This got me into several debates and led me to conclusion that you can perform a great interview without asking personal (and often illegal) questions.

Many books have been written on this topic outlining the basic principle that personal questions do not matter when it comes to assessing the quality of a candidate. Even all other questions that do not pertain to job performance do not matter.

These guidelines will cover some basic issues and save you a lot of potential legal trouble:

Never ask your candidate about his age. Even further, don’t ask him questions that can determine his age (for example, it is fine to ask a candidate about his academic accomplishments but it is not fine to ask him WHEN did he graduate)

Getting arrested and getting convicted are two separate things. Asking your candidate if he has a previous criminal record is fine; asking him if he was ever arrested is not.

Do not ask your candidate how he spends his free time or what clubs he belongs too. This can be viewed as a basis for socio-economic discrimination. That also means questions such as “what part of town do you live in” are also not recommended.

Family status is also a forbidden topic.  Don’t even think about asking candidate if he/she is planning to have children or get married in the near future. This person might think that they were not hired because you deemed that they will neglect their job over family responsibilities.

Sexual preference and religion I should even have to mention.  It’s a huge no-no.

In essence do not be afraid to ask any questions that relate to the job, or to the performance you expect at the job.  If you are unsure about legalities of specific questions you like to ask during interview it is always a good idea to consult a lawyer. Last year’s average settlement price tag was 60,000 dollars.

Keeping Your Feet on the Ground

When you work alone, it is easy to become a little extreme because you have nobody to keep you grounded. You might become overconfident in your ability as a web designer and find yourself implementing ideas that your clients are less than happy with. If you do this then you could generate a bad reputation and lose commissions. You could also find yourself a little too focused on your work and miss challenges that may cause problems at a later date. Having someone else there with you will help to keep you focused on the broader picture and keep your feet on the ground.

Embrace Creativity

Creatives like web designers thrive off their ideas, writing them down or sketching them out in order to use them at a later date. They need ideas to be successful in the web design field, but what if the ideas dried up? This is entirely possible if you are isolated because you have no outlet for your creativity. Brainstorming and exchanging ideas is always a good idea before you start a web design project because it allows you to get the creative juices flowing. This is why it is never a good idea for web designers to work alone – it is incredibly difficult to bounce ideas off yourself.

That Valuable Second Opinion

Everyone needs a second opinion once in a while, whether it is to run ideas past someone you trust or to ask for a little help when you feel that something is missing. The same applies for web designers. A second pair of eyes goes a long way towards helping you to achieve success. Whether you have a friend, a freelancer buddy or a business partner to ask for another perspective then you may want to find one.

This reason why a web designer should not work alone, when paired with the previous two reasons, highlights the importance of at least finding a friend to discuss business with once in a while. Working alone can be just as detrimental to a web designer as working on a crowded bus would be so finding a happy balance as soon as possible is essential.