Describe a situation in which you believed a certain approach was ethically right?
Describe a situation in which you believed a certain approach was morally right to take, but your point of view was in conflict with other viewpoints. how did you handle this dilemma? you will likely encounter ethical interview questions when you’re preparing for a job interview which allow the interviewer to get an idea of what your ethical standards are as an employee.
Why the interviewer is asking this question? The interviewer is probing both your ability to discern ethical issues as well as how you react to them. This is a very difficult question for most candidates to answer, since few are prepared in advance with an example and therefore often blurt out a response without fully thinking through the answer.
Similar Ethical interview questions:
- How would you describe your ethical stance on business issues?
- What do you see as the most challenging ethical issues in our industry?
- Can you give me an example of a time when you objected to something on ethical grounds?
- What is the toughest ethical decision you have had to make?
How not to reply to the interview question ‘Describe a situation in which you believed a certain approach was morally right’
- ‘I’ve always found honesty is the best policy.’
- ‘I always give money to a homeless person in the street although part of me wants to walk on by and keep my money.’
- ‘When I was a university society treasurer, someone accidentally overpaid fees for a group event. Initially I pocketed the difference and was on my way to a betting shop to increase the return when my conscience said “Hi”, and then I gave the money to the donkey sanctuary.’
Recommendation
- Describe a situation were you needed help from another person to complete your task interview
- How Do You Handle A Situation Where The Team Is Unable To Meet Deadlines
How To Answer Ethical Interview Questions
Use a situation with a clearly unambiguous ethical conflict, ideally one that occurred in your work and where you had a professional responsibility to respond. Do not choose a situation where the ethics violation is questionable nor subjective. The ethics violated should be a clear case in which anyone would agree it was an ethics violation.
And if you haven’t encountered this type of situation, simply say so, although a good interviewer may probe further with: “You really have never faced any ethical conflicts in your life?” Clearly we all have, so it is best to have your clearest example selected in advance. kamerpower.com
1. Think of an experience and how you handled it
The most effective way to answer ethical interview questions is with specific examples from your past experience. Think of a situation when you found yourself solving a conflict, taking action against an unethical behavior or another situation where you had to rely on your problem-solving and ability to act under pressure.
2. March your actions to the company’s values or mission
Describe your experience using examples of your communication skills, critical thinking and decision-making skills. Explain the situation and how you were able to solve the conflict in a morally appropriate manner. This will allow the interviewer to understand how your core values and beliefs motivate you to approach an ethical dilemma.
3. Prioritize the company’s needs and interests
When you respond with your experience, consider how your actions and the outcome of the situation show how you prioritize the interests of the company.
4. Emphasize acting with integrity
No matter the type of situation you experienced and respond with during the interview, clearly emphasize your ability to act with honesty and integrity. Even if your experience required you to take action against wrong-doing or unethical behaviors, be sure to reiterate your values and showcase how you chose to take steps toward a solution proactively and fairly.
5. Apply the STAR response technique
Ethical dilemma interview questions are really just situational interview questions that focus on moral actions and integrity in the workplace. STAR is an acronym that stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. That’s the structure you should follow when giving your answer to situational questions.
- Situation: – Start by explaining the setting of the story and giving the interviewer some context.
- Task: – Talk about your role in the story (what were your duties and responsibilities).
- Action: – Explain what you did to carry out your duties or how you dealt with the situation.
- Result: – Wrap up your answer and talk about whether the situation was solved or not. What were the results?
Sample Example answers to ethical Interview questions
1. An example of answering the question as an experienced candidates:
“We had a difficult situation in my last job where some information came to light about improper hiring evaluation practices on the part of one of my coworkers. That person asked me not to say anything about it, yet it was a clear violation of our hiring practices, so I reported it to my manager, who then reported it to HR. It was handled per our company policy from that point forward…”
2. Educational training, college or graduate school
“At the end of my freshman year, we were taking our final exams, and I saw one of my classmates cheating on the exam. I understood the challenge that the exam posed, and I knew that failing the exam could affect our GPA. However, I don’t believe it’s ethical to achieve success at the expense of others, and at the end of the class session, I alerted my professor to what I saw. I explained that although I know the consequences of failing, and even more so with cheating, I couldn’t stand to let someone plagiarize another’s work.”
3. “Tell me about a time when you and the team you were managing had opposing views on an issue. How did you get to a conclusion?”
Correct answer:
“I try to include my teams in decision-making as much as I can. I remember when I was managing the marketing department of Brand B, we had to prepare a campaign for the Christmas and New Year season. Our CEO wanted to launch it pretty early, in mid-November, so we had a tight deadline to work with. Despite that, I judged it to be very achievable. When I brought this to my team, however, they disagreed. They were very certain that the time they had given us wasn’t enough and that we would either not make it in time or end up with a rushed final project. I explained that we would have to work extra hard to get it done, but I would still take their concerns to the CEO. We ended up negotiating on a further deadline that satisfied everyone.”
Customer service and sales Example
“Several years ago in my first role as a retail associate, I witnessed a coworker taking cash from one of the registers. At first, it looked just like changing over the drawer, but I decided to confront the staff member anyway. The employee was actually taking money from the register, and I took the cash they had from the drawer, placed it back in the register and notified my supervisor. We were able to resolve the issue through balancing the cash drawer and ensuring that particular employee was unable to commit theft from the company again.”
