Questions you should avoid asking in an interview

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

There are questions an interviewer shouldn't ask you, and questions you should avoid asking them. To most of you I'm sure these questions will seem like common sense, but sometimes during an interview you get nervous and say or do something that you wouldn't normally. So to ensure you keep your cool and give a great interview here are 6 questions to avoid asking.

Question 1. What does this company do?

Seems like a reasonable question, after all you want to know what the company does before you accept a job there. But in reality you should already know what the company does before you go to the interview. Asking questions that can be easily answered by doing a little bit of research shows you're not too serious about the job or company. If you were you would have taken the time to find this information.

Questions 2. How long will I have to work here until I receive a raise or promotion?

It's great that you're enthusiastic and creating goals for yourself. But this question implies that you don't really care about the job you've applied for, you're just using it to find something better. If this isn't the case, a better way of asking the question would be, What opportunities for growth are available in this company? You still get the information you're after, but without it sounding like you don't care about the job you've applied for.

Question 3. When will I be able to take time off for holidays?

You haven't even got the job yet and you're already try to organise time off in the not too distant future. At this point you don't look like you're going to be a dedicated employee. You may have already made holiday plans that will conflict with you coming to work for the company, but that's not the employers problem. You need to decide where your priorities lie. Is it more important to go on a holiday, or get a job?

Question 4. Will there be a background check or drug test, and what will you look for?

Most jobs don't require these kinds of checks when hiring. But if they do they'll tell you, so there's no need to ask. Asking this is seen as suspicious because it makes you look like you've got something to hide.

Question 5. How many warnings do you receive before you're fired?

During an interview it's important to keep things going in a positive direction, and talking about job ending mistakes in not how you do that. When you start talking about mistakes and how many you can get away with, it implies that you think you're going to have trouble and not perform well. This plants doubt in the interviewers mind. They need someone who can do the job, not someone they think they'll have to let go in a few weeks because they couldn't cope with the responsibilities of the role.

Question 6. When will you call my referees and what will you ask them?

The point of checking referees is to see what sort of an employee other people think you are. But this can't be done if it looks like you've rigged the situation by telling your referees exactly what to say. This will raise doubts in the interviewers mind. Is this person trying to hide something, have they told their referees exactly what to say, will I be able to believe anything there referees tell me? It's alright to have a chat with your referees beforehand to make sure they'll say good things about you. But don't provide them with a script.

I'm not saying you should never ask these questions. Some of them asked in the right way can be informative, without raising red flags. But that won't always be possible. So unless it's appropriate for the situation it's better to err on the side of caution. Don't get caught asking a simple question that seems innocent to you but casts doubt about you and if you're right for the job.

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