What Questions Do Stand-Out Candidates Ask The Interviewer?

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Young Professional Insider

3 min readJul 25, 2015

So, do you have any questions for us?

That dreadful panic at the end of every job interview, when you’re scrambling for something smart to say, but then your brain goes: “nope.”

But what else could you say? They explained everything you need to know, what more could you want to ask?

But then what is that feeling in your gut? The one that’s shouting “Agh! Say something smart!”

Here’s what ends up happening:

The fear of saying something stupid prevents you from thinking about the details of the interview. It’s impossible to see what the natural followup questions are when you’re that nervous!

It’s totally normal, but here’s a way to give yourself the little edge you need. I’ve written a list of interview questions that you’ll need to ask at the end of EVERY job interview, whether you’re trying to be a cashier or a CFO.

Before you read the list, you’ll need to follow this rule of thumb:

DON’T SHOOT TO IMPRESS THE INTERVIEWER.

SHOOT TO GET THE INFORMATION YOU’LL NEED TO BE AWESOME.

This means you need to do 2 things:

Be unique enough to stand out from every other candidate.
Ask them the hard questions.

These questions can also help you sniff out the signs of a dysfunctional department. Something you’ll want to know before you sign anything.

For instance, if you ask what the goals of the department are for the next 90 days, and no one can answer you; you might want to think twice about accepting a position where you’re responsible for the outcome.

Job interview questions:

What is a typical day like?
What will I have done in 6 months from now to be successful in this job?
What kind of person succeeds in this job and why? Are there specific personality traits you can think of?
What kind of person fails in this job and why?
What do you consider the most important day-to-day responsibilities of this job?
What will be the first projects I tackle?
What are the biggest challenges the department faces this year? and what will be my role as a team member, in addressing them?
What are the challenges you are facing right now?

The mother of all interview questions:

ARE THERE ANY WEAKNESSES IN MY CANDIDACY THAT I CAN ADDRESS RIGHT NOW?

This last one will give you the chance to look pragmatically at how you shape up to the other candidates. If the interviewer is being honest with you, they’ll tell you exactly where they think you’ll fall short.

At this point, it’s your chance to tell a story about how you’ll exceed expectations.

2 resources to stand out in an interview:

Check out Martin Yate’s “Knock ‘em Dead” guide to career success. It’s definitely one of those “get off your ass and get a real job” kind of books, it has some absolute gold scattered inside it. It’s definitely worth hacking through the motivation-attempts to score some insightful gems.
For a simple, fast way to build a beautiful resume, check out ResumeRuby. They’ll help you brand yourself to stand out from all those other applicants.

Thanks for reading!