What Job Interview Question
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One of the easiest ways to interview success is to prepare a list of good interview questions to ask the interviewer. Asking thoughtful and well-researched questions during your job interview makes a great impression. You demonstrate your interest, initiative and strategic understanding of the position and the company.
Take advantage of the opportunity to ask focused job interview questions. Show that you are better prepared than the other candidates, use your questions to highlight your suitability for the job. Don't rely on the interviewer to ask you the "right" interview questions, take control of the discussion by asking the job interview question that you have researched and prepared.
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Plan interview questions that go beyond just exploring the routine details. Focus rather on aspects such as role expectations, job priorities, departmental and organizational strategy and needs, management style and expectations. Ask interview questions that show how hard you have thought about the position and the company. A key aspect of asking the right job interview question is good background research. Use your research to understand as much as possible about the organization and its situation, the position and its priorities. |
Then prepare questions to ask in the interview that demonstrate your knowledge and insight using the recommended examples in the table above to guide you.
Go to the recommended background research techniques to get advice on how to do the necessary research before your job interview.
The timing of your interview questions should be thought about. The interviewer will ask you at some point, "Do you have any questions for me?" You can wait for this opportunity to ask your planned questions or you can assess the situation as the interview progresses to decide when it is a good time to ask your question.
If the interview is not flowing smoothly asking an appropriate job interview question can improve the flow of the interview and help build rapport with the interviewer. If the interviewer doesn't directly ask you for your questions take the opportunity towards the end of the interview to offer your questions:
"Is this an appropriate point to ask you some questions I have?"
Interviewers want candidates to ask enough questions during the job interview to collect the necessary information to assess whether the position is right for them or not. Focused, open-ended questions help you come across as a resourceful candidate who is able to gather enough information to make a well-informed decision, an essential job competency.
Nothing frustrates an interviewer more than asking a candidate if they have any questions, only to be told,"No you have answered them all already." Not asking good questions during the job interview when given the opportunity is a big interview mistake, it indicates a lack of interest and initiative.
Good tips for asking a job interview question include:
- Ask open-ended questions. Closed questions that require just a "yes" or "no" response contribute little to the flow of the interview and provide minimal information
- Avoid interrupting the interviewer, make sure you are at an appropriate point for your question
- Only ask questions that are relevant to the job, department, management and organization
- Interview questions that appear to be challenging the interviewer or that require knowledge or information that the interviewer is unlikely to have create an uncomfortable atmosphere and impact negatively on attempts at establishing rapport
Go through the recommended interview questions to ask about the job itself, the management, the organization and, very importantly, what questions not to ask during the interview! Prepare your own list of about ten questions, review the list a number of times before your job interview and be prepared to impress!
Interviewers will typically ask a number of common job interview questions and answers. to assess the candidate's suitability for the job. Use the sample answers to help prepare your own interview answers to these typical questions.
If you have conducted informational interviews about this type of position and the industry, use the information you collected to help you prepare the questions to ask in your interview.
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