Questions NOT to be asked!!I have been sending out my resume for a few weeks now and am being REAL picky about where I send it. I want to make sure the benefits are good & they offer tuition reimbursement. My boyfriend and I were laughing about job interviews tonight--"What is a question you would ask at an interview that would DEFINITELY put you out of the running?" My personal favorite so far......."How many sick days are you offering per year???" We' ve been laughing all night!! I hope you know that two of the questions that put you out of the running are: What are the benefits? How much is the tuition reimbursement and when does it start? Those are questions to ask only if/when you actually get an offer. YIKES!!! I just took a sip of my 7-up and sprayed it all over the place when I read your reply!!! Why is it not a good idea to ask about bennies?? I thought questions like this one showed you were interested in growing with the company..... My personal rule of thumb on that is to only bring up salary and benefits if the interviewer asks what are my requirements in that area. Whether it is right or wrong for you to ask these questions at the interview is an area of dispute amount many people I know. Some feel as you do that to ask these questions may present you as interested in the company. I cannot figure that one out, personally. I believe that to ask what the company is willing to pay and give for benefits will cause the interviewer to lose interest in you figuring that the only reason you are interested in the job is for the money. And that as soon as a better paying opportunity comes along, you will head straight for it. I have found that when the interviewer asks what I would like for salary reimbursements, I am further ahead in the process than other candidates. My stock answer is that I am looking for a salary range of $XX.00 - $ZZ.00 and whatever medical/dental and retirement options are offered by the company. I have discovered that this answer will give the interviewer the opportunity to explain what they are offering without my telling her what I want. (Oh, and before you do anymore typing, I think you need to clean off your screen.) I like that style---that is the best I have heard of--TY!! I have only just started passing out my resume---no interviews yet. Learning this was very helpful tonight...........Started it as a joke & I guess the joke was on me. Anyway--let' s keep this going. What should NOT be discussed at an interview when it is the job seekers turn to talk. I know another subject that I would not be the first to bring up is days off. The conversation usually starts out with the interviewer explaining about the company' s attendance policy. The interviewer may tell you that your position needs to be filled Monday through Friday from 9:00 until 6:00 with one hour for lunch. She may continue to say that on every other Friday the president of the company may opt to send everyone home at noon. She may further state that the company gives 9 paid holidays. It is probably not the best idea to state to the interviewer that you actually would like to have 3 extra holidays as you have a small child and need to be available on the days when he doesn' t have school. In fact, when I was working as EEOC on a panel, one of the applicants actually asked if she could pick her own days off. (Guess who didn' t get called back) Another thing that you may hold off on is a vacation that you have already scheduled. This is another area that is debatable. When the interviewer asks your availability, some people think it is best you do not say anything about a scheduled vacation or time when you would not be able to work. Simply state that you would be available to start in two weeks (or whenever) and then when you are offered the job tell them that you have a previous commitment for such and such a time. I don' t think that is the best idea in the world. I think you should state to the interviewer that you are available to start in two weeks however you do have a prior commitment in three months. Further that statement by letting the interviewer know that you are aware you will not be paid during the time you will need to be gone and assure them that by three months time, you are confident that you will know your job and will be able to pick right back up without any extra training or supervision. It is fine to ask about bennies--once there is an expressed interest on the company' s part in bringing you on board, whether that is in the form of a 2nd interview, or a verbal expression of interest, as in "let' s start talking salary." Most companies, if they are professional and have their act together, will give you a benefit summary in writing when you are close to getting an offer. I see no reason to wait till an offer is made before you ask about benefits, but only if you ask about them at a natural point in the process. One good time is at the end of the 2nd interview, after all discussion about the job itself is complete and they indicate they are very interested in you. Be tactful, as in. "Oh, and do you happen to have a benefit summary?" Do not make it sound like that is why you' re interested in the job. Or, when they ask you what you' re thinking of in terms of salary--because of course, you have to weight the value of the bennies. You could be looking at one job paying $5,000/yr more than another, but the value of the benefits at the 2nd job might be $10,000 more. If, however, a "natural" point in the discussions does not arise where it makes sense for you to ask about benefits, then you pretty much have to wait for an offer. Clearly you are not going to make the mistake I' ve read so many people here post about, and that is they accepted an offer without knowing what the benefits were, then were stuck with something that wasn' t as great as they thought it was! Bad move, that.... I agree with Anne about a natural point in the process but I' d caution you to think that automatically means the second interview. These days the 2nd interview is likely to be your first interview with the actual hiring manager, so that' s probably still too soon to go there unless of course they bring it up. Again, there are a lot of variables. A senior manager who has a current job and is being headhunted is in a much different space than a 20 year old getting into their first, second, third or fourth jobs. Keep the focus on what you can do for them and you' ll do a lot better than getting them thinking you' re just looking for how much time you get off. So, more questions not to be asked include (but are not limited to): -So, you doing anything next Friday night? -How DO you get your hair that color? -Wow, this office is neat! When do I get one like it? -How do I get your job? "-How do I get your job?" Ah, yes, this is most definitely the question to ask when you are asked the old "Where do you see yourself in five years?" question! That, or you can always answer, "In your chair." Seriously, this is something that, as a "more mature" (read--old lady) worker with a lot of experience, I was concerned about. I didn' t want them to think I would eventually have design' s on my supervisor' s job. Which I don' t, and never would in a zillion years (been there, done that, don' t wanna do it again). In my case it was easy enough to just explain that I only wanted a part-time position that would challenge me, but that I was not interested in using that job as a springboard to a higher-up level. On the other hand, I didn' t want them to think I wasn' t a "go-getter" (which I am), so I also stated that "if the opportunity ever arose" within their organization, that I would not be opposed to a step up. This is always a balancing act--showing you have initiative and willingness to step up to the plate as needed, and that you want to further your skills, yet not coming on so strong that your hiring manager fears for his/her job!!! | |
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