![]() ![]() This can elicit information you’d never get from the job description - like that you’ll have to deal with messy interdepartmental politics, or that the person you’ll be working with most closely is difficult to get along with, or that you’ll need to work within draconian budget restrictions on your program. “What are some of the challenges you expect the person in this position to face?” You may find out that while the job posting listed 12 different responsibilities, your success in fact hinges on just two of them, or that the posting dramatically understated the importance of one of them, or that the hiring manager is battling with her own boss about expectations for the role, or even that the manager has no idea what success would look like in the job (which would be a sign to proceed with extreme caution). Also, frankly, most employers just suck at writing job descriptions (which is why so many of them sound as if they were written by robots rather than humans), so it’s useful to have a conversation about what the role is really about. Companies often post job descriptions that primarily use boilerplate language from HR, while the actual manager has very different ideas about what’s most important in the role. You may figure the job description has already laid this out, but it’s not uncommon for a job description to be the same one an employer has been using for the past ten years, even if the job has changed significantly during that time. This gets right to the crux of what you need to know about the job: What does it mean to do well, and what will you need to achieve in order for the manager to be happy with your performance? “How will you measure the success of the person in this position?” ![]() So what should you ask when it’s your turn to interview your interviewer? Here are ten strong questions that will get you useful insights into whether the job is right for you. Things like “What are you really like as a boss?” and “Is everyone here miserable?” ![]() Or, especially common, they have no idea how to tactfully ask the things they most want to know. They’re worried their queries will seem demanding or out of touch, or they wonder if they’re supposed to pick questions that will somehow burnish their image as the most highly qualified candidate. The problem, I suspect, is that people worry the invitation to turn the tables is a trap - just another way for interviewers to judge them. Photo-Illustration: by The Cut Photos: Getty ImagesĪt the end of every job interview, you’re likely to hear, “Do you have any questions I can answer for you?” As someone who has interviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of job candidates in my career, I’m always taken aback by how many people respond with “No.” After all, you’re considering spending 40-plus hours a week at this company … surely there’s something you’d like to know. ![]()
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