Two Interview Questions you are going to get BS answers to

I was talking to someone the other day about a interview they just had. This made me reflect on interviews I’ve had in the past. It had me thinking that there seems to always be 2 questions that pop up, where we have all struggled on how to answer it.

The following are the two questions that I think HR/Recruitment really need to move on from, like just let them go. These questions can be mentally stressful and realistically recruiters are probably getting BS answers from the candidate most of the time.

#1 – “Where do you see yourself in 5 years” I am sure the recruiter is going to hear “growing into the position and growing within the company” or some form of that. Here is why it is a BS question.

After going through a pandemic, some people may now find it hard to look 5 years ahead, the pandemic was a time of uncertainty for many. Candidates may be looking to survive mentally the month or the year, and looking so far ahead causes increased anxiety. Others may have medical conditions that have had them out of the job game for awhile dealingl with health issues, and this might be the interview that gets them back into a form of normalcy. A question like this could trigger anxiety or grief that was felt during their journey. Even if candidates haven’t had any of these experiences, maybe they just don’t know what they want in the next 5 years. Being asked this during a interview could cause unnecessary anxiety and a lot of BS answers, a true waste of time for everyone.

Why not change it up to make it a more productive interview question. Try changing the question to “What goals and ambitions do you have both personal and/or professionally” These goals could be something candidates have for a week from now, or a month, and maybe even 5 years from now. In doing so the recruiter may learn of potential skills they didn’t even think of before hand that can benefit the position and the company.

#2 – “What would you say your greatest weakness is” This has to be the worst question out of the two for me.

Asking what someone’s weakness can imply that it is something that they cannot change and is something that will permanently define them as a employee. I truly believe weaknesses are actually just underdeveloped skills. It doesn’t mean we can’t do it, it’s just means we may not have had the eposure to feel completely confident to it. I would like to know how many times a recruiters have heard this answer “I think my weakness is that I am a perfectionist” another good one could be “I think my weakness is I like to put extra time into my position if it means staying later”. All probably BS answers, I am pretty sure I have answered with one of these questions.

What if the question was changed to “What do you think is an underdeveloped skill you have, that you would like to improve”. This opens up a whole new conversation and a better narrative that we are human, that we are constantly learning, and it doesn’t put a label on being weak. Sometimes individuals may feel a underdeveloped skill is a negative and not feel worthy enough to work on their “weakness”.

Have you had interview questions that you think should be retired from interviews? What were they?