The worst interview question.........

[ctdctd]

Would you be interested in a permanent position?

[PurpleGorilla]

Why? - for the right money - why not!

[vwdan]

Not an interview, but I recently had the following set of questions from an agent:

"Are you sure you're happy travelling and staying away?"

"What are you looking for in your next contract - what excites you?"

"Are you married?"

"Any kids?"

"How much influence does your wife and family have in your decision making?"

I gradually got more belligerent until that last one where I tore an absolute strip off him and told him in no uncertain terms his questions were inappropriate and opening him up to some serious legal aggravation. He actually followed it up with an e-mail asking me to confirm he could represent me, along with two references.

[vwdan]

Why? - for the right money - why not!

On a serious note, it's an alarm bell because it implies they're not looking for a contractor or consultant, but rather a temp. It's like job roles with "High possibility of permanent position afterwards" - uh, no thanks.

[greenlake]

[SueEllen]

Not an interview, but I recently had the following set of questions from an agent:

"Are you sure you're happy travelling and staying away?"

"What are you looking for in your next contract - what excites you?"

"Are you married?"

"Any kids?"

"How much influence does your wife and family have in your decision making?"

I gradually got more belligerent until that last one where I tore an absolute strip off him and told him in no uncertain terms his questions were inappropriate and opening him up to some serious legal aggravation. He actually followed it up with an e-mail asking me to confirm he could represent me, along with two references.

I would have normally torn a strip in them or put the phone down before they got to question 2.

[DodgyAccountant]

He actually followed it up with an e-mail asking me to confirm he could represent me, along with two references.

Sounds like the whole thing was a reference fishing expedition.

[original PM]

Not an interview, but I recently had the following set of questions from an agent:

"Are you sure you're happy travelling and staying away?"

"What are you looking for in your next contract - what excites you?"

"Are you married?"

"Any kids?"

"How much influence does your wife and family have in your decision making?"

I gradually got more belligerent until that last one where I tore an absolute strip off him and told him in no uncertain terms his questions were inappropriate and opening him up to some serious legal aggravation. He actually followed it up with an e-mail asking me to confirm he could represent me, along with two references.

What he means is are you desperate enough to take a shoddy low paid job at the other end of the country at the drop of a hat.

But what a dinosaur

[vwdan]

Sounds like the whole thing was a reference fishing expedition.

The job was real (I'm niche enough that I can see most of the market) but obviously whether he was on PSL or had any intentions of going further I have no idea. He was talking for ages though, which is normally a bad sign - all the jobs I've got have stemmed from quick and Frank calls.

[blackeye]

Not an interview, but I recently had the following set of questions from an agent:

"Are you sure you're happy travelling and staying away?"

"What are you looking for in your next contract - what excites you?"

"Are you married?"

"Any kids?"

"How much influence does your wife and family have in your decision making?"

I gradually got more belligerent until that last one where I tore an absolute strip off him and told him in no uncertain terms his questions were inappropriate and opening him up to some serious legal aggravation. He actually followed it up with an e-mail asking me to confirm he could represent me, along with two references.

To be fair it depends on the context of the role (exept perhaps for the last one which I would take as a joke).

The reason they ask these questions is to filter out the candidates that would get cold feet after potentially getting a role 100+ miles away from home.

If you've got a CV full of contracts all over the country / world, then it's completely fair enough to tell them to **** off.