what questions?
One of the best ways you can help your cause in a job interview is by asking questions of your interviewer. This demonstrates that you are truly interested in the job, and it might go a long way toward separating you from other candidates who are also interviewing. By asking legitimate questions of your interviewer, you can find out a lot about the culture at the company you would be working for, and perhaps gain some insight into the co-workers you might be working with as well. There is any number of appropriate and useful questions which you might ask in an interview, and some of the best are listed below.
Is this a replacement position?
It does make a difference whether the position you’re being hired for is a replacement for someone who has departed, or if it’s an entirely new position. If it’s new, you may have it terrific opportunity to actually help define the role within the company, and you can bring your own perspective to the job. If you’re replacing someone who has recently left the company, you may want to ask about what’s involved in the turnover process.
Why is this job available?
It will be good for you to know exactly why this job became available, because it may afford you the opportunity to ask more questions, and it might be just good information to have. For instance, if the company is going through a boom period, and they are ramping up the workforce, that’s excellent information in terms of job security and future pay raises.
What kind of challenges has the company and its employees faced recently?
While an interviewer may be somewhat reluctant to talk about any problems the company has, it would be good for you to know what kind of challenges you’re going to face on the job, as soon as you get acclimated. In a worst-case scenario, you might find out that you’re being hired to repair a lot of damage done by a previous worker, and this is something you should be aware of. If it turns out that the company is on a very tight budget, or that there are some problem clients which have to be dealt with, these are also details which are good to know.
What is expected of me?
If there are formal expectations regarding your employment, these would be good to know at the outset. For instance, you may be charged with heading up a new project, or playing a very significant role on an upcoming initiative. On the other hand, you might be getting hired to carry out a long and tedious role, documenting company processes and procedures. Whether expectations are high or low, it’s good to know where you fit in beforehand.
What kind of metrics will be used to assess my performance?
Almost every white-collar job in the country is evaluated by some kind of performance review at least once each year. Even if this process only happens at the end of the year, and it’s literally months away, it will be good to know how your performance will be judged, so that you can begin trying to fulfill those expectations as soon as you walk in the door.
What is the corporate culture like?
During your research about the company, you have probably already found out most of what you need to know about corporate culture in the workplace. It still worthwhile asking the question, however, because it will be interesting to see how it’s described by a person in a management position.
There may also be some particular points of interest to you which you can pick out from any descriptions provided by the hiring manager. As you’re listening to your interviewer’s depiction of the corporate culture, you can be thinking about how well or how poorly you would personally fit into that environment, and whether you would thrive in such a scenario.
How do employees achieve a good work-life balance?
This is something that should be very important to you, because you won’t want to become completely dedicated to the job, at the expense of your personal life. Your interviewer may be able to tell you how other employees at the company have achieved a good balance between work and personal life, and how the company helps them in this regard. It will be especially interesting if the company offers perks which contribute to a good work-life balance, such as flexible hours, on-site daycare, or telecommuting options for one or more days each week.
What opportunities are there for professional growth?
Asking this kind of question will demonstrate to your interviewer that you are interested in professional growth yourself and that you intend to make yourself more valuable to the company. It will also provide you with answers on whether or not there are opportunities for upward mobility, or whether you are likely to be stuck at the same pay grade for quite a while. You will also want to know whether the company provides opportunities such as off-site training, attending conferences, and in-house education, all of which will allow you to improve your professional skills and knowledge.