101 Smart Questions to Ask on Your Interview (12 page)

2. To investigate each company’s hiring policies: Who makes the decisions? Who are the key players? Is there a hiring season?

3. To sell yourself and leave a calling card, your resume.

4. To seek out advice to help you refine your job search.

5. To obtain referrals to expand your network of contacts.

6. To develop a list of follow-up activities that will heighten your visibility among your key contacts.

Of course, the line between the people who can give you information about a certain field you’ve targeted and potential employers in that field can sometimes blur. Don’t be concerned—you’ll soon learn when (and how) to shift the focus from interview
er
to interview
ee
.

To simplify this process, follow a single rule: Show interest in the industry or job area under discussion, but never aggressively seek out information about particular openings; wait until the interviewer raises the possibility of your working there. You may be surprised at how often the person you’re interviewing turns to you and asks,
“Would you be interested in _____ [a current job opening]?”
If you
would
be interested in the position under discussion, by all means make your feelings known.

Smart Questions During an Informational Interview

In addition to any questions your research failed to answer (which, of course, you should now ask), here are some other smart questions to ask during any informational interview:

What are your duties and responsibilities?

How do you spend your day?

How did you get started at this company (or in your profession)?

What do you like most about your job? What do you like least?

What kind of person do you think is right for this kind of work?

What skills are in short supply here?
(Careful: This is bordering on the aggressive!)

How can I learn more about this field? Are there specific trade journals I should be reading or associations I can join?

How can I meet others in this field?

What is the best way to get started (in this field or at this company)?
This is a question for recent graduates to ask.

I’m trying to get in to see people at some other organizations. Do you know anyone at these companies? May I use your name?

Given my credentials, where would you see me fitting in at a company like yours?

This is probably as close to a “closing” question as you want in an informational interview. At worst, you’ll get some valuable advice. At best, you may just get yourself a real interview.

Can you direct me to others in your department/organization/division/company with whom you think it would be appropriate for me to talk or meet?

Now, it’s possible that the interviewer will direct you to another person or two for the express purpose of educating you. After all, that
is
what you said you were there for. But there is another positive possibility: You may have impressed him. In fact, despite your assertion that you’re “just seeking information,” he may be thinking,
“Hmmm, this guy is good. He may be right for that opening in Josh’s department.”
In which case, you have just transformed an informational interview into a job interview . . . with this single question. That’s why I like it!

Interviewing with Recruiters, Headhunters, Employment Agencies

Of the many outside counselors who can help with your job search or arm you with job leads, employment agencies are on the bottom rung of the ladder. Dozens of them may get the same job openings from the same companies at the same time. Candidates are a bit like fast-food customers: first come, first served.

Recruiters are a decided step up, although not all of them work on an exclusive basis. So, again, there may be more than one or two of them seeking similar candidates for the same openings.

Headhunters are the top of the ladder, generally working in specific fields (mining, engineering, media, etc.) for companies seeking professional, even executive, employees at decidedly higher pay scales.

The higher up the food chain you go, the more the counselor is likely to know about the company, the job, and the interviewer.

Once an agency, a recruiter, or a headhunter believes you are a qualified and serious candidate for a position (i.e., you’re going after a job for which you’re qualified and, in her opinion, have a reasonable chance of getting hired), you can use her as a great initial source of information. In fact, questions that would be inappropriate or uncomfortable to ask on a “real” interview may be fine to ask a recruiter or headhunter.

Just remember that these counselors are working for the company—that’s who’s paying their fees and probably giving them dozens of medium- to high-level jobs to fill every year. So, ultimately, that’s where their loyalties lie. Nevertheless, if they can supply a key client with its newest superstar—you—their stock will rise accordingly. (We won’t mention what happens if you embarrass them on the job or, worse, on the interview, will we?)

Here are some key questions to ask agencies and recruiters:

What is the company?

How long have you been working with this company?

The longer they’ve been on retainer, the more they’ll likely know about the company and the more they can tell you. And
are
they on retainer? Or are they just one of many firms that get paid only if they place someone?

Who is your contact at the company?

Is it the person who is actually doing the hiring or just someone in the Human Resources department?

How many people have you placed there?

Is a written, detailed job description available?

Why is this job available? Is this a new position? Was it created as part of a new project, division, or strategy?

New positions imply growth. Any company growing now may well be one you want to work for!

If it’s not a new position, what happened to the person who previously held it?

If fired, can you tell me why? If promoted, where did he or she end up?

To whom would I be reporting? What can you tell me about him or her?

How many people would be reporting to me? What can you tell me about them?

