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10 Interview Questions You Should Never Ask (and 5 You Always Should)
by Kristine Solomon of LearnVest October 15, 2012 17 Comments
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This article is from our friends at LearnVest, a leading site for women and their money.

So, do you have any questions for me? This common refrain toward the close of a job interview can make even the best of us stammer when the tables are turned. But with the national unemployment rate over 8%, sharp interview skills are more important than ever. Whether or not youre currently looking for a job, try your knowledge: Do you have the right questions to ask your interviewer? The goal, of course, is to ask a few smart questionsthoughtful ones that show youve been paying attention and have done your homework when it comes to researching the company and the specific job youre after. At the very least, you want to ask something. Most employers agree that, No, I have no questions, is the worst possible response. The most frustrating thing for a recruiter is when you dont have any questions at all, says recruiter Abby Kohut of AbsolutelyAbby.com. We asked professional recruiters to brief us on the top 10 most common interview questions to scratch off our lists immediatelyplus five effective ones to ask instead.

Questions You Should Never Ask in a Job Interview

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1. Anything Related to Salary or Benefits

Company benefits [and salary negotiations] dont come into play until an offer has been extended, says Kohut. The same principle applies to sick time and vacation days. Its best to avoid any question that sounds like you assume you already have the positionunless, of course, your interviewer brings it up first.

2. Questions That Start With Why?

Why? Its a matter of psychology. These kinds of questions put people on the defensive, says Kohut. She advises repositioning a question such as, Why did the company lay off people last year? to a less confrontational, I read about the layoffs you had. Whats your opinion on how the company is positioned for the future?

3. Who is Your Competition?

This is a great example of a question that could either make you sound thoughtfulor totally backfire and reveal that you did zero research about the company prior to the interview, says Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter of CareerTrend.net. Before asking any question, determine whether its something you could have figured out yourself through a Google search. If it is, a) dont ask it and b) do that Google search before your interview!

4. How Often Do Reviews Occur?

Maybe youre concerned about the companys view of your performance, or maybe youre just curious, but nix any questions about the companys review or self-appraisal policies. It makes us think youre concerned with how often negative feedback might be delivered, says Kohut. Keep your confidence intact, and avoid the topic altogetheror at least until you receive an offer.

5. May I Arrive Early or Leave Late as Long as I Get My Hours In?

Even if you make it clear that youre hoping for a flexible schedule to accommodate a legitimate concern such as picking up your kids from daycare, Barrett-Poindexter advises against this question. While work-life balance is a very popular concern right now, its not the most pressing consideration for a hiring decision-maker, she says. Insinuating early on that youre concerned about balancing your life may indicate to your employer that you are more concerned about your needs and less concerned about the companys.

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6. Can I Work From Home?

Unless it was implied in the initial job description, dont bring it up. Some companies will allow you to work from home on occasion once they see what a productive employee you are, says Kohut. But an interview isnt the time to be asking for special favors. Right now your top priority is selling them on you first.

7. Would You Like to See My References?

Interviewing is a lot like dating, says Barrett-Poindexter. Its important to entice with your value and attract them to call you for the next date. Offering up your references too soon may hint at desperation. Plus, you dont want to run the risk of overusing your references.

8. How Soon Do You Promote Employees?

An individual asking this question may come off as arrogant and entitled, says recruiter Josh Tolan of SparkHire.com.

9. Do I Get My Own Office?

This is an uncomfortable one, says Tolan. Of course you may wonder about it, but will something like this really play into whether you accept a career opportunity or not? If so, he says, it may be time to rethink your priorities.

10. Will You Monitor My Social Networking Profiles?

While a valid concern in todays culture, this is something best left unsaid. It gives the impression you have something to hide, says Tolan. Play it safe and dont post anything (especially disparaging things) about your company, co-workers, or employers on Facebook, Twitteror anywhere on the internet, really. And yes, even if youre not friends with anyone at work. These kinds of things have a way of getting around.

Questions You Should Definitely Ask in a Job Interview

1. Can You Explain the Culture to Me, With Examples of How the Company Upholds it?
Asking for specific insight into the companys culture is key. Everyone will tell you that their culture is great, but examples prove it, says Kohut. This will help you decide if you want to

work for them . At the same time, most interviewers are also trying to assess if youre a good cultural fit for the company.

