It’s not about me, it’s about you… the 20 questions you need to ask in a job interview
What’s an interview about? It sure feels like it’s about you, but it’s really not.
An interview is actually about how you can help your future boss and future employer succeed. It’s about finding out what their requirements and hopes are and matching up your background and experience with what they need.
Overlooking these basic facts about the interview is all too easy. There’s so much else going on in your work, your life, and in your job search, that you can forget to look at the interview from the interviewer’s point of view. And that’s a shame, because, after all, you need the interviewer to walk away from the interview thoroughly impressed.
With that in mind, I’ve done my twice-a-year update to my collection of “twenty best interview questions” below. My aim here is to arm you with easy-to-ask, revealing-to-answer questions for you to take with you into an interview.
When I ran these questions previously, commenter LBRZ wrote in and said:
| I have to thank you! I had an interview yesterday and it went great. When I asked about his leadership style and reward system his face lit up like a christmas tree.
After he answered the question “how can I help you receive your next promotion?”, he began to give me advice on how I should negotiate for a higher starting salary. |
And that’s exactly the point, Readers. By asking these questions, which focus on the needs, traits, and preferences of your future boss and future employer, you’re demonstrating that you are somebody who is genuinely interested in their well-being. And the more interest we show in others, the more commitment they show to aiding our cause.
And with that, here are my twenty best questions to ask your interviewer:
1. What’s the biggest change your group has gone through in the last year? Does your group feel like the recession is over and things are getting better, or are things still pretty bleak? What’s the plan to handle either scenario?
2. If I get the job, how do I earn a “gold star” on my performance review? What are the key accomplishments you’d like to see in this role over the next year?
3. What’s your (or my future boss’) leadership style?
4. About which competitor are you most worried?
5. How does sales / operations / technology / marketing / finance work around here? (I.e., groups other than the one you’re interviewing for.)
6. What type of people are successful here? What type of people are not?
7. What’s one thing that’s key to this company’s success that somebody from outside the company wouldn’t know about?
8. How did you get your start in this industry? Why do you stay?
9. What are your group’s best and worst working relationships with other groups in the company?
10. What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest worry these days?
11. What’s the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you?
12. These are tough economic times, and every position is precious when it comes to the budget. Why did you decide to hire somebody for this position instead of the many other roles / jobs you could have hired for? What about this position made you prioritize it over others?
13. What is your reward system? Is it a star system / team-oriented / equity-based / bonus-based / “attaboy!”-based? Why is that your reward system? What do you guys hope to get out of it, and what actually happens when you put it into practice? What are the positives and the negatives of your reward system? If you could change any one thing, what would it be?
14. What information is shared with the employees (revenues, costs, operating metrics)? Is this an “open book” shop, or do you play it closer to the vest? How is information shared? How do I get access to the information I need to be successful in this job?
15. If we are going to have a very successful the year after next in 2014, what will that look like? What will we have done over the next 12 months to make it successful? How does this position help achieve those goals?
16. How does the company / my future boss do performance reviews? How do I make the most of the performance review process to ensure that I’m doing the best I can for the company?
17. What is the rhythm to the work around here? Is there a time of year that it’s “all hands on deck” and we’re pulling all-nighters, or is it pretty consistent throughout the year? How about during the week / month? Is it pretty evenly spread throughout the week / month, or are there crunch days?
18. What type of industry / functional / skills-based experience and background are you looking for in the person who will fill this position? What would the “perfect” candidate look like? How do you assess my experience in comparison? What gaps do you see?
19. In my career, I’ve primarily enjoyed working with big / small / growing / independent / private / public / family-run companies. If that’s the case, how successful will I be at your firm?
20. Who are the heroes at your company? What characteristics do the people who are most celebrated have in common with each other? Conversely, what are the characteristics that are common to the promising people you hired, but who then flamed out and failed or left? As I’m considering whether or not I’d be successful here, how should I think about the experiences of the heroes and of the flame-outs?
I hope you find these questions useful in your interviews, Readers!
A final note. Previously, another commenter, “Lenore”, asked:
| Hi Marc. Awesome questions!
My question for you is…..how do you ask questions when you are meeting with more than one interviewer. I met with 3 to 4 interviewers, one at a time. I didn’t want to come off generic by asking each of them the same questions. I guess you can go by their role to determine what questions you are going to ask. Sometimes they are all top executives. I’m guessing there are enough questions to divide amongst them all. I had asked so many questions in an interview once, that I didn’t want to seem redundant. Do you think this is ok? |
To which I replied:
| Great question Lenore.
Three options: 1) Change the wording a little bit each time so you’re not asking the same question in the same way. 2) Mention that “You know, I already asked your colleague about this, and I’d love to hear your thoughts…” 3) Divide the list and ask different people different questions, as you suggested. Hope that helps! M |
OK, Readers, have a great week in the job search!
I’m rooting for you!
