Five Questions you SHOULD Ask on a Job Interview

When you're on a job interview, don't forget that you need to ask questions too!

If you just let the interviewer do all the asking you risk coming across as disinterested or unmotivated. What you ask can help set you apart. This is the theme of Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others; by Jerold Panas and Andrew Sobel.

“If you talk to recruiters and executives who are actively hiring, they will tell you that there are three types of questions they get: no questions, bad questions, and—very rarely—memorable questions,” says Sobel.

Asking memorable questions may help give you an edge over the other candidates. Just what is a memorable question? Here are five that come to us from of Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and
Influence Others:

1. Credibility-building questions: “As I think back to my experience
in managing large sales forces, I’ve found there are typically three barriers
to breakthrough sales performance: coordination of the sales function with
marketing and manufacturing, customer selection, and product quality. In your
case, do you think any of these factors are holding back your sales growth?
What do you believe are your own greatest opportunities for increasing sales
effectiveness?”

2. Passion questions: “What do you love most about working here?”

3. Value-added advice questions: “Have you considered creating an
online platform for your top account executives, so that they can share success
stories and collaborate better around key client opportunities? We implemented
such a concept a year ago, and it’s been very successful.”

4. Organizational culture questions: “What are the most common
reasons why new hires don’t work out here?” or “What kinds of people really
thrive in your organization?”

5. Decision-making questions: “If you were to arrive at two final
candidates with equal experience and skills, how would you choose one over the
other?”

Use your discretion when interviewing to select the questions that you think are the most pertinent AND that will impress your interviewer and NOT distress your interviewer. It is OK to make them think, it may NOT be OK to make them squirm. You need to assess the situation and ask accordingly. The right question from you could lead to the job offer you have been waiting for.

If you have a question about the human side of the workplace,
just Ask Margaret by sending your questions to Ask@MargaretMeloni.com.