Blue collar worker or philosopher? Pointless questions at a job interview

There are many questions that an HR professional can ask a candidate at a job interview. The questions depend on the type of position the candidate is applying for. HR managers like asking questions focused on creative thinking, education, motivation or self-criticism. However, is it really necessary to ask a blue-collar worker about his career plans? A person operating a lathe will probably not philosophize about life and will probably not be able to tell you about his greatest career accomplishments. Which questions do you think the HR professional should not ask a blue-collar worker and why? Let’s take a look at it.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Most likely operating a lathe. You probably can’t expect a wittier answer than this from such a job-seeker. This question is suitable for a managerial position or for someone applying for a creative position. However, in our opinion, this question is pointless for a blue-collar employee. For such positions, HR professionals don’t need the applicants to have long-terms goals or visions.

What benefits will you bring to the company?

Lathing. The candidate simple knows how to operate a lathe, that’s it. By discussing the candidate’s work history, as listed in his CV, you will find about his skills and experience. There’s no need to catch the candidate off guard by asking such a question.

What words characterize you best? How would your relatives describe you?

The candidate will start pondering, trying to come up with the best answer that comes to mind. So, why not pose a simple question like: what do you like and not like about your job? Pose a clear and concise question, instead of a complex one, so that the candidate knows exactly what the HR professional wants. The sense of the question is definitely important but there’s no need to present it in such a way.

What’s your philosophy in life?

Most likely to earn money and put food on the table for the family. What are you trying to find out by asking this question? What’s going to be running through the candidate’s mind while he’s operating the lathe? This type of question is completely irrelevant for this kind of a candidate. The candidate may even start feeling embarrassed.

How do you deal with stress?

Well. Mainly because life isn’t too stressful standing behind a lathe. This is a great question for someone, who is applying for a managerial position but not for someone, who is applying to work as a lathe operator. When interviewing a lathe operator, the HR professional should focus on the candidate’s skill set and how well he can do his job. After all, the work of a lathe operator is “all Greek” for an office clerk.

What’s your greatest career accomplishment?

A job well done and getting a pat on the back from the boss. Most likely. A lathe operator couldn’t care less about such questions.

Simply said, in our opinion, some questions are just not that important for some positions and will only end up confusing the candidate. Our aim is not to catch the candidate off guard with complex questions but rather to find out how good he is and what kind of experience he has. Stressing out potential workers is not appropriate. Therefore, we try conducting simple interviews, where the candidate leaves feeling good about himself. Good lathe operators are very hard to come by nowadays, so the goal of the HR professional should not be to scare these people off …..

Do you want to know how to conduct a pleasant interview? Read about what happened to us, where things didn’t turn out as planned.