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Go and No Go Questions
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
RECRUITMENT AND
SELECTION
Go and No Go Questions

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Go and No Go Questions
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
The Course Topics series from Manage Train Learn is a large collection of topics that will help you as a learner
to quickly and easily master a range of skills in your everyday working life and life outside work. If you are a
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COURSE TOPICS FROM MTL
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Go and No Go Questions
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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Go and No Go Questions
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
INTRODUCTION
With the interview at the heart of the selection process, it is
the questions you ask at interview that determine how
successful the interview is likely to be. Poor questions, asked
carelessly - the no-go questions - are likely to lead to poor
answers and hence poor information about the candidate.
They may also create mistrust and suspicion. At their worst,
they may be discriminatory and illegal. However, when
questions are fair, carefully thought out and sensibly put -
the go questions - they can provide you with all the
information you need to make well-judged decisions about
people.

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Go and No Go Questions
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
There are seven reasons for asking a question in a
recruitment interview. They are:
1. to show courtesy to the candidate,
eg a question about their journey to the interview
2. to build rapport with the candidate and gain their
confidence
3. to gather information
4. to find out what the candidate means
5. to display simple interest in what the candidate is saying
6. to keep the interview going
eg "...and then what happened?"
7. to stay in control by observing the candidate.
At one and the same time, questions build the relationship,
give you information, and keep you in control.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
CHOOSE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY
Experienced recruitment interviewers have a feel for which
questions work in an interview and which don't: some are
"go"; some are "no-go".
1. Go questions include: starter questions; closed and
open questions; rapport-builders; linking questions;
behavioural questions; summarising, paraphrasing and
concluding questions.
2. No-go questions include: personal questions; multiple
choice questions; patronising questions; assumptive
questions; self-assessment questions; double-headed
questions; leading questions; put-downs.
No-go questions may be unfair, rude and discriminatory. Go
questions are always fair, genuine and non-discriminatory.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
NO-GO QUESTIONS
No-go questions are questions that hinder or destroy useful
communication between you and an interviewee.
Beware of the following four no-go questions:
1. Personal Questions which are irrelevant to the
candidate's ability to do the job, eg "What does your
husband think about you doing this kind of work?"
2. Multiple Choice Questions which offer only a choice of
replies not what the person thinks, eg "Are you
changing jobs because you're bored or because of the
company?"
3. Patronising Questions which imply inferiority on the
part of the candidate, eg "Why should someone in your
position believe you could be a manager?"
4. Assumptive Questions which assume the answer in the
way the question is phrased, eg "From what you've said,
I imagine you'd be good at figures?"

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
MORE NO-GO QUESTIONS
The following are five further no-go questions which should
not be used in recruitment interviews:
1. Self-assessment Questions in which you expect the
candidate to do your job for you, eg "Do you think you
could do the job? I mean, you're not very old.."
2. Double-headed Questions in which you ask more than
one question, eg "Tell me, what do you think makes a
good technician and do you think you have those
qualities?"
3. Trick Questions which get people to admit to things
they don't really mean, eg "How long have you been fed
up with your present job?"
4. Put-down Questions which imply a superior
interviewer, eg "Is that your old banger next to my
Rover?"
5. Leading Questions which lead people to only one kind
of answer, eg "Do you think you could handle three
awkward men like us?"

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
KILLER QUESTIONS
In a survey of 500 businesses, the recruitment consultants,
Office Angels, found that three quarters of interviewers
used a range of "killer" questions to find out how people
react under extreme pressure.
They include:
1. The "Throw Them" Question which interrupts the
interview with an unexpected request: eg "Tell me a
joke"
2. The Test Question, eg "Name five members of the
present Cabinet"
3. The Deflating Question, which punctures any tendency
towards arrogance: eg "What was the one question you
didn't want me to ask?"
4. The Confidence-testing Question: eg "Give me three
things to remember you by".
Killer questions are no-go questions if they are unjustified
by the job's person specification.

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Go and No Go Questions
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
DISCRIMINATORY QUESTIONS
Many people who ask discriminatory questions are often
unaware of the effect the questions have on those on the
receiving end. This may be because they are locked into a
view of seeing certain types of people, such as the young
and old or people from minority groups, in certain ways.
Questions with such undertones suggest that...
1. the candidate is in some way unusual because of their
age, race, sex, disability, or type
2. they are not acceptable to the people with whom they
might work and so won't fit in
3. they are disadvantaged
4. they are stereotypes of their type, rather than
individuals in their own right.
Discriminatory questions are, of course, unlawful, blatantly
unfair and likely to offend those on the receiving end.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
NEUTRAL QUESTIONS
There may be occasions when you need to ask a question of
a candidate that relates directly to their age, sex, race,
disability, or group membership. The only way to do this is
to ask neutral questions which you would also be able to
put to anyone else.
Not: "As a woman, wouldn't you be worried about travelling
on your own at night?"
But: "What arrangements would you make for travelling on
your own at night?“
Not: "Did your male subordinates mind taking orders from
you?"
But: "Tell us about difficult situations you faced as a
supervisor.“
Not: "Do you mind the occasional racist joke?"
But: "What was the social side of your last job like?"
Naturally, these questions should be justified by the
requirements of the job.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
STARTERS
Starter questions are questions you use to start off
discussion about each requirement of the person
specification.
For example, if a job needs someone who can write good
reports, a starter question might be:
"How would you go about writing a report on a case of
shoplifting?"
Starter questions are important for three reasons:
1. they mean that you treat everyone equally, since
everyone should get the same questions on each of the
job criteria
2. you cover all the requirements of the job
3. you have a record of the shape of each interview in case
you are challenged later on.

