[kshcho]

Agreed that (1) is not by definition intelligence gathering. It's a fine line, but it should be pretty clear if you reflect carefully on what was asked.

Using finance as an example (since veyron mentioned it), it's one thing to ask an interesting brain teaser, or even, for example, the candidate's perspective on how a market will evolve over the next 5 years (e.g., natural gas). It's another to try to ask them what trading strategies they've used (which they could bring up more subtly by saying something like "what are some interesting trading strategies for natural gas you think could work"), or how they interact with their clients.

[veyron]

It's perfectly ok to ask about which trading strategies will work, if you are being employed as a strategist. It's also perfectly ok to ask about how they interact with clients. In both cases, a person is being entrusted with the firm's assets or public image, both of which should be carefully guarded.

As a hedge fund, you wouldn't want to bring on a strategist unless you had some clear idea about the trader's process, and in that discussion you must analyze a strategy. Likewise, when you entrust someone to deal with firm clients, you trust that the person will not jeopardize relationships.