What Questions To Ask During A Job Interview

What Is Your Greatest Strength

5 Good Questions To Ask An Employer During A Job Interview

What They Want to Know: When answering questions about your strengths, focus on the abilities you have that are key to success in the job for which you’re interviewing. Don’t be too humble. It’s important to make the hiring manager aware of your qualifications.

My greatest strength is my ability to learn new processes quickly. When placed in a new environment, I actively observe how other people do things so that I can easily pull my weight on the team. Im also open to testing new ways of doing things in order to optimize our efficiency.

More Answers: Interview Question: What is Your Greatest Strength?

The Best Questions To Ask At The End Of Every Job Interview

Finding questions to ask your interviewer is a crucial part of preparing for any job interview.
Asking questions is a simple way to show that you’re truly interested in the role and the company.
Business Insider compiled a number of smart questions that are sure to impress your next interviewer.

Thinking up questions to ask during job interviews is key.

Remember: Every interview is a two-way street. You should be interviewing the employer just as much as they’re interviewing you. You both need to walk away convinced that the job would be a great fit.

So when the tables are turned and the interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” take advantage of this opportunity. It’s the best way to determine if you’d be happy working for this employer, and whether your goals are aligned with theirs.

Plus, asking questions is a simple way to convey your enthusiasm for the role and the organization that you’re looking to join.

But sometimes it’s tricky to think up questions to ask on the spot. So you should do your research, and come prepared with some questions for your interviewer.

Luckily, there are plenty of great questions to pick from, no matter your job level or industry.

Work Habits And Working Style Interview Questions

Once youve gotten a sense of whether or not your employee is qualified to do the job you want to fill, take some time to determine what kind of worker they are.

This series of questions is a bit of everything: it looks at personality, the culture they work best in, and a little bit of their background as an employee.

Where it differs from the previous categories is by focusing on your potential new hires work style. Are they more detail oriented, or are they a big-picture thinker? What are their strengths and weaknesses as an employee? How do they deal with difficult coworkers? These kinds of questions inform what type of employee youre dealing with.

As with personality and culture, it comes down to a matter of fit. Do you prefer someone who works best collaboratively, or who keeps to him or herself? Do you want an employee who directly addresses a conflict with a colleague head-on, or who goes through you to resolve it?

There are no right answers hereit depends on the type of employee youre looking for.

Read Also: Questions To Ask Cfo In Interview

What Interview Questions Are Illegal

Off-limits interview questions center on unchangeable or highly personal aspects of a candidates identity.

Illegal interview questions include those pertaining to:

Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation
Race, Color, or National Origin
Religion
Citizenship

If a candidate brings these topics up, then it is advisable to steer the conversation onto other subjects. A candidate may inquire about reasonable accommodations and the inclusivity of your work culture, at which point it may be pertinent to outline your organizations benefits, diversity efforts, and willingness to support underrepresented employees. However, as a rule, you should never pose interview questions related to these topics, and should defer these discussions if the candidate initiates them.

The legality of asking about criminal background during interviews is more complex. In most places, it is not illegal to ask candidates about criminal records, but employers may not deny applicants based solely on conviction history without conducting an individualized assessment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission warns against placing conviction questions on job application forms. Most employers wait to ask about criminal conviction until the late stages of the interview process.

How Is The Feedback Process Structured

Questions to Ask During an Interview: Infographic ...

Asking this question in an interview has been critical for me as a candidate. Performance feedback is how humans get better. Excellence and mastery have always been important to me, and I am aware that they are impossible without knowing how and when to ask for regular feedback. Does this company limit its feedback cycle to the annual reviews? Does the hiring manager make it a priority to deliver just-in-time acknowledgment and suggestions for improvement?

Recommended Reading: Prepare For System Design Interview

More Tools To Help You Ace Your Interviews

If you want more tips to stand out in your next interview , here are a couple of things to make sure youre doing.

First, be sure to send thank-you emails one day after the interview. This is a great way to set yourself apart and show the employer you made the extra effort.

Also, Id recommend reviewing this in-depth article on tips for how to pass a job interview. It contains some of the best info I learned while working 5+ years as a recruiter.

And finally, heres a list of the key things every hiring manager is looking for. Make sure you review that so you target the things they care most about in your interview.

Asking good questions is one piece of the interview puzzle, but you also need to perform well in the interview and follow-up professionally after its over. So those resources above will help you with those areas.

What Are Your Goals

When you’re asked, “What are your goals?” sometimes it’s best to talk about short-term and intermediate goals rather than locking yourself into the distant future. For example, “My immediate goal is to get a job in a growth-oriented company. My long-term goal will depend on where the company goes. I hope to eventually grow into a position of responsibility.”

Don’t Miss: Questions To Ask A Cfo In An Interview

Do You Have Any Questions For Me

What They Want to Know: The last question at a job interview is usually one about what you want to know about the job and the company. Be ready with a list of questions to ask. You may seem disinterested if there isn’t anything you want to learn more about.

Do you have a formal schedule and mechanism for performance reviews? How soon after hiring would I receive my first review?

What Really Drives Results In This Job

Questions To Ask During A Job Interview

Employees are investments, and you expect every employee to generate a positive return on his or her salary.

In every job some activities make a bigger difference than others. You need your HR team to fill job openings, but what you really want is for them to find the right candidates, because that results in higher retention rates, lower training costs, and better overall productivity.

You need your service techs to perform effective repairs, but what you really want is for those techs to identify ways to solve problems and provide other benefits — in short, to build customer relationships and even generate additional sales.

Great candidates want to know what truly makes a difference and drives results, because they know helping the company succeed means they will succeed as well.

Read Also: System Design Interview Prep

How Did You Learn About The Opening

Job boards, general postings, online listings, job fairs — most people find their first few jobs that way, so that’s certainly not a red flag.

But a candidate who continues to find each successive job from general postings probably hasn’t figured out what he or she wants to do — and where he or she would like to do it.

He or she is just looking for a job often, any job.

So don’t just explain how you heard about the opening. Show that you heard about the job through a colleague, a current employer, by following the company–show that you know about the job because you want to work there.

Employers don’t want to hire people who just want a job they want to hire people who want a job with their company.

Where Do You Think The Company Is Headed In The Next Five Years

The response you receive will give you an insight into the company’s progression plans and its place in the market, while giving you a general idea about job security. You may also get a heads-up on any major upcoming projects.

Asking about future plans shows a real interest in the organisation and reiterates your commitment to the company.

Recommended Reading: What To Wear For An Interview Women

Can You Tell Me What The Career Paths Are For This Department And What Sort Of Advancements I Could Work Towards

This question can give you a solid idea of the mobility within the company. Again, as weve said over and over again, the ultimate goal of any job you take is to help advance you on your career path and the last thing you want to do is take a dead end job with no hope of ever moving forward or growing.

Where Do You See Yourself In The Next 5 Years

5 Questions To Ask During Your Job Interview

An ambitious professional with a clear set of goals for the short, medium, and long term, is an invaluable asset to the company. This is true especially if they parallel their career growth with the company they are interviewing at.

As they grow professionally and financially, the company grows and expands too.

During the interview, confident job seekers will discuss that they seek a company with upward mobility as they help the company prosper.

Recommended Reading: Questions To Ask Cfo During Interview

What Is One Of Your Favorite Memories Of Working Here

Your interviewer’s response can tell you a lot about the company culture. If they are eager to share multiple memories, this can indicate that you may have a good time working here. It also shows that employee morale is high, especially if you are on a panel interview and everyone has something fun to share.

Can You Tell Me About A Difficult Work Situation And How You Overcame It

This question is often used to assess how well you perform under pressure as well as your problem-solving abilities. Keep in mind stories are more memorable than facts and figures, so strive to show instead of tell. This is also an excellent opportunity to show your human side and how when faced with adversity you are able to persevere.

For this question, consider sticking to the

Action
Result or learning

Example answer:It was the first day of my bosss two-week vacation and our agencys highest-paying client threatened to leave because he didnt feel he was getting the personalized service he was promised. I spent my lunch hour on the phone with him talking through his concerns. We even brainstormed ideas for his next campaign. He was so grateful for the personal attention that he signed another six-month contract before my boss even returned from her trip.

Also Check: Mailscoop Io

How Does The Company Respond To Employees’ Concerns

Asking this question is a good way to learn about how well the company takes care of its employees. This question shows your interviewer that you value open communication. It can help you determine if you are going to get the support you need to feel comfortable suggesting changes or sharing feedback.

What Are Your Biggest Weaknesses

The Right Questions To Ask During a Job Interview

Every candidate knows how to answer this question: Just pick a theoretical weakness and magically transform that flaw into a strength in disguise!

For example: “My biggest weakness is getting so absorbed in my work that I lose all track of time. Every day I look up and realize everyone has gone home! I know I should be more aware of the clock, but when I love what I’m doing I just can’t think of anything else.”

So your “biggest weakness” is that you’ll put in more hours than everyone else? Great.

A better approach is to choose an actual weakness, but one you’re working to improve. Share what you’re doing to overcome that weakness. No one is perfect, but showing you’re willing to honestly self-assess and then seek ways to improve comes pretty darned close.

Also Check: Preparing For System Design Interview

If I Were Hired For This Position Would I Be Going Through Any Training Prior To Actually Starting The Work

This is a great question to askespecially if you are concerned about your ability to do the job. With the right training, an employee can quickly be brought up to company speed. If no training is offered and youre not sure you know enough to do the jobthis would also be a great time to get clarification on that.

B Technical Interview Questions To Ask Candidates

These questions are at the core of technical interviews. If youre the hiring manager or a team member who does a similar job as the position youre hiring for, youll want to ask these questions. Note that technical does not mean tech-related in this case, it means specific and job-related.

To find the best technical interview questions to ask potential employees, search for the role youre hiring for in our vast library of 350+ interview question samples. Here are examples of jobs companies are often looking to fill:

Technical questions are usually part of the second interview questions to ask candidates who have been shortlisted after the initial interview or screening call. In this stage, youre evaluating the candidates ability to actually do the job.

Also Check: Interview Attire Womens

What Do You Enjoy About Your Job

Everybody loves to talk about themselves and this question enables you to build up a sense of camaraderie with your interviewer. This question requires a personal response, so you could learn a lot from their answer.

You’ll get an insider’s view of the company culture and working environment and you may even get to discover how your interviewer got their start in the business and how they progressed.

What Salary Are You Seeking

When you’re asked, “What salary are you seeking?” it is to your advantage if the employer tells you the range first. Prepare by knowing the going rate in your area, and your bottom line or walk-away point. One possible answer would be: “I am sure when the time comes, we can agree on a reasonable amount. In what range do you typically pay someone with my background?”

You May Like: Interview Questions To Ask A Cfo

Whats One Fact Thats Not On Your Linkedin Profile

Heres another open-ended question to ask an interviewee that can help you uncover some interesting insights. Similar to asking, What do you think I need to know that we havent discussed? it could spark some conversation about a hobby outside of their 9-to-5 life or even a compelling story that reveals more of their strengths and motivations. This question can help you understand not just what a job candidate has done, but why.

Do You Have Any Questions

This might be one of the most important questions asked during the interview process because it allows you to explore any topics that havent been addressed and shows the interviewer youre serious about the role. Remember that you are interviewing the company too. Take time to ask the interviewer questions about their own experiences with the company, gain tips on how you can succeed if hired and address any lingering questions you have. Some examples include:

What do you love most about working for this company?
What would success look like in this role?
What are some of the challenges people typically face in this position?
How important is it that you hire someone with XYZ qualities?
Do you have any hesitations about hiring me?

Also Check: Women’s Outfit For Job Interview

What Percentage Of Employees Was Brought In By Current Employees

Employees who love their jobs naturally recommend their company to their friends and peers. The same is true for people in leadership positions — people naturally try to bring on board talented people they previously worked with. They’ve built relationships, developed trust, and shown a level of competence that made someone go out of their way to follow them to a new organization.

And all of that speaks incredibly well to the quality of the workplace and the culture.

Tell Me About A Time You Disagreed With A Decision What Did You Do

Most Impressive Questions to Ask Your Interviewer During A Job Interview

No one agrees with every decision. Disagreements are fine it’s what you do when you disagree that matters.

Show that you were professional. Show that you raised your concerns in a productive way. If you have an example that proves you can effect change, great — and if you don’t, show that you can support a decision even though you think it’s wrong .

Every company wants employees willing to be honest and forthright, to share concerns and issues, but to also get behind a decision and support it as if they agreed, even if they didn’t.

Recommended Reading: Best Interview Clothes For A Woman

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

Don’t be alarmed if you’re asked weird interview questions. Interviewers use this type of psychological question to see if you can think quickly. If you answer “a bunny,” you will make a soft, passive impression. If you answer “a lion,” you will be seen as aggressive. What type of personality would it take to get the job done? What impression do you want to make?