What Are The Three Traits Your Top Performers Have In Common
Great candidates also want to be great employees. They know every organization is different — and so are the key qualities of top performers in those organizations. Maybe your top performers work longer hours. Maybe creativity is more important than methodology. Maybe constantly landing new customers in new markets is more important than building long-term customer relationships. Maybe the key is a willingness to spend the same amount of time educating an entry-level customer as helping an enthusiast who wants high-end equipment.
Great candidates want to know, because 1) they want to know if they will fit in, and 2) if they do fit in, they want to know how they can be a top performer.
Why Are You Looking For A New Job
The answer the candidate gives to this manager interview question helps you evaluate whether he or she would fit in well with your company culture.
Listen for answers that express a desire for roles that are more challenging and opportunities to satisfy work-related goals and passions.
If the candidate is leaving their current job because of issues that are common to every business, they might not be the right choice for your company.
Best Questions To Ask An Employer In An Interview
Remember that each interview is unique and you will need to tailor your questions appropriately. You most likely do not need to ask all 18 questions but you will find there are other questions you should ask based on how the interview is going.
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Tell Me About The Last Time A Co
Conflict is inevitable when a company works hard to get things done. Mistakes happen. Sure, strengths come to the fore, but weaknesses also rear their heads. And that’s OK. No one is perfect.
But a person who tends to push the blame — and the responsibility for rectifying the situation — onto someone else is a candidate to avoid. Hiring managers would much rather choose candidates who focus not on blame but on addressing and fixing the problem.
Every business needs employees who willingly admit when they are wrong, step up to take ownership for fixing the problem, and, most important, learn from the experience.
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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What Do You Like Most About Working Here
This question can be a breath of fresh air to HR reps who primarily answer questions about benefits . Asking an HR employee what they like about the company tells them you care about the company’s culture and that you care about the opinion of someone whom you might not work with directly.
In other words, talking to people like people is always a good idea.
+ Questions To Ask In A Job Interview
Job interviews should feel like a conversation, with two people asking and answering questions. You should follow the lead of your interviewer and prioritize giving them information about yourself, but know that interviewers expect you to ask questions, too. When you do, it shows that you have enthusiasm for and genuine interest in the job.
In this quick video, Indeed recruiter Linda gives examples of questions you can ask your interviewer.
Your opportunity to ask these questions typically comes at the end of the interview. Its a chance to learn more about the company culture, the challenges and opportunities the organization is facing, and what being in this job is really like.
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‘is There Anything I’ve Said That Makes You Doubt I Would Be A Great Fit For This Position’
“If you can find the courage to put your interviewer on the spot, it can help you get a quick read on the situation, provide you with valuable feedback on your candidacy, and give you the opportunity to address any objections the hiring manager may have while you still have that person’s full attention,” Amanda Augustine, a career advice expert for TopResume, previously told Business Insider.
How Long Will The Interview Take
Once you know who and how many people youll meet with, you should have a vague idea of how long your interview will last. However, its better to have the company tell you than for you to guess.
For example, lets say youre meeting with 10 people. Thats a lot of interviewing! And, whether its a panel format or one-on-one format, youre going to be at the interview for a while. Having that information in advance helps you plan your day accordingly and prepare.
However, dont assume that just because youre meeting with one or two people means youll be in and out in an hour. Some interviewers like to ask a lot of questions or ask you to demonstrate your skills through problem-solving. Its better to ask the scheduler what to expect time-wise than make the wrong assumptions.
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Learn About The School
What does the school value? Get a more intimate picture of the school and district by asking a few of these questions:
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What are some of the challenges facing your school and/or district this year?
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What are some of the goals you have for the school and/or district this year?
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What do you think the schools greatest strengths are?
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Do you feel that there are areas in your school that need improvement?
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What type of school discipline plan do you have in place?
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What type of anti-bullying measures is this school taking? What about the district?
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Are there any major issues that the school is addressing this year?
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How does the school district stand out from other districts in the state?
Top 10 Interview Questions For Creatives
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What Date And Time Is It
This is a crucial step not only for in-person interviews but remote interviews, too. When youre doing a video interview , you and your interviewer may not be in the same time zone. Even if you are, the interviewer may operate on a different schedule because the companys main office is in a different time zone.
When youre confirming the date and time of a remote interview, make sure youre also confirming the time zone of the interview. That can be your time zone or theirs, but make sure you and the scheduler are clear on which time zone youre talking about.
How Do You Ask Great Questions To The Interviewer
The key is to ask questions that show the interviewer or hiring manager that you are the perfect candidate. How do you do this? By asking questions that highlight that you have the skills and abilities they have laid out in the job description. Decide what questions youre going to ask based on your analysis of the job description.
