When you attend your next job interview, there is a good chance you will be asked if you have any questions, and while it is vital that you give the right answers during the main part of your interview, it is also a good idea to make sure you are asking the right questions as well.
With so many candidates vying for every job, if you want to succeed then you need to be asking the right kind of questions; and these are the ones that are likely to make the interviewer sit up and take notice of you. You only get the one chance to make that first impression so make it count.
Job Role Responsibilities
Just as you want the interviewer to feel that you are the right candidate for the role you also want to make sure that the role is the right one for you. Ask what the day-to-day responsibilities of the job actually are.
Not only will this show an interest in the role it could gain you a valuable insight into what strengths and skills an employer might be looking for and could help you decide if this is a role you want.
What are the most important qualities you are looking for?
An employer is usually looking for an employee who will not just be able to cope with a role but who will excel, asking this vital question can often give you some valuable information that may not have been shared in the job description.
You should get a good idea of the companies culture and the expectations that they might have from their employees. This will certainly give you a good indication as to whether you will be a good fit or not.
What do you like best about working for this company?
Asking your interviewer for their personal opinion can give you a chance to really get to know what the company is like to work for. You might also get an insight into what the company culture is like for its employees as well.
What is the typical career path for this role?
If you can see yourself working for a company, but you also want to move your role forward over time, then it is worth seeing if the company’s visions for the future are similar to our own ideas.
Do the company promote from within, do they have plenty of opportunities for employees to be able to advance their career within the company or are they more likely to fill roles from externally. Whilst this question will show your interest in the possibility of remaining with the company and growing with them, be careful how you phrase it so that it does not come over as you expecting to be promoted.
What is the next step in your interview process?
If you are really interested in the role, then show it by asking how the company will be proceeding with the interview process.
This question will show just how keen you are to move to the next step.
Of course, it will offer you some valuable information about the timescale the company have in mind for any further rounds of interviews and ultimately for hiring the right candidate.
You could also ask about the possible start date for the position as part of this question.
These questions can be used to give you a good idea of the sort of questions you should ask in an interview, whether you have applied for the job yourself or through a creative events recruitment agency.
Remember that not all questions will work for each role you apply for, so fine tune them to make them work for you.