I tend to go in with a list of questions. Some questions are tailored to the position, others are more general. The look on the interviewer's face is priceless when I pull out a printed sheet of questions and start taking notes on their answers. I just dug up a doc that had my interview questions for the first job I landed as an intern.
1) What is the biggest change the company has gone through in the last year?
2) If I were to get the internship position, what key accomplishments would you like to see in this role over the next year?
3) What's the style of leadership here at [company name]?
4) What types of people are successful here and which are not?
5) How did you get your start in the industry?
6) What do you like about working here?
7) What is the rhythm of work here? Is there a particular time of year when it's all hands on deck and we're pulling long hours or is it fairly consistent throughout the year?
8) What type of background and experience are you looking for in this position? What would your ideal candidate look like?
9) If I were to start tomorrow, what would be the top priority on my to-do list?
10) What would you say are the top two personality traits someone needs to do this job well?
11) What improvements or changes do you hope someone filling this role will bring to the company?
12) Is there anything that stands out to you that makes you think I might not be the right fit for this position?
13) What is the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you?
If the interviewer answered one or more of the questions during the regular flow of the interview or I have a good feel about what the answer would be I'll just skip the question. Typically, I probably ask about 6 or 7 of these questions.
Kim Arnett [she/her] leads the mobile team at Deque Systems, bringing expertise in iOS development and a strong focus on accessibility, user experience, and team dynamics.
That is amazing! And honsetly I’ve done the same lol and have actually had the interviewer stop me because we were out of time. I think it was a good indicator to them though that they dictated our entire time together. 👎🏼
I've been fortunate that I haven't been cut off from my questions yet but I would most likely take it as a negative sign if they did.
I tend to ask a handful of company specific questions as well. Really, being prepared is the key to a successful interview. One of my former managers told me that one of the candidates he interviewed came with nothing in hand, not even his own resume. The candidate apparently also came off as cocky and his interview didn't last very long at all.
I always take multiple copies of my resume with me as well because sometimes I'll be talking to multiple people either in succession or in a group and I like for everyone to have a copy so they can offer input or ask questions regarding my skills and experiences.
I've found that a certain level of give and take between myself and the interviewer(s) is key in how I feel about working for a company. If all they do is "take" in an interview, it's a pretty safe bet that they are only looking to fill a seat and have little concern about the growth of their employees and are only looking for an immediate increase to their bottom line. However, if they are looking at how they can help an employee be better at their job (continuing education, professional organization membership, etc...) I can see they are probably thinking about the long-term ROI of bringing someone new onto their team. They recognize that my growth as a professional is an asset to the company and not just a "sunk cost" that they dole out as an afterthought.
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I tend to go in with a list of questions. Some questions are tailored to the position, others are more general. The look on the interviewer's face is priceless when I pull out a printed sheet of questions and start taking notes on their answers. I just dug up a doc that had my interview questions for the first job I landed as an intern.
1) What is the biggest change the company has gone through in the last year?
2) If I were to get the internship position, what key accomplishments would you like to see in this role over the next year?
3) What's the style of leadership here at [company name]?
4) What types of people are successful here and which are not?
5) How did you get your start in the industry?
6) What do you like about working here?
7) What is the rhythm of work here? Is there a particular time of year when it's all hands on deck and we're pulling long hours or is it fairly consistent throughout the year?
8) What type of background and experience are you looking for in this position? What would your ideal candidate look like?
9) If I were to start tomorrow, what would be the top priority on my to-do list?
10) What would you say are the top two personality traits someone needs to do this job well?
11) What improvements or changes do you hope someone filling this role will bring to the company?
12) Is there anything that stands out to you that makes you think I might not be the right fit for this position?
13) What is the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you?
If the interviewer answered one or more of the questions during the regular flow of the interview or I have a good feel about what the answer would be I'll just skip the question. Typically, I probably ask about 6 or 7 of these questions.
That is amazing! And honsetly I’ve done the same lol and have actually had the interviewer stop me because we were out of time. I think it was a good indicator to them though that they dictated our entire time together. 👎🏼
I've been fortunate that I haven't been cut off from my questions yet but I would most likely take it as a negative sign if they did.
I tend to ask a handful of company specific questions as well. Really, being prepared is the key to a successful interview. One of my former managers told me that one of the candidates he interviewed came with nothing in hand, not even his own resume. The candidate apparently also came off as cocky and his interview didn't last very long at all.
I always take multiple copies of my resume with me as well because sometimes I'll be talking to multiple people either in succession or in a group and I like for everyone to have a copy so they can offer input or ask questions regarding my skills and experiences.
I've found that a certain level of give and take between myself and the interviewer(s) is key in how I feel about working for a company. If all they do is "take" in an interview, it's a pretty safe bet that they are only looking to fill a seat and have little concern about the growth of their employees and are only looking for an immediate increase to their bottom line. However, if they are looking at how they can help an employee be better at their job (continuing education, professional organization membership, etc...) I can see they are probably thinking about the long-term ROI of bringing someone new onto their team. They recognize that my growth as a professional is an asset to the company and not just a "sunk cost" that they dole out as an afterthought.