When trying to figure out if job candidates are a good fit, for hiring managers it’s okay to be boring—a tip that extends to small talk you make during the interview to what kind of questions you ask about their background on the application.

Keep it simple and stick to concrete questions that focus on the ability to perform the job, said Andrea Stempel, associate general counsel and head of employment law for Ernst & Young, as part of a panel discussion Wednesday hosted by the Practising Law Institute that gave advice on how to avoid common pitfalls in the hiring process.

Don’t ask about trips to Thailand, for instance, or what year he or she graduated from high school or go too far in an attempt to make personal connections when getting to know a candidate.