What kind of a maelstrom are you diving into? It may be hard to get a truthful answer to this question from the headhunter, and harder still from the hiring manager, but don’t walk blindly into a department that’s heading for a meltdown.

How long has this job been open?

How many candidates has the interviewer already seen?

If the job has been open for months, and the interviewer has already seen dozens of candidates, no explanation is positive: The interviewer is fishing for someone who doesn’t exist, can’t make up his mind, or keeps changing the description of what he’s seeking. Or else the job, company, or people are so scary that candidates wind up running for the hills. Whichever the case, the longer the job has been open, the more suspicious you should be . . . and the more probing questions you should ask.

How long do you think the interview process for this job will take?

You know what I’m making and what I’d like to make. You know the kind of overall package I’m seeking. Do you foresee any problems with the company meeting my needs?

Would the recruiter send you on an interview with a company offering significantly less than he knows you require? Doubtful. But there’s no reason for you to wait to ask this question until after you’ve already gone through a series of interviews at the company . . . only to discover that, whoops!, he did just that.

Is the person with whom I’m interviewing the decision-maker? If she isn’t, who is?

Is the interviewer my potential boss?

If so, you won’t necessarily approach the interview itself any differently, but you will certainly spend more time gauging the chemistry between you and him.

What can you tell me about the culture of the company? Is there anything specific I should avoid doing or discussing?

This is information that is invaluable—a “heads up” that may put you head and shoulders above the candidates who inadvertently say or do the wrong thing.

Before you set up an interview for me, could I meet with some of the other people you’ve already placed at this company?

Not all recruiters will welcome this question or respond positively to it. It delays their ability to get you in the door, a delay that may conceivably cost you the job (and them a commission). So I would consider asking this question only if other answers have caused you to wonder whether you want to interview there at all.

How integral to the success of the company is the department I’d be joining?

A positive answer is especially important to the more ambitious among you. If the department is the vital hub of the whole operation, getting hired may thrust you into the middle of the action and greatly increase your chances to be seen, evaluated, appreciated, and promoted. On the other hand, a support department may be less pressured and less hectic . . . but less rewarding, too.

Is there anything else I need to know that would either doom my chances or help me ace the interview?

It’s the last question you should ask them. Give them one more chance to offer that magic elixir that will turn your interview experience into gold.

Why You Should Avoid Human Resources

Not many career books that will advise you to make a beeline for the Human Resources department of a company you’ve targeted. In fact, most, if not all, will tell you to avoid it like the plague if at all possible. What have these poor (formerly) personnel people done to generate such animosity?

Nothing, really. I’m sure many of them are very nice people who do their jobs very well. The problem is that their jobs have little to do with actually getting
you
a job. They are
not
seeking candidates to interview and hire; they are trying to maximize the number they can
eliminate.
They are the screeners, the people who sift the sands of the known employment universe to discard the unqualified, the overqualified, the underqualified, and the “mis-qualified.” They can say no. And they do. A lot. But they
can’t
say
yes.

In addition to not being able to actually offer you anything more than coffee or tea (and maybe an IQ or drug test), the staffers in many Human Resources departments may have (surprisingly) little idea about what hiring managers really want in job applicants. The more technical or specialized the field, the truer this statement.

I know of a Human Resources Director who recommended a candidate for whom English was a second—and not very
good
—language for the top editorial post on a major association magazine. Another passed along a candidate who got 55 out of 100 on a spelling test for a proofreading position. Still another recommended someone for a Vice President of Finance position whose resume was filled with rather obvious and easily discovered lies.

At many organizations, even hiring managers make it a point to go around their Human Resources departments—bringing candidates in, interviewing them, and only
then
passing them along so Human Resources can take care of the paperwork.

Make it easier for the hiring manager to do just that. Make every effort to get in touch with him or her directly, preferably by dropping the name of a “friend of a friend.”

If you
must
go through Human Resources (and sometimes, despite your best efforts, you
will
), you can’t ignore their power: They’re the
only ones who can get you to the next level—the real interview. So it certainly would behoove you to make friends with them and use them in whatever way you can.

Staffers in the best departments can and do know more than they are sometimes given credit for. They know the company, they may know something about the job, and they probably know whom you’ll be working for, whom you’ll be working with, and who you’ll be supervising. They can steer you in the right direction and help you appreciate the culture you’re about to confront.

The Personnel Manager at a major magazine publisher I worked for was such a veteran. She knew where all the bodies were buried . . . and who should join them. With her help and input, I became the first person without previous magazine experience ever hired at that company. I paid her back by not only becoming the youngest sales manager in the company’s history, but doing it more quickly than anyone had ever done it.