Interviews are a moment in your job search where you have the opportunity to change your future. It’s a crossroads where you can leave with an offer in hand or the feeling that you did not perform at your best. Given that there is so much at stake during an interview, it’s important to prepare for the occasion as much as possible. Most candidates know to do their research about the company, practice their answers to common interview questions, and get their interview attire ready for the big day.
But you should also prepare a list of questions that you will ask the interviewer during the meeting. Asking questions is so essential at this stage that if you don’t have any strong ones prepared, hiring managers might think you’re not that interested in learning more about the opportunity. Hardly an impressive statement.
Here are a few example questions that will help impress your interviewee and win you the job offer.
Question 1: How do you measure success?
Defining what success looks like prior to accepting a position is important because it makes employers think about and share how they will be evaluating you on a day-to-day basis. If you know what mark you are being measured against, you will be that much more likely to succeed. By asking this question, you are showing that it is important that you meet the employers’ needs and address their pain points, not just cashing a paycheck. Keep your measurements in mind when discussing this with your interviewer, because if they don’t have a strong answer, it may mean difficulty pleasing them further down the line.
Question 2: What personalities work well here?
Again, this question allows candidates the chance to impress interviewers by showing their understanding of how different personalities mesh in a team environment. Every group is different, of course, but understanding and communicating how your personality would fit in with the team will help your prospective employer imagine how you would fit in as well. If you identify a personality clash early on, you can also take steps toward addressing that issue before it becomes a problem. It truly takes all sorts to make the leaps that drive success in the business world. But identifying any personality-based roadblocks early on will give you a leg up in the early days and impress your hiring manager with your people skills in the interview stage as well.
Question 3: Who will I work closely with?
Hiring is often a team effort. Rarely is the success of a candidate fully dependent on their ability to meet the needs of the job in terms of skill and expertise alone. Getting the chance to connect with team members in the hiring stage will also help set success early in the contract. If you cannot meet them in person, simply learning about them and their roles will help give you a better understanding of the opportunity and therefore be better able to sell your skills and experience to get the chance to work with these people.
Question 4: What Is a Typical Day Like on the Job?
We recommend candidates ask this to get a really good idea of what a job will be like. This helps open the conversation between you and an employer about the role’s responsibilities, what the schedule will likely be, how the team culture impacts the day-to-day work environment, and many other issues that matter at the end of the day. Even if you don’t know what answer you’re looking for, it’s worth exploring what your interviewer thinks the typical day for someone in this role will be. If it’s clear it’s not for you, now is the time you’ll find out.
Question 5: Do you have any reservations about my qualifications for this role?
Some might consider this too forward of a question, but it’s a great way to convince them how qualified you are. If there are any questions or hesitations, this question brings them to light and gives you a fighting chance to address them. Otherwise, you might never even know.
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Looking for a great new contract opportunity to kick the year off, right? Connect with the Williams’ recruiting team today. We’ll help you find the job opportunities that you’re looking for.
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