Ten Interview Questions Interviewers Need To Stop Asking
1. What's your greatest weakness? (None of your business, irrelevant to the conversation and so intrusive that it brands you a presumptuous oaf, sadly.)
2. What's your five-year plan? (None of your business unless you're offering me a five-year gig. Irrelevant, unless you're offering me a five-year gig. Is that what you're offering?)
3. Why should we hire you? (Don't hire me if you don't want to! Why should I work here? Why would you put me in a position to grovel? I don't even know if I want this job yet, and that question didn't help your case.)
4. What was your college GPA? (This might matter if someone just finished college. Ten years after the fact, the use of this question is a sure sign that competitive weenies rule the roost in your shop.)
5. What would your last boss say about you? (What makes you think my last boss is an authority on me or my performance? My last boss could be in prison for all you know.)
6. What are three adjectives that describe you? (We have business to talk about — or at least I do. Can we talk about that, instead of playing parlor games? Here's a tip: people don't boil down to three adjectives. They are complex. Your question is obnoxious and condescending.)
7. What other companies are you interviewing with? (I can easily understand why you'd want that information, just like I'd love to know what you get paid and what your boss gets paid. However, it's none of your business.)
8. What are you getting paid now? (What are you getting paid now?)
9. Why do you want to work here? (Who said I want to work here? I came to this interview, just like you did. Wouldn't it be presumptuous of me to conclude that you already want to hire me? Yes it would. Likewise, it's presumptuous of you to conclude that I want to work here, just because I came to hear what you have to say.)
10. If you could be any kind of animal, what kind would you be? (We are not in kindergarten and I don't have time to play kindergarten games with you. I have so much to do and no interest in wasting another minute here, so I'll be leaving now. Enjoy your day!)
Liz Ryan is CEO/founder of Human Workplace and author of Reinvention Roadmap.