6 Job Interview Questions and Answers to Avoid

The old adage of "think before you speak" is never truer than when you're on a job interview. One unwitting slip-up could cost you your dream position, so it's crucial to know what kinds of questions and answers will set off a red flag for your interviewer.




While a hiring manager has a responsibility to avoid illegal interview questions, there are certain things that you shouldn't say as a candidate, either. Five career coaches weighed in on the most common questions and answers that interviewees should avoid at all costs.

Questions to avoid:

"What does your company do?"
Even if the job posting you read didn't include much information about the company itself, this should be a fairly obvious question to avoid. Nothing puts a big red "X" on your résumé like not having done your research. If you're coming in for a job interview, the hiring manager expects that you have a basic understanding of what the company does and who its clients are.

"Don't ask questions that you can find the answers to online,"

"Don't ask questions that you can find the answers to online," said Marie Zimenoff of A Strategic Advantage. "Questions should demonstrate some research of the company and knowledge of the position." "What will my salary/benefits/work schedule be?"

Money is important. You need to earn money to pay the bills and take care of yourself and your family. But any career coach will tell you that you should never ask a potential employer about salary and benefits up front.

"Candidates that do this appear to only be interested in the money and not as much about performing the job," said Charlotte Weeks of Weeks Career Services.

Abby Kohut of AbsolutelyAbby.com agreed that bringing up money (or other issues like work hours, work-from-home policies and vacation time) too soon lets the hiring manager know that you only care about what the company can do for you, instead of what you can do for your potential employer. The best tactic is to wait for the employer to bring up these topics, and follow his or her lead. Zimenoff advised researching a salary range before the interview; when your interviewer does start talking numbers, you can request this range.

"What is your company culture like?"

While it's not necessarily bad manners to ask about company culture, you probably won't get an honest answer to this question.

"No company is going to say that its culture is terrible," Kohut said.

As an alternative, she recommended asking your interviewer for one thing he or she would change about the company's culture if given the opportunity. This will allow the hiring manager to give you a more truthful perspective, without forcing that person to make a sweeping generalization about having a "bad" culture.

Source: Mashable