Blogs

We’ve all been there, right? We get the interview phone call, then comes the actual interview. We expect to be asked intelligent questions, such questions that would help both us and the hiring manager/business make the right choice. But then… all of the sudden, you get a question(s) so stupid you get thrown off. You go blank. All those long nights preparing for the interview flash before your eyes. You snap back into reality and think to yourself… “is this person for real?” While quickly trying to gather yourself together to answer the question as politely and diplomatically as possible.

Well… here are the top 8 cringe questions that we get asked in interviews that serve no purpose.

Question 1: Why do you want this job?

Like, seriously? How can anyone answer this honestly? Let’s try. How about… “I need to survive?” Or… “Food sounds pretty good if I’m honest”. Businesses will often want you to sing their praises… like “I want this job because I’ve heard such amazing things about the company! Who wouldn’t want to work here?” They want you to be interested in the business, what they stand for, sure and that’s great but if I’ve learned anything during my professional career, it’s that every business is the same no matter what they preach. So please… to all businesses, stop asking this question. Understand that we all need to work to get through life.

Question 2: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I love getting this question because you know it’s been read from a script that has been provided by HR, right? It generally goes along the lines of “I’m sorry but I need to ask… where do you see yourself in 5 years?” You could ask me “What’s for dinner tonight” and I still wouldn’t know the answer let alone where I see myself in 5 years. And like this has any relevance to the job. What do they expect? For us to say “Here… working for this business in 5 years time… yep!” Um… no.

Question 3: Why did you leave your last job?

Now, I actually like this question…. but I’ll tell you why it’s cringe and pointless… it’s because people never answer this honestly and always fluff it about. Businesses want to see if you will speak negatively about another business. They tend to neglect that there is a very fine line between the truth and negativity depending on your experiences. Can you imagine if you answered with the truth? “I left because my boss was an a***** who treated me poorly and never appreciated anything I did.” Instead… what we typically say are things like, “There were no development opportunities and or room for me to grow” – Honestly is scarce nowadays. People are scared that they will be judged and frankly they are.

Question 4: Why should we hire you over the other candidates?

“Oh… that’s easy because I’m best friends with all the other candidates so I know all their strengths and weaknesses”. Like, huh!? We wouldn’t be at the interview if every other candidate was a better choice. Obviously, this question is them testing us to see how much we want the job. But seriously… is there no other question that can help do this better?

Question 5: What was your salary in your last job?

Believe it or not, this is actually asked in interviews. I know, right? I think we’re on the same page with this one. Be sure to not disclose what you were on but rather what you expectations are for this specific role (or future roles).

Question 6: What is your greatest weakness?

Who says that we even have a weakness? Sure, if I don’t like doing something i’m most likely not going to be good at it, but so what? That doesn’t mean it’s a weakness. We are human at the end of the day and we look to improve our skills naturally. Not because we are bad at it, but most likely because we enjoy doing it. Is golf a weakness of mine because I’m not good at it? Pffft… of course not.

Question 7: How would your previous boss describe you?

A delight. I left my previous job because my boss was an absolute angel. Come on now, let’s be real, a bit of a silly question. What value does that even add? Everyone is different anyway. What one likes, the other doesn’t. Can we be serious for a second… who is actually interviewing us? It’s kind of an insult though isn’t… when someone values an opinion of a complete stranger that will have an impact on their decision of you securing a job.

Question 8: How honest are you?

“I think that question is nonsense and not worth my time.” Is that honest enough? Realistically, no one is ever going to be that honest and confess to telling white lies, cheating or stealing.

~

In most cases, interview questions have been put together by the Human Resources team so the hiring managers have guidance to see if you are the right fit. Sometimes we really silly questions where it almost feels like they are being asked for the simple fact that they need to adhere to policy & procedures set out by HR. If you’re in an interview and it like it’s a question, answer, rinse and repeat, then be on guard because culture generally reflects in an interview. When thinking about an interview, for most of us it’s already a very daunting thought and process. Preparation goes beyond ‘answering questions’ but preparing for your mental state too. All we’re saying is let’s not make it a worse experience than it already is.