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MTL Course Topics
GET TONS OF INFORMATION
A standard sequence of questions in recruitment interviews
is the probing sequence, consisting of a closed or open
question, followed by a probing question and ending with a
summarising question.
1. Start with a closed question, eg "You were in the Navy
until last year?“
2. Follow up with an open question, eg “I see. What did you
think of your apprenticeship there?“
3. Then probe for more information eg "Exactly how was it
harder than a civilian apprenticeship?“
4. Summarise what you think you’ve learnt and put it back
to the interviewee, eg "So, on the whole you think you were
better trained in the Navy?"

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
RAPPORT-BUILDERS
Questions, statements and comments help to build rapport
when they step outside the formal framework of the
recruitment interview and help you relate informally and
directly to the candidate.
There are three types of rapport-builder:
1. Bridges To The World Outside. "Bridges" are questions
which refer to the world beyond the interview room
and are usually asked at the start and end of the
interview as if forming a bridge in and a bridge out. "Did
you park easily?" "How are you getting home?"
2. Self-disclosures on your part can display empathy and
so build rapport. "I've always found that the most
difficult part of the job, too."
3. Sharing Feelings helps the candidate to feel that you
understand their position. "I know you'll want us to
reply as soon as possible."

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
LINKERS
Linkers are linking questions aimed at keeping the flow of
the recruitment interview going and avoiding too many
interrogative questions.
Three examples of "linkers" are:
Reflective Questions, which echo what someone has just
said:
"I decided to join the Navy."
"The Navy?“
Explainers in which you explain the reason for your
question:
"I'm really interested in what you thought about college.
What was maths like?“
Job Linkers which link your question to the job:
"The job has a lot of nights away. How much do you like
working away from home?"

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
BEHAVIOURAL QUESTIONS
Behavioural questions - which are also known as "patterned
behaviour descriptions" - are based on the premise that the
best indicator of future performance is past performance.
Behavioural questions ask three types of enquiry:
Key Incidents From The Past:
"What was your most successful project?"
"What was the least successful?“
Examples Of Behaviour From The Past:
"Tell me about a time when you had a really tight deadline.
What did you do?“
Hypothetical Situations:
"What would you do if you had a tight deadline that you
knew you couldn't meet?"

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
A ROUNDED PICTURE
Counter-evidence questions are used in behavioural-type
interviewing. They aim to balance what may be a one-sided
picture of the candidate's abilities and past performance by
asking the interviewee to talk about a bad experience after
they have described a good one.
"What was the most satisfying arrest you made as Security
Officer?"
Then, after the interviewee has replied in glowing terms...
"Could you tell us about a time when things didn't go so
well?"
Counter-evidence questions provide a rounded picture that
is more likely to indicate true performance than an over-
glowing picture given by the candidate.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
FACT AND FEELING
Factual and emotive questions used in sequence are not
only a good combination of contrasts; they also double the
amount of information you get from an interviewee.
"What did you do at XYZ company?" (Factual question).
"How do you feel about the time you spent there?"
(Emotive question).
Factual questions are limiting in the amount of information
you get since you only get facts.
Emotive questions, on the other hand, produce more
revealing insights into a person's motivations and attitudes:
"I was deputy manager for two years and manager for
three." It was a very valuable experience but I didn't feel
their culture was right for me. It was very bureaucratic and
backward-looking. I like to get things done."

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
WORK SUPPLEMENTARIES
The "Work Supplementary Repertoire" are those questions
about a candidate's present job which in a recruitment
interview are used to keep the interview going and find out
more about the candidate.
• "Tell me about your present job."
• "What are the most demanding aspects?"
• "How has the job changed in the time you've been
there?"
• "Who do you work most closely with?"
• "What results have you achieved in this job?"
• "What feedback have you had from others on your
performance in this job?"
• "What do you think others would say was your major
strengths in this job?"
• "What made you choose it?“
Every question you ask, especially supplementary questions,
must be related to the requirements of the person
specification.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
OTHER SUPPLEMENTARIES
The following are other Supplementary questions which are
useful in keeping a recruitment interview going.
Education supplementary questions include:
"Tell me about your time at college."
"Why did you choose this college?"
"How did you adapt to college life?"
"What was the teaching like?“
Future Plans supplementary questions include:
"What plans do you have for the future?"
"What do other people think you should do?"
"What difficulties do you envisage?“
General supplementary questions include:
"How have things worked out in your career to date?"
"What have you learnt in the last year?"
"What activities help you wind down from work?"

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THAT’S
IT!
WELL DONE!

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn