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The daunting process of a job interview awaits you. You’ve received that phone call scheduling the upcoming interview. You’ve paced the room, bitten your nails, and played every possible scenario in your mind. You still can’t shake that nauseating feeling that you will flub the interview.
We’re here to help you win over the potential boss or coworker with a trusted guide of questions that will help you stand out in the hair-raising interview process.
1. How Long Have You Been With the Company?
As much as an interview reveals information about a potential position, it also shows information about the company’s hierarchical system and work ethic. Suppose an interviewer has been with a company for six months and is interviewing potential hires. That may indicate quick company growth or a high turnover rate. If a hiring manager has worked with the company for six years, that gives the impression that employees stay with the company for an extended time, indicating a healthy workplace.
2. What Characteristics Does Someone Who Succeeds in the Company Possess?
Someone looking for an easy job and quick money won’t ask what they need to do to succeed in a position. Asking this question illustrates a potential employee’s dedication to working and interest in becoming the best employee for the company. It demonstrates a potential employee’s eagerness to learn and become a helpful asset to the workforce.
3. What Advice Do You Have for a New Employee?
Jump into the interview with the mindset that the job is yours. You want to scope out every factor of the new position, including advice from the higher-ups. This question shows the interviewer’s dedication and willingness to be the best from the get-go. Learning what advice a manager or higher-up gives to a new employee may pave the way for other questions surrounding job requirements.
4. Are There Opportunities for Growth Within the Company?
Here is a question that benefits both interviewer and interviewee. For the interviewer, asking about growth opportunities identifies a potential employee’s commitment to the company if given the job. For the interviewee, learning about growth opportunities and career paths provides potential employees with more information about their proposed career path. If the company promises no growth, the interviewee might look elsewhere. On the other hand, when companies provide ample opportunity for growth, interviewees’ ears perk up, and their eyes widen.
5. Will I Receive Feedback on My Work?
Similar to “What characteristics does someone who succeeds in the company possess?” this question showcases a potential hire’s attitude toward the new job. Someone looking for a temporary stint won’t care about feedback, while someone in the market for a permanent career wants to know if their output benefits the company. Raising questions about feedback also highlights care toward the position and the company itself.
6. What Is the Company Team Like?
What is a productive company without a fruitful team? Posing this question emphasizes things for both the interviewer and the interviewee. The interviewer sees that the potential hire cares about team bonding and creating a safe environment where coworkers mingle effectively. The interviewer also sees that the potential employee views the job beyond a surface-level way to make money. For the interviewee, questions about teams relay information about the positivity or toxicity of a job. An interviewer working in a healthy environment will dive into team bonding stories and examples. In contrast, an interviewer at a toxic company will skirt around the question or avoid it.
7. What Are the Company’s Values?
Community building also relates to this question. Questioning the company’s values clarifies the interviewee’s interest in the company and how its values align with their own. To the interviewer, this question illustrates curiosity about building that tight-knit community prevalent in functional businesses.
8. What Do You Think the Company’s Future Looks Like?
Understanding a company’s trajectory takes a step back from analyzing a single position and paints the whole picture for a potential hire. With this specific question, the interviewer understands how their position fits into a larger picture, which shows the potential hire’s devotion to the position and the company. Learning more about the company’s future can set up heightened interest for the position, which will translate well to the interviewer.
9. How Does the Company Stick to Their Mission?
After asking about the company’s future/mission, plunge into the accountability department of said mission. This question demonstrates one’s accountability measures and highlights how seriously the potential hire treats their future position. With this question, the potential hire assumes responsibility and wants to become part of the team that holds the company accountable and helps it achieve its goals.
10. What Will My Day Look Like?
A prospective manager wants to find the most zealous, capable candidates for the job. How do you get their attention? Ask what the role entails to prove interest in the position. As the interviewer pores through the details, take a mental note of which skills you mentioned and why your skill set makes you the ideal fit for the position. Asking this question also spotlights responsibility.
11. How Can I Succeed?
An employer hopes to hire the best of the best. Someone who demonstrates a keen understanding of the job and a matched skill set. Someone who is an asset to the company and whose replacement is difficult to find. Hiring managers pay attention to reactions during the interview. A person who winces after hearing what it takes to succeed in the position doesn’t have the best chance of getting the job, as opposed to someone who grins and beams at the requirements for success.
12. What Challenges Will I Face?
All jobs have their fair share of challenges. Going into an interview with that knowledge puts you above other happy-go-lucky applicants. Knowing potential jobs pose risks and challenges makes you stand out to an interviewer because it shows determination to work to overcome obstacles. Exploring the challenges with a future boss demonstrates problem-solving skills that place you higher than other candidates.
13. What Are Some Challenges in the Company Right Now?
Don’t be afraid to ask about current issues within the company. If hired, you will need to deal with them, so ask about them before onboarding. The hiring manager will note the prospective hire’s brave attitude and want to bring that mindset to the team. Learning more about the issues that plague the company allows the potential hire to discuss potential problem-solving techniques and methods to fix the situation.
14. What Do You Expect From Me in the First 90 Days?
Before heading into an interview, create a mock 30-, 60-, or 90-day plan for what you hope to accomplish in the first three months of the job. During the interview, ask the interviewer what they envision you to complete in those first three months and compare answers. The hiring manager notices the care and thought you put into your plan prior to the interview and realizes how mindful you are of tasks. Additionally, the interviewer discerns your dedication to a long-term position.
15. How Do You Promote Work-Life Balance?
Work-life balance refers to a healthy equilibrium between home life with family and friends and work life in the metaphorical or physical office. Are you bringing work home with you? Are you able to take a break and spend time with your family? How significant is the overlap?
Asking an employer about work-life balance in a company displays an interest in maintaining a positive home life with a stable job. An employer who respects work-life balance should answer the question honestly and with regard to their employees’ home lives. A potential hire’s curiosity about the balance points to their needs outside of work, something many employees appreciate.
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