Kildare: 
Are Your Interviewers Trained to Ask the Right Questions?
Are Your Interviewers Asking the Right Questions?
An interview is an opportunity to identify the best person for a role—but the questions asked can either support a fair, effective hiring decision or expose an employer to unnecessary risk.
Interviewers should focus on a candidate’s skills, experience, behaviour and ability to perform the role. Questions relating to a person’s private life or protected characteristics should be avoided.
What Employers Should Ask
Good interview questions are relevant to the role, asked consistently and designed to encourage candidates to provide specific examples.
Consider asking:
- “Can you tell us about your experience relevant to this position?”
- “What attracted you to this opportunity?”
- “Can you describe a time when you successfully resolved a workplace challenge?”
- “How do you prioritise your workload when managing competing deadlines?”
- “Tell us about a mistake you made and what you learned from it.”
- “How have you contributed to improving a process, service or team?”
- “What type of management style helps you perform at your best?”
- “Are you available to work the hours and locations outlined for this role?”
- “Is there anything you would require to participate fully in our recruitment process?”
- “What questions would you like to ask us?”
Use structured, competency-based questions and ask every candidate applying for the same position a consistent set of core questions. This makes comparisons fairer and decisions easier to justify.
What Employers Should Not Ask
Avoid questions that are unrelated to a candidate’s ability to perform the role or that could lead to discriminatory decision-making.
Interviewers should not ask questions such as:
- “Are you married or in a relationship?”
- “Do you have children?”
- “Are you planning to start a family?”
- “Who looks after your children while you work?”
- “How old are you?”
- “What religion are you?”
- “Where were you born?”
- “Is English your first language?”
- “Do you have a disability or medical condition?”
- “How many sick days did you take last year?”
- “What is your sexual orientation?”
- “Who do you vote for?”
- “Are you a member of a trade union?”
Even when intended as friendly conversation, questions about family circumstances, age, health, nationality, religion or other personal matters can make candidates uncomfortable and potentially create legal and reputational risks.
Instead of asking about childcare or family commitments, ask every candidate: “Are you able to meet the working hours and travel requirements outlined for the position?”
Rather than asking where someone was born, confirm appropriately and consistently that the successful candidate will be required to demonstrate their entitlement to work in Ireland.
Make Interviews Fair and Consistent
A strong interview process should include:
- A clear job description and agreed selection criteria
- A structured interview guide
- The same core questions for each candidate
- A scoring system based on evidence
- Detailed, factual interview notes
- More than one interviewer where appropriate
- Interviewer training on equality, bias and legal compliance
- A clear process for communicating outcomes and feedback
Interview notes should record evidence rather than personal impressions. Comments such as “not the right fit” or “I just didn’t warm to them” are too subjective. Record what the candidate said, how it related to the agreed criteria and why the evidence did or did not meet the required standard.
Remember: Candidates Are Interviewing You Too
The interview experience shapes a candidate’s view of your organisation. Be prepared to explain:
- The responsibilities and expectations of the role
- The team and reporting structure
- The organisation’s culture and values
- The recruitment timeline and next steps
- The salary range and benefits, where possible
- Why the vacancy exists
- The opportunities for learning and progression
Be honest, welcoming and realistic. Overselling a position may help secure an acceptance, but it can quickly lead to disappointment and early turnover.
Is Your Interview Process Helping You Hire the Right People?
Interviewing is a skill. Without appropriate preparation and training, even experienced managers can ask ineffective or inappropriate questions, rely too heavily on instinct, or overlook the strongest candidate.
Clark supports employers with recruitment expertise, structured interview design, competency-based questioning, psychometric assessment and interviewer training.
For expert guidance on improving your interview and selection process, contact the Clark team at hello@clark.ie or call
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Clark — Recruitment. Redefined.
