7 Questions you MUST ASK in your job interview

One of the top reasons given for not hiring a job candidate is that they didn’t ask enough (or any) questions in the job interview. This is absolutely crucial for so many reasons:

• It demonstrates an interest in the position and company,
• It engages the interviewer, and
• Basic psychology says that if you can get the other person to talk about themselves they will end up liking you more.

Given that, I have composed a list of seven questions that you should ask in every job interview:

What is the biggest difficulty that others have had in this position?
This will give you an idea of the company’s pain point at this position – use this to your advantage during follow-up interviews (or a thank-you letter if this will be the only interview).

What are the top three priorities that you would like to see accomplished by someone in this position?
If you don’t know what the main objectives of the position are then you don’t really know if the position is a fit for you. Asking this question will demonstrate that you really want to find out if the position is a good fit…which will separate you from those that are just looking for any short-term job to pay the bills.

What are the advancement opportunities for a person who is successful in this position?
This demonstrates that you are ambitious and focused on long-term growth within the company. It’s also good information for you to know to make sure that the company is a fit for your short and long-term objectives for your career.

What are this company’s short-term goals?
What are this company’s long-term goals?
These questions not only demonstrate an interest in the company, but also will help you decide if the company is a good fit for you.

What do you see as the biggest challenges in meeting these goals?
This demonstrates that you are a problem solver. The first step in problem solving is to identify the main challenge. Unless you’re interviewing with Google, the company will definitely have problems and challenges.

I noticed on your website that your mission statement is (summarize company’s mission); how is this mission statement significant in today’s economy?
No hiring manager got to where they’re at without being passionate about the company’s mission statement. Get the interviewer to open up and talk about something that they are passionate about, and you will have them instantly engaged for the rest of the interview. In addition, there’s a story behind every mission statement, so it’s always good to hear this from the managers that truly believe in it.

Obviously feel free to alter these accordingly. Also, this may sound obvious, but add questions that come to mind based on their answers. This shows active listening and will turn the experience into more of a conversation than an interview. If you have a bigger problem answering questions than asking them, then make sure to check out 3 words that will help you answer any job interview question.

Do you have a story about a question that you asked in a job interview that you wish you hadn’t? Please leave a comment below with your story.

Kris Alban
iGrad – Resources for life after college