We have all been there, the interviewer looks up from his or her notes and asks casually.
"So, is there anything you want to know about the position?"
For the unprepared, this question can lead to an uncomfortable silence, but it needn't have to be so painful. Mike Hollobon Director of IT recruitment agency MPH iT Consulting talks about the dos and don'ts of question asking in interviews, and reveals how you can turn a difficult situation into a win for both sides.
Asking questions is probably as important as any other aspect of a job interview. Why? Well, because it's a chance for a candidate to interview a prospective employer. It's a chance to find out whether they really are serious about developing your career. It's a chance to further impress an employer with your insightful comments and show real interest in where they are heading.
These days interview techniques are designed to reveal something about your past behaviour, and demonstrate that you have really for the interview. Employers want to discover your ability to deal with tricky situations, so their questions are designed to take you back to an instance when an issue most relevant to the employer would have arisen. You then need to explain how you handled that scenario and its effects.
Why is this important?
Well, in describing a particular scenario, you should take the opportunity to turn the tables, and ask similar questions of the interviewer, because you need to find out as much about them, as they do about you.
So what constitutes a good question?
Decide on what is relevant to you. You maybe money motivated, attracted by teamwork, or hell-bent on becoming the new CEO. Any questions which help you to establish an overall view of your potential employer, and the direction they see you taking within the company, are good questions.
Obviously, you would have investigated the employer before arriving at the interview and from this research you would have discovered some salient points. The company's growth plans for instance, it's profit forecasts and turnover, it's staff numbers and career incentives. But this will only give you the information that they want you to have. Therefore, you need to ask more searching questions, find out where they see the company going, and how your role fits into that trajectory.
We often advise candidates to prepare some notes beforehand and ask to refer to them when prompted for questions. It not only helps to jog your memory but it also keeps you focused and shows you to be conscientious and interested.
Some interview questions to ask
- How do they see the immediate and long term future of the company?
- How would they describe the company's management style?
- How many people work in the team/office/department?
- Is travel a necessary aspect of the role? Where to?
- In today's economic climate, how do they foresee staff retention and business growth?
- Is the position to replace an existing staff member? Why did they leave?
- How many hours of work per week does the company expect from its employees?
- Does the company provide a Career Plan for its staff?
- Does the company look to develop its staff with training and accreditations?
- Who is the most successful employee and why?
- Why did the employer/interviewer join the company?
- If offered the role, when would you like me to start?
- Are there any other questions I can answer for you?
Some interview questions NOT to ask
- What does the company do? (Do your research beforehand)
- If I get the job when can I take a holiday?
- Can I change my schedule if I get the job?
- How much money will you pay me? (An interviewer will not be able to answer this question immediately and it will make you look money hungry)
- How much money do you earn?
