Unfortunately, there are all too many bad interview questions that get asked all too frequently. Here's my list of questions that should be retired to their own special Hall of Shame.
1. Tell me about yourself. Here's how any candidate will interpret this question: "I didn't have time to read your resume or if I did it wasn't interesting enough to remember so why don't you fill me in so I have a clue what we're talking about." It's also so vague, it leaves many candidates wondering if you're the type of manager who expects people to read your mind. If you must ask some form of this, at least make the effort to look professional by saying something like, "I've had the opportunity to review your resume, but I often find it helpful to hear people explain their own background. Why don't you give me a short description of your career."
2. Where do you see yourself in five years? Seriously? Most of us aren't even sure where we'll be in a month. Also, it's an expected question. Therefore (again) the answer is likely to be rehearsed, polished, and practically meaningless.
3. Tell me your strengths and weaknesses. Easily my least favorite question of all. First of all, everyone expects this question. If the candidate can't answer this smoothly, they struggle with other questions so you can't really use this to weed people out. Everyone knows to make the strength something generic enough not to be threatening, and to make the weakness something you've worked hard to overcome (and that wouldn't really matter if you still suffer from-like working too hard). If you ask this question, you deserve the hogwash you're about to be fed.
4. Do you like working in a team environment? "Nope. Pretty much hate people. Hoping for a job in which I can stare at my computer all day long and growl at anyone who asks for help or information. I figure if I do this well enough, I'll become the next Dilbert character." If you want to know how they will work in a team, then that's what you need to ask. For example, "Can you tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team to solve a big problem?" or "What role do you find yourself filling in a team setting? Is this a role you're comfortable in? Can you give me an example of a time when you worked in a team in this kind of role?"
5. Do you work well under pressure? What do you expect someone to say? "Er, not really."? "Can I call use a lifeline?" "No, but I bring my mom to work every day and she's great with pressure." There is only one possible answer to this question, so why bother asking? The days of the high pressure interviews are gone with other unfortunate trends of the 1980s, so if you want to know how the person will respond to a high pressure situation, ask for an example of when they worked under pressure in the past. Of try something like, "Here at XYZ Diamond Cutters, we understand that cutting extremely large gemstones is an art that involves a lot of stress. What do you do to balance your environment so the stress does not become overwhelming?"
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