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Job interviews help employers assess how well the candidates fit the role and the company’s culture. However, it’s also the opportunity for interviewees to evaluate their potential employers and decide if they would like to proceed should they get a job offer.
It’s important to remember that you shouldn’t decline the offer to ask questions in a job interview. Else, you will be missing out on a perfect opportunity to show that you have done your homework on the organisation and given a lot of thought to your potential role. By asking intelligent questions, you can create a powerful impression of your value on the interviewer.
Since hiring managers value an inquisitive mind and welcome an engaged conversation, asking the right questions shows that you have prepared for the open position carefully and are serious about grabbing the opportunity.
As a candidate about to appear in a job interview, if you are unsure about what questions to ask and what questions to steer clear of, we have got you covered. We bring you the top three do’s and don’ts related to asking questions in job interviews.
Ready to proceed? Let’s begin!
Top 3 Questions Candidates Should Ask in Job Interviews
1. What do you expect the new hires in this position to achieve in their first 1, 2, and 3 months?
Since hiring managers love inquisitive minds, asking about your job expectations and duties beyond the basic information that has already been shared with you or what your research has yielded can bring you some brownie points.
This question shows your interest in the open position beyond what you have been told as you are curious to know more. Questions about what the role will entail and what your employers expect you to deliver are always good as they indicate your interest and also give you the chance to decide (based on the answers you get) if the company or the job is right for you.
2. What’s the typical career trajectory for a person in this position?
Employers are always on the lookout for candidates who are interested in constantly learning and growing. Those who prefer to stick to the same position or role for years and don’t mind a stagnant career aren’t a good proposition for most employers, if not all.
By asking how the company supports its employees’ learning and career growth with specific emphasis on continuing education, training sessions, bootcamps, webinars, mentoring opportunities, etc., you can positively impact your potential employer’s perception of you as a candidate.
3. Could you let me know a few vital things about this company’s value, culture, and leadership philosophy?
Instead of asking predictable questions about a company’s value, culture, or leadership, you should mould the question to dig deeper into the employer brand. It’s likely that you have already done your research and know the basic elements of the company’s culture, value, and leadership philosophy. You can try to probe a bit deeper to show you are genuinely interested in learning more.
This way, you can assess if you will be a good fit based on whether these elements align with your values and way of working. Asking this question can even show your potential employers that you are much more than a mere paycheck.
Top 3 Questions Candidates Shouldn’t Ask in Job Interviews
1. What does this company do?
You should never ask for information you could have easily found with a quick online search. Asking what the company does or even what your role involves are cardinal sins in a job interview as they show you haven’t taken the time to conduct even minimum research on your potential employer, thus putting a big question mark on how serious you are about the new role.
2. Could you let me know about my pay, time off, and benefits?
Asking about the salary, vacation days, raise or promotion, or sick time is bad as it indicates you expect to land the job even though the interviewing process is still on and the interviewers are assessing other candidates. However, if your interviewers address the company’s salary for the position, time-off policy, and other matters, it’s okay for you to ask follow-up questions about them.
3. Who are the main competitors of this company?
Usually, an online search should give you the answer to this question. This makes it a bad choice to ask your interviewer because it may indicate your unpreparedness by not bothering to find out about the competition on your own. However, if you have searched and failed to find the answer, you could rephrase the question and ask something like “Though I searched online for other companies in the domain this company is in, I couldn’t find any. Would you mind telling me what businesses you consider to be this company’s direct competitors?”
Wrapping Up
When given the chance to ask questions in a job interview, you can use the opportunity to ask insightful questions to learn more about the company culture, work environment, success metrics, and your job duties. Knowing what questions to ask and what to avoid can help you play it right and show your potential employers your enthusiasm for the open role.
If you need help sailing through your executive job hunt by asking the right questions and avoiding the potential land mines, you can rely on us at InHunt World!
This article was written by InHunt World