What Questions To Ask When Being Interviewed

What Is The Last Question That I Should Ask Before Leaving An Interview

Before leaving, the final question that you should ask is when youre likely to hear back from the panel on the outcome of the interview. This simple question will show the interviewer that you are keen to pursue the role after meeting with the panel and learning more about the position.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, for more useful tips on how to prepare for your interview, make sure you visit the career advice section of our website.

What Kinds Of Challenges Can I Expect In This Role

Before accepting a job offer, you want to anticipate what kinds of barriers you might have to overcome. This question can give you insight into what challenges the company might be experiencing. It could even lead to a further conversation where you can show employers that you are eager to take on a challenging role.

What Obstacles Have Been Previously Encountered Within This Role And How Can I Help You Overcome Them

There are two ways to look at this question. If this is a newly created role, it can be great to learn how the company had previously tackled any issues. For example, if you are going for a content management role, how did the company previously handle their content schedule? Were freelancers involved? If so, why the change? Alternatively, if someone has left the role and progressed, it can be great to see how this position has adapted and evolved so that you can continue the existing momentum.

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What Are You Passionate About

My favorite interview question to ask a candidate is, Other than your family, what are you passionate about? Whether its their Sunday night bowling league or their sons Boy Scout group, they need to be passionate about something. If the candidate is not passionate about anything, he/she will not be passionate about working for my company.

Gene Caballero Co-Founder YourGreenPal.com

What Is My Salary

It is best to avoid questions regarding salary because hiring managers are wary of candidates who are solely focused on how much money they can make instead of contributing to the companys growth in the first place.

Salary is certainly important and it is not wrong to negotiate for good pay. However, it should not come across as demands.

You should not be underpaid because that happens often in any industry. However, questions related to salary need to be asked during the salary discussion stage.

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What Does This Company Do

Researching the company is considered one of the key components of job interview preparation. Knowing the company’s mission and purpose is essential. Focus your questions on aspects of company culture or success that you couldn’t find on your own. In fact, if you pose questions that show that you did do your homework, rather than that you didn’t, you will make a positive impression rather than a negative one.

Related:The Complete Guide To Researching a Company

B Teamwork Interview Questions

• Describe a group project you worked on. What was your role and what did you achieve?
• Has your team ever failed to reach a goal? If so, what went wrong and what did you learn from that experience?
• Tell me about a time you had to work with a colleague you didnt get along with.

• Imagine you have submitted a piece of work that you thought was finished, but a colleague returns it to you with multiple corrections and comments that would take you hours to address. What would you do?
• Your manager hates your latest work. What do you do?
• Describe a time you were assigned new tasks How did you adapt?

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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.

Questions Employers Shouldn’t Ask

While there are questions you should avoid and conversations that you shouldn’t start, proper etiquette is a two-way street and you too are afforded certain rights and courtesies. During your interview, be aware that it is unacceptable for employers to ask certain discriminatory questions. If they do ask a question about your medical history, age, sexuality, religion or another protected topic, you are under no obligation to respond and should consider reporting them. These questions include:

• Are you a citizen?

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E Interview Questions For Managers

If youre hiring team leaders, you want to make sure they can answer well to the above types of interview questions. But, hiring for each managerial position will entail an additional set of questions specifically to judge the candidates management skills . Depending on the seniority of the managers role, there are different interview questions to ask managers:

• Whats your approach to delegating work to employees? How do you ensure that tasks are completed?
• How would you describe your management style?
• Tell me about a time you had to deal with a team member who constantly opposed your ideas. How did you handle it?

How Did You Spend Your Time During The Lockdown

This is a great topical question to ask because it will tell you a lot about a person and what they do with their spare time.

The lockdowns most of us have endured gave many people a lot more spare time than they have previously had. How this time is spent will give you huge insights as to the type of person they are.

If the candidate spent the time doing volunteering work or helping neighbors and family, this is an admirable answer.

If the interviewees time was spent learning new skills, this is a great sign. Ask what skills and where did they acquire the new skills? Udemy, Skillshare, books, or something else.

If the candidate says watching Netflix and Youtube or gaming, that also tells you something.

Barry Moore: Founder Greatworklife.com

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‘if Hired What Are The Three Most Important Things You’d Like Me To Accomplish In The First Six To 12 Months At The Company’

“Think of every open position as a problem or pain point the company is hoping to solve with the right hire,” Augustine said. “The more you know about the hiring manager’s expectations and metrics for success, the easier it will be for you to tailor the conversation to demonstrate your fit for the role.”

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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When Is It Okay To Bend The Rules

For example, when I ask, When is it okay to bend the rules? The answer should benever. If someone says they would make an exception for a reason, I would go ahead and say to myself this is probably not someone I should hire. If they say, Only if the leader allows this, that would be the only other reason I would consider that applicant. I like to ask situational questions pertaining to a persons character because I dont want people coming into the job thinking it is acceptable to bend the rules or be unethical. I want someone that is loyal and trustworthy to my company. This answer is very important because it can directly reveal if they will be honest.

More Tips For Nailing An Interview

Please describe yourself in a few words.

Its the job interview of your life and you need to come up with something fast. Mental pictures of words are mixing in your head and your tongue tastes like alphabet soup. You mutter words like deterministic or innovativity and you realize youre drenched in sweat. You wish you had thought about this. You wish you had read this post before.

Here are 20 sentences that you could use when you are asked to describe yourself. Choose the ones that describe you the best.

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Can You Tell Me Exactly What I Would Be Expected To Do If I Were Hired For This Position

This question helps to make sure you know exactly what youre going to be doing and what is expected of you. This is a great way to make sure there are no nasty surprises waiting for you when you start. Having your job explicitly laid out for you not only allows you to know what youre signing up to do, but can also help you decide if you are not only willing to do the workbut also able!

What Really Drives Results In This Job

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.

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Questions To Ask About The Job

Question 1: Can you elaborate on the day-to-day responsibilities this job entails?

This is a good question to ask the hiring manager. The answer will be important for you to take into consideration as you determine whether or not this job is the right fit for you.

Question 2: What are the characteristics of someone who would succeed in this role?

Ask this question to the hiring manager or others on the interview panel who you might work with if you accept the job. Their answers will quickly give you an idea of the qualities they hope to see in the person they hire.

Question 3: Whats the most important thing I could do to help within the first 90 days of employment?

With this question, youre showcasing your desire and ability to contribute from day one. Its a good one to ask of the hiring manager.

Question 4: What are some of the challenges youve seen people in this role or on this team encounter?

During your interviews, you want to get a clear-eyed view of what this job is like why its hard and rewarding at the same time. Getting your interviewers perspectives on potential hurdles will give you a holistic picture.

Question 5: If I were in this job, how would my performance be measured?

Question 6: What does the career path for someone in this role look like?

Another one for the hiring manager. This question can signal your interest in growing at this company.

More questions to ask your interviewer about the job:

9. What would my first week at work look like?

Can You Tell Me About My Direct Supervisor Is There Anything I Should Know About Working With Them That Will Make My Integration A Smooth Process

Another two-parter, but again, youre showing that youre serious about doing what it takes to not only get the job, but do the job right. Its also a great way to get a bit of information about your supervisor. Like the rest of the people youre going to work withif its not a good match, then it might not be the job you want to take.

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Tell Me About The Toughest Decision You Had To Make In The Last Six Months

The goal of this question is to evaluate the candidate’s reasoning ability, problem-solving skills, judgment, and possibly even willingness to take intelligent risks.

Having no answer is a definite warning sign. Everyone makes tough decisions, regardless of their position. My daughter worked part-time as a server at a local restaurant and made difficult decisions all the time — like the best way to deal with a regular customer whose behavior constituted borderline harassment.

A good answer proves you can make a difficult analytical or reasoning-based decision — for example, wading through reams of data to determine the best solution to a problem.

A great answer proves you can make a difficult interpersonal decision, or better yet a difficult data-driven decision that includes interpersonal considerations and ramifications.

Making decisions based on data is important, but almost every decision has an impact on people as well. The best candidates naturally weigh all sides of an issue, not just the business or human side exclusively.

Company Questions To Ask The Interviewer

• What do you like best about working at the company?
• Are there any challenges to working at this company you think I should know about?
• Can you please describe the company culture in more detail?
• What is the dynamic like between the companys board of directorsStaggered BoardA staggered board of directors, also known as a classified board, refers to a board that consists of different classes of directors. In a staggered board of, shareholders, executives, and employees?
• Can you please share some information about the companys financial position and performance
• What type of people typically succeed at this company?

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What Cause Are You Passionate About

What cause are you passionate about, and how do you take action on it?

We want to understand if the candidate is not only a role fit but if theyre a culture fit. As a social enterprise, were not for profit, but for a purpose therefore, if they arent actively passionate about a specific cause, then they will lack the motivation of our bottom line. You can have the strongest salesperson or the most detail-orientated operations manager, but if you dont find the right culture fit, then we know that they wont be interested in going the extra mile.

Lauren Ott, Chief Kits Officer: Kits for a Cause

Bonus Interview Questions To Ask

• How long is the average tenure of an employee?
• Where would the company like to be in five years?
• Am I going to be a mentor or will I be mentored?
• How will you judge my success? What will have happened six months from now that will demonstrate that I have met your expectations?
• This job sounds like something Id really like to dois there a fit here?
• Now that weve talked about my qualifications and the job, do you have any concerns about my being successful in this position?
• What is the next step in the hiring process?
• When can I expect to hear back?
• By when do you hope to make someone an offer?
• When is the anticipated starting date for this position?
• Whom should I reach out to if I have any further questions?

Use these questions to ask during an interview as prototypes for questions based on the particulars of the position for which you are being considered. Make them your own and polish them until their shine reflects on you. Asking questions like these is not for the faint of heart but, then again, neither is succeeding in a competitive job market.

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