It is understandable that, as a manager or recruiter, you want to run the most effective interview to ensure hiring the best caliber for the role. However, in an attempt to reach this objective, more often than not you unconsciously ask questions that could actually ruin the whole process. Several cliché questions have spread like wildfire across several organizations, regardless of the industry.
The thing about interviews is that it is not really a battle between two armies where one (the interviewer) wants the trap the counterpart (the interviewee), and the counterpart thinks of successful ways to maneuver the moves of the attacker (the interview. In order not to make the interview a dreadful, stressful encounter and at the same time make it more productive instead of it being a task that has to be done, here are some questions you need to stop asking.
1. “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
While this question can test how much of a goal-oriented the candidate is, you cannot expect constructive answers out of it. Candidates, when asked that question, will normally feel obliged to respond by sharing a vision where they see themselves staying and growing in that company. As such, you won’t really get an insight into the candidate’s vision of professional growth at large.
2. “What is your biggest weakness?”
You can’t really expect an honest answer to this cliched question. Candidates more often than not try to demonstrate strengths as weaknesses with responses like ‘I work too much’, ‘I am a perfectionist’, or ‘I focus too much on details of a project’. It is already hard to get someone to talk about themselves in a negative light, now, let alone someone who is trying to impress you to get the job.
3. “Why should we hire you?”
Contrary to the question above, as an interviewer, you are pushing the candidate to list all the good skills about themselves, when in fact it is a very redundant question. At that stage –where a resume and a cover letter have been already sent and the candidate is shortlisted – you should already know why you are considering the candidate as a good fit for the role. Also, chances are, you are forcing the interviewee to push in a couple more qualities that they don’t necessarily possess but would rather recite them to score higher on the assessment.
4. “Why do you want this job?”
Let’s be honest, we all know why someone would apply for a new job: it is either for a better paycheck or a higher position. There definitely might be other reasons or factors but these two will always remain on the top of the list. But when you ask the question, you are leaving the candidate with nothing other than listing how they want to be part of the organization or how much of an advantage it is to work for the company.
5. “What did you dislike the most about your previous job/manager?”
This is a legit trap into trash talk, ranting, and whining which the candidate will try to avoid at all costs to avoid breaking professional decorum. Additionally, there is nothing really you can get out of a list of complaints. Instead, asking about previous challenges will help you make a better assessment of the candidate.
6. “Are you/planning to get married? Or “Are you planning to have kids soon?”
One of the most awkward questions any woman can be asked in an interview. While hiring managers ask this question to have a clear vision of whether this candidate will go on maternity leave soon or will be too busy as a married woman, this is not just a sexist question, it also is an invasion of privacy. A candidate should be assessed based on their skills and experience and not based on their personal life and future plans out of the workplace.
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