By Karen Harding

We always think about the questions we should be asking when meeting with a potential recruit in an interview setting but we don’t often consider the questions we shouldn’t be asking. There are things employees need to answer like questions about their qualifications, skills, and knowledge that are relevant to the role but when interviewing recruiters need to be mindful that some questions can’t be asked.

In this article, I’ll share the questions every employer should steer clear of when interviewing and how you can avoid awkward silences.

Let’s get into it…

The FAQs of the matter: what you shouldn’t ask

1. Don’t be vague

Whether it’s a ‘tell me about yourself?’ or ‘what are your career goals?’, these open-ended questions often invite answers that are based on opinion rather than facts. In an interview, you’re trying to figure out and learn about the candidate’s past behaviour as a way of predicting what their behaviour may be like in the role and your organisation.

2. An age-old question

Age is just a number but asking this question can be considered discriminatory. When beginning recruitment for a role, employers must consider whether age is a requirement of the job being advertised, however, it’s best practice to include this in the job description because seeking information about age during an interview breaches anti-discrimination legislation in many jurisdictions.

3. Are you/do you? conundrum

Short, closed answers are not what you’re looking for when interviewing a person, you want the candidate to describe and demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and qualities relevant to the position. Avoiding open-ended questions that invite these types of answers can help you get to know the applicant better and learn how they would be an asset to your team.

4. How well do you communicate?

Communication is the engine room of any business, how well your team does it generally translates into how well your organisation runs. So instead of asking a direct question to answer this soft skill question, it’s best to ask for a specific example that demonstrates their communication style, how they solve problems, and how they come up with ideas – this will help you avoid the dreaded one-word replies!

5. Personal life or family situation

It is illegal to discriminate against a candidate because of their family responsibilities. Phrasing questions so that they centre around the demands of the business rather than asking directly will help you understand the limitations that the applicant may have with personal and professional obligations. 

It’s always better to be safe than sorry

It goes without saying that there’s a lot riding on the outcome of interviews and your choice of a new staff member. If you make the wrong decision and it could cost your business in more ways than just lost time.

How enableHR can help?

We believe HR should be simple. Simple enough for you to run your business confidently. Inside enableHR is everything you need to manage the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to managing your people and termination. If you’d like to see enableHR in action, contact us to learn more about how we can help your business.

Karen Harding is an Internal Recruitment Specialist for FCB (our sister company). Her 25 years of recruitment experience means she’s at home when she’s deep-diving into the intricate recruitment process of both client and candidate. Holding numerous positions within the industry, she has built recruitment desks from scratch many times in varying economic climates and still gets a thrill from making a job offer.