It was a take on mutual respect really, the question itself irks me, and I’d never level it to a prospective employee. I would, however, try to obtain the same

It was a take on mutual respect really, the question itself irks me, and I’d never level it to a prospective employee. I would, however, try to obtain the same info using less jarring questions; possibly asking why the employee chose _us_ to decide to make their next career step, what inspires them to do this work, things like that.