6 Interview Questions You Shouldn’t Pose to a Candidate

We’re not talking about legality, but just whether an interview question is useful or not.

The point of an interview is to ask the questions that will get you to the stage where you feel comfortable hiring the candidate, or not. There are some questions which are universally unhelpful in finding the perfect assistant or front desk person, for a real estate office, or any office.

Avoiding these questions means saving time and effort for those that DO work. But it’s more than that: some of the questions people still often ask are, at best, glib and, at worst, insulting. To add insult to injury, those questions don’t get you the information you’re looking for, so you risk insulting a great candidate for zero return on investment. Some even skirt the fringes of whether or not they are legally allowed so with all that in mind, it’s worth reviewing a few of the worst questions, so you can avoid them!

Skip the script for interviews

While it’s okay to have an outline of some of the things you really don’t want to forget to ask, a good interview will be more natural than that. It will be more conversational than confrontational. With both parties more at ease, you’re far more likely to get to the meat of the information that you want anyway! Sticking to a script reduces the candidate—one who likely needs to have great people skills—to a rather robotic process that doesn’t reveal the sparkle.

“What’s your biggest weakness?”

This question is just so beside the point. Unless the candidate is completely flummoxed, they’re not going to answer with useful information. They will choose a benign flaw that has nothing to do with the job. If you’re expecting them to blurt out that they’re not a people person, for a front desk job in a real estate office, you’re missing the point of interviews altogether!

“Why should we hire you?”

This one is up there with “What are three adjectives that best describe you?” There is nothing revealing in the answers you will get here. Any candidate worth their salt will spout off skills and talents that fit the job, rather than give you any original or honest answer. If, instead, you allow the flow of conversation to occur more naturally, all the signs as to why you should (or shouldn’t) hire the candidate will be right there in front of you. When people are comfortable and conversational, they’re more likely to share truths than staged answers.

“Which other companies have you applied to work for?”

This falls wholly into the category of none of your business! Unless you plan to give the candidate a full rundown on all the other people you are interviewing for the post, it’s really you being nosy rather than you sussing out if this person is right for the job. And, from the candidate’s point of view, it doesn’t make you look good.

“If you could be an animal, what would it be”

My spirit animal is a giraffe. What does that say about me and my ability to work hard on real estate deals? Nothing. Other ‘favourites’ in this genre? “If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?” These are grade school level queries that don’t reveal anything useful and certainly don’t show you to be whimsical and fun.

“Why do you want to work here?”

You know what happens when you assume, don’t you? Never mind… I’ll rephrase that one: How do you know that the candidate does want to work with you? After all, interviews are a two way process. In as much as you want to find out about the candidate’s character and skills, she wants to find out about you, your office, your management style and your expectations. This is another way in which a more conversational interview can be helpful.

“What’s your current salary?”

There’s a lot of debate around variations of this question. After all, for both the candidate and yourself, life is easier if you know if you are both in the same ballpark, salary wise. Ultimately though, this question puts the candidate in an awkward position, which isn’t how you want them to feel during the interview. You don’t need to know that information in order to know your budget and what you are planning to offer the right person.

Using a recruiter is helpful when it comes to issues like salary because we can get that information and not present candidates that are clearly out of range, saving you the hassle of having to figure out that sort of thing yourself. Bottom line? Don’t ask any questions that aren’t related to the specific job requirements that you have. And hire a recruiter. That’s just good advice!