The sides of the table matter so much in an interview. The person to be interviewed has so many things to work on. Check out the common interview question, dress up in the best formal attire possible, check out the company website and the list go on and on. On the other hand side, the person who is talking the interview can be relaxed – the person can be comfortable in his daily wear, don’t have to bother about if the person gets the job or not at this time he has not applied for the job.

You can Google it as you read and the most common question that you find that are asked in an interview would be:
What can you tell me about yourself?
Can you list your strengths?
What weaknesses do you have?
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Why do you want to work here?Why should I consider hiring you?
 
But the problem is these questions are out of date and have been criticized by a lot of potential candidates.With a workforce that is becoming more diverse and the advancements of technology creating new jobs every day, it’s not a surprise that choosing the talent fit candidate can be really challenging.

 Frankly, if you want to hire seriously these are not the factors you would want to evaluate the candidates. The purpose of the interview is to check if the person you hire would be in a position to perform the job responsibilities of the open position well.

It is important for the interviewer also to prepare for the interview as this will form the impression of the organization of the candidates. If you really want to hire good employees please do go prepared.

Below mentioned are some questions that have become outdated and it is better if you avoid asking these questions:

Que1: Can you please quickly walk me through your resume?This looks like an easy question to start the conversation but then here you have given the impression that you haven’t prepared well for the interview. The resume which was with you prior to the meeting you didn’t look at it.

For a better outcome, it is important that you read the resume thoroughly and ask specific questions regarding the resume. Also, showcasing that you already know what is mentioned in the resume would showcase you as a humble and warm person who is comforting the candidate.

Que2: What’s your biggest strength and greatest weakness?

This is such a common question that every candidate is prepared for it already. They have mugged it, rehearsed it and are prepared. And the funniest thing is the answer also doesn’t have a variety- common answers for weakness is “Workaholic, Perfectionist or I can’t say No to work”- this exactly feels like a common question in the board's paper to the candidate.

Better than asking the repeated question ask the candidate what are his or her significant achievement, how there were able to achieve, how they coped for short come and what were the learnings from that experience. Don’t forget to build trust and showcase it ok to be vulnerable as it is a part of the interview experience to get an authentic answer.

You will get to understand the strength and weakness of the person.

Que3: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
 
This is a very tricky question for the candidate. You can’t really expect the candidate to come up with a genuine and honest answer. A market is changing and with it the is an ongoing opportunity for the candidate to switch to the next better opportunities he gets. I am sure, nobody would know the perfect answer to it.  If you say you want to stay with the organization will show your reluctance to change and you have no aspiration.  The other approach would show your instability.
The better way would be to ask what is the candidates highest level professional goals and analyses the answer.

Que4: Why do you want to work here? Why should I consider hiring you?

This can turn to be a very funny question and you may get embarrassed for asking that. The cover letter and the resume serve that purpose. They have applied because you have an opening and they have the required skill set and they think that they qualify for the role.
Do remember that if you really want to hire good candidates you better be prepared so that you are not fooled by the “standard answers”.

Happy Interviewing!