D.C. Area Nesties
Dear Community,

Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.

If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.

Thank you.

Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.

job interview questions

i have some second round interviews this week...i am pretty good at preparing how to answer questions but am blanking on what to ask them. i like "how do you define success for this position?" "what would my main responsibilities be?"

of course basics like salary, benefits etc are in there too.

FWIW the commute for each would basically be the same.

Re: job interview questions

  • My two favorites:

    What do you like best about working for x company?  What do you like least?

    Why did the previous person in the position leave?

     

  • imagePunkRockGrrl:

    My two favorites:

    What do you like best about working for x company?  What do you like least?

    Why did the previous person in the position leave?

    those are my favs.

    Also, where do you see this position in five years? What is the next step for this position?

     

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • ditto pp. if they don't have much to say about why they like working there, that's usually a red flag for me. 

    good luck!  

    image
  • imagePunkRockGrrl:

    My two favorites:

    What do you like best about working for x company?  What do you like least?

    Why did the previous person in the position leave?

     

    thanks, i covered these in my first interview and got pretty good answers!

  • imageMrsSstrug:
    imagePunkRockGrrl:

    My two favorites:

    What do you like best about working for x company?  What do you like least?

    Why did the previous person in the position leave?

     

    thanks, i covered these in my first interview and got pretty good answers!

    If you've covered those, I try to find something about the industry or company to ask.  For company, I'll peruse their website and look for Press Releases and try to ask something about new products/services.  Or if it's a publicly traded company, I'll ask something related to shareholders, stock performance, etc.
  • To tag on to your ""what would my main responsibilities be?"question, you can ask what a typical day is like. How much autonomy would you have/would you be working in a team setting, are there goals for the position.
    image
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

    TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12

    baby blog/cooking blog
    Follow Me on Pinterest

  • Here's a list I've compiled over the years. The culture of a workplace has become one of the most important things to me, and I haven't been a good judge (reference:  3 agencies in 1.5 years).  I try to think of the things that were so wrong with a job/employer, and try to craft questions that would get at that issue.  (Since of course you can't ask, "Are you a micromanager?"  "Do all the employees think the leadership is ***?")


     
    About the position 
    Describe the structure of the Team?

    How would you describe the responsibilities of the position?

    How would you describe a typical week/day in this position?

    What skills are essential for success in this position?

    In my first 90 days, what is the most important thing I can do to help the team?

    What are the top 3 priorities you would like to see me accomplish this year?

    How much of my work will be done in teams and how much individually?

    What is the most rewarding project you've worked on since you've been here?


    About the work environment 
    What do you like about working for ____?
    How would you describe the working environment?

    How would you describe the personalities on the team?

    What is the management style?

    Why should I join ____?

     

    What is the biggest change you've seen at the agency since you started?

    Is the job changing from what the previous incumbant did? (If so, how?) 
    What is the strategic vision for the team/department/company?
    Can you tell me about any areas the team/department is currently working on improving?   
    How would you decribe the culture here?


     

  • freaking A these are great

     and one thing i have found to be useful in interview is to come up with a 30, 60 and 90 plan on what i would do if hired....with the caveat that these are just ideas as i have obviously not been in the office before. that is what i am working on at night this week. thankfully i have worked with both these groups before so i am not starting from scratch here.

  • I like asking about the team I'd be working with, if it's big, small, lots of people with long histories there (or a bunch of new people). Favorite thing about working there, least favorite thing. What types of projects would I be working on, would I work alone, with a group, customer facing or not really...
    carrie ~ me-at-carrie.cc ~ 4/21/2007
    * blog * first baby blog * baby 2.0 blog * twitter *

    image

    IMG_0578

    image
  • ditto pps suggestions, and if this is a second interview with people you've met the first time around you could ask something like, "what reservations or concerns do you have about me being in this position?" 

    I used to say "do you have any reservations..." but that is closed ended - asking the open ended way lets them voice any concerns and you can address them on the spot. I imagine that most times they'll say no, but they'll probably think that was gutsy of you to ask and shows you want to know where you stand and that the job is important to you. GL!

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • your questions are on point, I would definitely ask besides getting acclimated, what does the role need to focus on in the first 120 days.

    Good luck!

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • imageumdbride:

    ditto pps suggestions, and if this is a second interview with people you've met the first time around you could ask something like, "what reservations or concerns do you have about me being in this position?" 

    I used to say "do you have any reservations..." but that is closed ended - asking the open ended way lets them voice any concerns and you can address them on the spot. I imagine that most times they'll say no, but they'll probably think that was gutsy of you to ask and shows you want to know where you stand and that the job is important to you. GL!

    This reminded me of a question that I've asked twice, been told "Great question" twice, and gotten both jobs: Is there there anything that you are looking for in the person that fills this position that I have not addressed so far in the interview?"

    It's more of a first interview question, but worth adding to the list. 

Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards