What Can You Ask In An Interview

Questions You Should Not Ask In A Job Interview

Ok, now that you have some surefire questions you can ask that will impress hiring manager lets go over the types of questions you should avoid asking. As youll see, these questions reflect poorly on you and paint you as a less than ideal candidate

How Much Do You Charge To Wash Every Window In Seattle

While this might seem like an odd question, it’s actually an effective one to ask if you’re trying to determine how well your candidate can problem-solve. Particularly if you’re hiring for a client-facing role, you’ll want to see how your candidate handles questions to which she doesn’t immediately know the answer.

Ideally, your candidate will say something like this — “Well, let’s say Seattle consists of 10,000 city blocks, with 1,000 windows per block. That’s 10 million windows. If I charge $5 per window, I’d make $50 million.”

The answer itself doesn’t matter. It’s more important your candidate can apply logical problem-solving skills, and remain calm, when dealing with challenging or unexpected questions.

How Did You Learn About The Opening

Job boards, general postings, online listings, job fairs — most people find their first few jobs that way, so that’s certainly not a red flag.

But a candidate who continues to find each successive job from general postings probably hasn’t figured out what he or she wants to do — and where he or she would like to do it.

He or she is just looking for a job often, any job.

So don’t just explain how you heard about the opening. Show that you heard about the job through a colleague, a current employer, by following the company–show that you know about the job because you want to work there.

Employers don’t want to hire people who just want a job they want to hire people who want a job with their company.

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What Are Your Biggest Weaknesses

Every candidate knows how to answer this question: Just pick a theoretical weakness and magically transform that flaw into a strength in disguise!

For example: “My biggest weakness is getting so absorbed in my work that I lose all track of time. Every day I look up and realize everyone has gone home! I know I should be more aware of the clock, but when I love what I’m doing I just can’t think of anything else.”

So your “biggest weakness” is that you’ll put in more hours than everyone else? Great.

A better approach is to choose an actual weakness, but one you’re working to improve. Share what you’re doing to overcome that weakness. No one is perfect, but showing you’re willing to honestly self-assess and then seek ways to improve comes pretty darned close.

What To Ask During A Job Interview

It’s your turn! As your job interview comes to a close, one of the final questions you may be asked is, “What can I answer for you?” Your interviewer will expect for you to have some questions.

Not asking any questions could make you seem unprepared or disinterested, so take the time to have some questions of your own ready to ask the hiring manager.

Plan ahead and have interview questions of your own ready to ask the interviewer.

You aren’t simply trying to get this jobyou are also interviewing the employer to assess whether this company and the position are a good fit for you.

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Other Potential Problem Questions

While not illegal in all states, or explicitly illegal, there are some other questions that could land your company in hot water:

• “Have you ever been arrested?” This has been seen, in some cases, to lead to racial discrimination and being arrested does not mean guilty of anything.
• “Can you work weekends or nights?” This can be seen as a question of religious observance or a proxy way of asking about family status.

Essential Questions To Ask Your Interviewer

So, youve given thoughtful, well-considered answers to your interviewers questions well done. Thats the hard part complete but the interview isnt over yet. As things start to wind up and youre asked if you have any questions, dont say no! This is your time to shine. Asking the right kinds of questions in an interview not only shows that youre genuinely interested in the role, its also a great opportunity for you to get a sense of what it might be like working in it.

Dont try to simply wing it by asking the first question that pops into your mind. Prepare for this part of the interview as you would for the other questions t. That means not asking for information about something that is mentioned on the companys website, such as when it was established. That will show you havent done your homework.

We asked Catalina Consultants Senior HR Consultant Stephanie Moffitt about the best questions shes been asked in interviews and why.

Heres what she had to say.

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Design A Spice Rack For The Blind

Your candidate’s answer to this random question shows a lot about how she makes decisions.

For instance, perhaps your candidate tells you she wants to interview blind people first and do competitive research before making a decision. This tells you she’s someone who places value on research and analytics.

Alternatively, maybe your candidate says she’d create braille labels on each of the shelves. This tells you she’s someone who trusts her instinct to make fast judgment calls.

Neither answer is wrong — it simply depends on the type of person you need to fill the role.

Questions About The Next Stage Of The Interview Process

You’ll want to be clear and concise with your questioning here since you’re looking for a set answer on the next steps of the hiring process. These questions should be reserved until you’re asked for additional questions by the hiring manager.

• Do you have further questions to ask about my background or experience?
• Can you explain the next steps of the interview process at this time?
• Is there any additional information you need that would be beneficial to the hiring process?
• Can I answer any final questions that are on your mind?

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How To Handle Inappropriate Questions

When asked an inappropriate question on an application form or in an interview, you could:

• Write not applicable on the application form or politely refuse to answer the question
• Tactfully let the employer know the question is inappropriate
• Deal with the underlying concern that has prompted the employer to ask the question. For example, an employer who inappropriately asks about your family plans or the number of children you have might incorrectly assume you are more likely to be absent because of parental leave or sick time. In this case, you could address the underlying concern by talking about your excellent attendance record and your ability to do the job.

However you choose to answer, be professional and tactful.

Do You Have Any Previous Criminal Convictions

There is no obligation for a candidate to disclose criminal convictions if the sentence has already been spent.

For this reason, an employer should not refuse employment to an individual because of a previous crime, unless it relates to the role in question .

Also, its worth bearing in mind that criminal records checks are carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service for certain roles , but this should be undertaken by employers before the interview stage. These were formerly known as CRB checks.

How you could answer: Can I ask how this relates to the role?

What they could ask: Do you know of any reasons why you may not legally be able to take this position?

