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What NOT to ask potential employers at the interview

What NOT to ask potential employers at the interview

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“Do you have any questions for me?” asks the your potential employer at the job interview.

If you’re among the 3.3% of Malaysians, or 10% of youth, who are unemployed, this is a question you might be dreading.

Recruiters say you should have a few questions ready to ask because it shows that you are interested, engaged and were prepared for this interview.

But here are some questions NOT to ask any stage of a job interview:

If you can do this job from home

If the job allowed you to do that, it would have specified you could do that in the Job Description.

Recruiters over at Balanced Careers make it plain that asking to work from home has a lot of negative connotations attached. These include that you don’t work well under direct supervision, have a difficult schedule or you dislike working with others.

(Update: With the pandemic, this has changed and many companies have shifted to working from home. However, if a company still insists on being present physically, it may not be wise to push further.)

That’s the impression. Whether it’s true does not matter.

Although, of course you can ask after their flexibility policies.
(Credit: Freepik)

Anything related to salary or benefits

Company benefits, salaries, holidays, sick leave.

All of these don’t come into play until an offer has been extended, says recruiter Abby Kohut. When you know they are considering you, then it’s time to negotiate to the terms and benefits that you feel you should get.

Just remember not to overplay your hand and negotiate yourself out of a job.

Generic questions about the company

According to Forbes, a generic question will generally start with the word “Why” “What” or “Who”.

If you could find the answer to that question with a Google Search, that is also a question that will be considered generic and should not be asked either.

Some examples include “What will I be doing?” (Read the job description) and “Who are the competitors?”(Google the answer, please!)

Be prepared to stand out.
(Credit: Freepik)

And if you want some suggestions of questions you SHOULD ask, we have that here.


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