Interview questions

I wanted input from the hive, especially those who are actually doing the interviewing.....
I have an interview on Monday (trying to get out of the automotive industry) and am trying to prepare for the interview. That has me thinking about when the interviewer asks the interviewee if they have any questions. I've always been told that you really should ask a question, so I do. Usually, unless I have a question related to what we've discussed, in the past I've asked "This position I'm filling, is it a new position or am I filling a vacancy?" If it was vacated by someone, I was going to ask why it was vacated.
How would you, as the interviewer feel being asked that question? How about this one?
"Is there anything about my resume, or this interview that would make you not consider me for this position?"
I feel those are both good questions, but I'm afraid the interviewer could be put on the spot by what could be implied by each question.
So, what do you think?

The first train of questions is a good one.

The second I wouldn't ask, if there was something in your resume that would cause them to not consider you then they wouldn't be interviewing you.

Agree with the captain. The second question seems like it is designed to derail your chances. Don't do that to yourself. You could always ask about a particular problem or issue that the company is currently facing and then when they tell you something, explain how you could help them solve that problem by relating some glorious story where you saved the day in spite of insurmountable odds in some previous position. Make the questions you ask lead to why you are suited for the job. Don't try to make them think of reasons why you are not.

What are the characteristics that would make one successful here? What are the most significant challenges working here? Tell me about your leadership style

Here is my interview strategy:

When I begin the interview, I always ask if it is okay if I take notes, to which I have never been told no. I bring pages and pages of questions, and as they are answered throughout the interview process, I write in the answers to questions that I had already prepared. At the end of the interview, I first ask whether there is a time constraint. If there is, I just ask the highest priority questions. If not, then I go through as many questions as I feel necessary.

I like to learn as much about the role as possible beyond the job description. Helpful information would be size of the team, leadership structure, autonomy, frequency and nature of travel, processes, scale of projects, how you would interact with customers, etc. With each question, tie it back to your resume.

Mitchell wrote: Here is my interview strategy: When I begin the interview, I always ask if it is okay if I take notes, to which I have never been told no. I bring pages and pages of questions, and as they are answered throughout the interview process, I write in the answers to questions that I had already prepared. At the end of the interview, I first ask whether there is a time constraint. If there is, I just ask the highest priority questions. If not, then I go through as many questions as I feel necessary. I like to learn as much about the role as possible beyond the job description. Helpful information would be size of the team, leadership structure, autonomy, frequency and nature of travel, processes, scale of projects, how you would interact with customers, etc. With each question, tie it back to your resume.

Holy cow man. Not THAT is a great interview tactic. Thanks all.
This job, if I get it, will shorten my daily commute by about 83 miles a day!!

Without any outside sources of information, how do you determine how many piano tuners are there in Chicago?

Fermi questions get thrown around in many tech sectors. So prepare for a few if you're looking there.

Do things taste salty to you?

Wanna go camping?

I would not ask the second question. Instead, I would ask "Is there anything on my resume that I can clarify for you?". Be ready with answers.

I would also try to turn the interview around a bit to show that you are thinking long term. "How do you see your company evolving over the next five to ten years?"

If you want to see if the employer is going to be a good fit for you, ask why the interviewer likes their job. You will learn a lot about the employer from the response.

In addition to questions, prepare for the interview by researching the company to learn all you can about them.

If they ask you the popular question: "What is your biggest flaw?"

Answer: "Some people say I am condescending"

Then look at them and with a slightly quieter voice say: "That's when you talk down to people"

See how that goes over.

stuart in mn wrote: In addition to questions, prepare for the interview by researching the company to learn all you can about them.

This x1000. I conduct interviews for a Fortune 500 company. This is the very first thing we (and an awful lot of other companies) ask. It's either a huge step in the right direction, or an immediate disqualification depending on how the canidate answers.

I would use your first question in one scenario and one scenario only: When you know you've bombed the interview and won't be offered the job. Rephrase it to something like "What one improvement to my resume would increase my chances of getting this job?" If you're interviewing within the same sector, making that improvement could help you land a gig at a competitor.

Definitely come prepared with questions for the interviewer. I personally like "What was the biggest challenge you've faced this month and what did you learn from it?"

If the company is public, dig into quarterly earnings statements (and the conference calls that typically accompany them), investor meeting notes, etc. These will typically give you insight into which way the company is leaning (aggressive expanion? stock buy back? moving into multi-national markets?). You can then base forward-looking questions off of that info.

calteg wrote:

stuart in mn wrote: In addition to questions, prepare for the interview by researching the company to learn all you can about them.