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Top 10 Finance Interview Questions To Ask Candidates
In finance graduate recruitment, there are several strategic interview questions to ask candidates in order to work out if they are the right fit.
Finance jobs often involve long hours, therefor it’s a good idea to find out whether the candidate is flexible and adaptable in their approach to work.
The candidate to should demonstrate an interest in financial markets, good knowledge of your company, and key competitors.
When deciding on the best finance interview questions to ask candidates, focus on those which will help you uncover their passion for finance, working style, and ambition.
Questions To Ask In An Interview: Final Thoughts
When you are thinking about questions to ask in an interview, remember that your goal is to appear like someone who has done their research on the company, is enthusiastic about the position, and eager to get started.
You dont want to raise any red flags or sow seeds of doubt or negativity about your qualifications or professionalism.
To help avoid this, when it comes to questions to ask in an interview, you should not ask about salary and benefits just yet.
Wait until you are in the final steps of the interview process to negotiate your compensation package with the hiring manager or HR representative.
Now that you are prepared with strong questions to ask in an interview, dont forget to practice aloud to help build confidence when the big day rolls around.
We are passionate about helping you ace your interview and land the job you have been dreaming of. This is why we created Big Interview, the best interview preparation system on the market, to offer job seekers like you expert advice and first-rate AI practice for job interviews. Join us at Big Interview and start preparing for your upcoming job interview today!
Pamela Skillings
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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.
What Attracted You To Apply For This Position
By asking this question you, as the interviewer, should be able to gauge if job seeker has an enthusiasm for the job opening or if they just applied blindly to the position.
You could also review the experience in their resume with the job opening and ask them how they would react to specific situations.
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What Are The Top 5 Questions To Ask
Well they should be different for each candidate depending on the situation, but here are 5 great ones:1. Can you tell me exactly what I would be expected to do if I was hired for this position?2. Can you walk me through a typical day here at Company X?3. Can you tell me what you love the most about working here?4. Is there anything else I can provide you with that would be helpful or questions I can answer?5. What are the next steps in the interview process?
What Are Good Questions To Ask At The End Of An Interview
20 smart questions to ask at the end of your next job interview What do you personally like most about working for this organisation? What do you find most challenging about working for this organisation? How would you describe your organisations culture? Can you tell me about the kind of supervision you provide?.
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What Behaviors Do The People Who Struggle Most On The Team Exhibit
Follow question #9 with this question, and you’ll show the hiring manager that you’re really trying to get a concrete idea of what to do and what not to do as an employee on the specific team you’re applying to join, says Fernandez. And while this question can make a manager uncomfortable, it’s impressive because it shows that the candidate is not afraid to ask tough questions.
How It Helps You
First, you’ll get an idea of what poor performance looks like, which will help you set expectations for the position. Second, you’ll learn how the hiring manager handles a tough question like this — which can teach you something about how office politics are handled in general.
Questions About Next Steps
10. Whats your timeline for next steps?
This is a basic logistics question, but its useful to ask because it gives you a benchmark for when you can expect to hear something back. Otherwise, in a few days youre likely to start agonizing about whether you should have heard back about the job by now and what it means that you havent, and obsessively checking your phone to see if the employer has tried to make contact. Its much better for your quality of life if you know that youre not likely to hear anything for two weeks or four weeks or that the hiring manager is leaving the country for a month and nothing will happen until shes back, or whatever the case might be.
Plus, asking this question makes it easy for you to check in with the employer if the timeline they give you comes and goes with no word. If they tell you that they plan to make a decision in two weeks and its been three weeks, you can reasonably email them and say something like, I know you were hoping to make a decision around this time, so I wanted to check in and see if you have an updated timeline you can share. Im really interested in the position and would love to talk more with you.
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Order Alison Greens book Ask a Manager: Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work here. Got a question for her? Email . Her advice column appears here every Tuesday.
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I Get Impatient When Projects Run Beyond The Deadline
While expressing outward stress or frustration over missed deadlines can be considered a weakness, employers value workers that place importance on deadlines and strive to keep projects within the planned timeline.
If youre using this as your job interview weakness, frame your answer to focus on how you appreciate work completed on time and ways youre improving your helping to improve processes to get work done more efficiently.
Example:My greatest weakness is that I get impatient when projects run past the deadline. Im a stickler for due dates and get uncomfortable when work is not completed on time. To avoid this, Ive started being more proactive and paying attention to how Im reacting to make sure Im being motivational and helping foster efficiency.
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