What Job Interview Questions To Ask

How Do You Plan To Achieve Your Career Goals

Having goals shows interviewers you care, are ambitious, and can think ahead. Having a plan for how youll achieve your goals demonstrates your self-motivation as well as organizational and time management skills. Finally, the fact that youve accomplished past goals youve set for yourself is proof of your ability to follow through. All together, these are indications that you can not only set and achieve goals of your own, but also help your prospective boss, team, and company do the same. To craft your answer, make sure you focus on one or two goals in detail, explain why the goals are meaningful, communicate what milestones are coming up, highlight past successes, and connect back to this job.

There Are Some Things You Can Do To Make The Transition Easier:

• Group the questions according to topic. For example, if you want to ask about writing skills, list all these questions together. Then, if a candidate answering one question touches on another question in your list, you can easily say Actually, I was planning to ask you about that. Tell me more about. This applies to similar skills as well for example, list organizational interview questions and leadership interview questions one after the other.
• Ask prompting questions. Candidates will use their experiences, knowledge and thoughts to back up their answers. Most of the time, youll have something to ask about those thats relevant to the role. For instance, you can say something like You mentioned that you did this project with a team of designers. We actually have a great team here that youll be working closely with should you be hired. How would you feel about this?
• React like you would in a social situation. If somebody told you at a party that theyre currently working on a cutting-edge face recognition program, how would you react? You might say something like That sounds fascinating. Tell me more or Whats the program like? Its OK to respond this way during an interview, as long as you make sure the conversation doesnt stray from the job youre hiring for.

What Single Project Or Task Would You Consider Your Most Significant Career Accomplishment To Date

Lou Adler, author of The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired and Hire With Your Head, spent 10 years searching for the single best interview question that will reveal whether to hire or not hire a candidate — and this was the one.

A good answer to this question:

Candidates’ answers will tell you about their prior success and sense of ownership. A great answer will show they are confident in their work and professional choices while being humble enough to show they care about the company’s success. For example, if a candidate built a sales or marketing campaign they’re particularly proud of, listen for them to explain how the business benefited from it. Did it help the company sign a major client?

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What Is Your Teaching Philosophy

This isnt a question solely for those applying to teaching positions. Employers may ask this of anyone who might be leading or teaching others. Your response will allow employers to gauge your personal skills and if you would be a good culture add. A good answer will concisely identify what you think teaching should achieve and include concrete examples to illustrate your ideas.

Example answer:When it comes to managing people, my teaching philosophy is to start by asking questions that hopefully get the person to come to a new conclusion on their own. This way, they feel ownership over the learning rather than feeling micromanaged. For example, in my last role, I was editing an article written by a copywriter I managed. The story didnt have a clear focus or hook.

In a one-on-one meeting, I asked her what she thought was the main point of the article if she had to sum it up in a sentence. From there, I asked if she thought the focus was clear in the article. She didnt think it was clear and instead thought she should rework her introduction and conclusion. As a result, the article improved and my direct report learned a valuable writing lesson that she carried into her future work.

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Do You Work Best Alone Or On A Team

What kind of work will the candidate be performing if theyre selected for the position? This question helps determine if theyre suited to the types of assignments theyll receive. Someone who enjoys solitary work and long stretches of uninterrupted time may not thrive in a position that requires collaboration or multitasking.

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Questions About The Position

These questions relate directly to the position for which you’re interviewing. Be sure to ask additional questions and not those that the hiring manager might have addressed during the first portion of the interview:

• What’s a normal day in this position entail?
• What projects is the team working on now?
• Are any examples of past projects available for review?
• What training and qualifications would the ideal candidate have for this job?
• Is the team looking for someone with a specific skill to fill any gaps in knowledge?
• What challenges have past employees faced in this job?
• What resources are available for this position?

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Questions To Ask About Yourself

Asking questions about yourself can be risky, unless youre hitting it off with the interviewer and know your questions will be perceived well. Proceed with caution.

