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Struggling with what to ask the employer during a job interview? Not sure of the best way to get the information you need to make a great career decision and sell yourself in the process? Join career expert and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he shares his top 5 questions to ask in a job interview!
I get it…
It’s difficult. You don’t job interview very often. You’re not (likely) a trained interrogator. That’s why you have me!
I’ll give you 5 home runs…
In the video, I’m going to share my five home runs, what to ask, why it’s a great question, and how to use the information. Let’s roll…
A company-based one first…
- Based on the direction of the company, what do you think will be your greatest accomplishments in the next three years?
Organizations need to be able to think at least three to five years into the future. But, you don’t want to join an organization that only thinks about the future. Thinking is nice, but companies that act and build things and have clarity around specifically what they’re going to do are worthy of you. Join them.
It’s a great question because it helps you understand whether they have a vision and if they have clarity regarding specifically what they want to build.
If they don’t have that clarity, they’re basically saying to you, “I don’t know if you’ll have a job in three years because I don’t know where the company’s going.” Nice. Huh?
Make sure to ask this question early in the process.
Questions two, three, and four are about you and your role…
- What are the qualities of people who are most successful in this position?
You’re looking for the traits the employer wants. The reason it’s a great question is you’ll get the actual traits they’re evaluating and you can use that insight immediately to highlight how you and your background and experience match those traits! Plus, it’s a great setup question for the next one.
- If you were to give me an offer and I was to accept it, one year from now, what will I have done specifically that you would consider this hire to be a raging success?
Now you’re really accelerating! The reason this question is pure gold is it gets the interviewer to provide specifics about the expectations and what the company considers valuable.
It gives you clarity to make sure you could actually achieve those objectives. And, it gives you ammunition to use within that interview or subsequent interviews to talk about exactly how you’ll accomplish what they consider a success.
You now know their (year-end) goal is. Get them to envision you completing it for them.
Boom. This one wins the interview even though you’re not done yet. Let’s pile on a bit…
- If you were to give me an offer and I was to accept it, within one week of starting this job, what will be my biggest surprise?
This is a little safety net for you. You want to make sure you’re uncovering information you might not have uncovered with the questions you’ve designed.
It gets the interviewer thinking hmmm, what might this person not ask in the job interview I could share or what surprised me when I first started with the company?
Naturally, the interviewer’s inclination will be to provide you a negative surprise. That’s just (unfortunately) the way most people think.
It puts the interviewer on the spot. Ka. Boom. Bonus.
Don’t forget your boss…
- What’s your management style and what are your expectations of the position you might not have already mentioned?
Four out of five people quit their jobs because of their boss. This is great question to make sure you’re in sync with his or her style, expectations, and so forth.
If you love this, hit it with a like, share, and comment. I always want to know what you’re thinking!
Make sure to check out my free webinar called 3 Keys to Ace Any Job Interview. It’ll teach you everything you need to know about how to answer and ask questions in a job interview plus attendees get a sweet, FREE eBook Ace Your Job Interview. Don’t miss it!
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This most really fulfilled my desire to learn something about the content mentioned here, I failed a lot of time in an interview due to improper planning but this article taught me those techniques through which I will really make it happen in the very ni\ext interview.
Thank you
You’re so welcome Akshay!!! Glad it helped!!!
Andy,
This is great content! I appreciate it. I haven’t broached an interview this way before. I will now. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Vicky! So glad you liked it!
Excellent! Greatly appreciate this. I like question #2.
Thanks Nicole!
Thank you so much Andy!! This is great information. I wish I had seen this before interviewing for a job two weeks ago. I didn’t get the job after the second interview. I think asking such questions early on would have allowed me to prepare and better tackle the second interview.
Keep plugging Prisca!
Andy ! I love your videos & have been watching very closely before my interviews. My question to you is how does one find out if s previous employer is giving a less than favorable review to perspective employers? I have a very solid resume , over 12 management experience in the field I’m applying for. I’ve gone on close to 12 interviews the last 6-7 months and every single time I get no response at all just crickets. I don’t even get a courtesy rejection from HR which is just baffling. Im not the absolute best interviewer but am not bad either , follow up and still hear nothing. Any advice/ thoughts on this…? Seeking help in vegas !
Jennifer, hang in there! First, I would not suspect your former employer is giving bad reviews. It’s illegal for them to provide any additional information in any kind of reference check other than you worked there. As a suggestion simply based on the pattern you shared with the interviews, I would check out my free webinar on interviewing. It’ll be eye-opening if you haven’t seen it! https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/webinar-3-keys-to-ace-any-job-interview