What to ask during the interview?

Remember that an interview is, in the first hand, a dialogue – do not forget about this when you feel the interview turns into an interrogation. Your potential employer asks you questions to get an understanding whether you fit the company and team. In response, you should be also prepared to ask questions that will help you understand whether this is really THE RIGHT job for you.

It is important to ask right questions to your potential colleagues. They should proceed from what you would like to learn in order to assess the position and the company in full. This means that the questions should be well thought over long in advance. The best choice is to ask focused open questions that cannot be answered “yes” or “no”.

Given below are eight tips of how to build a dialogue correctly:

QUESTION # 1. How do everyday activities look like in this position?

Annie Dillard once wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives”. Success and happiness at the workplace are commonly brought to the idea of what we devote most time during a day to and the targets set to us. For you, this question may be a good chance to assess in a qualitative manner whether this job is of interest to you and whether your skills fit in with this function.

QUESTION # 2. What values are key for the company in your opinion? Which of them are you currently looking for in new team members?

You should surely seek for information about the company’s culture in the Internet, but it is also cool to ask for an opinion of employees. This way, you will be able to understand basic principles the company operates by and whether you will feel comfortable working in such a culture.

QUESTION # 3. What do you personally like most in your work?

Why not get some insights from the people working in the company? This is a good way to understand what drivers they have.

QUESTION # 4. What are you going to assess in a person’s work in this position?

It is important to understand personally what the company is going to pay attention to and expect from you, and what KPIs and tasks are going to be considered.
 

QUESTION # 5. Does this position offer opportunities for professional growth and development? If yes – how do they look like?

This question will help you understand whether the company provides a possibility to grow and whether it has educational programs. It is possible that you will hear stories from interviewers about their careers with the company.

QUESTION # 6. Who am I going to come in contact with most frequently at the workplace?

With the help of this question, you will be able to understand better the dynamics of who you are going to work with more, who will delegate tasks to you, from how many people you will receive them, or whether the team is going to change, etc.
 

QUESTION # 7. What do you think will be the biggest challenge for me at this work?

Firstly, this is a good opportunity to understand what difficulties you are going to encounter or whether you would like to strive against them. And, the most important, you will have a possibility to convince an interviewer that you are able to do this.

QUESTION # 8. What great possibilities and challenges do you believe are awaiting the company/department/industry in the foreseeable future?

You may not only discover for yourself insights and trends, but also demonstrate your desire to learn what the team is going to do in the nearest years. On the other hand, you will get to know some negative trends and problems in the industry, which will help you build a holistic view and give the idea, “Am I ready for this?”.

And certainly do not forget to ask what other things to expect in the course of selection – additional tests, tasks, or meetings you have to be prepared for. This information will help you plan your time better.