4 ms·

Your #2 sort of bothers me. Actually, a lot of these seem like "answers" to a school assignment about what to ask an employer ... Also, would you really ask all

Your #2 sort of bothers me. Actually, a lot of these seem like "answers" to a school assignment about what to ask an employer ... Also, would you really ask all this? You put a lot of work into this. If someone asked me this stuff, I would thank them and probably go on a vacation to forget the whole experience.

elohesra 13y ago
I personally think #2 is quite important: it proves the employer knows why they're employing you, and that they have thought about the scope for career growth in the role. If the employer hasn't got a clear idea of why they're employing you, then your role becomes an amorphous "do whatever I want done" job, that won't necessarily meaningfully contribute to your skills or remain interesting. If the employer hasn't thought about the scope for career growth in your role, then that -- to me -- shows they don't value their staff enough to care about whether they get anything more than a salary out of the job. I think it's a little strangely phrased (sounds a bit obsequious), but I think it's a valid and important question.
x0x0 13y ago
how? Are you in the habit of hiring without knowing the criteria for success in that role? Is the candidate supposed to guess or read your mind? As a candidate, I always ask what would make my future boss count hiring me an awesome decision. Also, it's really interesting when different interviewers answer the question differently; I've been in the middle of a job I quit after a year where different decision makers thought the role should be different things, and it sucked.
PeterisP 13y ago
Most other questions may seem too verbose to actually ask in a short interview, but the #2 is a key question that should be asked always. Most likely will tell you more about the actual job contents (i.e., which task you'll be required to focus on) than everything else; and asking it early is key to avoid a mismatch in expectations.
- dinkumthinkum 13y ago
  How do you earn a gold star should always be asked.
mcenedella 13y ago
Yeah, I write the largest career advice newsletter in America over at TheLadders, so I do this stuff professionally. The key to asking #2 is to be more 'Vince Vaughan' than 'Steve Buscemi' in your approach. More butt-kicker than butt-kisser, if that makes sense.

elohesra 13y ago

I personally think #2 is quite important: it proves the employer knows why they're employing you, and that they have thought about the scope for career growth in the role. If the employer hasn't got a clear idea of why they're employing you, then your role becomes an amorphous "do whatever I want done" job, that won't necessarily meaningfully contribute to your skills or remain interesting. If the employer hasn't thought about the scope for career growth in your role, then that -- to me -- shows they don't value their staff enough to care about whether they get anything more than a salary out of the job. I think it's a little strangely phrased (sounds a bit obsequious), but I think it's a valid and important question.

x0x0 13y ago

how? Are you in the habit of hiring without knowing the criteria for success in that role? Is the candidate supposed to guess or read your mind? As a candidate, I always ask what would make my future boss count hiring me an awesome decision. Also, it's really interesting when different interviewers answer the question differently; I've been in the middle of a job I quit after a year where different decision makers thought the role should be different things, and it sucked.

PeterisP 13y ago

Most other questions may seem too verbose to actually ask in a short interview, but the #2 is a key question that should be asked always. Most likely will tell you more about the actual job contents (i.e., which task you'll be required to focus on) than everything else; and asking it early is key to avoid a mismatch in expectations.

dinkumthinkum 13y ago
How do you earn a gold star should always be asked.

mcenedella 13y ago

Yeah, I write the largest career advice newsletter in America over at TheLadders, so I do this stuff professionally. The key to asking #2 is to be more 'Vince Vaughan' than 'Steve Buscemi' in your approach. More butt-kicker than butt-kisser, if that makes sense.