All your hard work is paying off.
You’ve defined your personal brand, created your resume and other career marketing materials, and otherwise prepared for job search. You’ve made networking connections and landed interviews.
Because you conducted industry and company research early on, you know what issues and challenges the industry and your target companies are facing right now.
You’re prepared to intelligently answer questions like “What do you know about our company?” and “Why do you want to work here?“.
Are you also prepared to ASK intelligent questions about the company and position yourself as someone extremely interested in the organization?
After all, the interview process is all about you and the company assessing each other for good fit. This is part of your due diligence. Now is the time to find out if this job and company are really right for you. It’s okay to bring a written list with you for reference.
Here are the kinds of questions you should be asking:
- What does your best-fit candidate look like?
- Why is the position open?
- What responsibilities in this job are really going to define success for this person?
- What skills and qualities will be most important in this position?
- If there’s a job description, may I see a copy of it?
- What will my first assignment be?
- What are the prospects for growth and advancement?
- [If this is a short-term consulting position] How long do you expect the project to last?
- Any major changes coming internally that I should know about?
- Where do you see this division/company in the next five years?
- How can I demonstrate that I’m a good fit for this position?
- What do you (the interviewer) like and not like about working here?
- [As things are wrapping up] What are the next steps? I’m very interested in this position, will you consider me for further interviews? When will I hear from you? May I touch base in a week to see how things are moving along?
Related posts:
How to be a LOSER in Executive Job Interviews
Storytelling Propels Executive Branding and Job Search
FREE E-Book on Successful Interviewing by recruiter Jeff Lipschultz
photo by Horia Varlan
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