2. How Have You Recognized Your Employees in the Past?

This is another example of a smart question that digs for specifics. You want to be sure that your new company appreciates its employees, says Kohut, and that the company values morale.

3. What Do You Like Most About This Company?

By nature, most people like to talk about themselves, so this question helps warm up your interviewer, suggests Barrett-Poindexter. It also provides critical insight into whether youd be happy working with this individual or company. If your interviewers answer excites you, that can further reinforce your decision to continue the interview process. If the response is lukewarm, it may give you something to think about before deciding to invest in a future here.

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4. Can You Give Me Examples of Collaboration Within the Company?

This is a great question for team players, says Tolan. It not only shows that you have a quality thats very valuable to the company, but it also gets down to brass tacks when it comes to company culture.

5. What are the Most Important Things Youd Like to See Me Accomplish in the First 30, 60 and 90 days of Employment?
This question shows youre in invested in what you can bring to the company, and not just what the company can do for you. Expect the answer to go deeper than just a basic skill set

requirement, says Barrett-Poindexter. Hope that the interviewer will wander a bit, providing personal insight into qualities he favorsperhaps even offering nuggets of detail you can use to reinforce your value in the follow-up thank-you letter.

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Photo of job interview courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Recommended by 119

Post to Facebook 462 462 About the Author 462 462 462 462 462 462 462 Post to Twitter LearnVest empowers people to live their richest lives, with daily newsletters packed with tips 267 and stories on managing your money and boosting your career, a budgeting center for keeping track of 267 your expenses and income, and affordable, personalized financial 267 plans from a team of certified financial planners. 267 267 17 comments 267 408 people listening 267 267 Sign in or Post267 as Guest Add to LinkedIn 539 539 539 539 539 539 Post comment as + Follow conversation Post to 539 539 Sort: Newest | Oldest 539 Post to Pinterest Elliott B 119 6 pts moderator I always 119 feel like if I ask a question that is "approved" it makes me seem like I am just following the 119 steps of the interview. Anyone have good questions that are safe, but also stand out? 119 Like Reply 14 HOURS AGO 119 119 119 8 pts Rick Tonoli Here's a 119 typical question I like to ask (coming from a Software Development point of view): 119 Post to Google+ "Tell me Post about to a project that has failed, how you dealt with it and how you learnt from that failure". StumbleUpon Print with PrintFriendly Send via Shareaholic Mail
...and this is why: For me it's important to know that there's a culture of admitting failure, tolerating it, and learning from it. It's equally important to see if the company actually knows the difference between

a successful project and a failed one, in other words they've identified success criteria for a project and they don't end up flogging the proverbial dead horse.
14 HOURS AGO

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acavoulacos

6 pts

moderator

Rick Tonoli That's great question! And so true... being able to talk about failure and learn from it is a critical skill in any team member.

Rick, how would you think about failure vs. mistakes? I think of them as being quite different, and am always curious to see if interviewees understand that difference.
14 HOURS AGO

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Rick Tonoli

8 pts

acavoulacos I think I'd apply the word "failure" more to projects and "mistakes" to people? Failure is also more of an end result than mistakes, you make mistakes, enough of these results in failure.

The culture of a company should be one that tolerates individual mistakes (but not repetitive ones) and allows them to learn and grow from them. It should also be one that can accept failure as an end state of a project.

In the end though it may just be semantics, its just essential that we CAN fail and/or make mistakes and learn from it.
6 HOURS AGO

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Kelly Vizzini Great advise, passion for the company for which one works is a good indication the company is doing something right.

