Jobseekers may try to prepare well for the possible questions posed in an interview or the questions he or she is liable to ask the interviewer. But another crucial aspect is often overlooked, that is, what not to ask in an interview.  

The most important thing to be avoided in an interview is, asking about salary and benefits. The only time you can ask about salary and compensation is, when you have the offer placed before you or else should avoid bringing up the topic at a premature stage.  Money is not something that you should be obsessed with in the beginning, rather, it is the job satisfaction and the growth aspect of the field that you should be worried about. So, it is important to take some time to learn about the company and the position offered.

Career growth comes in several ways. So look for joining a collaborative team environment with ample opportunities to grow rather than being concerned about the salary benefits.

Questions to be avoided  

 There are a couple of questions that you should refrain from asking in an initial round of interview. Here is the list.

You should never go about asking questions like what would be your salary amount. A question like this cannot be asked at an initial stage when you have not proven yourself also.

Another question to be avoided in an interview session is, how long does it take to be promoted? If you are concerned about your growth prospect in the company, the question can be posed in a different way, for example, you can ask about the career advancement in the company.

Questions related to vacations and leaves also should not be posed during an initial interview round as it may put you in a negative light. If you are asking about leaves in the first meeting with your potential employer, it means that you are already thinking about taking time off without even joining the company which is obviously not going to create a good impression on your potential employer.   

Also, refrain from asking about overtime and related things in an interview. It may portray you as a person who is keener on tracking the watch rather than working hard. This is definitely not something which your hiring manager will look for.

Questions to be asked only after getting the offer

Certain questions can be asked only after you have the offer on your table. Here is a list of those questions.
Although many companies use their company laptop or computer for purposes other than company work, it is extremely immature to ask in an interview, a question related to the purposes for which the office computer can be used. Such questions can be asked only after you get the offer.

Work from home is a feature practiced widely by many employees around the world. But it is not good to ask your potential employer regarding whether you can do work from home. The new employees need to have a fair understanding of the work culture, tempo, dynamics and politics of the place which cannot happen if they are working from home. Your hiring manager would want you to stay around in the office to understand the work dynamics and culture of the organization you are involved with so that you can perform better later.

Many of the questions listed may seem to be na?ve and you may think why you ever need to ask questions like this. But, there are people who are na?ve enough to ask these kinds of questions in their initial round of interview, when they are not even sure whether they can qualify for the job. But these candidates still fail to figure out why they have been turned down by the company.

Since this article only talks about the questions to be avoided in an interview, there is no reason for you to believe that you should refrain from asking questions altogether in an interview. There can be a time in an interview when your interviewer asks you whether you have anything to ask. You can pose some interesting questions at that time based on your research about the company. This increases your chance to succeed but keeping absolutely quiet in an interview fails to create a good impression on your interviewer.