10 Terrible Interview Questions You’re Still Asking Candidates

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It's surprising how much hiring advice comes from those who have never participated in an interview process, let alone made hiring decisions.

It's just the reality that we live in when content is king and companies have content quotas to reach.

Linkedin published an article on 10 supposedly impressive questions to ask during a phone screen interview. I thought it was satire considering not only were the questions irrelevant to hiring but they’re also the questions that come up when you ask ChatGPT for bad interview questions to ask.?

My goal with this post is to educate the community on why these questions are ineffective and to offer you some alternative questions, as well as a framework for hosting more effective interviews.

Terrible interview questions you’re still asking candidates and why you should stop

How would your manager describe you? Now, tell me — how would your best friend describe you?

The candidate is looking for a job, is this really the moment where they’re going to let you know that their manager is terrible, thinks poorly of them, or passed them off for a promotion which led them here? We’ve all heard the saying people don’t leave jobs, they leave bad managers. Also, asking someone how their best friend describes them in a job interview… are you looking for friends or for coworkers?

Instead ask skills based questions relevant to the role you’re hiring for not the void you’re looking to fill in your social circle which we know many hiring managers are guilty of doing. This question feels irrelevant and also puts the candidate in a position where they have to guess what others think of them, which can be uncomfortable and unproductive. Ultimately the answers will be bias and won't allow for helpful context for determining fit.

Can you share a story (about anything) that speaks to who you are from a values perspective?

This question is very open-ended and could lead to a long, rambling response that doesn't provide useful information about the candidate's suitability for the job. Instead, be more specific and ask them to speak to a value you’re evaluating them on. Side note, I don’t hire people based on values, I hire them based on skills, so I’d still recommend trashing this question and asking something skill based. Ultimately, someone's answers will speak to the values you're evaluating them on. Be sure you have these values drafted, published on your website, and worked into interview score cards to make sure candidates are being evaluated effectively and consistently.

What inspired you to apply here?

This question can lead to generic responses that don't provide much insight into the candidate's motivations or interest in the company.?When I ask people this question, they almost always say the mission…. It’s really generic and doesn’t speak to their skills and ultimately, I hire based off of skills, not off of mission. I offer an alternative below this section.

What are some of the most important things you’re looking for in your next career move?

This question assumes that the candidate is looking for a career move, which may not be the case, let’s be honest most people are looking for a job and a career path with more stability than the market has led them in recent years. Instead, I’d rephrase this to ask what the candidate is looking for in their next role and how the company can support them in these goals moving forward. You can then understand and explain what resources and career paths the company offers to make sure it aligns with the candidates expectations. Again, it's all about helping candidates understand the intricacies of the role and company as they make it further into the interview process. Ultimately, that's why I care about using interview time effectively.

What is one thing you want to change at your current organization?

This question can encourage negative talk about the candidate's current employer, which is generally considered unprofessional in an interview setting. Instead, I’d rephrase this to be around what would keep the candidate in their current role. "Is there anything that your current organization could do to keep you if we gave you a dream offer?" An alternative question would be: "What could your current organization do to keep you if we presented an ideal offer?" Again, this question just doesn’t feel super incredible to ask right now because a ton of people interviewing are fresh out of layoffs. Many people enjoy their jobs, so they'd mention wanting to change not getting laid off :P -- again, times change and we can re-work questions back into the interview process with time but if you want to run efficient interviews, removing questions that are determined fluff will help both people involved feel like their time is being respected and the right questions are being asked.

What are the top three tracks on the soundtrack of your life?

This question is unrelated to the job and could lead to responses that don't provide any useful information about the candidate's skills or qualifications. Unless you’re in the music industry, please scratch this one.

What style of coaching do you respond to?

This question presupposes that the candidate has experience with various coaching styles, which may not always be the case. It's more useful to explain the coaching style in your organization and ask how they respond to that style. How would you respond to this question if asked, I'm genuinely curious.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

This question is more suitable for a child than a professional job candidate. It could come across as condescending and unprofessional. I can’t believe I am writing this but people are still asking this.

What is one thing under $10 you can't live without?

Like the music question, this one bears no relation to the job and is unlikely to yield any useful information about the candidate's skills or qualifications. This is an icebreaker question we all had to answer at a party I was at recently, lol.

What didn’t I ask you about but should have?

This question puts the onus on the candidate to come up with their own interview questions, which is not their responsibility. It could also lead to awkward silences if the candidate can't think of anything to say to fill the dead air. Instead of this question, I'd recommend asking "What's something you wish recruiters and hiring managers knew when hiring for this role?" You'd be surprised by the things yo'd learn about the candidate's skills when they answer this!

