The interview process is necessary to screen candidates and find the best person who fits with the company culture and can perform the duties of the job with excellence. The questions asked during an interview can guide your decision making and either make things easier or harder, depending on the information you receive.
Recruiter.com recently published an infographic from Hireology that offers examples of interview questions to ask—and those to avoid—when doing a phone interview.
Below, we go over a few of these questions in more detail.
Here are a few interview questions you should ask:
“Can you expand on this skill/experience/qualification?”
Asking this question is a great way to have a candidate go into more detail about something they’ve put on their resume. You can even ask more about any remote work experience they’ve listed.
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According to the Hireology infographic, 56 percent of surveyed hiring managers caught job candidates lying on their resume. If you suspect any information might not be truthful, asking them to expound on their experience may either calm your fears or reveal a bad candidate.
“What do you excel at and what is a weakness?”
Despite being a stereotypical interview question you should ask, hearing an interviewee talk about their strengths and weaknesses can give you clues as to how suited they are for the job. If hiring for a flexible or remote job, the answer to this question can help you determine how well of a remote worker they would be. For example, if a candidate says they prefer to work in groups rather than alone, a home office might not be a good fit.
“What are you looking for in a job?”
Determining if a candidate will be happy and motivated in your work environment is important. If the duties of the job and the culture of your company don’t line up with what the candidate is looking for, they likely won’t be content. If you sense a remote work candidate is simply seeking any sort of remote job, and isn’t necessarily keen on your particular company, you may find yourself interviewing again shortly if you hire that job seeker.
Here are some interview questions to avoid:
“Are you pregnant or have future plans to be?”
Perhaps your motive for asking this question is to know if you need to plan for a maternity leave. However, even if it’s super obvious the candidate is pregnant, it’s illegal in most situations to ask this personal question. Even if you mean no harm, others may intend to discriminate if a candidate has plans to start a family.
“How old are you?”
The age of your employees can potentially provide clues as to how they may fit within the company or department, the level of their tech skills, and how many years of experience they have. However, this falls under another potentially illegal question to ask.
“Are you married?”
This is a definite interview question to avoid. While you may see a ring on their finger, it doesn’t necessarily mean the candidate is married. And most likely, you’ll come across as invasive and rude to the potential employee. In the end, an employee’s marital status has nothing to do with their skills and qualifications for the job.
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