My first professional interview, as an interviewer, occurred in 19XX. I’m sure I was more nervous than my candidate, but as the interviewer I’m sure I felt like I had a bit of an edge because I was the one asking the questions.

However, as a candidate, your interviewer should never feel like this.

Why?

Because they should be nervous about the types of questions you’re going to ask them. Sadly, most candidates do not ask what I consider to be really good interview questions. Some still don’t know they have a right to ask questions, others simply didn’t prepare, while others….who knows?

Whatever the reason, consider this:

• There are 24 hours in a day.
• The Surgeon General of the United States says you should sleep 7-9 (let’s call it 8) hours per night; that’s 1/3 of your day.
• With the 16 hours you have left, most likely you’ll spend at least 10 of those hours focused on work – getting dressed, traffic, work, traffic again.
• This means, on average, you’ll spend almost 63% of your conscious living engaged in and focused on work and work-related activities!

And, there’s nothing you want to know about the opportunity?

Each year, millions of people get hired into new jobs. Many of those millions end up disgruntled within six months because they don’t know what to ask about when interviewing, or don’t ask good questions.

If you’re now raising your hand because this has been you, here’s a vital tip that will help you to ask better, the right questions:

BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU IN THE WORK EXPERIENCE.

Yes, take time to think about what your top work priorities are and rank them. Next, turn them into interview questions. For instance:

If you’re top three work priorities are growth opportunities, flexibility, good colleagues, here are three questions you should ask:

1. Assuming I perform well in this role for which I’m interviewing, where could my career grow from here within the organization?
2. Does this role offer the opportunity to work from home __ (whatever you prefer) days per week?
3. Can you tell me about my peers – their work styles, personalities, and how they get along?

See how easy that was?

Now, if you aren’t clear on your work priorities and you’re interviewing tomorrow, here are a few more general questions that are always good to ask:

1. If I get this job, after one year, what would I need to have accomplished in order to be considered successful?
2. How will I be evaluated, by whom, and based on what criteria?
3. If hired into this position, who makes the decisions about my day-to-day work? (This is a great question to ask if you’re concerned about working for a micro-manager.)
4. If hired, what are the top 2-3 challenges I will face walking through the door? (Because there’s always something!)
5. Tell me about my (internal or external) clients. Who are they and what are they like to work with?
6. Who will I spend the majority of my time with? Please tell me what they are like to work with? Can I meet them? (This last one is gutsy if you don’t want more interviews, but worth it in the long run.)

Do you see how asking better questions can get you better information with which to make a good decision for you?

Now, take these questions and build on them.

Good luck with your interviews!

Until next time….