5 Things to Ask in a Job Interview
“Do you have any questions for me?”
This is typically the final question you will be asked in a job interview.
Ask the wrong questions and you might look like a bad fit. Ask no questions and you might look indifferent, inexperienced, or uneducated about the position.
Asking the right questions — aside from proving yourself to the hiring manager — is one of your best (and last) chances to determine whether the job and company are a good fit for you.
Here are five questions to get you started.
1. Why is the position vacant?
Jobs open up for a variety of reasons — some positive, some negative. Was the job created because the company is expanding? Was the previous person promoted? Or did he quit or get fired?
The employer’s answer will help you determine whether the job has strong room for growth or a high turnover rate.
2. What is a typical day like for this position?
Most job postings list the position’s responsibilities without saying how much time is allocated to each responsibility. You want to know this information for two reasons.
First, if your typical workday includes spending hours doing something you dislike, you may want to reconsider whether it’s the right job for you.
Second, by discovering which job functions are most important to the employer, you can tailor the remainder of your interview to those areas and include them in your interview follow-up.
3. How would you describe the company culture?
This is one of the single-most important questions to ask. The employer’s response will help you understand what it’s like working there day-to-day, what the company values, how colleagues interact with one another, and so on.
If you’re going to spend the majority of your waking hours on the job, you should make sure the company culture is a good fit.
4. What are the goals of the company over the next five years? How does this position and this department factor into those goals?
This question demonstrates your goal-oriented nature and suggests that you won’t job hop right away.
An informed response will give you insight into the organizational structure and how your position fits into it.
An uninformed response suggest the hiring manager is out of touch with the organization, the organization does a poor job communicating its goals to employees, or the organization is not thinking long-term. None of these are a good sign.
5. Do you like working here?
It’s unlikely the hiring manager will say “No,” but you can still infer a lot from his response.
A moment’s hesitation followed only by, “Uh… yeah… I do” might be a red flag. A smile and explanation of why he likes working there, on the other hand, signifies a more genuine response.
If you interview with multiple employees during your job interview, ask them each similar questions. This is particularly helpful when it comes to the subjective questions (e.g. “How would you describe the company culture?” and “Do you like working here?”).
Doing so will help you paint a more complete picture of the organization, which will help you make the best decision once you’re offered the job.
Your Turn
What are your go-to questions to ask the employer?
by ZipRecruiter
The first question I would probably ask my interviewer would be if they liked worming there. I would like to know how long they’ve been in business if I hadn’t already researched that. If I liked the company and thought there was lot of potential for growth I would ask if there was profit sharing for employees. With the information exchange going so fast these day over the Internet, I would have some kind of portfolio on the company and base some of my questions on what I find.
I like the question of “Do you like working here?” That would be a very beneficial question for me. I would not want to work in a company whose other employees do not look forward to coming in to work. That would throw up a red flag as to why they don’t like it, is it because of the other people, the boss, the clients?
My go-to question is “Could you offer me a brief tour?” This question, if accepted by the interviewer, will allow me to get a feel for the place. If I walk around and see dirty disorganized areas where people are supposed to be working, I would not be as inclined to accept the job if one was offered to me.
I like the fourth question best because if I know what the goals are, I can know what will be most important for me to work toward if I get the job. Question three sounds good, but every time so far that an employer has tried to answer that question for me, they have been dead wrong. I like to ask specific questions about what will be expected of me and what the benefits are of working for that place.
I think the best question is number 5. Do you like working here. My go to question would be “Are there growth opportunities within the company.”
The question I would ask is the first one ” Why is this position vacant?”. The reason I would ask this is because I believe it would help me get a better understanding of not only what kind of position it was but also how good the company is. I believe that if the person held the position for a long period of time then it was most likely a really good position.
Most of the time I am eager to learn and go as far as I can in a position/within the company. I am always interested in growth opportunities in a company. I have never asked an interviewer if they liked working at that particular company. I am going to have to try that next time.
I like the question “Why is the spot vacant” because I want to know who worked it before me, why they left (promotion, fired, lack of something, or found better job), usually the answer will come out of the interviewer at some point. I want to figure out how to be better than they were and learn the “what not to dos”. My go to question is the business goals. I want to know if this company is planning on being around for awhile and has room for growth within.
I always ask what the day is like there because I like to prepare myself for whatever I’m getting myself into. I’ve never thought about asking if he/she like their place of employment but I think I will next time I encounter an interview!
I have always asked about the turn over rate of the company I interview for but have never thought to ask about what the company’s goals were over the course of the next five or ten years. That is a very important question and I will be sure to ask it the next time I go to an interview.
I normally ask how soon they are looking for the position to be filled. I like the why is this position vacant question. I might not want that position if there is a good, significant reason why nobody wanted to stay in that position.
I like the question #2. Knowing what is expected of me, makes me more in control of the situation and I like to know how far I can go or what I can do. I hope that makes sense. The question #5 is iffy, because many times what somebody likes would be hateful to me and vice versa, so I wouldn’t trust their opinion very much.
i would ask why is this position vacant and get more information on that, I would hate to get a job and the person over me is unbearable! been there done that!