Need good questions to ask in an interview

[eks6426]

Awhile ago I posted about a possible job opportunity in San Diego. Well, the company called and they want to fly me out in the next couple of weeks. It's been 8 years since I seriously interviewed. So, does anyone have any good questions to ask in an interview? I need to be able to understand the job, the players and the politics of the organization because if I took the job it would be a major cross country move for myself and my family.

 

[sxn675]

Can you give us some more info? What level of position? Is it a start-up or a well-established company?

 

[qtiekiki]

Here''s a list of the questions that one of my recruiters gave me - it was for corporate sales positions. I don''t know what field you are in, but see if any would work for you.

• What has your career path been?
• What expectations do you have for the company in the next 5 years? 10 years?
• Could you please describe a typical day?
• What are my opportunities for advancement for someone that consistently exceeds expectations?
• What are your expectations of a new hire?
• What separates your top producer from everyone else?
• What is your company doing to gain market share?
• What goals do you have for the territory in the next 12 months? What do you think it will take to get the territory to those numbers?
• If you had to isolate 3 things that determines a persons success with your company what would those be?
• How has the company changed since you started?
• Who are your chief competitors?

 

[just_looking!]

Do you know if your position is a new one or whether it''s a replacement? If you are feeling keen you could ask why they left but that may not go down too well! You might be able to ask about the team you will be working with i.e. their experience. Will you be supervising anyone? You could ask about your responsibilities? Will you be mentored or mentoring someone more junior. Are you a member of any professional bodies - do they want you to join any?

Asking about the company''s aspirations for the next 5 years may give you an idea of any impacts to your job i.e. do they plan to move office etc.

Will your job involve entertaining clients? That may give you an idea of responsibilities and possible impacts on home life. Any opportunities for visiting other offices within the company? i.e. will you be travelling a lot?

Ask about the systems they use i.e. quality assurance / auditing / pc programs. This will give you hints about whether working from home is a possibility and also lead towards their information on their review system i.e. do you have an annual salary review or is it 6 monthly or do they do one when you ask for it!

You could also ask about career advancement to see if you''ll get any training or whether they will sponsor you for a qualification.

More information on the job will help!!

 

[moremoremore]

Yes. I''ve got one. What is the salary. It is so old fashioned to not ask. that is why you are there. To earn. Not to be friends. I think it is a natural question to ask...even on the first interview. best of luck!!!

 

[strmrdr]

Im not the best person to ask because I suck at em but one question that went over well that kind of suprised me that it did was:

If someone offered you the same job your doing now for $100 a week more than you make now with another company would you take it?

Btw the guy said yes .. I was offered the job and turned it down.
This was 15 years ago.
If the person hiring me wasnt happy enough to stay over $100 a week I didnt want to work there.

If there is more than one person doing the interview do not ask that question because it puts them in a bad spot in front of co-workers.

 

[moremoremore]

Oh boy....I''m going to veto that one strm

 

[Mara]

that Q wouldn''t work for me strm, because it''s not just about the money. what if the other company was a competitor but it was the #1 in the field/industry and the company he worked for was only #8. and he had been there for 10 years and wasn''t sure that the company could climb past #5 because they were ineffective at marketing or selling a product or managing their bottom line etc. working for the top competitor maybe worth more than the $100 a week. or maybe the other company has a better work environment. or maybe he''s just plain bored being there (i get bored typically at corporate jobs within a company in 2-3 years and feel the need to stretch the legs a bit).

the stupidest question i was ever asked in an interview was for netflix and it was the VP of marketing asking me to calculate 15% of 75 and to do it out loud so she would be able to ''hear me think''...

after that interview (she was a ballbuster!) i was like i don''t want to work for someone like that. they didn''t call me after that anyway (it was third round interview) so i guess she felt the same way.

ID the questions posed here all make great sense, i find that going in too prepared can make me too nervous...so i would say take a few of the greater or more natural questions in your mind but then let the interview also dictate where the conversation flows...with how comfortable you feel with the interviewers etc. some questions i end up asking of one person but not another depending on the vibe, etc. good luck gal!!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/18/2006 11:50:08 AM
Author: moremoremore
Oh boy....I''m going to veto that one strm

like i said I suck at em!
oh well if nothing else its an example of what not to ask!
The company went under about a year later so im glad I didnt take the job.

 

[f0rbidden]

Congrats on the interview! That''s awesome!! and good luck when the time comes!!

I assume you''re asking for questions YOU could ask your interviewer?

How about things like:

What is the philosophy of the company?
What are the company''s mission and goals?

Depending on the position you are interviewing for, you could ask about things like
the people you''ll be supervising..how they feel about someone being brought in for your position rather than someone inside being promoted..

you could ask about
if it''s a newly created position or an existing one - if an existing one, is the person who previously held the spot leaving? why? were they promoted within the company?

I recently moved from GA to CT for a new position - I''m lucky, I think..I love my job here and I love the people who own the company I work for. I hope you find as much happiness!!!

 

[eks6426]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas.

The position is a mid-level market research position for the newspaper in San Diego. So, it''s a large organization with lots of history, lots of red tape and I''m sure lots of political game playing.

 

[sxn675]

Okay, that helps.

I''d ask about access to research tools (you can reword that however it''s appropriate), best things and "opportunities for improvement" for the organization, the type of person they think would fit in the best (this will help you figure out the culture a bit), ask about where they see the organization going in the near and far term. I think that if it''s a replacement, it doesn''t hurt to ask why the person is leaving. If it''s a new job, you can ask what made them decide to create it. This will give you some insight into the organization as well. I wouldn''t ask about salary in the first interview. But, if they bring it up, then by all means, you should discuss it. If not, I like to wait for an offer and then negotiate from there. Good luck!

 

[selflove]

To add to what the others suggested:

Ask about employee turnover, that will give you an idea of the atmosphere. You might also want to ask about mergers and acquisitions on the horizon...wasn''t there a huge newspaper sale just last week? You don''t want to find your job eliminated in 9 or 18 months b/c of some big change on the horizon.

If you want to know about politics, ask directly. Don''t do it in a group interview or people won''t feel like they can open up. If you don''t want to appear so bold, ask about the working relationships between co-workers, ask your peers to describe their managers, and definitely ask why the last person left if it''s not a new position. Ask about how they socialize, do they go to lunch together, do they do anything special for birthdays...those kinds of questions will give you an idea if this is a "nice" place or whether it''s a place where everyone hates each other (and where they probably then hate their jobs). Ask how this business unit interacts with corporate HQ (if applicable). Is there a union? Ask about employee morale. Ask what motivates the employee population.

Don''t ask about salary on first interview. You probably already know the range anyways (I''d hope the recruiter for the newspaper would ask about your salary requirements right away, so as not to waste everyone''s time if you''re not on the same page). If you get to the second round of interviews, ask what is the typical range for annual raises and about bonuses.