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What Motivates You To Work

It is a simple question but requires the interviewee to exhibit a great amount of thought and often unlocks valuable discussions from a candidate looking internally for what truly motivates them.

If they only answer at the surface level with something like I relish a challenge, this can convey that they are a less-than exceptional candidate.

You may need to probe further do extract a deeper understanding of their motivations.

Good Questions To Ask At The End Of The Interview

As the interview winds down, or when the interviewer has indicated that the interview is ending, you need to ask these end-of-the-interview questions.

Tell the interviewer that you are very interested in the job and enthusiastic about joining the organization. Then, finish by asking these questions.

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Cultural Fit Interview Questions & Techniques

Cultural fit is a huge deal for small businesses. Many small businesses operate like a large family, and you want someone who can not only do the job, but who can also be a part of that family. Interviewing for cultural fit is essential for the small business owner!

Name one person, alive or dead, that you would want to meet and why?

Get insight into the applicants thought process, whats important to them, and generate interesting conversation.Chris Taylor, RE/MAX Home Experts

Tell me about the best boss you ever had. Why did you enjoy working for them so much?

Especially if you manage the entire team as the owner, this is especially important to learn if a candidate will be a good long term fit with you as their boss.

How do you feel about becoming friends with your coworkers? Is it a good idea or a bad idea?

This is a good question to get at your employees social behavior at work. For example, my husbands company is a place where people are friendly, but not friends who go to happy hour every week since everyone drives to work. This is versus a friend of mine, who is an HR Manager at a company where not going to company social events is a big deal, and the company even encourages interoffice friendships.

Describe your usual role on a team or on group projects.

Is There Anything Else Youd Like Us To Know

Just when you thought you were done, your interviewer asks you this open-ended doozy. Dont panicits not a trick question! You can use this as an opportunity to close out the meeting on a high note in one of two ways, Zhang says. First, if there really is something relevant that you havent had a chance to mention, do it now. Otherwise, you can briefly summarize your qualifications. For example, Zhang says, you could say: I think weve covered most of it, but just to summarize, it sounds like youre looking for someone who can really hit the ground running. And with my previous experience , I think Id be a great fit.

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Top Questions To Ask An Interviewee

When conducting interviews to fill critical job vacancies its important to ask the right questions of the interviewee and reveal the best answers ensuring a more informed hiring decision.

These 25 interview questions for interviewees will help the interviewer get to know a candidate better before making a decision to bring them aboard their company.

Questions To Ask About The Culture

This is a great opportunity for you to learn if the company culture is in alignment with the type of culture youre seeking. You might consider researching the type of company culture youre most interested in beforehand.

Question 22: How would you describe the company culture?

This is a great, straightforward question to hear about how the interviewer would describe the companys culture. Interviewers will often speak to what they like most about the culture, so its great to ask this question to multiple people throughout the interview process to get a holistic view of the culture.

Question 23: I came across an interview with your CEO where she touched on several aspects of the company culture. What elements of the culture here do you like best?

Asking about company culture this way shows how youve researched the company and its executives. Its a great way to display a genuine interest in the company and position. This question also shows that you care to understand whether the culture will be a good fit for you and whether you’ll be a good fit for the company.

Question 24: What are the most important values of your company?

Companies often have missions or values that drive the decisions, attitudes and goals of the company. Knowing and understanding these values can give you great insight into the type of culture thats set.

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How To Prepare Job Interview Questions

Prepare a list of power questions to ask the employer at the end of the interview before the actual interview.

Dont be afraid to come into a job interview with your questions written down ahead of time.

Coming prepared with power questions shows the employer that you are prepared, thoughtful, and eager to get the job.

Can You Tell Me More About The Team I Would Be Working In

This will help you understand the way the company is structured, who you’ll report to and the department the role sits within. These are the people you’ll work most closely with, so it’s worth trying to find out about the team dynamic and working methods.

Depending on the response, it may also give you the opportunity to mention any experience or success you’ve had working in similar teams – just to give the employer one final example of how well you’ll fit in if you get the job.