Other questions you cant be asked: What religion are you?, what are your sexual preferences? are you in debt?, do you have children?, do you smoke?, are you a trade union member?, Shall we discuss this further over drinks?

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A Snail Is At The Bottom Of A 30

Questions like these have become a lot more popular in recent years. The interviewer isn’t necessarily looking for the right answer but instead a little insight into your reasoning abilities.

All you can do is talk through your logic as you try to solve the problem. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself if you get it wrong — sometimes the interviewer is merely trying to assess how you deal with failure.

Interview Questions You Can’t Ask And 30 Legal Alternatives

In every job interview, the goal is to obtain important information while building a friendly rapport with the candidate. But some questions are just a little too friendly. Protect yourself and your company from legal trouble and embarrassment by avoiding the wrong questions while still getting to the root of the concern behind the question. Read on for 30 ways to turn litigious questions into insightful, legal alternatives.

Nationality

Certainly, you want to be sure that a candidate can legally work for you, but it’s important to be careful how you ask. These questions address citizenship, language and other touchy subjects.

Religion

Age

Gender

Health and Physical Abilities

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What Are Your Strengths/weaknesses

This question is often seen as challenging by many candidates, even those with significant experience. However, if approached correctly it is easily possible to avoid ‘bragging’ when discussing your strengths or seeming excessively negative when talking about your perceived weaknesses.

Strengths – Based on the job description, choose three examples of traits the employer is looking for and give examples of how you have used these strengths in a work situation. Ideally, include a mixture of tangible skills, such as technical or linguistic abilities, and intangible skills, such as management experience.

Weaknesses – The best approach here is to pick a trait that you have already made positive steps to address.

Consider how you have approached your perceived weaknesses in the past and what you have done to address them

If your tech skills are not at the level they could be, state this as a weakness before telling the interviewer about training courses or time spent outside work hours you have used to improve your skills.

What Kind Of Salary You Are Looking For

Ask the what the range is for the job or ask to hear the interviewers best offer. The goal is to get them to mention their ideal range first since that will put you at an advantage for negotiations, Magas says. You say: In general, I expect a salary thats consistent with current employees at the same level.

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What Do You Think Of Garden Gnomes

This question, asked by Trader Joe’s, is a ridiculous and silly question. More than anything else, it’s intended to loosen the candidate up, see a glimpse of their personality, and gain insight into culture fit.

There’s no right answer to this question, but if your team likes to be sarcastic with one another, you might want a candidate to say, “If I could get a job as one then I probably wouldn’t be here today talking to you.”

Ultimately, if your candidate is able to handle this curveball with ease, it shows an impressive ability to react quickly to bizarre circumstances.

What Type Of Employee Tends To Succeed Here And What Qualities Are The Most Important For Succeeding Here

This question sheds light on whether the organisation has a clear idea of who they want to employ in the role. Hopefully, the ideal candidate looks a lot like you and if you feel like youve missed something they mention in response, you can always email the interviewer later to reiterate how well you think youll fit in.

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Questions You Can Ask Before An Interview

Youre all set to accept an interview invitation. As you hit Reply and type in your thanks and confirmation, a million questions suddenly whoosh through your mind about what to ask before the interview.

You wonder if you should append any of those questions to your confirmation message, or if you should keep them to yourself and look up the answers later. How do you know what should you ask before an interview?

Luckily, its okay to do a little digging about what to expect come Interview Day.

In fact, if you ask most employers about the common mistakes interviewees make, theyll put inadequate research and winging it somewhere in the top six. When an applicant shows genuine interest in the company before theyve had face-to-face communication, they notice.

Of course, its also a matter of asking the right questions. Unless youre going to ask about what specific questions to expect during the interview, employers will be more than happy to answer queries like:

It might sound like an embarrassing question to ask an employer before an interview, but its not. Some companies may not show up on Google Maps for a number of reasons. And even if they do, Maps wont tell you things like where you can park in the building premises or whether the building is in a high-security area. If you show an employer that youre serious about making it to the interview on time, theyll probably think youre serious about getting the job, too.

What To Say During The Interview

During the interview, you can provide more specific details about your qualifications for the job and your interest in it. You may incorporate these details in your responses to the interviewer’s questions or as you ask them questions about the job opportunity. Here are a few ideas of things to say to help you prepare for this portion of the interview:

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Questions To Ask An Interviewer

The most overlooked key to job interview success: The questions you ask in the interview. They can be the deciding factor in whether or not youre hired.

In this article, Im going to share 100+ good questions to ask your interviewer.

And its all broken down by category so you can ask a mix of questions about the job, the team, the companys culture, and more.

Lets jump into the list of questions to ask in your job interview to get hired.

What Are Good Random Questions

65 Random Questions to Ask Anyone

• If You Had Three Wishes, What Would You Wish For?
• What Would You Rather Throw Away: Love Or Money?
• Whats The Most Beautiful Place Youve Ever Seen?
• What Was Your Fondest Memory Of High School?
• Whats Your Favorite TV Show?
• Whats The Strangest Thing In Your Refrigerator?

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What Do You Like Most About Working For This Company

Hoover says this question lets you “create a sense of camaraderie” with the interviewer because “interviewers, like anyone, usually like to talk about themselves and especially things they know well.” Plus, this question gives you a chance to get an insider’s view of the best parts about working for this company, she says.

Questions To Ask Your Interviewer About The Role

These are the best questions to ask the interviewer about the specific job youre interviewing for. This is the most crucial type of interview questions to ask employers, because theyre hiring primarily for their specific needs in this role.

So before thinking about asking about the overall companys culture, company plans and goals, etc., ask your interviewer at least two to three questions about the position from the list below:

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