Hi Marc
These are great questions! I have a Skype interview tomorrow. Do you have some suggestions for success over Skype? Thanks
Good Morning, how to do answer a salary question without selling yourself short or over archiving?
GREAT LIST! Thanks for pulling it together!
Another great question I have used successfully when coaching my candidates going out on interviews is to have them interject about half-way through the interview (if the discussion has gone pretty positively so far), “were I to come onboard with your company, what would you want me to accomplish in the first 30-60-90 days?” I love this question because it makes the candidate come across like they truly see themselves in the position choose to use proactive language, and are thinking ahead”.
Great questions! I’m not a hiring manager, but I’m part of the technical team of interviewers. Almost EVERY one of these questions are highly applicable to my particular industry, and would truly give the interviewee a solid overview of how this company works, and whether it would be a good fit for their skills and work habits. Since some technical people don’t inteview well, this gives ME (as an interviewer) ideas of ways to “lead” the discussion to find out from my side if they are going to work in this company or not.
I’ve been on fiive interviews in one week and so far nothing. Any advice?
Marc,
A question that is important to me and usually gets a great response is:
What is the commitment you are looking for in this position? A year, 3, 5? It opens up for great follow ups about what they want to see accomplished in that time frame, the potential follow on positions, and it sets out clear expectations.
Colm
The #3 question on leadership/management style sealed the deal for me during a recent interview in Washington DC. My potential supervisor (I’ve since been hired!) answered the question without hesitation, making it crystal clear his hires know where they stand 24/7/365 – not simply during annual reviews. His candor (“my office door is almost always open”) and insights into how he motivates (has monthly contests where employee who can “name” the most members of the organization gets cash award) made me want to sign up on the spot. Great leadership is palpable!
Where would you go with these questions when you are having your initial interview with the recruiter as a set up for the company interview? Same questions or something different.
Wow…well stated.
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is
progress. Working together is success”
– Henry Ford
Marc,
For close to 3 years I have received mailings from you. There is nothing that has changed in that time. I was and still am without work. As from the begining I can not afford your fee to observe possible job oppurtuinities.
Tis the season!! Save yourself whatever time or expense it takes to continue sending me “mails”.
Merry Christmas and remove me from your list.
HO-HO-HOING.
KWB
Hi Mona! Download any necessary software (or updates) ahead of time and test the equipment out beforehand with a friend. Make sure you control your environment – consider lighting, sound, and so forth. Make sure your background is clutter-free. Treat it like a face-to-face interview: dress up as if you were going to the company’s office, be aware of your mannerisms and nervous ticks, and so forth. And don’t forget to smile – good luck tomorrow!
Hi Shirley – 5 interviews in one week is amazing! That means your resume and personal brand are working for you, so you’re already ahead of many others out there. Were these interviews all with one company, or did you interview for 5 different roles in different organizations? For the former, make sure you’re following up with each interviewer and personalizing the message to touch upon the information that is most relevant to that person. Here’s a great article to help you with that: http://ow.ly/fMuX2
For the latter, take some time to do a post-mortem on each interview. Did you feel prepared enough? Had you researched the company and prepared questions to ask those you met with? Did you get a good sense of the culture of the company during the interview and did it seem like a good fit? Were there any specific questions you think you could have handled differently or better? Did the interviewer dig into any part of your history or skill set that worried you? This article may help you prepare for the next interview: http://ow.ly/fMvs6
Best of luck!
Cary, if the recruiter is a corporate recruiter then you can probably use some of these questions (especially the ones that talk about the company culture) I just took another look at Marc’s questions and I think that almost all of these questions could be used for a corporate recruiter (with perhaps a few tweaks to how you word the questions). #s 5, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, and 20 would be the most natural to ask a corporate recruiter.
For a third-party recruiter (someone who works for a recruiting agency and has the company you’re interviewing for as a client),I think 6, 11, 18, and 19 are the easiest to modify and use. I like trying to find out about the unwritten requirements of the role when I speak with these types of recruiters. What skill sets or experience is the hiring manager most interested in? Was there a particular part of my background that you thought the company would like to know more about? Assuming you pass the initial screen, these answers will help you prepare for the next round of interviews with employees at the company.
I like………..NICE…………Great questions………..REGARDS……
A question I like to use is , What strategies are currently in place to attract more business and increase efficiency?
Hi Marc, one thing I always do before any interview is research the company. I want to know the ins and outs, type of industry, how they are viewed in the community (are they green, do they recycle etc). While doing research I will hi-lite key points like awards the company has received for conservation, community donations, etc. and whether they are ISO certified (these days a lot of companies are becoming ISO certified so it helps to know about the types of certifications).
