Second Interview Questions To Ask The Employer
Your phone rings or you get an email letting you know that you’ve been selected for a second interview. Congratulations! You’ve made it over a big hurdle. However, getting through the first round of interview questions also likely means that you’ve already exhausted your list of interview questions to ask the employer.
What Major Challenges And Problems Did You Face How Did You Handle Them
What They Want to Know: With this question, the interviewer is trying to understand how you handle issues and problems. Can you figure out solutions and workarounds when there is a problem? How adept are you at problem-solving? Do you enjoy a challenge, or do you get nervous when there’s a glitch?
When I was first hired as store manager, our turnover rate was 75% and we were chronically understaffed. I implemented performance incentive programs that reduced attrition by 63% and significantly improved our talent pipeline by focusing on internal training and promotion.
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What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment
Its easy to get hung up on figuring out your single most impressive accomplishment. Instead, think of a few achievements that showcase your work ethic and values. If you can, pick examples that also tie back to the job youre applying for. The STAR method is a great tool to ensure you highlight the parts of your story that employers want to hear.
Example answer:In my last role, I managed all social media content. I noticed other brands were experimenting with videos and seeing great engagement from their customers, so I asked my boss if we could do a low-budget test. She agreed, so I produced a video cheaply in-house that drove double the engagement we normally saw on our social channels. It also drove conversions with 30% of viewers visiting our website within a week of seeing the video.
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What Can You Bring To The Company
This question is similar to, Why should we hire you? A strong answer will demonstrate the skills you have to be successful in this role as well as your potential to bring a new perspective to the business.
Research the company in-depth to understand its culture and business needs. Explain why your skills, experience and characteristics uniquely position you to advance organizational objectives. Use an example from your work experience that speaks to your skill set.
Example answer:My problem-solving abilities allow me to work extremely well under pressure, which I understand is a common occurrence in this role. In a previous position as the purchasing lead, I had to decide which supplies to order to stay within the budget, but I had a limited amount of time to make a decision. I quickly created a spreadsheet that helped me compare manufacturers prices and was able to order the necessary supplies on time and within our budget. I used the spreadsheet throughout the rest of my time with the company to help them save over $500,000. I will bring the same interest and motivation for making an impact here at ABC Company.
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Most Common Interview Questions
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What Are The Next Steps In The Interview Process
This is not only a question you can ask to show youre interested in where the hiring process is going to go next, its also a great way for you to get some reassurance. Nobody likes waiting to hear back from a company and getting nothingat least this way youre prepped for how the process will continue and what to expectand when.
Questions To Ask About Training And Expectations
This category of questions can provide insight into the company’s training process and future professional development and advancement opportunities.
13. What is the training process like for someone in this position?
14. What would you expect the new hire to master within the first 30 days? The first 90?
15. How is performance assessed for someone in this position?
16. How often do performance reviews take place?
17. What’s the typical career trajectory for someone in this position/department?
18. What kind of professional development opportunities are available?
19. Will you expect me to participate in workshops or other professional development activities at conferences in the future?
20. Are there any books I can read on my own time to prepare for training?
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Choosing The Best Questions To Ask
Now that we have the categories outlined, we can start really drilling down with these questions to ask the interviewer. Yes, we sort of roughed out quite a few when we described the categories, but those are general questions. The questions you want to ask are going to be specificresearchedand tailored!
But you just gave me seven categories! If I ask a question out of each category its going to take forever! Im sure the hiring manager is going to get sick of me long before I get a chance to go through all my questions Or worse, what if my questions are dumb and the hiring manager thinks Im an idiot? Nobody wants to hire an idiot!
First off, take a deep breath and relax. We promise, the hiring manager isnt going to get tired of youand we already established the fact that youre more likely to look like an idiot for not asking questionsbut yes, that is a lot of categories to coverwhich is why making sure youre asking the right questions is so important.
How do I know which questions are the right questions to be asking?
