[And how NOT to answer them]
Job interviews are stressful for everyone—but for working parents in their 40s juggling toddlers and t-ball, they’re practically a contact sport. If you’re navigating a career shift with young kids in tow, here are the interview questions we all dread—and exactly how not to answer them.
Q: “We generally get started by 8 AM every day – will you have any challenges meeting our schedule and work from office norms?”
- ✅How to Answer: “No problem at all – I, too, value punctuality.”
- ❌How NOT to Answer: “In office by 8 AM? So, no one in this company has children, right? Or is this your way of telling me you offer on-site childcare and a back-up child care program for emergencies?”
Q: “This role requires extraordinary project management skills. Tell me about how you manage multiple priorities. What productivity tools do you use?”
- ✅How to Answer: “Multi-tasking is my middle name. I’ve mastered Asana, Jira, and all required software to enhance project management here.”
- ❌How NOT to Answer: “Does simultaneously managing my aging parents’ doctor appointments, my preschooler’s t-ball sessions, and monitoring my cholesterol levels—all while crafting compelling presentations that will help my company beat Q1 sales projections count as ‘productivity tools’?”
Q: “Tell us why you want to join our company.”
- ✅How to Answer: A carefully researched summary of how their company’s mission aligns with your skills and passions.
- ❌How NOT to Answer: “Your health insurance covers orthodontics, right? Between saving for retirement that’s suddenly way closer than it should be, starting college funds two decades later than my peers, and paying preschool tuition that costs more than my first mortgage, mama needs comprehensive benefits. Did I mention I’m looking at braces and bifocals in the same household budget?”
Want more? Read all about the first time I bombed a postpartum job interview. And stay tuned for more insights—like the questions job applicants who are parents with young children really want to ask hiring managers and what applicants want to hear from “family-friendly workplaces.”
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