Blog Post: Be Prepared to ask the Interviewer Questions

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posted Monday, April 13, 2009 9:21 AM

by Randy Anderson, Jobing.com Community Relations - Portland

Following virtually every interview you’ll be asked, “What questions do you have for me?” Do you know what to ask? Do you know what not to ask? This is a critical time of the interview where you must perform. You have the opportunity to show you’ve thought about the job and what is important to you. Asking good questions can set you apart from other applicants. Asking bad questions can drop you from consideration. My suggestion is to have several written down and ready to ask prior to your interview. Even if the interviewer has already covered your questions you can still go through your list to show you were prepared. Mention to them what your questions were. Have the interviewer elaborate on a couple of them.

A few good questions to ask:
* Why do you like working here?
* What do successful people in your organization have in common?
* If I am successful, what are the opportunities for advancement and/or additional responsibility?
* What is the company culture like?
* What values does the organization hold most important?
* Why do customers do business with you instead of your competitors?
* Where do you see the business five years from now?
* Is there anything you’d change about the company?

Tags interview questions, job interview

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Community Comments

Lewis Skiles

Thursday, April 16, 2009 12:51 PM

Hey Randy, interesting post. I am always stumped when the interviewer asks for my questions. I will take your advice and prepare a few questions for him. Your lead in led me to believe you were going to suggest what not to ask. The obvious not to ask would be questions of a personal nature (did you pay for that hair cut?) or ones that would reflect badly on your work habits (does the boss mind if i am late a couple times a week?). I think it is important to be personable, but not to joke around too much. Your questions should be professional and show interest in the position.
just my $.02

Randy Bauder

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 2:09 PM

I think I recently did not get the nod because I failed to ask a cogent question...any question...I was sure I understod the job, the culture, and I was very anxious not to offend. But I did myself a disservice, because it thus appeared that I was not very interested. In fact, I was, and I have formulated the perfect questions, but a little bit too late. Your advice to be ready for the invitation to ask a question is well placed.

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