What have you heard a great candidate ask during an interview that loses them the job?
Answer below by Erin Berkery-Rovner, career advisor and former recruiter.
I've heard variations of bad questions in so many industries, so I've put them into a few categories.
The "I actually don't want to do this job" questions
We don't have to [insert duty that would need to be performed every day] at this job, do we?
How quickly would I be promoted from [entry-level job they are qualified for] because I really want to work as a [mid-level job they are unqualified for]?
Can I work part time or work from home? [when the work needs to be done on-site]
I don't think that doing [valuable work the company needs done] is important, would I be able to pass that work off to someone else in this role?
The "I didn't do my research or my research is incorrect" questions
If I assume [completely incorrect assumption A], then that means that this job would entail [a long description that has nothing to do with the job, company and in some cases, industry]?
I read an article about [insert competitor] and I see that your company is doing this new thing [that the company is not doing, because the candidate is talking about a competitor]. How would that impact my job?
The "my last job and qualifications are drastically different from what you need" questions
At my last job I really didn't enjoy doing [task that is the reason the interviewer called them in], how much of my workday will be spent doing that task?
I worked with a budget of [10 times the budget they will get at their new role] and I found that more was needed. How much priority do you give to [insert job function that will drain all cash from the department and give very little ROI]?
The "I want to name-drop because I think it will make me look smarter or savvier than the other candidates" questions
How does your company work with [buzzword that is irrelevant to the job]?
I noticed that your CEO [insert wrong CEO, mis-pronounce CEO's name or simply don't know the CEO's name] is doing [anything, because at this point the interviewer has stopped listening so we will never find out the end to this question]?
The "if I keep talking and say hip things, then nobody will realize that this isn't a question" question
My main focus has been [insert theoretical concept], and with the [insert word that doesn't make sense], and [buzzword] that is prevalent in [insert large geographical area, large industry segment or big numbers], what would my options be for [buzzword] in [buzzword] and for [insert flashy conference that the company has no intention of this role attending], will this role allow me to [insert pretentious claim]?
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