Questions to ask at an interview
Hey everyone, I am posting some questions that I pulled from a book called "201 questions to ask on your interview." It was a great book and I pulled about six questions from that book that I have used myself and others that have had great success at interviews. The premise of the book is this: You can only distinguish yourself from other candidates by the questions you ask at the end of the interview. Companies need to know that your interested in a position that they are offering, and if your not asking questions or not asking the right questions, you are selling yourself short. Everyone that I know that used these questions who had second interviews got thej job!!! Here they are and good luck all:
opportunities might this job lead to?
I like to ask them about what are the most important things I need to accomplish in my first 90 days. This not only helps them know you are focused, how they answer it should tell you a lot about what they think is important. For instance, if they focus on what of your tasks are a priority, they are probably task-oriented. If they talk about getting to know your team members, they're probably people-oriented. Assuming you are going to report to them, you have info about what type of manager they are and how they will judge your performance.
That is an excellent point. Asking what they want done in the next 90 days would give you a little glimpse about your future manager's managing style and attitude. I should redue that one question. Thank you
There is another very big benefit to asking about their performance expectations within a given time frame. And that is whether they are realistic and doable, given the resources that you will have to work with. You should never take a job that you don't think you have a strong probability at succeeding in. This question is critical. The follow-up question, for some positions would be clarification on available resources. If, based on your experience in the area, you see a major disconnect between what they expect, the time available, and the resources available, it can be a bad sign, or it can be a point to negotiate before accepting the role. Indeed, I have seen it used as an opportunity to clinch the deal. If you are experienced in your area, and they are interviewing you and tell you that they expect X in 90 days and you know that their timeline is unrealistic - based on your personal experience, telling them, in a consultative way, and giving them more realistic timelines, or a critical path and where you might be at 90 days is a sign of confidence and expertise. And that just might distinguish you. Ian Christie Career Changers Coach
Great questions! Thanks for posting them for everyone's benefit. 1. Having spent the first part of my career on the interviewing side ofthe table as an executive search person, I am not a big fan of... By what criteria will you select the person for this job? It can come across as a challenge to the interviewer, putting them on the spot. It can work is some situations - roles where selling and closing deals is part of the job. Otherwise, in my opinion, it is a bit risky. 2. I would also like to comment on the idea that strong questions are the only way to differentiate yourself in an interview. I beg to differ.
Ian Christie Career Changers Coach
I agree. If a timeline of some kind is mentioned in regards to expectations by your future employer, you should qualify it or at least talk about whether it would be realistic to meet those benchmarks. Thank you for the perspective.
I agree. How you present yourelf and deliver the questions at point can make a world of difference.
Honestly, I find these questions very aggressive and would make me very defensive. I've done many interviews on both sides of the table, and if someone came into an interview asking these questions (especially the ones about selection criteria and the one about concerns with fulfilling responsibility), I would be very taken aback and it would cast a negative light on the person. And I've hired for very client facing consulting positions where you need to be able to ask direct questions. Maybe these would work for sales people, but I would have given anyone who asked these questions a no. I also think these questions would really only work for executive positions. If you tried these questions with someone interviewing for a lower level position, I really think it would be easy for them to come across as very pushy. I do like the ones about the company's best attributes and about the people I'd be working with. I would want to caveat the second question so that it focused on their roles and experiences and not "give me the office dirt". Questions that address similar issues that I prefer: 1) What are the top 3 skills/qualities that someone needs to succeed in this position? 2) What are the reasons you have seen people fail in this position? (and usually I'll reply to these with why I don't have them) 3) Can you describe for me the typical career path of people in this position? What are others' thoughts on that? I don't mean to be picky, but I agree that these questions can make a candidate really stand out (positively or negatively!) so I think it's important to be VERY mindful of what they say about you!
In my experience, as I mentioned before from the book, "201 questions to ask at an interview," the candidates that stand out are distinguished by the kinds of questions you ask. The tone of the meeting, the way you present yourself, or sell yourself, will dicate whether it is approriate to ask all of the questions or some of the questions. My point is, you want to stand out so by asking, it shows interest and iniatiative. I can see how it might appear to be aggressive, but if your being humble when they ask you if you have any questions, you should ask as much as possible, time permitted. I do see that you have a valid point.
I absolutely agree. Questions are an opportunity rather than a chore, which is how most people treat them. Great subject to bring up and very insightful. Thanks. Ian Christie Career Changers Coach | |
|
Career Tips
|