When you have a job interview, it’s important to prepare for the questions the interviewer will ask but it’s equally important to prepare your own questions for the interviewer.
Almost every interview will end with the person interviewing you asking if you have any questions for them. This is a chance to not only find out more about the position, but to show you’re genuinely interested in the company and industry.
Come up with five or six questions to ask and write them down so you won’t forget them.
Here are five examples of questions you should ask during an interview.
1) What is the person who previously held this position doing now?
The answer to this question will tell you a few things. First, it will tell you whether this is a newly created position or if it’s been held by someone before.
Second, wherever that person ended up can give you an idea about the turnover rate and if people remain with the company or leave to find new opportunities.
2) What are the opportunities for advancement?
While the first question will give you an idea of this, it’s best to also ask them outright.
You want to know if the company is going to invest in you and your future or if they’re going to just use you for your talents and then leave you on your own to find that next step in your career.
Sadly quite a few media companies don’t offer a lot of advancement opportunities these days, but find out what you can by asking so you’re prepared.
3) What do you like, and don’t like, about working here?
Most likely your interviewer will be someone you don’t know, but if you’ve done your research, you should know a bit about their background and how long they’ve been working at the company.
It’s a good idea to ask them for their thoughts on what working for the company is like.
While your interviewer is not necessarily going to admit anything truly negative, people are more honest than you might think. Take the chance and find out about their experience with the company.
4) What is your company culture like?
You probably already know about their culture a little bit from your research, but what is really going on inside those walls might be very different. Find out what they treasure most about their company culture.
You can even start by saying you’ve read that they find X and Y very important, but ask your interviewer what they think some of its most important aspects are so you can get a sense of their company values.
5) When can I expect to hear from you about the position?
This is a great question to end your list. You don’t want to forget asking them about their timeline otherwise you’ll find yourself pacing like crazy as you wait to hear back.
Find out when they think they’ll get back to you and if that date passes without you hearing anything, you know to follow-up the week after to see if their timeline has shifted or maybe you didn’t get the job in the end. Either way, it’s better to know for sure than keep wondering!
