The most important thing you need to keep in mind when going to an interview is that you are a BUSINESS OF ONE. You need to know your value, to learn to sell yourself, because, in the end, a job is partnership between you and your company.
This means the interview is not a test, it’s a conversation. The interviewer wants to learn more about you, but you also want to learn about the company, what your role would be and if this is a place in which you want to work.
At some point in the interview the recruiter will ask you if you have questions. You can use this opportunity to learn more, but also to form a connection with your interviewer.
Without further ado, here are our reccommendations:
Connect
This is the moment you can create a bond with the interviewer and also learn about the work environment. Some good questions would be:
- How did you come to work here?
- What do you love most about working here?
Both this questions will give you valuable information and insight about the workplace while at the same time you will prove interest into your discussion partner.
Culture
Next you should find out about their corporate culture, understand what they value in an employee. Some good questions would be:
- Tell me about the most successful hire?
- Who didn’t succeed as a new hire?
Use these opportunity to analyze the characteristics which they value in an employee and see if it is the type of employee you want and can be.
Challenges
It’s time to go granular, to do more research about the challenges of the company and what your role will be in helping overcoming said challenges. Here is what you can ask:
- What is the biggest challenge of the company this year, how will I help in my future role?
- How will I measure my performance so I know I’m having a positive impact on this challenge?
Remember that you are a business of one, you have value and you need to know that your role there is relevant and impactful.
Close
For your ending question you should find out what follows. This is why you should ask:
- What are the next steps in the process?
- This way you can plan your time, job applications and you will know when to do a follow-up if their response deadline passes.
You are now one step closer to landing your dream job. Go to that interview and ace it!