Questions to avoid
These questions are generally just a waste of time, as they rarely provide useful information.
Unfocused questions
For example, ‘Tell me about yourself.’ The applicant often just gets nervous with this question and doesn’t know where to start. At best you may get a summary of the resume which will only provide you with information that you already know.
Leading questions
For example, ‘I see from your resume that your previous job involved customer service. You liked that, didn’t YOU?’ These don’t really allow the applicant to disagree. They can also easily answer with the response they think you want without having to explain.
Assumptive
For example, ‘Obviously you know how to use the computer?’ As with leading questions, the applicant is unlikely to disagree. You are better-off asking something more specific such as ‘What software have you used?’.
Multiple
For example, ‘What did you do in your previous job and what did you like most about it?’ These questions confuse candidates and they rarely answer both questions. Usually one is forgotten.