Over the years, I have seen the way we talk about work slowly start to change. People now speak more openly about mental health, well-being, and balance. This is a good shift.

But in my experience both recruitment and counselling — I’ve learned that even with this progress, we still need to be careful. Especially during interviews.

Boundaries matter.

How we do it at FlexiBees


At FlexiBees, we work with women who are coming back to work after a break. Some of them took a break to raise children. Some moved cities. Some had health issues or personal reasons. Others just wanted to pause and take care of life.

We also work with women who are looking for flexible roles so they can continue to work while managing their home and family.

We help them find remote work, part-time jobs, and project-based roles with companies who care more about the work done, not where or when it is done.

For many of these women, interviews are the toughest part. Not because they are not skilled. But because they must face the same old questions again and again. Questions that make them feel judged.

What we avoid asking


In our interviews, there are some questions we simply do not ask. Not because we want to avoid hard topics, but because it is not our place to ask.

For example,

• When are you getting married?

• Do you plan to have kids soon?

• How will you manage work and family?

These may sound like simple questions. But they remind women of earlier situations where they were made to feel like a risk. Where they were told their family life made them less reliable or less serious about work.

We do not want to make anyone feel that way.

What we do instead

• We let them speak when they are ready

• We listen without jumping in to advise or correct

• We understand the difference between asking and intruding

We also explain to companies who work with us that this approach is important. We prepare them to look at skills, work style, commitment, and goals. Not personal details.

When we create this kind of safe space, both the women and the companies benefit. Many women we place go on to do excellent work. And most companies come back to us again, asking for more candidates. They see the value and dedication that these women bring.

Interviews Can Be Kind and Still Serious


I believe interviews can be kind and still serious. You can be warm and still professional.

You do not need to ask personal things to know if someone is a good fit. Just listening with care can make a big difference.

An interview should not feel like a test or a personal check. It should feel like a conversation between two people who are trying to understand if they can work well together.

That’s what we aim to do every day at FlexiBees.

- A blog by Akshatha Padar, from our team.