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I used to work as a Colorado state employee. When I interviewed a
prospective candidate, there were very specific questions we could and could
not ask. On the 'could not' list was anything to do with any outside
interests. Not even 'do you have any outside interests?'. The only way
this could become part of the interview was if the applicant brought the
subject up or volunteered the information.
Even then, we were encouraged to bring the interview back to specific work
related issues and not respond too much to the volunteered information. The
HR intent was to be as objective as possible and demonstrate no biases
toward anything specific. It made for a stilted interview sometimes.
Just my $.02 worth. Jeanie
-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Jong [mailto:SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM]
<mailto:[mailto:SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM]>
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 1999 10:15 AM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU <mailto:TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
Subject: Re: Interview questions
Linnea Dodson wrote:
>> That said, does anyone have a response for the real mind-trip
question,
>> "What do you like to do outside of work?" also phrased as "what
are your
>> hobbies and interests?" I never know what to say to that,
particularly
>> since I'm usually trying to suppress the automatic response "why?
That
>> doesn't affect my work."
From my perspective, this isn't a question I feel I should ask unless the
candidate is definitely already hired or rejected, because it's not relevant
to work (as you said) and because the answer could potentially be sticky.
For example, if I were to ask and the candidate were to say "I play
competitive volleyball," that would resonate with me in a way that, say,
playing golf would not. If I then hire the candidate, how much could it be
said that answer influenced me? I want such influence to be zero. (You also
run the risk of turning a questioner off with your response...)
One thing I *am* interested in is whether a candidate has outside interests.
My justification is that we want people to have lives outside of work. If I
were to ask the question and the candidate were to say, "I have no hobbies.
I devote all my energy to my work," I would not be as impressed as you'd
think.
Of course, at other companies, this might be the "right" answer. (Would you
want to work there?)
* Steve
