3 Common Interview Questions That Are Completely Pointless

University of Exeter/flickrSome questions aren't worth asking.Anyone who has ever applied for a job has been asked a multitude of questions, writes former recruiter Stephan Tjaden in a recent LinkedIn post. "Most of the questions carry a legitimate purpose, but some of them are simply there to 'wean you out' and a waste of both the interviewers time and the candidates."

Here are a few of those questions:

"What do you think about your current boss?"

This one is pointless because "more times than not you will get lied to anyway," Tjaden writes. Plus, it's unfair, as it puts the candidate in an uncomfortable position and sets them up to say something that can be used against them.

"How do you handle conflict?"

This one is too broad, he says. "Focus deeper and ask a more relevant question." For instance, you can give the candidate a hypothetical scenario and ask them to walk you through how they'd deal with it.

"What do you like least about your current job?"

Tjaden says this is a pointless question because it implies that the hiring manager is looking for a weak spot. Instead, he says, focus on the positives. "Bring out people's strengths, always," he explains. "Not the weaknesses."

Tjaden, who says to "take this post with a grain of salt," explains that companies need to "ask deeper questions to avoid bad candidates and candidates need to be tougher to avoid career mistakes."

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