If your interviewers answer excites you, that can further reinforce your decision to continue the interview process. If the response is lukewarm, it may give you something to think about before deciding to invest in a future here.
21 HOURS AGO

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Don

I was once interviewed for a teaching post and as part of the process had to submit a two page letter laying out my qualifications for the very specific post, what I hoped to achieve etc. The first question I was asked was 'Which job are you applying for?' It was clear the letter had gone unread and from then on I went through the motions until a tactful moment arrived when I could withdraw my application because I was increasingly certain I didn't want to work for this guy. They were unprepared, late and disorganised. One member of the interview panel was dressed in a short sleaved pale blue sports shirt with a clip-on lime green tie and track-suit bottoms. When he asked 'Do you have any questions?' I had to bite my tongue to avoid saying, 'Yes, what the hell are you

wearing? ' A year later OFSTED put the school into 'special measures'.
2 MONTHS AGO

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agricola

"Tell me a little bit about the geographic layout of our primary team in the office"? Hope you're not going for a job with the Plain English Campaign.
2 MONTHS AGO

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Mike Clarke

I run my own "small business" and I wouldn't hire any of the people involved in the blog post. If someone asks me about office space, that's fair enough they are going to spend 40hrs+ a week in it if they get the job so why shouldn't they know more about the environment before making a decision. As for flexible hours, i'd rather know before I extended an offer than once i signed a contract with them!
3 MONTHS AGO

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mirabang

thank you for the advice

3 MONTHS AGO

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happytoday

I am quiet excited today about the interview tips. keep up the good work.
3 MONTHS AGO

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karl

Tell me a little bit about the geographic layout of our primary team in the office. Marcy, i would have me tthat with a blank stare while I spent 10 minutes figuring out what you meant!
3 MONTHS AGO

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Power4things

Unless youve just cured cancer and youre interviewing at Pfizer, I wouldn't ask ANY of these, even the 5 that the author thinks you should. OK, maybe #3 and #5. I agree you have to coach people on what not to ask, because otherwise they will embarrass themselves right out of a job; you'd be amazed at what people think is "OK" to ask. As a general rule, you want to give the interviewer the subtle impression that you are so excited about this company that you would work 16 hours a day from a wobbly desk in the hallway for a handful of pistachios. Avoid any administrative-type questions, such as hours, pay, references (almost no one gives 'em or uses 'em anymore), promotions, etc. Culture? You'll get a tour of the office, you'll figure it out soon enough. Even the desk-and-office questions, or proximity to the boss, are too transparent, and in any event you are a long way from negotiating office geography. Naturally, the interviewer may volunteer anything to you, and the jumping directly to HR-type issues is usually a sign they are very interested or

have actually already made a preliminary hire decision. You should definitely do your homework on the company, its management, history, business model, product and competition, and ask insightful questions about those. Never, ever, start a question with "Why ...?" it sounds like an interrogation - and that's the employer's prerogative.
3 MONTHS AGO

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Dave Naranjo

On my very last job interview I definitely screwed up two or three of the questions. Do you have any questions for me? I answered no. Well, i had no questions. That job was so boring. So I started my own business. :) Promote your business on over 100 college campuses. Go to 100Colleges.com.
4 MONTHS AGO

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mordecai

Yes I had a similar situation when the CEO asked me about my astrology symbol! Really?! http://www.noholtzbarred.com/its-all-up-to-the-stars/
4 MONTHS AGO

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Nndwamato Reuben Mathoma

What kind of questions in an interview session can I expect and if possible how can I answer them.
4 MONTHS AGO

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A ndrew Rudin

I liked your list of questions to ask much better than your list of questions not to ask. I think it's wrong to be prescriptive about forbidden questions, People only get confused when they read them. Is it wrong to ask if you can work from home? Not necessarily, if that's important for the candidate to know. True, there might be other ways to ask the question. The tendency for bloggers to create lists of forbidden or "dumb" questions prompted me to write a recent blog, "What Makes Dumb Sales Questions Dumb," on CustomerThink. In the blog, I said that questions themselves are rarely dumb, but timing, context, and intent can make them seem that way. It's much better for people to focus more on avoiding situations make questions seem dumb, and less on avoiding asking specifically worded questions.
4 MONTHS AGO

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Marcy Twete

Regarding the "do I get my own office" question, I agree wholeheartedly that you shouldn't phrase it in that way. But I also think it could be a valuable question to ask framed something like, "Tell me a little bit about the geographic layout of our primary team in the office." Will you be sitting next to your boss or your team? Or are they spread around the office? It can say a lot about the culture of a place if everyone is spread out, or if they're next to each other in open cubes. This kind of question will help to determine what your geographic location will be if it's something you value, but framed in a way that you'll learn something about the team and company's culture as well. Thanks for the great advice!
4 MONTHS AGO

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