Toughest and best part of an interview
- col-dan-shortridge
- March 6, 2023
- 464
“Do you have any questions for us?”
For some, this can be the most terrifying part of a job interview. If you’ve just spent a half-hour or longer deftly detailing your experience and outlining how you’d handle challenges, your brain may be a little mushy.
I once cheerfully said, “Nope, I don’t think so; I’m good,” and then kicked myself multiple times on the way out the door.
The question about questions is one of the most important points in a job interview. It’s your chance to get some details about the job that may make or break your decision. Remember you’re interviewing an employer as much as the employer is interviewing you.
But it’s also a golden opportunity to excite your interviewers and leave them with a very positive final impression of you — not by pitching yourself again, but by asking insightful questions. Don’t let that pass you by.
The scope and number of the questions you should ask depend on the time left in your appointment and the tone of the interview so far. Here are some guidelines and suggestions:
—Think ahead of time about the information you need to know: pay rate, scheduling, work flexibility, professional development, benefits, diversity and inclusion, and growth potential. Focus on the two to three items that are the most important.
—Write down exactly how you’re going to ask the questions, especially about pay. Some companies will respond negatively to salary questions, so the framing on that is especially important. And read the room. If you’re in an initial screening interview, it’s probably not the right time to get into details about training and benefits unless they volunteer it.
—Ask about a standard day or week in the life of the person in this position and how they will gauge success.
—If they haven’t mentioned the next steps or described the rest of the hiring process, this is your time to get that on the table.
If you only have time for one question, I haven’t seen anything better than the “magic question” favored by Alison Green, writer of the Ask a Manager blog (www.askamanager.org). It’s based on a question a job candidate asked her back in 2009:
“Thinking back to people who have been in this position previously, what differentiated the ones who were good from the ones who were really great?”
That gets you insight into how they operate and what they consider important — and tells the interviewer you’re interested in being a “really great” employee and a good fit. Of course, that doesn’t work if this is a new position, but you can easily adapt it to fit those circumstances.
Career Stories columnist Dan Shortridge is a nationally certified resume writer, marketing consultant and author. Email him and submit questions for future columns at resultsresumes.org.