To earn a job interview means that you have to stand out from the crowd. You do this by separating yourself from the typical applicants and presenting yourself as a knowledgeable and ideal candidate. This starts with a perfectly drafted cover letter and resume that will wow your potential employer to the point of calling you in for a face to face interview.
The interview is where everything could go wrong. This is if you show up without preparing your answers and your questions. It is important to ask questions during an interview. There are typical interview questions online but they are not good enough to let you know more about the company and are not good enough to impress your audience.
Typical interview questions may have worked before, but now, hiring managers can easily detect if a question is well thought out or if it came from web pages online. Recruiters do visit the internet and some of them even have their own web sites so don’t bother asking canned questions. You’ll only lose your chances of getting the job.
When preparing your questions, make sure to do your research and keep your questions organized. You’d want to prepare your questions in a manner that will let you understand certain aspects of the company or the industry that they are in. Don’t go jumping from one topic to the other. Here are some areas that you can concentrate on when asking questions. Again, go beyond the typical interview questions.
Ask about the health of the company. Find out if the company is growing strong or is ailing and just waiting for its time to say goodbye. You can ask questions like “What company successes are you most proud of?†This will give you an idea about the stability of the company and what things they give importance to. You can then strategize and show the same value and strength during the interview.
Ask about job specifics. There are typical interview questions that talk about this topic but most of them are vague and closed questions that will not let you dig deep into the real aspects of the job.
Ask about the turnover rate of the company. Most recruiters will not openly discuss company problems especially if it concerns the employees. Most HR personnel are good in showing the best aspects of the company and in avoiding sensitive topics like the turnover rate. A good alternative for typical interview questions under this topic is “Is this position newly created or recently vacated?† One of my favorite questions.
Asking beyond the typical interview questions will not only help you create a good impression to your audience but they will also help you decide whether you really want to join the company or not. Keep in mind that there are 2 decision makers in a hiring process, the hiring manager and you, the applicant.