We love keeping our promises! In our last blog, you were promised a list of important starter-questions you should ask in an interview, and voila! Read on to finish your interview strong.
Remember, the material below is to get you started. As the next steps, while choosing your questions and elaborating on them, customize it to your need and the company you are looking to join, and ask yourself:
• Why do you want to know the answer to these questions?
• How would you benefit from them? and
• How do these questions sound to the person across the table? In other words, how does it demonstrate to them that you are giving this opportunity serious thought!
To come across as prepared, intelligent and thoughtful, always be on your feet, take mental notes throughout the interview and be prepared to switch gears when required to cater to the situation, as the question you may have for them might have already been answered during the interview.
--------------------------------------------------
Work related questions – It’s mandated that you have at least a few of these questions. This will give you greater insight into what you can expect at this job and more, both in the short term and the long term:
-What does a typical day in my role look like?
-What are the short term and long term projects I will be working on?
-What attributes do your team see as most valuable to succeed in this position?
-What are some known challenges that someone in this position would face?
-Is this a new headcount or a backfill? If it is a backfill, why did the previous person leave this job?
-What are my role’s key goals?
-Do you foresee my core job changing in the next one year?
-I’d like to understand from your perspective, why you see the need for this role in your organization. Is there a current issue/gap you are trying to solve?
Seeking information about your immediate team – These questions would help you get a better idea of the team members you may work with daily and gauge whether the team is the right fit for you. These are especially vital to know if you are expected to lead a team down the line.
-I would love to know more about the team I will be directly working with. Could you tell me a bit more about the team?
-Who will I be collaborating with closely?
-What teams do I/does my team collaborate with closely and why? Is this a cross-department role?
-Could you tell me more about the hiring manager?
-What are some of the biggest strengths of hiring team I would be working with?
-What are some of the biggest challenges this team faces today?
-Would you be expanding this team anytime soon?
-What career paths have ex-team mates chosen over the years?
Training and on-the-job learning facilities – These questions should help you foresee how this job/company will help you ramp up, be successful in the current role and get to the next levels in your career.
-Is there a formal training to ramp up for this role? If yes, what would they be and for how long?
-Would I be assigned a personal mentor (same as or apart from my hiring manager)?
-(If this is a backfill) Would the last person who held this position be involved in transferring their knowledge and skills to their successor?
-Are job trainings continuous and evolving throughout one’s tenure in the job? If yes, what do they involve (funding for external courses/internal courses/ access to learning resources etc.)
-Do you provide opportunities for advancement through education sponsorships?
-Do your employees get opportunities to represent the company in external platforms to gain experience?
-What does the career path look like in this role/company?
Performance expectations – Ask these questions to get an idea of what deliverables are expected from you. This can help you strategize to either reset expectations or align with them.
-What would you like the candidate to achieve in the first 30, 60 and 90 days.
-What does the employee performance review process look like? To elaborate: What are the key metrics and goals used to evaluate one’s performance in the company?
-How often do employees get formally reviewed?
-What are the expectations to perform at the next level in my role (This question shows you are thinking of long-term success already)?
-What does career growth look like in this role/company? (can fit here or in the previous section)
The Work Environment – The following questions help you understand the nature of the work environment, the cultural fit, value placed on you by the company and more.
-Could you please tell me about the company culture in general (hierarchical/transparent/flat/friendly/work-life balance/open/young/nimble)?
-Does the company focus strongly on collaboration or independence at work?
-Does your company host team events/off-sites? If yes, how often and what kinds of events?
-Do you have office traditions/formalities?
-What do you/teams usually do during lunch hours? (a bit too specific, but valid)
-Does the company jointly collaborate with other companies/institutions for external events?
-Have you seen the culture change over the years? If yes, how?
-What do you foresee as the biggest culture challenge for the company?
-Are there any unwritten rules?
-What would be your ideal company culture?
-How would you describe your team’s personality?
About the Interviewer! Help yourself build a great connection with the person across the table, and get an understanding about why they work at the company and how they got there. It shows you are interested in the person and are seeking for inspiration as well.
-How long have you been with the organization? Why did you join it? Would love to know a bit about your background.
-How has your role changed since you joined?
-How has the organization changed you?
-What’s the one thing that motivates you most to come into work every day?
-What is the one thing you would change in this organization?
-What do you personally look for in a candidate?
About the company, itself – This will give you a good idea about the overall objectives of the larger organization and will help you align your goals and OKRs in the future.
-What is the biggest current focus of the company and how is our team aligned to/supporting the same?
-What is the next big focus of the company and why?
-Where do you see this company in the next few years?
-What excites you most about this company’s future?
-How has the company evolved in the recent years?
Closing questions - Before stepping out, make sure the interviewer has everything about you and you are certain of the next steps/expectations/timelines.
-Will you be conducting more interviews? What are the next steps in the interview process?
-Is there any other information I can provide you with that would be helpful in deciding?
-Do you have any final questions for me?
--------------------------------------------------
Having given this list, do keep the following caveats in mind:
- As mentioned, customize the queries based on your scenario.
- Ask only if they have not been clear on the answer
- Limit your questions to the top 3-5, depending on the amount of time left. You want to respect their time, and avoid bombarding them with too many queries. While there is no set number, as long as your questions are relevant and fall within the timeframe of the interview, you can ask away.
- A best practice, range your questions across the different topics listed above, so it’s not too heavy on one component.
- Ask questions that cannot be found elsewhere, by Googling it etc. Things that only the interviewer would know. Not only will it be a great opportunity to imbibe their thoughts and knowledge, but it shows you have done your homework too.
- Again, a reminder to ask questions that you genuinely are curious about/ need an answer to, in relation to taking this role up.
- One more thing, if you did not get a chance to ask that a burning question, that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with politely e-mailing her/him after the interview, or ask the HR point of contact :)
Stay tuned for our next blog to learn more about the flipside: questions that are better left unasked and why!
From the list of questions, what are the top 3 questions you would ask in an interview, and why? This exercise helps candidates give a dedicated thought to a vital interview component. Do let us know by replying to this mail! We would love to know!
Manish N Gaba
(Pic Courtesy – www.Pexels.com)
Copyright © 2016-to date by Career Ready Consultants LLP, All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2016-to date by Career Ready Consultants LLP, All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment