Best Questions to Ask at the End of the Interview

PolishedResumeOctober 28, 2015Interview TipsLeave a Comment

An important point that many people overlook is that the interview isn’t just an opportunity for the company to get to know you; it’s also a chance for you to learn about the company you might be working for. In other words, you’re interviewing the company just as much as they’re interviewing you.

While not asking meaningful questions might not always leave a bad impression, it can lead to dissatisfaction down the line. I’ve met many great candidates who accepted promising roles, only to become quickly disillusioned because the job turned out to be different from what they had envisioned.

Much like making any important investment, you need to do your due diligence before committing. Asking thoughtful questions during the interview is an essential part of this process.

Here are some examples of good interview questions to ask your interviewer or hiring manager:

1) What would a successful candidate accomplish in the first 90 days?
This question is valuable for understanding the hiring manager’s immediate needs. In most roles, the first 90 days can be challenging, and it’s often difficult to produce significant results on mission-critical projects. The answer to this question will also provide insight into how capable the hiring manager is at growing and developing the organization.

2) What’s one thing you wish you could change about your organization?
Does your hiring manager prioritize continuous growth and improvement? No organization is perfect, and the passions and focus of your hiring manager can be revealed through this question. If your hiring manager can’t think of anything they’d change, it could suggest they are disconnected from the day-to-day operations. This might not be an ideal situation for you as a new employee, and it’s certainly something you’d want to consider before accepting a job offer.

3) What keeps you up at night with respect to your business?
Companies cultivate their own unique culture, with certain elements contributing to their success within the industry. However, some aspects can also make the company vulnerable. A seasoned hiring manager should be able to provide valuable insight and give you a glimpse into the company’s culture.

4) Can you give me an example of how has your boss helped you in your career?
A manager’s success is not solely defined by how they manage their team, but also by their ability to influence peers and senior management. If your hiring manager struggles to provide specific examples of this, it could suggest significant communication and collaboration issues within the organization. It may also indicate potential weaknesses in the manager’s ability to work effectively with peers.

5) In your team, what quality or skill have you found to be the most reliable predictor of success for team members?
An executive I once worked closely with shared that managers often hire individuals who resemble themselves and tend to promote or reward those with similar qualities. The response to this question can reveal the traits your hiring manager values in themselves and give you insight into the qualities needed to succeed within the organization.

6) What problem needs to be solved that you are looking for candidates for the position I am interviewing for?
Every position within a company exists to address specific problems, whether short-term or long-term. Additionally, there’s a reason the company is seeking external candidates instead of promoting from within. It’s important to understand these reasons, as you’ll be joining and contributing to the same company culture once you come on board.

7) What do you think would be my biggest challenge in this role?
This question differs from asking about the specific accomplishments your hiring manager expects. Instead, it prompts the hiring manager to reflect on the organization’s culture and current situation, offering an assessment of some of the more challenging aspects of the role.

8) What makes you most excited about your job?
Financial compensation alone is never enough to retain someone at a company. Understanding what excites your hiring manager about their role can offer valuable insights into their priorities and what they’ll focus on maintaining within the organization. I once spoke with an HR manager who joked that, no matter what, there would always be free bottled water and soft drinks in the office. While said in jest, it highlighted a deeper truth: regardless of cost-cutting measures, certain perks would remain a priority.

9) Why did you choose to work for this company?
The response to this question can offer valuable insight and broaden your perspective. Your hiring manager, just like you, was once in a similar position. Whether or not they were happy at their previous company, something compelling drew them to this organization. That reason might be something you hadn’t considered before. Additionally, your hiring manager can share whether their initial impression of the company was accurate once they started working there.

10) What do you believe your organization’s advantage is over the competitors?
Whether a company is leading or trailing the industry, there must be something that gives people confidence in its potential. How in tune your hiring manager is with this can reveal valuable insights about the organization. It can also help you assess whether these factors align with what excites you.

We hope these questions have helped you refine your approach to the interview process. We’d love to hear about any interesting interview questions you’ve been asked and how they influenced your decision when choosing a position.

10 Interview Questions Hiring Managers Ask

PolishedResumeOctober 24, 2015Interview TipsLeave a Comment

Job interviews can be nerve-wracking—even for seasoned professionals. But when you know what hiring managers are likely to ask and why, you can walk in more prepared and more confident. Here are 10 thought-provoking questions hiring managers ask during interviews—plus tips on how to answer them in a way that sets you apart.

