Questions to Ask at an Interview - Make Yourself Stand Out

If you know what questions to ask at interview(s) you can put yourself in good position to land a job in a leadership position - even if you don't end up with direct reports you still want to be seen as a leader. You can set yourself up very early on in your career if you demonstrate your expectation to lead people, either peers or subordinates. Any downside risk by demonstrating leadership qualities in a job interview is that you don't get the job - but don't let that sway you. If you show leadership talent in an interview by asking these three questions and don't ultimately end up getting the job as a result - you didn't want that job anyway because they wanted peons. You DO NOT ever want to be a peon.

Questions to Ask at Interview(s) - Three Questions to Get You Hired
By William G Shultz

Wonder what questions to ask at interview time? Yes, you heard right - you're the one looking for the job but you should be asking questions as well as answering them. You see one key to demonstrating your ability to be a top performer in a new company is to be able to quickly come to mutual understanding with other people in the organization. Communication - how you respond to questions as well as what questions you ask (and how you ask them) is how effective people get projects accomplished.

Whenever I am up for a job an looking to make a move in a company here are three things that I want to know, questions to ask at interview time. Please understand that my purpose in asking these questions is two-fold. First, I really am interested in learning what the answers to the questions are and gathering facts about the job and the company (and or department). Secondly - and I feel more importantly - I am firmly communicating my belief that I am qualified for senior position in the company to my peer group and that the interviewer should have confidence in me to get the job done.

The first of my questions to ask at interview(s) within the flow of the conversation is, "Whom will I supervise?" This has to be done early in the conversation to properly set the parameters of the interview on your terms. Even if you know the position is for a junior level position you want to communicate to the interviewer that you expect to lead teams and are someone to be counted on to act decisively.

Next thing I want to know (and communicate) is interest in the opinion of the interviewer. I will ask something like, "What makes you like working here, what makes you stay here?" You only want to ask this if they've indicated that they've been with the company at least a couple of years (this used to be a given but not anymore). Asking this question lets the interviewer know that you are interested in the opinions of others, and are willing to gather opinions to help gauge consensus in groups and teams.

The last of my questions to ask at interview(s) is, "What are the current challenges facing my department?" Again, this is demonstrating leadership, laying the foundation to taking ownership of the team's challenges and doing something about them. Some interviewers may be put off by this kind of aggressive can do attitude, but the good ones will be thrilled by it. If you've really done a good job selling yourself, these questions to ask at interview(s) may lead to an immediate second interview - an introduction to your prospective new boss. Ask the same questions again, phrased slightly differently and you should have the interview(s) aced.

Asking the right questions at the right times can make or break your interview. Be too rehearsed and you won't be prepared for the trick questions. Be too lax and your questions won't sync up with the interviewer's flow of conversation. If you can master the interview you'll be poised to get one of the top future jobs and create a great and secure future for yourself.

William G. Shultz

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