Questions You Should and Shouldn’t Ask in a Job Interview

This article is the 10^th in our series of 15 articles to help you with hiring for your organization. In our previous article we discussed the top tips for an efficient interview process. In this article we take the concept and process of interviewing even further by talking about questions you should and shouldn’t ask during a job interview.

Job interviews are a two way street. The interviewer asks questions to determine whether they should or shouldn’t hire a candidate, while the interviewer answers these questions to the best of their information. While interviewers look for cues during the interview to check and analyze the repertoire and skills of their candidate, the questions they ask should also be carefully set. You should make sure that you don’t border on discomfort and ask questions that are necessary.

Questions You Shouldn’t Ask

Where are you from?

Ideally you should have this information available on the candidate’s resume. If it hasn’t been mentioned on their resume, you don’t have to go all Sherlock on them to get your answers.

How many kids do you have?

This is another question that is unnecessary to the interview process and can make your candidates feel uncomfortable. Try to avoid the topic of family and familial relationships altogether in your first interview.

What are your religious beliefs?

Another question that is a tad too personal. Do not delve into the personal life of your candidate; instead, try to find out how they professionally fit inside your workplace.

How often do you go to church?

Someone’s not learning! This is another question that can make your candidate feel uncomfortable. Don’t make it sound like going to church is a pre-requisite for your job.

Questions You Should Ask

What’s your biggest professional achievement?

Asking about your candidate’s biggest professional achievement can tell you a lot about how they have gone about in their professional career. Someone with plenty of accolades and successes might be able to woo you with their answer.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

This is another question with great answering potential. The open-ended part will help you understand the future prospects of your candidate.

What do you expect from an ideal workplace?

Kaboom! This is the question to ask if you like the candidate and feel that you can reach some kind of job arrangement with them. Make them feel comfortable in defining their expectations.

Knowing the questions you should and shouldn’t ask in your job interview process, we will now head toward discussing some out of the box activities you can follow in a job interview in our next article.

We at JS Benefits Group have worked with numerous clients to discuss the questions they should and shouldn’t ask in a successful job interview. You can get in touch with JS Benefits Group immediately to discuss and devise a strategy.