Don't Ask This Question In A Job Interview, You Kill Your Chances Of Getting Hired

One of the top priorities of jobseekers is understanding what kind of work-life balance they will have in a prospective position, but the job interview is the wrong time to ask.

What To Know: According to a CNBC report citing Bert Bean, CEO of staffing firm Insight Global, candidates who ask about work-life balance in a job interview often destroy their chances of getting hired.

"You risk sending the wrong message about your career aspirations to a future employer," Bean said.

Related Link: Google Exec Reveals Top Mistakes Candidates Make When Applying For A Job

The Insight Global CEO has interviewed hundreds of job candidates over the course of his career and has come to learn that asking about work-life balance can create the impression that you aren't committed to the position.

"Finding the right work-life balance is vitally important, but it’s a deeply personal issue, and something that should be owned by the employee, not the employer," Bean said.

Instead of using the job interview to assess your potential work-life balance in a future role, you can look at employee review sites or reach out to former employees to get a sense of their work-life balance experience during their time at the company.

If you feel you need to get a better sense of work-life balance directly from the company in the interview, you should ask in different ways, according to expert interview coach Barry Drexler.

For example, you might ask if you will need to be available during off hours in case something comes up or you can ask about sick day policies and vacation time, he said. 

"You can get a sense for whether you’ll be killing yourself," Drexler said.

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Photo: Aksel Lian from Pixabay.