3?? 0?? Interview Questions *you can ask* that make you an outstanding candidate ??
Valeriia Litovchenko
People Projects Adviser @ Wise ?? || Project Manager ??? || Planning ?? ||HR& Recruitment ?? || Certified Career Coach??
One of the definitive qualities of an experienced candidate VS a rookie is their ability to ask questions.?
Why so, you may ask? ???
Well, the answer might be relatively simple: it signals to a recruiter/hiring manager/hiring team that your career is important to you, and you are also looking to take part in making this decision based on the additional information you gather in the process.?
Changing jobs is a big step, and it’s always a red flag when a candidate doesn’t seem to take it seriously. By asking the right questions from the right stakeholders, you become more informed, hence better equipped in the decision-making process.
Most importantly, by asking questions, you will be perceived as an enthusiastic person interested in the job you are interviewing for. Recruiters tend to remember such candidates better, too ??
In a very competitive job market, it’s important to increase your perceived value. Do your research: find out what matters the most to the hiring team. When you get an invitation to ask questions: ALWAYS ask them.?
???? Real-life example: at one of my previous workplaces, we had a really strong candidate for a managerial role in a final round with a hiring manager. This candidate had an incredibly relevant experience, positive references, and, all in all, was a highly likeable person.? But when this applicant was given the chance to ask questions, they didn’t have any prepared and just froze.?
Needless to say, this person didn’t get hired. The reasoning from the hiring team side was quite simple: the candidate didn’t ask any questions about the goals or how the team is set up; what are the critical issues they would need to work on in their first 30/60/90 days; how the performance will be measured; etc., etc.?
??To avoid looking like a rookie during your important interview, try listing the questions in advance.
Which questions you should ask? Let me walk you through it.?
?? Start by analyzing your stakeholder: would they be the ones who can answer this question, or is it better suited for other interview peers???
?? Don’t ask basic questions that can be easily answered by looking at the company’s website. This can make you look like a person who has not done their research and simply showed up to the interview at the last minute. Some examples I have heard quite often are below:?
?do you have an office??
?what is the address of your office?
?what is your product/what is your company doing?
?what are the job requirements for this role???
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?? Identify your goal and what purpose these questions will serve.?
Depending on the goal you have, the interview questions can be categorized as below:?
1. To learn more specific information about the job (7)
?? Pro tip: Please ensure you have already studied the job ad, and don’t ask questions that could have been easily answered by looking at the job specs. Make sure to address them to your future line manager to build a better connection during the interview. Recruiters don’t always know all the day-to-day activities of each team.?
2. To understand how your success will be evaluated (5)
3. To get a better understanding of the team’s culture (6)
?? Pro tip: Check the company’s social media accounts and look up employees on LinkedIn. What do they share about working in the company and their team? You can get a lot of insights from your research that you can later validate using the below questions.
4. Interview questions about the interviewer? (6)
5. Great closing questions or questions about the next steps (6)
?? Pro tip: closing the interview is especially important for sales roles. If you don’t know how to close your interviewer, you won’t probably know how to close potential clients either. For non-sales roles, it’s equally important to make sure you know what the next steps are and you have an aligned plan to follow. It minimizes the risk of recruiters ghosting you.
And in the end....
When the interview comes to its logical end, don’t forget to thank the interviewer for their time and to align the next steps with them.
Make sure to remain open to any additional questions they might have and keep things positive ??
?? What questions have you always wanted to ask the interviewer but never did?
Leave your thoughts below! ?? ?? ??
Senior Manager of Customer Experience | Project Manager | Generated $100,000 For A Product Launch
2 年This was written so well. I can say I have used multiple of these questions in previous interviews and also with clients and it has helped tremendously. One thing I haven't asked is "Has your opinion about the company changed since you joined?" but I will definitely add it to the list now!
Thank you Valeriia for this amazing write-up! I wish I would have come across the interview questions prior applying. I can see the importance of all that you shared and I can see how applying your input truly helps to select people who are deeply engaged in the process of joining a new company. I have not applied your shared brilliance but from now on, I will do my best to apply your wisdom. I appreciate that you took the time to share your knowledge so that people like me have greater clarity on how to prepare to stand out. Thank you for bringing the obvious unknown to the magical known.
Customer Success Manager
2 年Great Share, Valeriia! I agree that you have to be prepared to ask questions during the interview because as much as you are being evaluated by a company, you are evaluating the company to ensure it is a good fit as well. Having a sample of questions ready is so beneficial. Also, make sure that you are listening and asking questions that come up during the live interview to show engagement! Thank you for continuously educating us!
Recruitment Lead @ Scoro | Global Recruitment | Digital Nomad
2 年I think it's also good if the interviewer says at the beginning (or in the invitation e-mail) what's the goal of this specific call/interview so that the candidate can prepare and ask relevant questions.? As Ilo also mentioned, many people do not have much experience with interviews, so they do not know what to expect from the different stages and what is suitable to ask.
Tech scale-up legal & ops
2 年A great read! I think it comes with experience - when applying for first important jobs young people tend to be intimidated and don’t dare to ask questions. I know as I interview a lot of young people. Therefore I try to keep the air more informal, share stories and try to relieve the tension to get people to open up. Situation stress plays a big role. Sometimes the good questions pop up later in people’s heads, so my tip is to always give people time to think about what we discussed and address the thoughts/concerns in next meetings or over email. If no questions appear at any point then that is a red flag indeed.