When interviewing job candidates,

Answer choices

1. A

   Weakens6% picked this

   A candidate’s involvement in particular hobbies may indicate a capacity to

   This points to a potential positive about asking about hobbies. The author has only considered one potential downside and on that basis forbade the practice of asking about hobbies. She's failing to consider the Net Gain / Loss of this practice. One benefit could be that someone who is invested in a hobby is more likely to be a committed long-term employee (managers hate employee turnover; they prize retention. so this is an important trait to someone hiring a new employee).

   6%
2. B

   Correct72% picked this

   Candidates who have no hobbies may pretend that they have one when asked

   Why this is right

   This points to a potential negative about asking about hobbies. The applicant may be tempted to lie about it. That would mean that the personnel manager isn't even getting accurate information to base their decision on. That would only strengthen the author's notion that personnel managers shouldn't inquire about hobbies.

   Skill tested: Flaw · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   72%
3. C

   Weakens5% picked this

   Inquiries about a hobby may put candidates at ease, eliciting more honest responses

   This points to a potential positive about asking about hobbies. The author has only considered one potential downside and on that basis forbade the practice of asking about hobbies. She's failing to consider the Net Gain / Loss of this practice. One benefit could be asking about hobbies is an effective form of small talk that takes candidates out of their stressed out "interview character" and allows the manager to see the real person. Specifically, it allows the personnel manager to get more honest answers to important questions. Getting good data on important queries is a valuable advantage that "asking about hobbies" can provide.

   5%
4. D

   Weakens3% picked this

   Having certain kinds of hobbies may indicate that a candidate has

   Like (A), this points to a potential positive about asking about hobbies. People who have hobbies might have a desirable trait. (A) talked about long-term commitment to the job. (D) talks about good organizational skills.

   3%
5. E

   Weakens14% picked this

   Personnel managers may make better choices among candidates if they are not restricted from asking

   This points to a potential positive about asking about hobbies. One benefit could be that it makes the interviewer a better interviewer. If they're free to ask about hobbies, they don't feel the need to self-regulate the conversation as much and can make better choices. When there are "rules" about what the interviewer can /can't say, the interviewer is too lost thinking about those rules and makes worse choices. This is definitely a weird storyline, but we're supposed to accept these answers as true. If being allowed to ask about hobbies allows the interviewer to make better choices then it carries an advantage the author failed to consider.

   14%