What Should YOU Be Asking?
It's
a query that can give an ill-prepared job seeker pause: So, do you have any
questions for me?
Interviewers
will judge you by your questions. Almost all employers wrap up job interviews
by turning the tables and offering candidates an opportunity to showcase how
well they understand the role, how interested they are in the opportunity and
what plays to their passions points.
When
the time comes to flip roles and grill your interviewer about the potential
job, it can be tempting to ask pressing questions about salaries, hours and
workload. But asking questions about vacation time, salary reviews and benefits
might be red flags — and worst-case scenario, they might cost you the job.
When
asking your interviewer questions regarding compensation or scheduling, there’s
an imminent risk of being perceived as self-serving. Questions that are more
focused on achieving results, helping the company grow and showing how well
you've researched the role are the most wow-inducing. The goal is to end with a
bang and leave a solid impression.
We
asked managers what they actually want to hear candidates ask during an interview.
Below are a few of their responses.
1. "How has [the company you're interviewing for]'s
product impacted you directly?"
"This
question shows that the candidate wants to work in a place where people are
passionate about what they do. They don't want to come to work just to get a
paycheck. They want to know how employees interact with the product and how it
has personally impacted their lives."
— Ragini Parmar, hiring manager at Credit Karma.
2. "How would my role affect the business in the
short-, medium- and long-term?"
"First,
this question demonstrates that the candidate isn't just thinking about
themselves, but rather where they fit into the strategy of the business as a
whole. It switches the conversation from being about what the company can do
for them to what they can do for the company."
–- Erin Patterson, talent acquisition at Moxie.
3. "Why did you join [your company]?" In other
words, a very polite version of "Why should I want to work here?"
"Top
candidates are generally interested in what the interviewer found so attractive
about the company they now work with. When a candidate wants to know why I
dropped everything to join Spoon, they're really getting a read on whether or
not the opportunity is truly compelling.
This
question specifically tells me that a candidate is thinking about the long-term
future and isn't interested in just another job — a good indicator that they
take their work seriously and will only move for the right opportunity. They
likely want to know about the company's product story, current revenue, short-
and long-term plans, culture and team in place.
If
hiring managers aren't prepared with honest and persuasive reasons why they
joined their current firm, top candidates can quickly lose interest and move
on."
— Colin McIntosh business development at Spoon.net,
a web-based computing platform.
4. "What gets you out of bed every day and excites you
to come to work?"
"I
love this question for two reasons. One, it’s a little bold. It’s personal in
nature, and I’m not interested in hiring someone with whom I can’t connect on a
personal level. But it also is a great way for a candidate to get a sense of
what it’s like to work with us — what the office environment is like, what
we’re passionate about, what our values are. Plus, implicit in the question is
that they’re ready and willing to also get out of bed excited and ready to
work."
— Joshua Dziabiak, co-founder and COO of The Zebra,
a digital auto insurance agency.
5. "What are the biggest trouble-spots you’re hoping
the person in this position can help you with?"
"So
much of job interviewing is focused on what's great about the job, great about
the candidate, etc. It's refreshing to be asked what pain-points the person we
hire will have to be able to handle. But remember, if you ask this question, be
prepared to offer a few potential solutions or ideas for the issues raised by
your interviewer. It's a really interesting question, but job seekers need to
be ready to think on their feet once they ask it!"
— Sara Sutton Fell, CEO and founder of FlexJobs,
a telecommuting and flexible job site.
6. "What are your organization’s strengths and
weaknesses compared to your competition?"
"Candidates
are usually evaluating multiple firms and making their own comparisons to
figure out which one is the best fit for them. This is a savvy question because
the candidate is asking for an assessment and perspective on what makes
Deloitte strong, while also trying to see how objective we can be about our own
organization."
See full article at: http://mashable.com/2014/06/09/job-interview-questions/
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