Asking Great Questions during a Job Interview As the interview draws to a close, the interviewers will almost certainly ask you: Do you have any questions for us? Interviewers often judge candidates on the nature of the questions that you ask. For example, asking about the hours and the number of annual leave days you're entitled to can give them the impression that you are a bit of a slacker, interested only in how little work you can get away with. Or asking about the pay and benefits can make you sound greedy. In this part, I cover how to research great questions that not only impress the interviewers, but also help you to decide whether this is an organization that you'd actually want to work for. Never ever say that you have no questions. Saying that you have nothing to ask is a very poor response and signals to the interviewers that you aren't really that interested in the job. Preparing the Right Questions for the Right Interview. You really do need to do some research to prepare a good dozen or more questions for the interviewers. This way, even if the interviewers tell you a lot about the job and their company, you're still able to ask a few questions at the end of the interview. When asked if you have any questions, you may be tempted to say, No, because we've already covered all of my questions in the discussion so far. The problem is that – even if you're telling the truth – the interviewers may just decide that you simply had not prepared any questions. Stuck for questions to ask? If applying for a managerial role, consider asking questions such as:

Managerial role questions *What are the members of the team like? *Does the team have any issues that need sorting out? *Are there any people who are under-utilised? *Who are the key decision makers in the organization? *What sort of budget would I have for running the team? *What do you see as the main challenges facing the team at the moment? *What style of leadership is the team used to? *Are there any major milestones or deliverables that you expect the successful candidate to achieve? *What kind of development programmes do you have for managers? Questions for a part-time or job-share position *How do you see this position fitting in with the rest of the team? *Do you have any other people in a similar position at the moment? *How is the role working out for them? *How would I be expected to hand over work to the other job-share person and vice versa? Questions for a short-term contract position *Exactly how long is the contract? *What are the deliverables within this time frame?

*When do you hope for this project to start? *How likely is it that you may extend the contract or make it a full-time appointment? *Assuming everything goes well, are there any realistic opportunities to join your organization on a full-time basis? Always check that a question is relevant to the particular role that you're applying for. For example, Will I have a development budget? is not a sensible question for entry-level or junior positions with no responsibilities in this area. Whatever job you go for, always aim to ask at least three or four questions about the job to demonstrate that you're genuinely interested in being taken on. Other questions 1. Do You Have Any Hesitations about My Qualifications? A great question that really depicts you as a confident person it is. Even if your interviewers say NO, the look on their faces is the cue you need to get the right answer. With this question, you have one last chance to present yourself more hirable as you can easily tell them about your plans of improving on your qualifications if employed.

2. Who Previously Held This Position? Nobody wants to work in a company that fires staff every month. This question will easily let you know if the person previously occupying the position was fired or promoted. Even if the person was fired, at this moment it’s not your

business. Your business is to be employed. When employed you will definitely have the time to find out why the other person was fired and get clues on how to avoid such pitfalls. 3. What have You Enjoyed Most about Working Here? I will recommend this as the first question to be asked as this allows the interviewer to connect with you on a personal term. This inadvertently makes you feel more relaxed as the interviewer discusses what he/she relishes about the company. This will also give you an insight about how satisfied they are with their job. An interviewer who enjoys his job and what he does will hardly wait for you to finish before taking over from you but in a case he or she is unwilling to talk about it, the answer is already boldly written. There is no job satisfaction. 4. What Core Skills and Experience Would make me an Ideal Candidate? This is a two-way question that would simply make the interviewer state what they are looking for. If the interviewer mention something you didn’t cover yet, now is the time to wrap things up presenting yourself better. In other words, you have a live line to set things right if you previously didn’t do this. 5. What is the Next Step in the Process? There is no better way to wrap things up than asking this question. Even if you didn’t ask any other question, you MUST ask this. This simply show that you are interested in moving along with the process. You will also get to know if that is the only stage in the interview process and with luck on your side, you might simply hear “You are hired”

1. Is this a new position? If not, what happened to the person that held the position

before?

2. What kind of skills must the person they are trying to appoint have? 3.

The

culture

and

organization

background?

4. How many hours and days will you be working? "Does this job usually lead to other positions at the company?" "Tell me some of the skills that you want in a candidate for this position." "What are the people I'll be working with like?" "What do you like the most about this company and why?"

"How is this company doing in comparison with competitors?" "I know of products x and y, does the company plan to introduce any new products?" "What is the company doing to maintain its market strength?" "How many employees work for this company?"

"What has been the company's layoff history in recent years?" "Do you know of any anticipated cutbacks in any departments in the near future?" "What major problems has the company recently faced?" "What type of training do you provide here?"

"What do you like best about this company?" "What position title will I be reporting to?" "What other departments does this department work closely with?" "What kind of training should I expect?"

"How long is the training program?" "How did this position become available?" "Is a written job description available?" "Please describe a typical day for this position."

"How long has this position been available?" "How many candidates have you interviewed for this position?" "How many total candidates will you be interviewing for this position?" "Do you interview a large number of people before making an offer to a person, or do you make an offer to the first person who is qualified?"

"What type of hardware and software will I be working with?" "What will my workstation be like? Will it be an office, a cubicle, or a desk?" "What opportunities for advancement are available here?"