Put Off Questions

Let's face it. Interviews are the holy grail for selecting or rejecting most of the people for a job interview. If you are anybody like me at this point of time, you also must be interviewing quite a lot of people. One aspect of an interview process which I want to focus on today is the questions the candidate or a job seeker asks you, we all leave the space open after we've done the questioning as an interviewer and most likely to ask, do you have any questions? And it's possible that we judge people by the quality of the question. Sometimes I definitely have that I remember in the past maybe about 10 years ago, it could have been a question like, what's your background? I have really taken serious offensive. People have asked that to me in the world of lining. I always thought you must have done your homework and you must be doing who I am kind of stuff, right?

 And believe it or not, I have actually said no to people purely based on the question they have asked, you know, what's your background? And after that, many years later, I think the question had been, if anybody asked me, it's a Friday week, you know, weekends off Saturday, Sunday off and very silly of me. But I have said, oh, your mindset is holiday not about, you know, working. Is that even a question? Because I suggest people on the quality of the question, you know, a Friday. We used to trigger me off saying that is that what you wanted to ask? I remember once somebody told me sitting in the chair, where do you think I can be in your seat? I thought it was a real confident question. But at the same time, I felt it was very arrogant and, and I thought it was a very dramatic stage kind of a question. I've gone on to almost saying let's reject this person.

And then my team has held on to me say no, come on sales guys, you want them to be arrogant, cocky. So that's a question which is allowed. It seems, you know. So though I somewhere felt that is not the question that I was comfortable with, but I will let that pass without rejecting people after that. But I think in recent times, maybe five years ago when I was new as an entrepreneur, when I was interviewing people, I remember one particular episode where after the interview, when I asked any questions, she said, come on, can you send this business plan? You showed me? I have to show it to my husband. And if he thinks it makes sense, then, you know, I would like to come back and ask you a few questions. I seriously got offended by that. I said this is it. I think we possibly will meet again for coffee if not anything else. But I think his job interview is over.

You know, I took serious offense to that question. When I look back, I, I laugh at it, but at that point of time, it was not funny. And honestly I got offended. So today, my question to you is are there those put off questions that candidates and job seekers ask you and you reject it purely based on that I have done. And when I look back, it looks very silly to me. And if they come, somebody comes and tells me no questions, I have met your team and possibly all the questions have been answered by them. I'll be very happy because I'm scared of the question they ask and what it would trigger in me. Let me know what's your favorite pet question that has triggered you off that people have asked you and you said no, I am visiting this person for this question.Tune in to hear more from Kamal Karanth,co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing firm.