I also look at an interview as a way for me to gain knowledge about the company to see if I would want to work for the company. In other words, I will ask the interviewer “What position do you hold and what do you like best about XYZ company?” In most cases, an executive will say it’s the greatest place to work etc…., but in some cases, you’ll have a person that won’t be as high up and they might say, “It’s a paycheck and I get good benefits!”. To me, this says that they aren’t really excited to come to work. They’re not challenged in what they do so they may be in a “dead end” spot and how they will progress within. On the other hand, if the interviewer says “I’ve been here 10 years, and each year it gets better. Not only are the benies good, but there’s communication within…….” this tells me this person is excited and I would be challenged and would probably have fun too.
A side note; I don’t look at an interview as I need this job, so I’m bringing my best. I go in with the attitude that I too am interviewing to see if I can see myself working for this company for long term in which case I would bring my best and with my research I have additional knowledge to show how interested I am. I tell people I know who get really nervous to look at the interviewer(s) as someone you’d talk with while out and about and trying to find out about the company they work for, what they do, if they enjoy working there or can’t wait to get a new job. With this attitude, the nerves tend to go away and the interview is a success; whether they take the job or not. Thanks. Scott.
Thanks Amanda! Very helpful…
This advice is amazing! Had I but known about these power questions, I would have been acing every interview I would walk into. Nevertheless, every interviewer is different. “When” do you ask these questions? Do you wait to be invited? Do you wait until after the interview is over? Do do start at the beginning? Do you interject when a topic to your “golden question” comes up? There must be times were asking these powerful questions makes the most sense. I think no one wants to get off track with a question that does not pertain to the questioning at hand, but I believe there is a equiette to interviewing that no one has mentioned. It would be enlightening to know how to use these questions instead of knowing what questions to use. Does any one have any advice on how they used these questions effectively? Thanks.
it is very difficult question to answer.
I have never been asked any questions the company this question.
Stop this shit i don’t need your help I know that I am doing. Don’t send me any message cute the crapes
My pleasure
A week ago I had an interview at a government agency for a post as a
webmaster. I was interviewed by 4 persons all at once. In preparation
for the interview I wrote some of the changes and recommendations I
would make to the current website and I also started implementing some
of these recommendations on my version of what i felt the website should
look it including changing the CMS that they were using. At the
interview on of the interviewers said that I was really confident, but
then they had interviews all day long. Did I do enough to get considered
for the job?
Good questions. In the past I have gone in to interviews with a pad to take down notes on some pre written out questions like these. Your questions have given me some new ideas. Do you think that this practice is viewed as unprofessional or more as being organized? Do you suggest this practice for interviews? Thanks in advance for your input!.
These questions really do work. In a recent experience I used a few of these and the conversation it inspired was fantastic. Beyond impressing the interviewer, it fostered conversation that gave me the kinds of information I needed to decide if I wanted to work for the company, the way the management staff thinks, and what the first couple years would be like. I used these in a group interview also and we ended up going very long with great discussion. They are very scalable.
Should i bring a notepad with questions written down or would that look unproffesional
Thank you Marc! This is an excellent article. It really zeros in on what an employer is looking for and you as the applicant will get great insight into what the company culture is and how you can contribute to the overall success of the company and yourself. I think that is what we should all aspire to. Again that you!
Matt, by all means bring a notebook. I always have a full list of questions and I mark them off as I go. You may find several are addressed through discussion and you can check them off during the conversation. You also may want to write down key points as they are responding, or jot down new questions that arise. My suggestion is to have more questions than you plan on asking. Frame at least some of your inquiries from the point of view of that person’s job title and above—this will position you as a strategic thinker, unafraid to ask the questions that the 99% will never broach from either fear or lack of forethought and will thus set you apart and get you that much closer to an offer.
Great post…. I always ask the same questions to each interviewer in a multi-interview situation… It gives you the opportunity to compare/contrast answers… And gain insights into the interviewers’ attitudes, outlooks, etc…
Thank you. do you any other advice
Another question: What are the department’s goals? and follow up: How does a team member contribute to these goals?
Marc, I used some of your questions in a job interview today. When I asked how to get a “gold star” on the evaluation, the interviewers faces lit up!” I contrast today’s interview with others I’ve been on where I didn’t have any meaningful questions at the end. This one was electric! I won’t know the results for a couple of days, but if they hire me I’ll owe you a drink! Thank you!
Congratulations and good luck!!
As a woman I do not have a problem negotiating salary because I have had so many different positions, I am usually aware of what it takes to do the job. The issue is when the company’s job requirements are generic. For example, Business Development Manager, this is ambiguous or Human Resources Manager. The level of responsibility is dependent on the size,resources, and technology. Most interviews do not give you this level of detail so the person may under negotiate based on the available information. Also, in today’s economy people just want to work, so they are willing to take a salary cut to have employment. Without being bias, I find most men are willing to lie about their skills and abilities than women.
I’m impressed with hiring managers who had the “hire the attitude, teach the skills” mentality and not those that are looking for word for word match in their JDs vs the candidate resume. Is it appropriate to ask what;s their hiring philosophy?
Actually, that is a great question.