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The 9 questions you should never ask a recruiter

Questions you ask a job recruiter fall into three categories: good ones, bad ones and ones so ugly they should never pass your lips.

As curious -- or nervous -- as you might be when you finally get the interview, there are some things you should not ask. Some topics, like pay and benefits, might be OK to broach eventually. But for others, forget about it.

We asked job-hunting experts Don Strankowski and John Kador about the worst questions people have asked during interviews. Here are nine to avoid:

What's in it for me?

At least in the beginning, steer clear of questions that focus on you, they advise.

"First, stay away from salary questions, at least until the close of the first interview," said Strankowski, a former corporate recruiter who is now president of Ascend Career and Life Strategies in Boulder, Colo., and author of "Get Hired!: 10 Simple Steps for Winning the Job You Desire -- in Any Economy."

"You do need to know what the salary is. But it's important to know when to place that question. It should never be asked too early. Secondly, stay away from the incidentals. That means don't ask about things like health insurance or whether you get a company car or what brand of laptop computer you'll be given."

1. What are the pay and benefits?

Do your homework

According to Strankowski, applicants should have done their research and know what the company does, its history and a description of the job. Hiring managers will assume that candidates who haven't done their homework or appear unprofessional in the interview will be unprofessional on the job.

"You do in practice what you do in the game," he said.

Strankowski's company provides career assistance to some 500 clients a year. He's heard plenty of what he calls "dumb interview questions," and said hiring managers make immediate negative assessments when a job seeker displays inappropriate or unprofessional behavior by asking those questions.

Strankowski said job candidates have asked him questions like these next two -- and when they did, "they've just dug a big hole for themselves."

2. What time do I need to be at work?

3. What exactly do you guys do?

From ridiculous to offensive

Kador, author of "201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview," said that, while hiring managers consider questions about perks and benefits to be unprofessional, many had been asked questions that were completely out of the ballpark.

"These are all no-nos," Kador said.

The digression of "worst questions" is steep. They can go quickly from unprofessional to ridiculous -- to downright offensive.

Among the worst actually asked, Kador said, were:

4. So what's the story with the receptionist?

5. Does the company provide snacks?

6. What will I get paid if I'm fired?

7. I don't have any experience, so can I get a job in management?

"And of course, this question was asked of a manager," Kador noted.

8. If I work here, will I get an office because I'd really like to be able to close the door?

9. I need to leave the interview for a moment -- do you have a match?

"It's not likely you'll need to come back in to finish the interview after that break," Kador said.