This x1000.

Yup, I did a little of that before I even applied, and we scheduled the interview, I did a lot more. And over the weekend I'm going to do even more. This is an attempt to switch from the auto industry to the medical industry so I started reviewing some of the governing bodies and guidelines they have to follow.

Thanks all for your input.

is it cool if i drink on lunch?

-J0N

jmthunderbirdturbo wrote: is it cool if i drink on lunch? -J0N

Is it okay that I'm drinking right now?

I always answer "knock-knock jokes" when asked what my greatest strength is.

Mitchell wrote:

jmthunderbirdturbo wrote: is it cool if i drink on lunch? -J0N

Is it okay that I'm drinking right now?

If you ask this make sure you tell the interviewer you have enough to share. That will show you are a team player.

Does this look infected?

stuart in mn wrote: In addition to questions, prepare for the interview by researching the company to learn all you can about them.

This is what I do, but then I usually learn so much that I don't have any questions...

stuart in mn wrote: In addition to questions, prepare for the interview by researching the company to learn all you can about them.

I'm in industrial plant maintenance. Always research a company but there may not be much info on an individual plant. I use Google Earth for the birds eye view of the facility so I've asked questions of rails, tanks, water treatment, cooling towers, roof fans, auxiliary buildings, estimated square footage, adjacent facilities etc.

Should have seen the surprised looks from the interviewers when told I used Google Earth on their facility... certainly raised some good eyebrow. FWIW, dunno how much it mattered in the entirety but I did get two jobs that I Googled Urf.

I always like to ask if they have drug tests...

Seriously, though, it depends on the job a bit. I like to ask how big the department is in terms of people, annual budget, and revenue generated. Give me a feel for things. Asking about growth outlook for the next few years does the same.

I just spent 2 years in sales, so asking about or understanding how they go to market, what their sales channels are (direct, third party reps, direct employee reps, warehouses, etc.) may or may not be relevant.

If the company is priavetly held it is often extremely difficult to do much research ahead of time. One thing you can do, though, is look on linkedin and see how long people have been working there. It will also give you an idea about how often people change roles there. It may even give you insight into what their hobbies/interests are to find out if you'll be compatable with the culture.

Other observations that I like to make are driving past around 5pm to see how many cars are still there, looking for pictures of family if I get a tour, and noting the average age of employees. These obervations should give you some insight into what hours will be expected.

I was just on two interviews yesterday—one I am hopeful for, the other… not so much, but I’m not sure I’d take it unless the offer is really good.

The point of an interview for YOU is to see if the company would be a good fit for you.

The point of the interview for the company is to see if you would be a good fit for them. They have doubts about you—if they didn’t, they would just hire you. Your job at this point, is to remove the doubt. Figure out what that is going to be—no experience in the health/medical field would be the biggest red flag. Be sure to remove the doubt(s) during your interview.

FWIW, I set up my interview materials in a leather folder (get one—it will give a better first impression). On the left side, in the pocket, I have more than enough resumes printed out. On top of that, not in the pocket, I have the job description printed out, as well as the questions I have (see below). These usually fit on one page. On the right side of the folder, I have a sheet of paper. The top is sectioned off into a ½ inch header, and I write in the names of the people interviewing me on the portion of page relative to their seating arrangement. You do not want to forget their names. Below this, I have the page separated into three sections—a footer that is about 2 inches tall and the whole width of the page. Down here, I write down any questions that occur DURING the interview to make sure that I ask them. In between the header and footer, I section it into 2 more columns. On the one side, I take notes. On the other, I write the answers to my questions--both prepared and ones that occur during the interview--if they weren’t answered already. Works for me, may work for you.

Questions that I have written down in my notes, ready to ask:

• What differentiates this company from your competitors?
• I was reading the earnings report for Q3 2014, and XYZ stood out to me. What are your thoughts on this?
• What skills does the ideal candidate have for this position?
• Walk me through a typical day in this role (shockingly not always detailed in their schpeel)
• What are the biggest challenges that occur in this role?
• (If interviewer would be a teammate, not manager): How do you like working at this company, and for this manager?
• What are the advancement opportunities?
• What is the training/education like for this?
• What is your management style? (There is absolutely nothing wrong with laissez-faire, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Micromanagement… Some people thrive under one, some under the other. Don’t put yourself in a bad situation)
• When are you looking to make a decision? What are the next steps?

Good luck!