You Discover One of Your Co-workers Giving Free Merchandise to His Friends. What Would You Do?

If you're interviewing for a job where you'll be handling cash, it's common for hiring managers to enquire, "What would yous do if yous saw a coworker stealing from the visitor?"

And there are a couple of cardinal things you lot should do when answering this interview question if you want to get the job.

Every bit a old recruiter, I'yard going to share everything you need to know to ace this question in your job interview, including:

• Why employers ask this question
• How to give an impressive respond that makes them desire to hire you
• 4 answer examples

I'll also indicate out some disquisitional mistakes to avoid.

Why Employers Ask this Interview Question

You're most likely to hear this question for jobs that involve handling cash such every bit jobs in retail and sales.

Employers often ask, "If you saw a coworker stealing, what would you exercise?" to see if y'all seem honest and upfront, and because they want to know if you lot'd exist comfortable reporting a situation to your superiors (which is the right thing to practice if you encounter a coworker stealing or breaking another of import visitor policy).

Employers also desire to make sure that you'd avoid confrontation unless absolutely necessary. While they desire to hear that yous would report employee theft, information technology's highly unlikely they desire you to confront the employee yourself.

How to Answer

When the interviewer asks what you'd do after seeing a coworker stealing, y'all should explain that you would avert a confrontation in the moment, but then study the theft to your direct manager or dominate as presently as possible (the same solar day that you saw the theft is all-time).

Yous demand to bear witness that you'd prioritize the company's interests, fifty-fifty if you're friends with the employee who was stealing. The employer is paying y'all, and so they await you to act with their best interests in mind at all times.

Every bit you give your answer, you lot want to be brief, clear, and direct.

This isn't the type of question where you lot can sound unsure or take a long time to think about your determination. The best answers will be clear and quick, and answer the question head-on.

You lot'll meet this in the various example answers below…

4 Instance Answers to "What Would You Do if You Saw a Coworker Stealing?"

Case Answer 1:

"If I saw a coworker stealing, I would report information technology to my directly superior every bit before long as I could. I'd avert a public confrontation with my coworker but I'd inform my director every bit speedily as possible so that they tin determine the all-time course of activity since this is a serious criminal offense."

Case Answer 2:

"If I saw a coworker steal from the company, I'd report what I saw to my manager the aforementioned 24-hour interval and let them decide the advisable next steps."

Example Answer 3:

"I would report what I saw to my boss as quickly as possible. I'd avoid a confrontation with the coworker, since making a scene in front of customers or disrupting the workplace isn't helpful to the company, but I'd make it a priority that twenty-four hours to ensure that my managing director knows what I saw."

Example Answer iv:

"If I saw a coworker stealing, I would ask my manager if we tin can talk in private and and then I'd report exactly what I saw and when I saw information technology then that they tin respond appropriately."

The above answers will satisfy a hiring managing director and give them the information they want to know, which is show that yous'll follow company policies and report thefts but without disrupting the workplace.

This is particularly important in retail, where it'southward critical to not involve customers in an internal thing. Fifty-fifty in industries other than retail, it's highly likely that your boss prefers yous talk to them privately after witnessing a coworker stealing.

Because of this, it'south a mistake to say you'd confront a coworker. E'er signal that you'd report the incident to your superiors when answering interview questions most theft.

If You're Interviewing for a Management Function, You lot Should Answer Differently

In that location'south i exception to the communication above; if you lot're going to be managing employees directly for a company, then they want to know that you're capable of handling the situation yourself.

In all likelihood, stealing coin or other valuables from the visitor is an criminal offence that should lead to immediate termination.

So in your reply, you should say:

"I'd ask the employee to step into my office and I'd inform them that they were seen stealing. I'd tell them that nosotros're terminating their employment as of today, and I'd walk them out afterwards allowing them to gather their personal items. Of course, if I were unsure that they stole, for example, if I was told about the theft by some other team member, I'd inquire follow-upwardly questions to understand the full story before taking activity. While theft is serious, letting an employee go is also serious and has a big bear on on visitor morale and of course that employee's career and life, so I think it's critical to be certain of what was seen and to know all the facts in this blazon of situation."

You Don't Need to Requite an Case or Story in Your Answer

If y'all've worked in retail in the past, yous may have seen an employee steal in a recent job and have a real story you can share.

However, with this interview question, it'south not particularly benign to share a story in your answer unless yous're asked.

And then I recommend you answer by just sharing what yous would do instead of telling stories almost past employees and colleagues who stole. Telling a story when you're non asked will just complicate your answer and lead to more questions, and not necessarily good ones.

However, if an interviewer asks you lot, "Have you encountered a scenario in a past chore where you saw an employee steal? How did you react and what happened?" then that's unlike and you should share a story to address their exact question.

Consider Request for Feedback from the Interviewer

This interview question is a good chat starter and learning opportunity, besides. Yous tin take this as a chance to acquire about the company's verbal policies and whether your plan needs any fine-tuning before starting the chore.

So if it feels natural to you, consider ending your answer by saying, "Has employee theft been an result in the past, and how has management responded if so?"

Or, "Is that in-line with what y'all ask electric current employees to do, or is there annihilation that needs fine-tuning?"

In my opinion every bit a recruiter, the above phrases show that a candidate is trustworthy and thoughtful in their career and would make a great hire.

You never want to sound like you're unsure of how to reply when companies ask about seeing someone steal, just asking for pocket-sized feedback at the terminate of your response is okay.

Conclusion

The best fashion to answer, "What would you do if you lot witnessed a coworker stealing?" is to explain that you'd report what yous saw to your direct superior without causing a confrontation in front of customers or the team.

Y'all should aim to answer calmly and matter-of-factly considering employers desire to see that you'd tell them about the situation without hesitation. This is truthful whether you barely know the person stealing or whether they are a close colleague.

If you lot follow the approach above, yous'll take a disarming, professional answer that shows employers you're trustworthy and reliable with money so that you lot can win the chore.

Related article: Customer service interview questions.

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Source: https://careersidekick.com/saw-coworker-stealing/

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