Daves' Tips #13
What questions will get me in trouble during an interview?
Even when we are meticulous in our up-front screening, we still have the opportunity to spoil the interview with a single inappropriate question.
Everyone has heard stories about thousands of dollars awarded to applicants who have filed suite in these situations.
This is one reason we recommend managers prepare a written list of interview questions before meeting with applicants. Ask these questions in the same manner and order to keep interviews consistent. You can then use follow up questions based on applicant responses but….. here are some areas that should be avoided in any situation.
Do not:
- Document such things as young, old, good-looking, grandfather type, etc.
- Shorten the interview that is ordinarily scheduled for a certain amount of time.
- Imply long-term employment. The interviewer may defeat the AT-Will employment doctrine by statements made in an interview.
- Inquire about children.
- Solicit, directly or indirectly, information about social organizations or clubs to which they belong; churches, etc.
- Inquire about the applicants' feelings toward working with co-workers of different races.
- Ask the applicant to specify where they or their parents were born. You may ask if they are able to verify that they can legally work in the U.S.
- Ask for maiden name.
- Question about marital status, number or age of children, pregnancy or future childbearing plans.
- Rate a candidate on English-language proficiency when such a skill is not a job requirement.
For more Do's and Don't's contact us.
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