Interview - questions to ask them?

PGM

Do you have any tips on questions to ask a potential employer at an interview?

mikes

Some that spring to mind are;

"What sort of person does well at this job" or "what qualities are you looking for in the ideal candidate". Listen to what they say and then show how you meet these specifications.

"What training are provided for this role". Asking things such as what room for development or progression may not be adviseable, if the company is not that large and they have a limited amount of staff or low turnover. They may think that you are being too ambitious and will want to leave too soon.

"Are there future plans for the department" by asking them if they plan to make changes to the size of the department or relocation. Asking them about plans for the company, would have come up in your research. Although you could ask them, any questions that relate to that, ie "i noticed that you are planning to expand the company into new areas, how is that progressing"

Also find out about rival companies and see how they are developing and if it will affect your potential company in any way and ask questions on that. It will show that you understand the market and not just the company.

I would look for books on how to answer and ask difficult interview questions, these will give you more ideas on how to deal with anything that may come across at the interview.

Best of luck.

PGM

Thanks mike, given me a few more ideas there. In a way they give you too much info, they give you job spec and person spec, which cover questions you would have asked previously.

Gianni

Treat any interview as an informal chat to assess whether you want the job. In my opinion an interview should flow naturally and be a two way process, i.e. ask questions naturally throughout as they will with you. Don't have a list of questions to ask at the very end as a checkbox exercise.

It's also worth attending interviews perhaps once or twice every year just to keep your hand in. I also do this to establish my market worth which comes in handy when negotiating raises. That way if you are not happy with your appraisal it's a case of "I feel I'm worth more and plan on putting myself on the open market" which is fair enough in my opinion.

PGM

Gianni wrote: »

Treat any interview as an informal chat to assess whether you want the job. In my opinion an interview should flow naturally and be a two way process, i.e. ask questions naturally throughout as they will with you. Don't have a list of questions to ask at the very end as a checkbox exercise.

It's also worth attending interviews perhaps once or twice every year just to keep your hand in. I also do this to establish my market worth which comes in handy when negotiating raises. That way if you are not happy with your appraisal it's a case of "I feel I'm worth more and plan on putting myself on the open market" which is fair enough in my opinion.

Thanks, it seems other than having a few stock questions to get in, the general rule is to go with the flow of the interview.

Do you move round often between jobs? I've heard a couple of employers talk negatively about that, they can be wary of people that are unlikely to stay long, which can be either over qualified for the position or based on passed history. But I agree, why stick around if you're under paid!

blobbyh

Ask a few more topical questions such as how they coped with the recent credit crisis and how has this affected their profit margins? Was this achieved through forced redundancies or through other less severe but equally effective cost control measures such as clamping down on budget costs e.g. unnecessary cost of sales or administrative spending, temporary hiring freezes that now look like lifting etc? Are their forecasts looking good for the next twelve months? How many of their competitors have recently fallen by the wayside and are they now looking stronger in a reduced market?

PGM

Cheers all, its tomorrow so no more thinking about it. Best to relax..

blobbyh

Fingers crossed as usual!

A-Vic

Good luck :001_smile:

PGM

Thankyou, and goodnight :001_smile:

mikes

Hope it goes ok for you today.

Diannew

PGM wrote: »

Thankyou, and goodnight :001_smile:

Good Luck for today................you can do it!!!

mark130273

good luck for today...........and dont forget...picture them in their underwear ?how the hell is that meant to help ?

AK002

Good luck !

PGM

Nope

Apparently a lot of people went for it who had huge amounts of experience. I think the moral of the story is to appreciate what you have until the market starts picking up again!

marknotgeorge

That's what I'm getting - that's if I get to the interview stage of course. It's very demoralising.

A-Vic

Also one i always ask and i think the most important why is it the job came about - just because if staff keep leaving why???

farmergiles

A-Vic wrote: »

Also one i always ask and i think the most important why is it the job came about - just because if staff keep leaving why???

The other thing to ask, if you don't get the post, is WHY? or to put it politely, " can you advise me as to the reason for me not being selected? Is it something I need to brush up on before my next interview?"

blobbyh

How about "I know where you live so when do I start?"

Sorry.

AK002

blobbyh wrote: »

How about "I know where you live so when do I start?"

Sorry.

Seems like a good place to start..

mark130273

blobbyh wrote: »

How about "I know where you live so when do I start?"

Sorry.

some how i dont think that would work ?