Read 101 Smart Questions to Ask on Your Interview Online
Authors: Ron Fry
101 Smart Questions to Ask on Your Interview (28 page)
What standard of living do I aspire to in 2 years? 5 years? 10?
What were my favorite subjects in school?
What would it take to transform myself into someone who’s passionate about every workday?
Where (geographically) do I want to work?
Who am I?
EPILOGUE
QUESTIONS THAT GET REAL
In the Introduction, I boiled down 101 tough interview questions to 5. Well, I’m going to boil down the many smart questions I’ve suggested you ask to 6. When all is said and done, here’s what you absolutely want to know before you accept any job:
Can
I do the job?
Are you really qualified? Be honest with yourself, because if the answer is “no,” sooner or later it will not be a secret to your boss!
Do I
want
to do the job?
They may love and want you, but you’d better be sure this is a job you can be passionate about. If not, but you plan to take it anyway, you should at least be honest and
know
you are compromising for a reason that is valid to you . . . like, you have to eat.
Does this job fit in with my long-range plans?
The more solid and thought-out your long-range goals, the easier it is to create a directed and targeted career
path
rather than simply a series of jobs that fail to build upon one another. Just as you can and should take charge of the interview, you must control your own career path. Make sure you have honestly analyzed whether this job fits in with your own goals.
Will I fit in?
Did you like your boss? Did you like the people you’ll be working with? Those you’ll be managing? A job is not simply a set of functions; it’s a collection of environments created by all the other people that work at the company. You may be totally qualified for and challenged by the job itself, but if you can’t stand any of the people, how long do you think you’re going to last?
Can I live on what they want to pay me?
I’ve lectured you enough about keeping money in perspective, but one does have to live. If your ideal job won’t even pay the rent or the mortgage, you have a problem. But the biggest problem is if you haven’t bothered to think about your financial needs at all.
Do I feel secure taking a job at ________?
Doubling your salary may be wonderful. Stock options could make you rich. Or you could find yourself back on the street in a month if you haven’t bothered to ask yourself this question. Always evaluate the compensation package in concert with your analysis of the health of the company. It doesn’t matter how much they promise to pay you if they’re heading toward bankruptcy.
INDEX
“40-year visions”,
34
A
abilities,
20–22
accepting job,
108–109
accomplishments, personal,
123
after-interview questions,
132–133
agencies, employment,
50–53
,
133–134
aggressiveness
acknowledgement of,
103
during informational interview,
49
matching interviewer’s style,
3–4
overcoming hidden objections,
97–99
questions about first day,
120
of salespeople,
100
during telephone interviews,
62
alumni, school,
42
analysts,
42
annual reports,
45
answers, analysis of,
82–83
arrogance,
6
Ask the Right Questions, Hire the Right People
,
74
,
80
asking for job,
10
assuming position,
5
assumptive closes,
100
atmosphere of office,
3
,
27–30
,
46
,
B
bad interviews, handling,
15
basic compensation,
112
behavioral interviews,
75
benefits packages,
1
,
111–112
,
119
biases,
6
bizarre behavior,
11
bosses,
24–27
,
89
,
123
.
See also
hiring managers
brainteaser interviews,
80
breathing,
82
brochures,
45
brush-offs, telephone screening,
61–64
budgets,
87
business associations,
41
business editors,
42
Business Publications, Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS)
,
40
Business Rankings
,
39
C
callbacks,
99
career changes,
122
Career Guide to Industries, The
,
38
case interviews,
78–79
cell phones,
11
challenges, job,
88
Chambers of Commerce,
41
change, handling,
124
checklist, company fact,
37–38
chemistry,
90
closed-ended questions,
2
closing questions,
95–104
aggressiveness of salespeople,
100
getting interviewer to say yes,
101–103
hiring power of interviewer,
95–96
overview,
95
questions to ask after interview,
104
uncovering hidden objections,
97–99
working for free,
103
clothes,
10–11
colleagues
descriptions by,
125
interaction with,
124
problems with,
123
questions about,
86
questions to ask future,
59
,
136
commitment,
6
companies
facts checklist,
37–38
goals of,
1
knowledge about,
125
preinterview questions about,
66–67
priorities of,
56
questions about,
127
–
128
ranking of,
84
reasons for interest in,
126
researching
asking company itself,
45–46
information sources,
38–41
overview,
37–38
small companies,
41–44
company newsletters,
45
compensation levels, researching,
119
compensation packages,
111–114
basic compensation,
112
important questions regarding,
140
overview,
111–112
perquisites,
113
relocation expenses,
114
severance,
114
computers,
14
concise questions,
5
conflicts,
124
copying interviewer questions,
9
corporate culture,
27–30
,
89–90
,
140
corporate mission statements,
57
counselors,
49–53
coworkers.
See
colleagues