The following are some better alternatives, followed by a template for conducting phone screens:

During the first phone screen with a candidate, usually conducted by a recruiter, the hiring manager, or a team member, your goal is to assess whether the candidate should proceed to the full interview process. The extent of this initial interview varies depending on the role and the organization. Here are some questions that can help get you started: Let’s assume these interviews are for entry to mid-level candidates for the general nature of this conversation.

A template to use for candidate screening calls

Getting to know the candidate

Start the conversation by introducing yourself, your title, how long you’ve been with the company and why you choose this organization.

Then ask the following one by one.

Outside of mission, why this role at this [company]?

This question helps me understand generally what a candidate is looking to do in their career or in their next role This can help me identify if the role aligns with their goals so I can educate the candidate at anytime why this may/may not be a fit for them.

Walk me through your resume. What made you choose each opportunity and what made you leave for the next?

This helps me understand their professional journey better than just reading a resume could tell me.?

What is the current product you're working on? Who is the user? What are the problems you’re solving?

This helps me understand how much the candidate knows about their current business which is helpful.

What tools are you using daily in your work?

Some roles have technical requirements and not every resume says it all. This is a great opportunity to discuss their tool experience and software experience deeper as it pertains to the role.

What is something you've wanted to do in your [role] career that you haven't been able to do just yet? How can we support you in the endeavor?

This helps me understand the candidates goals so I can assess whether or not this is a long term fit for them.

What do you want to do less of in your next role?

This helps me understand if there will be anything they will hate doing that they’re looking to escape.

You can use a wide variation of these questions, but generally speaking, it's good to know what the candidate wants in their career when interviewing them. This can help you sell the role or be honest about parts of the role they may not desire. Share information with the candidate that's best for them to vet the role when their skillsets align with expectations.

It's important to be honest as a recruiter and hiring manager. This will pay off in the long run.

Here is where I recommend adding a few hard qualifying questions to the mix. If you know the hiring manager cares about certain specifics, here’s where you dive deeper into them to help understand if you should keep asking the question more in-depth questions about their background.

Once you've gained an understanding of the candidate, share more about the company, the team, and the role. It's important to clarify what the company does, the team culture, and the role's scope. Discuss the size of the team, who they'd be reporting to, and the number of open positions for the role. Talk about how the company and team collaborate, communicate, and celebrate. This would also be a good time to go more in-depth into critical skills and questions related to the role.

Share information about the company, team, and role

As the interviewer, you should share with the candidate more about the company, team, and role. It's important to give an overview of what the company does, what the team culture is like, and what the role is all about. Here is an outline to help guide your pitch:

• Share a boilerplate of what the company does in non-industry jargon that a candidate who isn't a prospective buyer will understand.
• Share how many people are at the company today and how many employees you are planning on hiring in the next 12-18 months at the organization.
• Share how much head count is going to their team, the size of their team, and who they'd be reporting to.
• Share with the candidate how many positions are open for this role and why it's open.
• Share more about how the company and team works together, communicates, and celebrates.
• The candidate should know before applying if this role is on-site, but this is a great place to mention and discuss any travel related to the role, which should be disclosed on the job description as well.

Dive deeper into critical skills and questions related to the role

Here is where the questions you partner with your hiring team will go. These are the hyper critical questions related to the skillset of the role.

Outline next steps and the interview process before ending the call

Explain to the candidate what the next steps are in the interview process, including any timelines and whom they can expect to hear from in the next few days. Make sure to answer any questions the candidate might have at this stage.

Here are a few topics that I make sure to discuss before ending an interview. Also keep in mind that you have to ind local regulations in how and when you ask these questions depending on country, city, state, county.?

1. “This is a remote role. Is this something you're okay with?” My roles are very obviously remote, but I like to reconfirm that this is okay again at the end of the call. If your role is hybrid or onsite, I recommend making that insanely obvious on the job description and at the top of the call if it’s mandated to work hybrid or onsite and what that looks like.?
2. What state are you based in? This is relevant as some roles are timezone specific and some companies pay by location so this helps you speak to compensation later below.
3. Where are you currently in your job search? Is there a timeline that we need to be mindful of? This helps with scheduling so you don’t lose a candidate due to timing.
4. If you were to accept a new role, what would be your preferred start date?
5. Do you currently or in the future require visa support?
6. Salary expectations (Compliance training is needed here to ask appropriately)
7. Any outstanding questions the candidate has are discussed here.

Towards the end, outline the next steps and the interview process. Make sure to answer any questions the candidate might have and clarify any relevant regulations regarding the role.

I hope this helps improve your phone screening process, and remember: honesty as a recruiter and hiring manager will pay off in the long run.

And most importantly, please remember to discuss compensation in call one.

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