Description
- Job Interview Advice: In a recent Q&A clip, Harrison addresses whether asking about work-life balance or remote work during a job interview could be perceived negatively.
- Clear Guidance: Harrison advises against asking these questions during an interview, emphasizing that it's the "dumbest thing" one can do and may jeopardize job prospects.
- Anecdotal Example: A cautionary tale is shared about a candidate who lost a job offer when the employer discovered they were working remotely from a location different from the one stated on their resume.
- Timing Matters: Harrison suggests that such inquiries are more appropriate after receiving a job offer, allowing candidates to negotiate these aspects without affecting their chances.
- Employer Perspective: The viewpoint is presented that most employers, especially in competitive job markets, prefer candidates focused on hard work and career advancement rather than those expressing concerns about work-life balance or remote options.
- Practical Considerations: The analogy of hiring someone to take care of one's children is used to highlight the importance of aligning with job expectations, reinforcing the idea that unconventional requests may hinder job prospects.
- Story Illustration: A story is shared about a high-achieving law school graduate who, despite academic success, faced challenges due to demands for an unconventional work-life balance.
- Conclusion: The overall message is clear – save questions about work-life balance and remote work for post-offer negotiations and be mindful of employer expectations and needs during the interview process.
Transcript:
In the past, I have asked questions about work life balance or remote work options during interviews. Could these inquiries be interpreted as a lack of commitment to the job? How can I frame such questions possibly? Absolutely not. So under no circumstances, so no circumstances whatsoever, should you ask about work life balance?
Or remote work options during the interview. Absolutely not. So you just don't ask it. It's the dumbest thing you can do during an interview. Absolutely not. You do not want to ask it. It will make it so you do not get a job. So that is 1 of and I'm sorry to be so direct here, but. People that do that typically will not get jobs.
I had one major law firm in Dallas, Texas that someone was, had a Dallas, Texas address on their resume, had a apartment or whatever in Dallas, Texas, but was working for another law firm in Dallas, Texas, remotely from, I don't know, San Francisco or something. I don't know where it was, but some other state, the law firm found out that they were working remotely.
And even and made them an offer and then found out that the person had been living in San Francisco and working remotely for this other big Dallas firm and pulled the offer was like, No, you're done. That was it. So think about that. So if you go and tell if that they pulled an offer because of that.
Asking about work life balance or remote work options, unless the firm is paying like significant, is a big firm and I'm paying significantly less money than a large firm or something. No way. Who would you hire? Someone that wants to work remotely and is concerned about work life balance or someone that's wants to work hard and get ahead.
Jeez, just think about it. Now you can ask all this stuff after you get an offer. That's the time to bring it up. If you, if it's important to you and you think that you want to ask it but no, you don't ask that. And again, I realized that this sort of thinking is completely foreign to a lot of people that have grown up with this sort of expectation.
And this is a newer. Type of thought process, but asking this stuff will just get you no, no employer, unless they have no other options to hide, like maybe you went to Stanford law school and you're interviewing with a bunch of people that went to top 100, 200 law schools. I don't know, but no, you just don't ask this stuff.
If you ask it. Think about it. Most jobs, a lot of these big firm jobs get hundreds of applicants. So why would, if they have hundreds of applicants, why would they hire someone that wants to know about work life balance or remote work options? Is that prejudice? I don't know. What would you, if you wanted to hire someone to work and I don't know, to take care of your kids or something while you're at work, if someone, one person came in and said, Hey, is it okay?
If instead of being at your house, I take your kids to, I don't know, to my father in law's house two days a week because I want to, they, I don't know, they, I don't know, they do gardening or something. I want to garden with them. I don't know, like something like that. Or they say, Is it okay if, I don't know that I take, it's just anything that would be not what you'd expect or want from the job, you're not going to hire the person, you wouldn't, so if you ask about the stuff and you think it's okay, it's not, and I just I want to be very direct with everyone that you just don't ask these questions in an interview, you ask about them after you get a job, and if that's important to you, and you have a lot of places you can work, Thank Then do it.
That's absolutely fine. I just, I wanted to tell a quick story. I had a guy working for me once that went to the University of Texas Law School and was in the top three graduates of his class. And they only reason, that knew that was because there was some of award that was given to the top three students because they didn't wanna make a valedictorian or whatever it's called.
That's what they gave him. So he never worked in a law firm during the summer. He never interviewed with a law firm during his third year. And then he came to work for me and was basically his demands were after he'd been hired and was working and came in that he be allowed to leave the job early at two and work on his laptop that he, I don't know, but he needed to work life balance.
He wasn't going to work on all these demands and it didn't work out. And he also knew that if he did that kind of, if he worked that sort of way. That he would have to do that in a law firm. So that's why he didn't go to work in a large law firm or any law firm. So you just, you can ask about that stuff.
Certain law firms do like that, but you just have to understand who would you hire? If you had someone working for you, would you hire someone that was really concerned about that and it impacted your ability to get the work done? Or would you hire someone that wasn't like that?
