Wednesday 30 January 2008

What questions would you ask in a job interview?

OK, we all have been in job interviews gunning for that dream job, and one of the certain questions that your interviewer will ask you is "Do you have any questions you would like to ask us?". So what do you ask?

If I was looking for a job, not that I am looking for a job, the following would be in my top 5 questions to ask...well, maybe only from a financial perspective anyway.

If there is zero income coming into the business today, how much longer are you able to keep trading before declaring bankruptcy?

By hiring me, how will I help the company's bottom line?

What is the salary ratio between the companies highest paying job and my job?

How will you ensure that my job is secure for the next 2 years?

How high is my welfare on the companies priorities?

These questions are framed from a perspective of job security. One of the worst things that you can do is to join a company that is on a downward slope and you are not in a position to influence it to be come an upward slope. It is like jumping into a sinking ship with a smile...

Most people that I know of go to an job interview to secure an income, so what not ask the questions that would directly affect your personal bottom line.

What are some of your questions?

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the worst thing about working here?

That probably gets an honest response, and it might well be something you can live with.

Debt Dieter said...

Interesting questions, I'm not sure I'd be game to ask them though! :-)

Anonymous said...

@plonkee, I did asked a similar question once. The answer that I got was rather suspicious as I knew that the company had a problem in attracting the correct hires. I guess that they didn't want to scare off any more potentially good hire.

I did accept the position, and found that the answers were honest and correct!

Anonymous said...

I ask 2 questions, one is 'how long until I will be notified of the outcome?' the other is a question showing you've done the background work an know about the business that you are applying to work.
never ask about holidays or leave

Anonymous said...

@debt dieter, I believe that asking these questions, I am showing that I am not going into the situation blindly. If they are afraid about giving answers to these questions, I may questioned if this is the right company to work for.

@louise, I have actually, on a number of occasions, asked about different benefits of the companies, and in a round about way, asked about their holiday and leave policies. My thoughts were that if they were really interested in hiring me, then they should not be that concern when these questions.

If questions about holidays were asked, I believe that it should be balanced out with other questions.

SavingDiva said...

My current job, I was interviewed by the guy leaving...so I asked him why he was leaving...