Job Interviewing Tips

Most candidates don’t know how to properly qualify a position that they are interested in. The most generic questions that candidates ask hiring managers when interviewing for a new position are: 1. What is the salary range for this position? 2. Can I work from home? 3. What are the primary tasks related to this position? All important questions, but in order to really get to the core of the position in question, you’ll need to be more thoughtful and strategic with your line of questioning. The heart of this issue is that most people have not been trained to ask good questions. They make decisions based on superficial questions & superficial answers that sound reasonable to them, not realizing that there is so much more to a career opportunity than the 3 questions mentioned above. I’ve outlined some thought-provoking questions that will help you make better career decisions: 1. Why is this position available? (Asking “why” is one of the most important questions you can ask in life). Don’t take anything at face value. Question the legitimacy of the position that you are applying for. 2. If you don’t fill this position, how will that impact your business 6 months to 1-year from now? If an employer cannot provide a credible business case for this position, then I would question the significance of the role and whether the position has support from the leadership team within the company. 3. What are some of the investments you’ve made in the growth plans you’ve outlined? “You say you want to be a market leader in the development of……, but what are some of the steps you have taken towards accomplishing this objective? What is your timeline for delivering this product/software to market? What happens if you don’t meet this deadline?” 4. How will your personal role be improved/impacted by filling this position? Again, dissect the relevance of this position to your immediate manager/team and to the organization. 5. Since I have to relocate for this position, how will the company support my relocation plans? Don’t always attach a $ sign to this. Is the company expecting you to figure out the move on your own or are they willing and able to provide ongoing personal support to you where necessary. I’ve seen many positions that have involved relocation fall by the wayside. Again, these are basic questions in theory that any reasonably minded hiring manager should have the answers for. If they don’t, question that, “Why don’t you have an answer to this question?” There is more to a career than money or whether you can work remotely. As a Recruiter, I can tell a lot about the quality of a candidate simply from the questions they ask me. I can’t tell you how many calls I’ve had with people who have told me that things didn’t work out the way it was advertised to them, or there was a significant change in the structure of the position that caused their layoff or forced them to resign. Things happen, but there’s a lot you can uncover by simply asking better questions. If you’d like to set up a personal coaching session on this, please reach out to me directly.