The interview questions that’ll help you land the job

When it comes to landing a job, almost everyone is in agreement that a bit of interview preparation is essential. To enter the room armed with some information on the company’s background, work culture and current projects goes a long way towards success. And while the majority do this, there are some who will answer the questions diligently and thoughtfully, only to hear ‘have you any further questions?’ as the end of the ordeal. Unfortunately, to treat this phrase as such is to forgo an important stage of the process: asking a few good questions of your own. Not to do so is to miss a real opportunity to impress.

From an interviewer’s perspective, a candidate that doesn’t ask questions is one that isn’t as intrigued by the role as they should be. In the most literal terms, they simply haven’t asked enough questions of the job, including how they might prosper in it. Moreover, an interview is a two-way process, and is as much an opportunity for you to discover whether you really do want to work for a company.

Below is a guide to some general questions that you can pre-prepare for an interview – a wise decision if you feel it may be difficult to conjure up anything meaningful on the spot.

Image: Paramount Pictures

1. What do you enjoy most about working here?

This one is as simple as it gets – and that’s the beauty of it. Direct, genuine and easy-going, this question makes for a light start to the final stage of an interview. The answer should give you an idea of what really makes this company worth a person’s time and effort.

2. What do you find challenging about working here / what was different from what you expected when you first joined?

This one gets the interviewer thinking, and may even take them a little off guard. It isn’t, however, supposed to be ‘clever’, nor shift the focus of the interview away from you. Rather, it shows a genuine engagement with the role and a desire to know how it really functions on a daily basis.

3. What sort of skills would you expect to find in a person who would succeed in this role?

On the one hand, this gives you the opportunity to find out what is really needed for the role, and whether that matches any preconceived notions you have about this industry. On the other, it gives you the chance to demonstrate some of those skills by going on to discuss the ways in which you have utilized the very things that the interviewer mentions. As an added bonus, you will also have a better of idea of what the hiring manager’s ideal candidate might look like.

4. What, in your eyes, would constitute success in three months time?

Business is led by goals and objectives, and asking this question shows an awareness of this. An excellent way to garner information about the job’s learning curve, this also works to display a much-desired trait in the working world: eagerness.

5. What are the most significant factors currently affecting business? (Example: If the company you’re interviewing with operates in the luxury sector, then they may have difficulty with competitors offering cheaper, mass-produced alternatives.)

Businesses exist to grow and flourish, and dealing with competitors and market changes are some of the biggest challenges they face. By asking this question, you’re showing an interest in the current market and the realities of business – that there are always certain factors causing a business ‘pain’. Hiring employees is often an attempt to solve this ‘pain’, and by showing yourself to be engaged with this idea, you may well find yourself one step closer to landing the position.

6. What are the opportunities for promotion?

It may seem presumptuous to be asking this question before you have even landed a job, but an employer will appreciate a candidate who shows ambition and is thinking of the position in the long-term. Hiring managers are far more likely to take someone on if they believe there is a good chance that person will stay for a considerable amount of time. To them, such a person is likely grow with a role, taking on additional responsibility over time.

7. How does the role fit in with the structure of the company as a whole?

Employers like to see that a candidate is interested in the structure of the business beyond the immediate role or department that they are interviewing for. No matter how large or small, a business rarely succeeds without cohesion between its various parts. By asking this question, you demonstrate that you understand the value of teamwork, and that you have broad horizons.

8. What new projects / clients is the firm working on / with?

A successful company is always looking ahead to its next piece of business. By asking this question, you’re not only showing interest in what is happening now, but what the firm will be working towards in the near future, and of any new directions the company may soon be taking.

9. What is the culture like in the office / what is the working environment like.

Considering how much time you will be spending at your job, its important to know that you will enjoy – or at least sympathetic to – the work culture that exists there.

10. A note on answering questions

It’s always worth remembering that the interviewer isn’t just a manifestation of the corporate world, but a living, breathing human being with ambitions, desires and needs of their own. Interviews are inherently pressured situations, and it can be easy to forget that you are talking to another person, not the face of a firm. As such, it’s better to take a moment to think about a question, and then answer it in a human way, not in the robotic, boilerplate language that exists only in interviews and on CV’s. Talking about ‘overseeing a multi-track, end-to-end streamlined operation’ is to regurgitate dry phrases heard a thousand times before. Try instead to talk in a more natural ‘show and tell’ manner: what was the problem you had to address? What did you do to solve it? What were the results?

Main and feature image: Paramount Pictures