Ahh, so glad you asked! The easiest way to figure out which questions to ask at an interview is to start out by asking them before you get to the interview.
As youre preparing for your interview and doing your research on the job and the company, make sure youre also taking notes about things youd like to ask about. Remember too that the best questions are the ones that lead to discussion and back and forth between you and the interviewer.
Tell Me How You Think Other People Would Describe You
I hate this question. It’s a total throwaway. But I did ask it once, and got an answer I really liked.
“I think people would say that what you see is what you get,” the candidate said. “If I say I will do something, I do it. If I say I will help, I help. I’m not sure that everyone likes me, but they all know they can count on what I say and how hard I work.”
Can’t beat that.
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Questions To Ask Employees During An Interview
When hiring a new employee, its important to ask the right questions.
There are some interview questions that are a given we all know how to put a good spin on the classic greatest weakness question. Its also expected that youll have potential employees review their job history and qualifications.
But how do you really dig into what makes someone tick as an employee, and how do you determine if theyll be a good fit for your businessnot only in terms of their skills, but also their personality, and as a part of your company culture?
To help you come up with the perfect list of interview questions to ask potential employees, Ive divided this list into five categories: personality questions, culture fit questions, background and work experience questions, work habits and working style questions, and career goal questions. Be sure to check out my article on How to Hire Your First Employee as well.
Pick and choose a handful that feel most applicable from each list, or ask them all . With a well-rounded list of interview questions, finding the perfect candidate for your open position should be no problem at all.
Who Is The Smartest Person You Know Why
This is a great way to see what a candidate values and aspires to. By forcing them to think of someone that they know personally, you avoid a stream of people praising Steve Jobs and telling you how much they aspire to be like him.
Instead, you’ll see answers that praise specific traits that a candidate’s friends, family or former colleagues have exhibited.
There are no perfect answers here, but the best should focus on a specific characteristic, candidate’s might praise a friend’s desire for learning or networking ability.
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What Did You Like Or Dislike About Your Previous Job
What They Want to Know: What you liked and what you didn’t like about your last job or the company you worked for is an indicator of how you might feel about this position if you were to be hired.
Be careful what you say when you’re interviewing for a similar job. If the roles are alike, you may want to keep what you didn’t like to yourself. It’s important to be positive and enthusiastic about the job for which you’re being considered.
I liked the progressive, staged training program my employer used to teach new hires the ins and outs of financial services there was always something new to learn, and we knew we would be steadily promoted as we became more experienced. I didnt like the commute, though, which is why Im now applying for jobs closer to home.
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How Many Questions Should You Ask In An Interview
You should ask four to six questions in your job interview. Ask a mix of questions about the position, the team and company, and the interview process and next steps.
As you move through your job interviews, think about each person youre speaking to and try to ask questions that theyre best-suited to answer, too.
Dont worry if youre not sure about this, but as an example, youd want to ask a CEO higher-level questions about the companys direction, strategy, growth.
Youd want to ask a recruiter about the basic duties of the job, the companys story, etc. And for the hiring manager who would be your future boss, youd want to ask about career path, training, what type of person they feel is the best fit for this role, etc.
Thats just a rough example, so dont stress too much over which questions to ask which person in your interview. Almost any interviewer can answer basic questions about role, team, career path, and hiring process, and if not, the interviewer can go ask and find out for you.
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Who Is Your Top Competitor
The first thing you need to know about this question is that it shouldn’t come from a place of ignorance. During your research before the interview, you should already discover who the company’s top competitors are. This question is designed more to give you insight from the company itself. Perhaps you’ll be able to gain a better perspective of their primary competitor or discover an up-and-coming competitor to be wary of.
This question also allows you to appear confident. One aspect of this question is learning more about what the company is dealing with, but another aspect is that it forces the interviewer to try to win you over. While the question may specifically ask who the top competitor is, it’s also implicitly asking, “Why should I work for you rather than your competitor?” It helps to solidify your value as an employee.
