10 Impressive Interview Questions

 It`s the question you`re likely to be asked at the end of every job interview: “What questions do you have for me?”  

 As someone who`s interviewed probably thousands of job candidates in my career, I`m always taken aback by how many people don`t have questions about the job at all. After all, you`re considering spending 40-plus hours a week at this company … surely there`s something you`d like to know? 

 

 The problem, I suspect, is that people worry that the invitation to ask their own questions is really just another way for interviewers to judge them. They`re worried they`ll ask something that seems overly 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. Or, especially common, they have no idea how to tactfully ask the things they most want to know … like “What are you really like as a boss?” and “Is everyone here miserable?”

1.

 “How will you measure the success of the person in this position?”

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?  

 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. 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. 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. 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).

2.

 “What are some of the challenges you expect the person in this position to face?”

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?  

 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. 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. 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. 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).

3.

 “Can you describe a typical day or week in the job?”

If the job description mentioned a combination of admin work and program work, it`s important to know whether 90 percent of your time will be spent on the admin work or if the split is more like 50/50. Or you might find out that the part of the job that you were most excited about only comes up every six months. Even barring major insights like that, the answer to this question can help you better visualize what it will actually be like to be in the job day after day.  

 Tip: Some interviewers will respond to this question with, “Oh, every day is different.” If that happens, try asking, “Can you tell me what the last month looked like for the person in the job currently? What took up most of their time?” 

 

 If nothing you try gets you a clear picture of how your time will be spent, that might be a sign that you`ll be walking into chaos — or a job where expectations never get clearly defined.

4.

 “How long did the previous person in the role hold the position? What has turnover in the role generally been like?”

It's an important question because if everyone leaves the position within a year, it could be a sign that your manager has poor or unrealistic expectations or is making you unhappy. If at least one person leaves quickly, this isn't a wake-up call in itself. However, if you notice that they tend to leave quickly, you should  ask the interviewer what  led to the high turnover rate.  Of course, if you're in a completely new position, you can't ask that question. In this case, ask  about team turnover instead.

6.

 “Thinking back to people you’ve seen do this work previously, what differentiated the ones who were good from the ones who were really great at it?”

A job seeker asked me this question many years ago, and it's probably the most powerful question I've ever been asked in an interview. The point of this question is to get right to the heart of what  hiring managers are looking for. Hiring managers don't interview candidates for average jobs. They hope to find someone to shine with. And this question suggests that you are interested in the same thing. Obviously, just asking doesn't guarantee you'll do an outstanding job, but it makes you at least sound like someone who's dedicated to the job—conscientious and driven. This is huge  in the eyes of hiring managers. Their answers can also provide a  nuanced understanding of what it takes to truly excel in the workplace. Whatever the answer, you'll want to consider whether or not you can do it.

7.

 “How would you describe the culture here? What type of people tend to thrive here, and what type don’t do as well?”

Sometimes hiring managers are pretty bad at accurately describing the culture on their teams — in part because they have a vested interest in seeing it a certain way, and in part because they have an inherently different vantage point than their reports do. For example, I`ve heard incorrigible micromanagers tell candidates that they like to give people a lot of independence and autonomy. And they probably believed that about themselves! So take managers` descriptions of culture with a heavy grain of salt (and confirm anything that`s important to you with people who are not the manager). That said, there`s value in hearing what they do and don`t emphasize. You`ll often learn what that manager really cares about in their employees, or which traits will set you up to clash with them, or who`s likely to bristle at their management style.

8.

 “What do you like about working here?”

You can learn a lot from the way the interviewer answers this question. People who truly enjoy their work and  company can usually mention a few things, and they  usually sound genuine. However, if you notice a blank stare or a long silence from the interviewer before answering, or if the answer falls under "salary," consider that a red flag.

9.

 Ask the question you really care about.

It`s understandable to want to impress your interviewer, but interviewing is a two-way street — you need to be assessing the job, the employer, and the manager and figuring out whether this is a position you want and would do well in. If you`re just focused on getting the job and not on whether it`s the right job for you, you`re in danger of ending up in a place where you`re struggling or miserable.   So before you interview, spend some time thinking about what you really want to know. When you imagine going to the job every day, what are the things that will most impact whether you`re happy with the work, with the culture, and with the manager? Maybe it`s important to you to work in an informal setting with heavy collaboration. Perhaps you are most interested in working somewhere on weekends or evenings with a normal schedule with few calls and messages. You may have heard rumors about job security and you want to check if they are true. Everything you need to know to decide if this job is right for you, ask now. 

 However, do not take the interviewer's words literally. You should also do your due diligence when talking to people in your network who understand the company culture or  manager you'll be working for,  reading online reviews on places like Glassdoor, and interacting with other people who work there.

10.

 “What’s your timeline for next steps?”

This is a straightforward logistics question, but it`s useful to know when you can expect to hear back. Otherwise, in a few days you`re likely to start agonizing about whether you should have heard back about the job by now and what it means that you haven`t, and obsessively checking your phone to see if the employer has tried to make contact. It`s much better for your quality of life if you know that you`re not likely to hear anything for two weeks or four weeks or that the hiring manager is leaving the country for a month and nothing will happen until she`s back, or whatever the case might be.   Plus, asking this question makes it easy for you to check in with the employer if the timeline they give you comes and goes with no word. If they tell you that they plan to make a decision in two weeks and it`s been three weeks, you can reasonably email them and say something like, “I know you were hoping to make a decision around this time, so I wanted to check in and see if you have an updated timeline you can share. I am really interested in this position and would like to speak with you in more detail.”