Interview questions

I -always- ask the following at the end.

What are your favorite (or the opposite, but not usually both_ about working here? (Don't ask the HR person this, the person who's going to be your boss)

After interviewing me, are there any concerns that you have that would not make me a good fit?

The latter is excellent for getting another chance to explain any confusion or address any issues before it's too late.

You're going from Automotive to Medical? The requirements for automotive tend to be much stricter than medical and include way more statistics. Requirements for quality control are quite similar though. Discuss how you work under the guidelines in automotive and how that transitions to the new industry. This demonstrates you understand the cultural environment.

Hospitals = JCAHO

Medical Device = ISO 13485 and FDA CFR Part 820

^^ Thanks.

tuna55 wrote: After interviewing me, are there any concerns that you have that would not make me a good fit? The latter is excellent for getting another chance to explain any confusion or address any issues before it's too late.

I've had good results from this question. I think it made the difference between getting a job and being passed over because they didn't realize my experience was with a robotic version of their product.

This type of question will help if there are differences in terminology. They may not realize that your experience is directly applicable, but this can be an opportunity to clear that up.

Assuming you are going for a design/development position Medical is going to have a strong focus on design controls and quality systems. If you have time, check out the QSR documents on the FDA website, it will provide an overview of the design control systems used in medical devices.

Also Google the FDA Maude database to see what the companies complaint history looks like.

Also check out Fierce Medical for more info on the company you are going to interview with to see if there is any industry news worth reading and possibly asking about.

I have been doing quite a few interviews lately and as the interviewer, I would say ask the first question but not the second one. If someone asked me the second one, I would start looking for holes in the resume.

I will say I am just engineer though and not an HR person.

The position is for technical documentation. I've been in the automotive technical field (tech writing, curriculum development, and technical training) for over 12 years. I just have to show them that I'm a quick study. They moved pretty fast when I sent in my resume, so I think they like what they see.
One thing I did here, that I'd recommend to any other job seekers is this. I don't have a degree, but I have experience that a degree will never give. Some HR folks don't know that. They scan for a degree and make the decision for your would-be boss then and there, deleting the resumes of those that don't have a degree. I didn't want that to happen. So, on Monday, after submitting my resume to HR@companyname.com I called the receptionist and explained that I am applying for job X and would like the name and e-mail address of the person that would be hiring me. I then sent my resume to him.

Thanks again for all your input, I'm scanning this thread and starting to come up with my list of questions, then off to do more research on the company.