10 Questions Never to Ask in Job Interviews

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by tripwire45, Jan 19, 2009.

  1. tripwire45
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    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    I saw this little article at Yahoo! and thought it would be a nice addition to our collection. Avoiding these 10 questions when you're interviewing for a job will save you the "bum's rush" out the door:

    http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-experts-10_questions_never_to_ask_in_job_interviews-82
     
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  2. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    Apart from number 10, where notice periods in the UK can be anywhere from a week to 3 months :)

    -Ken
     
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  3. tripwire45
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    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Three months? :eek:
     
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  4. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    Yeah, one of the jobs I went for (Director of IT Services) wanted 3 months notice and practically wanted me to "live" there (Monday - Saturday, plus on-call in the evenings, etc...)

    -Ken
     
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  5. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    Standard notice period for staff in the UK is 1 month. That tends to increase with length of service up to about 3 months.
     
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  6. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    One company I used to work for got so fed up with the staff turnover they instituted a 6 month 'lock in' in the contract. Fortunately for me, this was after I had left. But my contract had a 3 month clause.

    Harry.
     
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  7. tripwire45
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    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Wow! 2 weeks is standard in the US. My contract with the folks that placed me at HP had a 4 week notice clause in the contract. I called them and reminded them that I wouldn't have been able to go to work for them so quickly if I had been locked into my prior contract for 4 weeks. They allowed me to change it to a 2 week notice. Good thing for my current employer. :wink:
     
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  8. dales

    dales Terabyte Poster

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    yep 4 weeks is bog standard here unless you are still within your probationary period, but as has been said before sometimes the notice period goes up the longer you are at a place (for the places I've worked for its 5 years service puts it up to 3 months notice).
     
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  9. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    True, 2 weeks is standard, but I gave a month's notice to my last employer... not because they asked me to, but because they'd have been in a real bind if I had given only 2 weeks notice.
     
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  10. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    They've missed off:

    11. Are those tits real?

    Might seem obvious to some, but it's worth being extra careful.
    Sometimes you just get carried away.

    :oops:
     
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  11. fuzzmo

    fuzzmo New Member

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    Standard for the UK is four weeks. However all depends on your contract - with mine it was 4 weeks, but then 5 weeks at 5 years service, then 6 after 6 years etc. My friend recently had her contract changed to 3 months notice! She hasn't quite got round to signing it so I don't know where she stands but she is finding that it is putting people off when she is looking for a job....
     
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  12. westernkings

    westernkings Gigabyte Poster

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    What exactly would happen if you just decided to think "4 weeks notice ? naah" just quit and start the next day in your new job ? any legal consequences ?
     
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  13. Leehaa

    Leehaa Gigabyte Poster

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    ...Especially if he (the interviewer) looks stronger than you lol :D
     
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  14. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    The company can hold your final salary and depending on the company, may take legal action (after all you've signed a contract).

    -Ken
     
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  15. MLP

    MLP Kilobyte Poster

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    And you can pretty much forget about that reference. Don't forget, a lot of job offers are subject to satisfactory references.
     
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  16. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Dunno how it is over there, but over here, the IT professional community is pretty tightly knit. Burn a bridge, and it could very well come back to haunt you.
     
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  17. westernkings

    westernkings Gigabyte Poster

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    Would a company really go through the hassle and expense of going to course over leaving early ? What judge is even going to allow that in his court ?

    Suppose you just do not give that company as a reference ?
     
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  18. Metalstar

    Metalstar Kilobyte Poster

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    You are still going to have to explain why you aren't getting a reference from the last company you worked at - which likely to be the most relevant.

    Even if you have to grit your teeth in your last few weeks at a company, its best to be on their good side.
     
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  19. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    Like I said, it depends what kind of company & what the company does. After all it's a breach of Contract. It's a two way street, you give them the notice period and it should work the other way, (unless a gross misconduct happens) if they are going to let you go, they'll give you notice period.

    -ken
     
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  20. MLP

    MLP Kilobyte Poster

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    It looks more than a bit odd if you don't have someone from your last company as a reference. That said, there can be genuine reasons not to. In any case, its not good to burn bridges where possible.
     
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