Other useful questions to ask at interview include those about:

• performance appraisals
• opportunities or challenges facing the department/company
• company-specific projects or campaigns.

If the employer doesn’t give an indication of what happens next then a good way to wrap up the interview is by asking about the next steps and when you can expect to hear from them.

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What Do You Plan To Do If

Every business faces a major challenge: technological changes, competitors entering the market, shifting economic trends. There’s rarely one of Warren Buffett’s moats protecting a small business.

So while some candidates may see your company as a stepping-stone, they still hope for growth and advancement. If they do eventually leave, they want it to be on their terms, not because you were forced out of business.

Say I’m interviewing for a position at your ski shop. Another store is opening less than a mile away: How do you plan to deal with the competition? Or you run a poultry farm : What will you do to deal with rising feed costs?

Great candidates don’t just want to know what you think they want to know what you plan to do — and how they will fit into those plans.

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Do You Consider Yourself Successful

This question might make you uncomfortable. But you can think of it as an opportunity to allow the interviewer to get to know you better and to position yourself as an excellent choice for this job. First off, make sure you say yes! Then pick one specific professional achievement youre proud of that can be tied back to the role youre interviewing forone that demonstrates a quality, skill, or experience that would help you excel in this position. Youll want to explain why you consider it a success, talk about the process in addition to the outcome, and highlight your own accomplishment without forgetting your team. Zooming in on one story will help if you feel awkward tooting your own horn!

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What Has Surprised You About This Interview Process So Far

This is a question no candidate can really prepare for, and it’ll give you some indication of how candidates are feeling about the whole thing. Plus, you can see how they think on their feet.

A good answer to this question:

You’re looking for specifics here — something about the office space the personality of the team an assignment they were given to complete.

Honest answers are good answers, and answers that are directed at you are even better, as they show the candidate is confident speaking their mind in front of decision-makers. For instance, maybe the candidate was surprised you asked them about something on their resume that they don’t personally pay much attention to.

Work Sample Interview Questions & Techniques

If you work in a field like graphic design or web development, asking a candidate for work samples is incredibly important to make sure they have the skills they say they do, as well as to make sure they are a style fit with your company and the work you are doing. However, asking for work samples can be relevant in nearly any role as long as it is done the right way.

Here are 5 ways to get work samples from your candidates:

Tell me about something youve done that youre incredibly proud of from your past work experiences and still wonder how it was that you achieved it.

I ask it because its a great point of connection and further, it gives me an idea of what they view as a major accomplishment.Michael S. Gottlieb, Principal, Momentum Lawyers Group

Ask for a writing sample or give them a short essay to answer.

I had a client in Texas who asked second round interview candidates to write a 3 paragraph essay on what they are most proud of and why. Sounds simple enough, but it weeded out a load of candidates for every role for them from Operations Manager to Business Analyst.

Ask a candidate to give you a 5 minute presentation, such as teaching you how to do a basic task.

You could assign the task they need to explain, or leave it up to them. For any role, this will reveal a lot about the candidate and their teaching style. This is especially great for manager or HR roles.

Give the candidate a sample project,like a logo design or editing a client presentation.

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What Is A Power Question Why Are They Important

A power question is a meaningful and thoughtful question that an interviewee asks an employer.

These power questions usually are about the company, its culture, the actual job, and the companys future.

The purpose of a power question is to show the interviewer that you care about the company. Asking great questions also shows that you have spent time carefully preparing for the interview.

At the end of an interview, many people ask about hours, pay, and benefits. This can give employers and hiring managers the idea that the candidate is immature or self-centered.

If these questions are used right, employers will remember you and your unique questions you asked at the end of the job interview.

If You Were An Animal Which One Would You Want To Be

Seemingly random personality-test type questions like these come up in interviews because hiring managers want to see how you can think on your feet. Theres no wrong answer here, but youll immediately gain bonus points if your answer helps you share your strengths or personality or connect with the hiring manager. Pro tip: Come up with a stalling tactic to buy yourself some thinking time, such as saying, Now, that is a great question. I think I would have to say

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