First, these questions are designed to prompt meaningful self-reflection. Even if you’re not asked any of them word-for-word, the preparation will equip you to handle similar questions with confidence.

Second, if, after reading through these questions, you find it difficult to apply them to your current role, it might be a signal to reassess how you’re approaching your daily responsibilities.

Interview Questions You Should be Prepared to Answer:

1) What are you passionate about?
In my experience, most candidates answer this question by saying they’re passionate about solving problems. While there’s no “wrong” response, your interviewer is really looking for what sets you apart. A generic answer makes it difficult to stand out from the crowd. (Discover what truly matters to you with our FREE Interactive Principles & Values Exercise.)

2) Tell me about a project you were responsible for that failed and what you learned from that experience?
Everyone has stories of rising to the occasion and pulling things together to achieve success. But truly stretching beyond your comfort zone — and risking failure — takes real courage. Despite what Hollywood often suggests, genuine growth often involves setbacks. How a person handles him or herself when nothing feels like it is going right can reveal a lot about a person’s character.

3) How has your boss helped you in your career?
Organizations want to know that you can effectively leverage the resources around you — and one of the most important is your manager. Whether your boss is exceptional or less than ideal, they have a significant influence on your work. How thoughtfully you’ve engaged with that relationship says a lot about your maturity, self-awareness, and leadership potential.

4) They say the greatness of a leader is reflected in those who follow him/her. Describe someone who followed you and a success they have achieved.
Whether or not you’ve held a formal management role, anyone skilled in their field will encounter opportunities to mentor others — at work, at home, in volunteer settings, and beyond. In any role that involves collaboration, employers are often keen to understand how you’ve approached these moments in the past. Your experiences can offer insight into how you might handle increasing leadership responsibilities in the future.

5) What are people likely to misunderstand about you?
In many situations, perception becomes reality. While we can’t control how others perceive us directly, we often hear about the importance of managing “perception” — or more commonly, “office politics.” Those who succeed in building strong organizations are often skilled at anticipating and navigating these perceptions. At the core of this ability is strong self-awareness. This question is designed to explore how attuned you are to that dynamic.

6) Describe a conflict you encountered during your career and how you resolved the situation?
When you bring together passionate, intelligent people, differences in ideas are inevitable — and those differences can lead to conflict. It’s nearly impossible to build a successful career without encountering conflict at some point. In fact, the ability to resolve conflict and collaborate effectively can determine the success or failure of a project. While these skills often don’t appear on a résumé, demonstrating strength in this area can be a tremendous asset to any organization.

7) Describe a defining moment in your career.
This question helps distinguish steady time-servers from the true high-impact contributors that organizations actively seek. It’s relatively easy to move from company to company without making a significant mark. But it takes real commitment — an investment of time, energy, and focus — to earn the opportunity to shape a business and, in doing so, define your own career path.

8) Describe one attribute you want to grow in at your next job.
Organizations are dynamic — they either grow or shrink. The economy itself is a testament to this constant change. If you’re not growing, you’re effectively shrinking. The skill sets you possess today might be exactly what the organization needs now, but if you’re successful in driving its growth, your current skills alone may no longer be sufficient for tomorrow’s needs. A focus on growth is a quality that prospective employers find highly valuable.

9) If you were to start a business today, what kind of business would you start and why?
This question offers another opportunity for the interviewer to gain insight into your passions. Don’t hesitate to mention interests from entirely different industries. The goal is for the interviewer to understand what sets you apart from other candidates. The only wrong answer is a generic response that fails to reveal the passions that make you uniquely qualified for the role.

10) What is the most important thing a company needs to provide in order for you to be inspired to stay a long time?
Similar to passions, organizations want to understand what motivates you and whether your motivations align with their culture. The only “wrong” answer is one that doesn’t help differentiate you from other candidates. Reflect on an experience where you felt motivated to stay with a company for an extended period, and consider how your unique contributions influenced the culture. Companies invest heavily in onboarding new employees and want to be confident that you’ll be a good fit for the entire package.

We hope you found these questions thought-provoking. We’d love to hear about any interesting questions you’ve been asked in interviews and how you approached them.