Questions to ask

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Discussion

firemunki

Original Poster:

361 posts

130 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
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When being interviewed there is normally a bit of time for you to question the interviewer, what key questions would you be asking?
For 1st/2nd line support roles.

Got an idea of what to ask but there are people here who will have interviewed folks like me so interested in what they think, that and any tips!

mike9009

6,918 posts

242 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
quotequote all
I am not sure whether my advice is correct or not, but I recently asked about these subjects at an interview. I suspect I asked a few too many questions though (?), but the rapport was good with the interviewer so it felt right.

1) Pension provision plus other benefits offered?
2) What professional/ vocational training would be provided/ supported?
3) Financial position of the company (primarily cash flow)? This was not answered directly with a figure, but they gave broad brush guidelines.
4) Future orders, development of the company, growth plans, expansion, buyouts, competitor activity, customer retention/ relations?

When I moved companies recently (having spent 15 years in a fairly senior, secure role) I was worried that the longevity/ stability of the new company (formed in 2000, heavy reliance on one customer and rapid growth for the last four years.) I think the interviewer took the questions well and the questions definitely gave the impression I was in the job for the long term (which I am) - and I think they wanted some stability in the role I applied for.....

It is worthwhile thinking about the questions and tailoring them for a particular role.

HTH

Mike

PS I was offered and accepted the job!

Edited by mike9009 on Tuesday 14th April 22:23

rog007

5,748 posts

223 months

Saturday 18th April 2015
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There is potentially lots to cover under this subject, but one quick bit of feedback comes to mind; don't ask a question that you could have found out the answer to prior to interview. I take a dim view of this when it (often) occurs as it demonstrates a lack of contact or research prior to interview. Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

Pit Pony

8,268 posts

120 months

Saturday 18th April 2015
quotequote all
Just before the launch of the Freelander 1, I had an interview at Land Rover, for a Tooling Engineering position, and asked about this new project I'd read about in an auto express expose. The interviewer told me that they did not have a new car in development, and I shouldn't believe everything I read in the motoring press.

I then asked about career progression, and was told that I'd have to wait until the tooling manager retired and the senior engineer in the team took his job, so that I could hopefully move into the senior engineering role.

The interview was in a Prefab/HUT near the Lode Lane Entrance and my application was transferred to the Rover Group Grad scheme due to lack of post grad experience in tooling design.

Some months later my Parents Bought a house about 300 yards away from there, and I went to work somewhere else.


F3RNY7

545 posts

163 months

Saturday 18th April 2015
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I've always made a point of not asking questions about money/benefits in these situations, and I've been offered around 90% of the jobs I've interviewed for in my life! I'm sure it doesn't really come down to that but it's not something I've ever done. You can always go back via the agency with that sort of question and/or make further enquiries on the offer of the job.

I've always used those question opportunities to ask questions that make a point of the fact that you're interested in development and see the job as a long term thing rather than a stepping stone (even if that's not the case).

Things like:

- What is the attitude towards training and development of employees?
- How often does the company seek to promote from within rather than recruit externally?

Other fairly standard things that I normally ask are:

- How long have you been at the company and what do you enjoy most about your role?
- How many people are you seeing for the position and what sort of timescale do you expect to conclude in?
- What words would employees use to describe the culture of the organisation?

As someone else said - make a point of not asking things that you could have found out yourself, and demonstrate that you've done some research by name dropping facts and figures that you could only have found out from their website/literature

Kiltie

7,504 posts

245 months

Saturday 18th April 2015
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I interviewed someone recently and they asked me two questions I thought were really good.

First, they asked me what I reckoned the biggest challenges were they were likely to have in the role.

Second was to my colleague - who would ultimately be their supervisor if they were successful. She asked him what he liked best about working in his job and in the company.

NDA

21,490 posts

224 months

Saturday 18th April 2015
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F3RNY7 said:
I've always made a point of not asking questions about money/benefits in these situations, and I've been offered around 90% of the jobs I've interviewed for in my life! I'm sure it doesn't really come down to that but it's not something I've ever done. You can always go back via the agency with that sort of question and/or make further enquiries on the offer of the job.

I've always used those question opportunities to ask questions that make a point of the fact that you're interested in development and see the job as a long term thing rather than a stepping stone (even if that's not the case).

Things like:

- What is the attitude towards training and development of employees?
- How often does the company seek to promote from within rather than recruit externally?

Other fairly standard things that I normally ask are:

- How long have you been at the company and what do you enjoy most about your role?
- How many people are you seeing for the position and what sort of timescale do you expect to conclude in?
- What words would employees use to describe the culture of the organisation?

As someone else said - make a point of not asking things that you could have found out yourself, and demonstrate that you've done some research by name dropping facts and figures that you could only have found out from their website/literature
I'd say this is the perfect advice.

I interview candidates a fair bit, and questions about holidays, equity, pay, benefits etc are never good.

Asking the interviewer about their role and maybe 'what does it take to be successful in my role/how is success measured?' All show someone who wants to learn and contribute.