To supplement your research, listed below are sample questions that may be asked during the interview. Avoid asking questions that begin with "is", "are", and "do". These questions lead to "yes" or "no" answers. Instead begin your questions with "who, what, when, where, why and how". The research you undertook earlier on the company should form a basis for some of your questions. The following questions are aimed at helping you prepare for the interview. Some questions may or may not be appropriate for your interviewing situation, so your own judgement under the circumstances will need to be relied upon.
There are a number of broad areas that you can comfortably ask about. These areas and related questions are:
ANTICIPATED JOB RESPONSIBILITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS
- If I were hired for this position, what duties would I be performing?
- What will be expected of me in this position?
- How does my job fit in with the mission statement of the company?
- How do you know when to hire additional staff?
- How much responsibility will I have?
- What will I be contributing to the organisation?
- How much travel is expected? Is relocation a possibility?
- What are the main objectives and responsibilities of the position?
- How does the company expect these objectives to be met?
- What obstacles are commonly encountered in reaching these objectives?
- What is the desired time frame for reaching the objectives?
- What resources are available from the company and what must be found elsewhere to reach the objectives?
- What are the most difficult aspects of this position?
- What projects would I be involved in within the first year?
- What freedom would I have in determining my own work objectives, deadlines, and methods of measurement?
- What responsibilities have the highest priority?
- How much time should be devoted to each area of responsibility?
- How might these responsibilities and priorities change?
WORK ENVIRONMENT
- What is the corporate culture like here?
- How would senior management describe the corporate culture and is it really like that at the lower levels?
- What were your personal experiences on this job?
- Will I be in a team, or in a group?
- What help is available to me when my methods fail?
- Is this a new position?
- Why did the other person leave?
- What is the company's management style?
- How many people work in this office/department?
- What is the typical working week? Is overtime expected?
- How high a priority is this department within the organisation?
QUALITY OF WORK
- What are the ethical and environmental philosophies of this company?
- What has been the history of staff turnover among employees in the department/division/company?
- What is this company's philosophy towards their employees?
- What is the relationship of this organisation to the local community?
PERSONALITY FACTORS
- What can I do with my education and training for your company?
- What personality traits are valued by this company?
- What would cause me to leave the company?
- What was the personality like of the last person to be fired from this company?
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
- Has the company thought of going in the direction of (a) going public, (b) going private, or (c) merging?
- What impact will the clean air legislation (or any other relevant current topic) have on the company?
- What impact did any recent service enhancement or marketing campaign have on the business?
- What do you see as the biggest areas of improvement within the company?
- What differentiates your company from your competition?
- Do you get repeat business from your customers?
- What plans does the company have for becoming more competitive in this industry?
- Describe the department's/company's growth in the next two years?
EMPLOYER TRENDS, HISTORY AND PROSPECTS
- Can you describe the owner/CEO to me? (Their personality often reveals a lot about the company philosophy).
- What significant changes has the company experienced in the past year?
- What are short- and long-term strategic directions of the company?
- What have been the recent successes and failures of the company?
- What is the company doing to evolve for success in this changing global economy?
- What are the company's goals for the future?
- What is the greatest challenge that the company/department faces in the next year?
- What is the biggest negative about your company?
- What makes your company better to work for than others?
- If being interviewed at a start-up company, ask about its: funding, projected revenue, growth and management.
- Are any acquisitions, divestitures, or proxy fights on the horizon?
MEASURES OF WORK PERFORMANCE AND PROMOTION PROSPECTS
- How would you describe the most successful employees in your company?
- Can I expect opportunities for advancement with the company, if I work hard to prove myself?
- If I do well, what will I be doing in five years?
- How will I be evaluated in my job, by whom and how often?
- What is the chain of command for this position?
- Where would my career progress after my first assignment?
- How does your company encourage their new recruits to keep pace with new technologies?
- What can I do within my first five years to help ensure my success within the company?
- What is a typical career path for someone in this area?
- What feedback has been given to your company by recent new hires?
- About how many individuals go through your training program each year?
INTEREST QUESTIONS
- Why do you want someone for this job?
- How many people have held this job in the past five years?
- Were they promoted or did they leave the company?
- Why isn't this position being filled from within the company?
- What are examples of the best results produced by people in this job?
- What do you wish you knew about the company before you started?
- Would you want your son/daughter/relative to work for this company too?
SUPERVISING OTHERS
When the position involves management of other employees, these questions may be appropriate:
- How much authority will I have in the day-to-day running of the department?
- Are there any difficult personalities amongst the staff that I'll be supervising?
- What will be the greatest challenge in the job?
- Who would I supervise?
- What are those employees' backgrounds?
- How do you feel about their performance?
- How does their pay compare with what they could earn elsewhere?
- What is the philosophy of the management team?
- May I see an organisational chart?
- To whom would I report?
- What is their/your management style?
- What are the company's strengths and weaknesses?
- What should be the relationship between superior and subordinate in this company?