What’s the most stupid interview question?
Amy Andrews at The Secrets of the Job Hunt Blog, posted an article titled “The Dreaded “Tell Me About Yourself”. Right after posting, my partner Brad Remillard posted an article on our Job Search and Career Management Blog titled “Tell Me About Yourself. Why Is This Question Asked In An Interview“.
As I mentioned in my comments on her blog posting, I consider this to be one of the most stupid interview questions of all time. Why bother to ask it? What does it really tell you?
After 25 years in executive search, having sat in thousands of interviews with my clients, this is one of the most common interview questions – if not THE most common interview question. The first time my clients ask this question in an interview is the last time they’ll ever ask it.
Once we’ve trained them in the 5 Core Question Interview structure, they know if they do the “Tell me About Yourself” – I’ll literally take them into the hallway and slap them around.
This “Tell Me About Yourself” is a throw-away question.
It’s asked by hiring managers who have not been trained in effective interviewing techniques.
It’s a tribal hiring question passed down through the generations of “I learned it from the old guy who learned it from the dead guy”.
Many hiring managers fail to explain to me why they’re even asking the question. The usual response is either “That’s what I thought I’m supposed to ask” or “That’s how I learned to start an interview (based on what I was asked 22 years ago when I got interviewed for the first time).
For a better set of questions that can yield accurate interview results well into the 80%-90% range, examine our 5 Core Question Interview . These questions have been deeply researched by Brad and I over 25 years and well over 100,000 candidate interviews. The first 3 of the set are the primary behavioral elements for top talent, and the last two are specific to the job. The questions can be asked at every level in an organization – from the part-time warehouse clerk to the Senior Vice President of Marketing.
As an additional resource, Brad and I have posted our radio shows talking about interviewing and the proper questions to predict future success. You can find these in our FREE Resources.
Stay tuned for the my next blog posting on a better way to open the interview instead of asking a canned, inane, and useless, unfocused question.
Barry
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Tags: Hiring Errors, Hiring Failure, hiring process improvement, Interview Mistakes, Interview Questions, Interview Techniques
Interviewing | Barry Deutsch October 3, 2009
About the Author
Barry Deutsch is a founding Partner of IMPACT Hiring Solutions, co-author of "You're NOT the Person I Hired", and "This is NOT the Position I Accepted". Barry is an award-winning international speaker, retained executive recruiter, and expert on hiring and retaining top talent, and executive job search.
9 Comments to “What’s the most stupid interview question?”
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By ED BANTLOW, October 3, 2009 @ 4:38 pm
Who (person) in history do you most admire? Why? From an HR Manager sharpening his interview saw. What fun. There’s a discipline available for those who want to or are called upon to answer “Tell me about yourself.”
By Narayan Lodha, October 13, 2009 @ 12:33 am
I Think the question why you want to change the Job
By vivek, October 15, 2009 @ 8:16 am
“Tell me about yourself.” is a dull man question… the person who ask this Q might be knowing in advance who you are …. or he is judging you,,,,, this Q is a mentally irritating Q//// just “Tell me about yourself????????.”
By Leslie McKerns, October 16, 2009 @ 8:40 am
Why do you want this job? Of course, they are trying to get you to say how much you admire the company, and how much you know about its people and services. But it does make the mind flash on “food, shelter, puppy chow, car payment…”
By Kate, October 25, 2009 @ 2:23 pm
It wasn’t so much a question, as a command. “Sell me this pencil”.
By Walt, October 28, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
Dumbest question I have been asked –
While interviewing for Head of Strategy position, was asked ‘What were your SAT scores?’
Somewhat irrelevant….
By Duncan Mathison, October 28, 2009 @ 7:05 pm
“Tell me about yourself” is lame. But for the smart job seeker, it gives you a chance to drive the interview. (Here are some ideas: http://tiny.cc/JMR38 ) The worst I heard was the old trick-the-job-seeker-with-a-clever-but-irrelevant-puzzle question: “Why are manhole covers round?” (Answer: So they won’t fall through the hole as they are pushed into place.) Who thinks these predict employee performance?
By irma, October 30, 2009 @ 6:45 am
I would see the question of “tell me sth about yourself” intriguing to be asked if I’d like to hire a sales person. The way a person describes himself, the structure of the talk are signals of his sales capabilities; how he stress his advantages and escape to weaknesses, how he lightens the successes and structure the thoughts based on what he would like to be taken into consideration. Through this question also I can understand parts of his personality which will be helpful on his management process to get the best out of him.
By Rebekah, November 1, 2009 @ 9:09 pm
My favorite question is, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” My favorite answer, quoting Gandhi, “I don’t know what kind of tea I shall have with dinner tonight, let alone what I will be doing many years from now.” Of course, hiring managers don’t like to hear this