Remarkable

You may ask as few or as many questions as time permits. Be sensitive to the body language of the interviewer as you ask the questions. Use your judgment to decide when to ask, and when not to, when to continue, and when to stop. These questions can be brought forward in any and all interviews, and even repeated in subsequent interviews within the same company. Each will be perceived as being a mature, sound, and reasonable question. None puts undue pressure on the interviewer, or runs the risk that the interviewer may not know the answers; this is what makes the questions so valuable. It will most likely be so different from the questions of other candidates, current and past, that it is sure to catch the interviewer’s attention and differentiate you in a positive way.

I divide the kind of questions you should ask into two categories: (i) impression-related, which are the questions you ask to influence the interviewer and differentiate yourself in a positive way, and (ii) knowledge-related, which are legitimate questions that you might have about the job, department, and the company you are considering for employment.

You will rarely have the time, nor should you take too much time, to ask a lot of questions. So, you should pick and choose as you deem appropriate for the circumstances. As a general rule, I would suggest the following overall guidelines:

•Impression-related questions are more appropriate in the earlier stages of the interviewing cycle. Avoid asking them in the later stages, when it becomes more apparent that you are likely to receive an offer. The reverse is true for knowledge-related questions.

•Try to ask at least two questions from the first category, impression-related, to help your differentiation, and only then ask the knowledge-related questions.

•Impression-related questions can be safely asked of all interviewers, regardless of their position or title. They were specifically designed with that in mind.

•Match your knowledge-related questions to the specific interviewer. Make sure that the specific interviewer is in a good position to competently answer your questions, and avoid asking questions for which the interviewer may not have the knowledge to answer them properly.

•Be sensitive to the body language of the interviewer. Stop asking questions when you sense that the interviewer is not answering them with enthusiasm.

Impression-Related Questions

•Who in your opinion are your company’s main competitors, and what do you consider to be your differentiation as a company?

•What kind of a person and what does it take, in your opinion, to be successful in this position (or company)?

○Use “position” if the interviewer works in the department or a related department that is offering the job. Use “company” if not.

•Should a candidate be fortunate enough to receive an offer, what do you believe they should look at or consider when making their decision?

•What, if any, in your opinion are the pitfalls a new employee should be aware of in the first one to two years?

•Would you mind sharing with me what led you to join this company and whether there were any “surprises” after you joined?

○Ask this question only with interviewers closer to your age group and/or who have not been with the company for longer than five years.

Knowledge-Related Questions

There are many legitimate and appropriate knowledge-related questions. You may ask whichever you feel would be appropriate under the circumstances, but try to follow these rules:

•Only ask the questions that you are genuinely interested in understanding.

•Make sure you ask questions that the interviewers can competently answer.

•Never ask questions about compensation or benefits unless a job offer was already extended. Most likely that type of information will all be spelled out for you in a formal written letter when the offer is made.

Questions You Should Be Well Prepared to Answer

There is no real significance to the questions listed below. Some of them make sense, and others I found to be less reasonable. I am listing them below so that you have an opportunity to think about the answers in advance, as opposed to being surprised and struggling to make up an answer during an interview:

•Why do you want to be in this industry (or profession)?

•Why do you want to work in this company?

•What kind of a place would you like to work at?

•What kind of a job (or career) are you looking for?

•Tell me something about yourself.

•What would you like to do (or be) in the short term (five years)?

•What would you like to do (or be) in the long run (ten to fifteen years)?

•What are your strengths and weaknesses?

•What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

•What do you consider to be your greatest failure?

Congratulations for staying the course throughout this section. However, just for the sake of thoroughness, I want to remind you again that, as I mentioned at the beginning of the section, I only covered very specific observations and recommendations, those that I believe will likely give you greater insight that will enable you to do well in interviews and differentiate yourself from other candidates. There are many more straightforward factors that are identified in books, academic articles, and journals, and passed along as advice by knowledgeable people. Don’t dismiss them offhand just because I didn’t cover them. As a closing comment, I would like to emphasize an observation I made in chapters three and eight, where I discussed how to write a good resume. I mentioned that there was one fatal negative that will most often yield an immediate rejection, so make sure you don’t fall prey to it. Make absolutely sure that your resume has no typos or grammatical mistakes!