Putting It All Together
So there you have itnot only do you now know why you should have good questions to ask during an interview, you also know how to ask them and what to ask them.
Make sure you take the same amount of time to prep these as you spend on the rest of your interview prep and above all, be yourself, be genuine, be the PERFECT CANDIDATE
Good luck!
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Are There Opportunities For Training And Progression Within The Role/company
Enquiring about development opportunities demonstrates to the interviewer that you’re serious about your career and committed to a future with the organisation.
You don’t want to be stuck in a dead-end job so if you’re unsure of the typical career path for someone in this role, asking this question will help you to assess whether a long-term career with the company is a possibility, or if you’d need to move on to gain further responsibility.
Questions About The Role
This is a great opportunity to learn more about what you’ll do if it hasn’t already been thoroughly covered in the earlier part of the interview. Questions could include:
- Can you share more about the day-to-day responsibilities of this role? How would you describe the pace of a typical day?
- If I were hired for this role, what would you want me to achieve in my first two months?
- What mechanisms are in place for performance reviews and when would I receive my first formal evaluation?
- In your opinion, what is the single most important indicator of success in this role?
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Who Will I Meet With
An essential part of an interview is the preparation you do before the interview. This means doing your homework and learning about the people youre going to meet with. Knowing who youre meeting with can help you figure out what questions the interviewer might ask you, and it can help you figure out which questions you want to ask which people.
For example, the HR director probably cant describe what a typical day is like. Likewise, team members may not be able to tell you much about the benefits package. Knowing who youre meeting with will help you prep the right questions for the right people.
It also gives you a bit of insight into the companys culture. For example, if you meet with the team, that tells you that teamwork is a significant part of this company culture. And, if you meet with other teams that you might work with, that tells you that interdepartmental communication is important, too.
Lastly, knowing who youre interviewing with gives you a chance to check them out. Research them on the company website, social media, and, of course, LinkedIn. You never knowyou may find that you have something in common with one of these people, which could be a great icebreaker in the interview!
Questions To Ask About Next Steps
The interviewer’s answers to questions about the next steps in the process will demystify onboarding and give you a picture of how seriously they take you.
36. What’s the timeline for the next step in the interview process?
37. What is the next step in the process?
38. What does the onboarding process look like?
39. Is there any information about myself I haven’t already volunteered that you would like me to share?
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What Does Customer Service Mean To You
If youre applying for a public-facing role, an employer may ask this question to determine what aspects of customer service are most important to you. . A good answer will align with the companys values, which you can glean through researching their customer service policy, understanding their products and clientele and reflecting on your own experiences as a customer. Your answer can either come from the perspective of a customer or a customer service provider.
Example answer:In my experience, good customer service involves taking responsibility when something goes wrong and doing what you can to make it right. For example, on a recent flight, I had pre-ordered my meal only to discover they didnt stock enough of my dish. Instead of simply stating the facts, the flight attendant apologized sincerely and offered me a free drink or premium snack. To me, this apology went a long way in smoothing things over. The freebie was a bonus that made me feel valued as a customer and choose the same airline for my next flight.
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Before You File A Claim
Before you file a claim for discrimination, you might want to consider that most discrimination is not deliberate. In many cases, the interviewer may simply be ignorant of the law. Even though the interviewer may have asked an illegal question, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the intent was to discriminate or that a crime has been committed.
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What Are Three Positive Things Your Last Boss Would Say About You
It’s time to pull out your old performance appraisals and boss’s quotes to answer the question, “What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?”. This is a great way to brag about yourself through someone else’s words: “My boss has told me that I am the best designer he has ever had. He knows he can rely on me, and he likes my sense of humor.”
It’s A Chance To Learn More
Your interview gives the hiring manager insight into your professional experience, qualifications and accomplishments, but its also a great time for you to learn more about the company and job. Focus on asking questions about topics that werent covered, or topics you would like to discuss in greater detail.
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