexible in other ways.

Just be honest. Interviewing is no fun for anyone. Neither you nor the employer wants to go through rounds of interviews only to find at the end there is a real deal breaker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is reasonable. I recently received a rather generous offer (30% raise) to a number I never thought I would earn.

I turned it down because of these issues. The problem for me is I have medical issues which require flexibility (I never know when I will be out for a few weeks or longer....disability coverage is a must, either they pay or I pay)

I don't think it is a reasonable way to phrase a question. So would it be ok for them to ask if you had any medical issues they should be aware of? Because that sounds a bunch like "do you have kids" question.

And if you require flexibility (or conversely, rigid structure) from your employer because you have an illness, children, great grandma to take care of, night classes, or a love for watching Doctor Oz At 5:15pm, then that's your problem and life choice. You DONT want to work for someone who will require you to work outside the box, so the question should immediately make you wonder if this will be a good fit for YOUR needs.

Businesses are there to MAKE MONEY. They are not there to give you 15 days off sick leave to care for Larlo every year, when you refuse to work 15 minutes extra at inventory time. Unfortunately, this is how many people act in their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is reasonable. I recently received a rather generous offer (30% raise) to a number I never thought I would earn.

I turned it down because of these issues. The problem for me is I have medical issues which require flexibility (I never know when I will be out for a few weeks or longer....disability coverage is a must, either they pay or I pay)

I don't think it is a reasonable way to phrase a question. So would it be ok for them to ask if you had any medical issues they should be aware of? Because that sounds a bunch like "do you have kids" question.

I think it's a reasonable question. I think it's a reasonable way for an employer to verify if you have any reasons (any reason: a demanding extracurricular, a second job, coursework, a band that practices, whatever!) that would make weekends or evenings impossible. You don't want to find out this stuff after you invested time in taking leave to go interview; much better to know now for all concerned if this is a good position for you.

BTW: it doesn't sound like a good job for you. Your response suggests that you would be a nightmare of an employee. Hence the screening survey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is reasonable. I recently received a rather generous offer (30% raise) to a number I never thought I would earn.

I turned it down because of these issues. The problem for me is I have medical issues which require flexibility (I never know when I will be out for a few weeks or longer....disability coverage is a must, either they pay or I pay)

I don't think it is a reasonable way to phrase a question. So would it be ok for them to ask if you had any medical issues they should be aware of? Because that sounds a bunch like "do you have kids" question.

I think it's a reasonable question. I think it's a reasonable way for an employer to verify if you have any reasons (any reason: a demanding extracurricular, a second job, coursework, a band that practices, whatever!) that would make weekends or evenings impossible. You don't want to find out this stuff after you invested time in taking leave to go interview; much better to know now for all concerned if this is a good position for you.

BTW: it doesn't sound like a good job for you. Your response suggests that you would be a nightmare of an employee. Hence the screening survey.

That's just mean. It doesn't mean that the PP doesn't have value or wouldn't contribute in a positive way. I'm sorry you see people this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is reasonable. I recently received a rather generous offer (30% raise) to a number I never thought I would earn.

I turned it down because of these issues. The problem for me is I have medical issues which require flexibility (I never know when I will be out for a few weeks or longer....disability coverage is a must, either they pay or I pay)

I don't think it is a reasonable way to phrase a question. So would it be ok for them to ask if you had any medical issues they should be aware of? Because that sounds a bunch like "do you have kids" question.

And if you require flexibility (or conversely, rigid structure) from your employer because you have an illness, children, great grandma to take care of, night classes, or a love for watching Doctor Oz At 5:15pm, then that's your problem and life choice. You DONT want to work for someone who will require you to work outside the box, so the question should immediately make you wonder if this will be a good fit for YOUR needs.

Businesses are there to MAKE MONEY. They are not there to give you 15 days off sick leave to care for Larlo every year, when you refuse to work 15 minutes extra at inventory time. Unfortunately, this is how many people act in their jobs.

Actually, companies do not have the right to ask about my illness, which is considered a disability (cancer). They do have the right to ask me if I can be flexible...can I work as needed. Can I be flexible about my work hours? etc; My answer is most of the time, yes, but there are times when I can not be flexible (oncologist appointments are hard to get).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they want someone to work 60 hrs a week but pay for 40. I'd pass. A well-run workplace ought to be able to describe their work schedule so that you can decide if it fits; not ambiguously put it back on you to figure out what they mean by "flexibility."

I posted earlier, and this makes sense.

They shouldn't be asking if there's any limitation to your flexibility. They should be telling you what their specific needs are and asking if that is a problem for you.

So if they need frequent late nights, they should say "this job often requires staying past 5pm. is that a problem?"

Leaving it so open-ended is kind of ridiculous. I mean, I would imagine EVERY person has some limit on flexibility. Most people don't want a job where they have to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is reasonable. I recently received a rather generous offer (30% raise) to a number I never thought I would earn.

I turned it down because of these issues. The problem for me is I have medical issues which require flexibility (I never know when I will be out for a few weeks or longer....disability coverage is a must, either they pay or I pay)

I don't think it is a reasonable way to phrase a question. So would it be ok for them to ask if you had any medical issues they should be aware of? Because that sounds a bunch like "do you have kids" question.

And if you require flexibility (or conversely, rigid structure) from your employer because you have an illness, children, great grandma to take care of, night classes, or a love for watching Doctor Oz At 5:15pm, then that's your problem and life choice. You DONT want to work for someone who will require you to work outside the box, so the question should immediately make you wonder if this will be a good fit for YOUR needs.

Businesses are there to MAKE MONEY. They are not there to give you 15 days off sick leave to care for Larlo every year, when you refuse to work 15 minutes extra at inventory time. Unfortunately, this is how many people act in their jobs.

Of course business are there to make money, but employees aren't slaves or indentured servants. There's an agreement, "they get paid X amount for Y amount of work." It's completely reasonable for a potential employee to want to know what the parameters of that arrangement are going to be. Am I getting paid X amount of money to work 40 hours a week or to work 60 hours a week? Because just like businesses are there to make money, employees work TO MAKE MONEY. Before accepting a job, they have a right to know exactly the nature of their compensation and what they are expected to do in return so they can consider whether it is something they are willing to agree to.

The whole notion that it's okay for an employer to say, "you make 50k a year, but I can change up how many hours a week I want you to work and sometimes make you work 60 hours when you took the job based on the notion it was for 40."

If an employer expects larlo to work an extra 15 minutes at inventory time, then that should be made clear upfront. Just like the number of sick days or vacation time.

[Anonymous]

To be clear, this wasn't asked in an interview. This was a survey, possibly sent to many applicants, so most likely a way to weed people out and give more information about the job.