via eespie

Dommage, j'aurais aimé avoir ce genre d'article avant de changer... ce sera pour la prochaine :-)

The Job

First, make sure you have a handle on exactly what the day-to-day responsibilities of the job will be—both now and in the future.

1. What does a typical day look like?

2. What are the most immediate projects that need to be addressed?

3. Can you show me examples of projects I'd be working on?

4. What are the skills and experiences you’re looking for in an ideal candidate?

5. What attributes does someone need to have in order to be really successful in this position?

6. What types of skills is the team missing that you’re looking to fill with a new hire?

7. What are the biggest challenges that someone in this position would face?

8. What sort of budget would I be working with?

9. Is this a new role that has been created?

10. Do you expect the main responsibilities for this position to change in the next six months to a year?

Training and Professional Development

Think of each new job not just as a job, but as the next step on your path to career success. Will this position help you get there?

11. How will I be trained?

12. What training programs are available to your employees?

13. Are there opportunities for advancement or professional development?

14. Would I be able to represent the company at industry conferences?

15. Where is the last person who held this job moving on to?

16. Where have successful employees previously in this position progressed to?

Your Performance

Make sure you're setting yourself up for success by learning up front the goals of the position and how your work will be evaluated.

17. What are the most important things you’d like to see someone accomplish in the first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job?

18. What are the performance expectations of this position over the first 12 months?

19. What is the performance review process like here? How often would I be formally reviewed?

20. What metrics or goals will my performance be evaluated against?

Interviewer

Asking questions of the interviewer shows that you're interested in him or her as a person—and that's a great way to build rapport.

21. How long have you been with the company?

22. Has your role changed since you've been here?

23. What did you do before this?

24. Why did you come to this company?

25. What’s your favorite part about working here?

The Company

Because you're not just working for one boss or one department, you're working for the company as a whole.

26. I've read about the company's founding, but can you tell me more about ___?

27. Where do you see this company in the next few years?

28. What can you tell me about your new products or plans for growth?

29. What are the current goals that the company is focused on, and how does this team work to support hitting those goals?

30. What gets you most excited about the company's future?

The Team

The people you work with day in and day out can really make or break your work life. Ask some questions to uncover whether it's the right team for you.

31. Can you tell me about the team I’ll be working with?

32. Who will I work with most closely?

33. Who will I report to directly?

34. Can you tell me about my direct reports? What are their strengths and the team's biggest challenges?

35. Do you expect to hire more people in this department in the next six months?

36. Which other departments work most closely with this one?

37. What are the common career paths in this department?

The Culture

Is the office buttoned-up conservative or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of place? Learn the subtle, but oh-so-important, aspects of company culture.

38. What is the company and team culture like?

39. How would you describe the work environment here—is the work typically collaborative or more independent?

40. Can you tell me about the last team event you did together?

41. Is there a formal mission statement or company values? (Note: Make sure this isn't Google-able!)

42. What's your favorite office tradition?

43. What do you and the team usually do for lunch?

44. Does anyone on the team hang out outside the office?

45. Do you ever do joint events with other companies or departments?

46. What's different about working here than anywhere else you've worked?

47. How has the company changed since you joined?

Next Steps

Before you leave, make sure the interviewer has all of the information he or she needs and that you're clear on the next steps by asking these questions.

48. Is there anything that concerns you about my background being a fit for this role?

49. What are the next steps in the interview process?

50. Is there anything else I can provide you with that would be helpful?

51. Can I answer any final questions for you?

5 Questions Great Job Candidates Ask

Many of the questions potential new hires ask are throwaways. But not these.
Talent, Hires, Chairs

Getty

Be honest. Raise your hand if you feel the part of the job interview where you ask the candidate, "Do you have any questions for me?" is almost always a waste of time.

Thought so.

The problem is most candidates don't actually care about your answers; they just hope to make themselves look good by asking "smart" questions. To them, what they ask is more important than how you answer.

Great candidates ask questions they want answered because they're evaluating you, your company--and whether they really want to work for you.

Here are five questions great candidates ask:

What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?

Great candidates want to hit the ground running. They don't want to spend weeks or months "getting to know the organization."

They want to make a difference--right away.

What are the common attributes of your top performers?

Great candidates also want to be great long-term employees. Every organization is different, and so are the key qualities of top performers in those organizations.

Maybe your top performers work longer hours. Maybe creativity is more important than methodology. Maybe constantly landing new customers in new markets is more important than building long-term customer relationships. Maybe it's a willingness to spend the same amount of time educating an entry-level customer as helping an enthusiast who wants high-end equipment.

Great candidates want to know, because 1) they want to know if they fit, and 2) if they do fit, they want to be a top performer.

What are a few things that really drive results for the company?

Employees are investments, and every employee should generate a positive return on his or her salary. (Otherwise why are they on the payroll?)

In every job some activities make a bigger difference than others. You need your HR folks to fill job openings... but what you really want is for HR to find the right candidates because that results in higher retention rates, lower training costs, and better overall productivity.

You need your service techs to perform effective repairs... but what you really want is for those techs to identify ways to solve problems and provide other benefits--in short, to generate additional sales.

Great candidates want to know what truly makes a difference. They know helping the company succeed means they succeed as well.

What do employees do in their spare time?

Happy employees 1) like what they do and 2) like the people they work with.

Granted this is a tough question to answer. Unless the company is really small, all any interviewer can do is speak in generalities.

What's important is that the candidate wants to make sure they have a reasonable chance of fitting in--because great job candidates usually have options.

How do you plan to deal with...?

Every business faces a major challenge: technological changes, competitors entering the market, shifting economic trends... there's rarely a Warren Buffett moat protecting a small business.

So while a candidate may see your company as a stepping-stone, they still hope for growth and advancement... and if they do eventually leave, they want it to be on their terms and not because you were forced out of business.

Say I'm interviewing for a position at your bike shop. Another shop is opening less than a mile away: How do you plan to deal with the new competitor? Or you run a poultry farm (a huge industry in my area): What will you do to deal with rising feed costs?

A great candidate doesn't just want to know what you think; they want to know what you plan to do--and how they will fit into those plans.