5 Questions To Ask In Your Interview (and why!)
The purpose of an interview is to help the company determine if your skills and experience are the right fit for them. However, what a lot of people don’t realise is that interviewing is actually a two-way street and just as much as they are trying to figure out if you are the ideal candidate, you should be evaluating them as the best fit for you too.
Towards the end of the interview, you may be asked if you have any questions for them. Saying, ‘no, I am fine’ or something to that effect instantly tells them that you are not interested in the role. Always ask questions and have about 3 up your sleeve. To help you make the right decision when evaluating a company and role, here are 5 questions to get you started:
What are the greatest challenges facing this team right now?
Asking this question may give you an excellent chance to highlight your skills and experience that may not have been covered yet, especially if these can solve the challenge described. It gives you an excellent opportunity to potentially plug a gap they may have and give you the chance to further sell yourself.
If successful in my application, what career growth opportunities are there for me in this role OR where could a successful person in this role progress to within the organisation?
No one wants to end up in a stagnant role with no chance for career progression. Finding out what opportunities there are to grow your career may help you decide if you want to progress down the interview track with them or make a decision if they offer you a job, especially if you are weighing up 2 or more offers. It is best to find out if this is a dead-end role at the beginning rather than finding out about it further down the track once employed.
Tell me about a typical day that someone in this role could experience?
This will give you an indication of the type of activities and tasks that you could potentially fill your days with and how challenging the job is going to be. If you could easily do the activities described with little effort, then beware as you may get bored quickly. However, if you feel the answer to this question indicates that you may find the role challenging then you may have an excellent opportunity to learn new skills. This could be a great tickbox in helping you make your decision should they make you an offer.
What do you most enjoy about working here yourself?
This questions gives the interviewer an opportunity to sell the company to you because they have to put their best foot forward. Answers to this question will give you insights into perks, culture and potential opportunities for career growth in the organisation. The ‘way’ they answer this question is equally important (body language, confidence in their answer, a pause or hesitation) will give an insight into how they feel about the company and what it is like to work there.
Do you feel there is anything we may not have covered regarding my skills and experience that may be a barrier to moving to the next stage?
If you think the interview is going well and you are feeling gutsy, then this is a great way to gain a bit of control in the interview. It gives them the opportunity to possibly re-ask a question, gain further clarification or once again, give you the chance to sell yourself again.
Remember, never ask questions that you could have easily found the answers to on their website. Additionally, if this is the first interview, then it is never a good idea to ask about pay, hours or benefits. There is a time and a place to ask those questions later in the interview process.
Johnathan Maltby is a Personal Branding and Career Consultant with proven strategies designed to empower you to energise and ignite your career. If you’re wanting to define your Professional Identify and build your Personal Brand to supercharge your career, then contact Johnathan at www.johnmaltby.com.au and connect with him on LinkedIn. New connections welcome.
