“Any questions?” How to prepare questions for a job interview
How to mess up a job interview without saying anything bad!
There are only so many variations of interview questions that can be asked, only so many formats they can take, and the best candidates have often worked this out. They prepare well, they listen to what the interviewer is asking, they give examples, and they try and build rapport. However, even the best candidate can steal defeat from the jaws of victory by saying nothing. That’s right, too many people don’t get hired when they say nothing. How can someone say nothing and not get the job you may ask – particularly if they’ve prepared as well as you say?
Easy, at the end of the 99% of interviews, the interviewer says “do you have any questions for me?”. Now, if there’s one thing in my 20 years of recruitment that disappoints an interviewer the most, it’s when the interviewee has no questions for them. I’m not saying scrabble around for something meaningless like “what did you have for lunch today?” just so you say something, but I think all candidates need to have some well thought through questions ready, which they are able to adapt if they’ve perhaps been touched upon already.
Questions for interviewers can be broken down into topics:
The firm
- Ask the interviewer what attracted them to the firm?
- Are there any misconceptions about the firm?
- What’s the best thing about working there?
- What differentiates their culture from other firms?
- What’s the 5 year plan for the business?
The role
- How does this role fit in with their 5 year plan?
- How would success be defined in the role?
- What metrics will your performance be judged on?
- What are the worst things about the role?
- Why do you feel some people succeed in the role and others don’t?
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The hirer
- Describe your management style?
- What are you looking to achieve from this hire?
- What can I do to help you achieve your aims?
Don't ever
Put the interviewer on the spot and ask them how they feel the interview has gone! I know it’s sometimes seen as demonstrating a good “closing” technique, but few interviewers like this approach.
The list above clearly isn’t exhaustive, but please don’t lose your dream job by not asking a questions when invited to! If you have any questions, or would like an informal chat, please contact us on 01525 864 372 / [email protected].
About Fram Search
Established in 2010 by Simon Roderick, a recruiter with 20 years City recruitment experience, Fram Search is a specialist financial services recruitment consultancy. We focus on permanent and interim recruitment in the UK & internationally.
We provide high quality contingent and retained recruitment to boutiques and global brands. We have long established relationships and access to deep talent pools. Fram takes a highly consultative approach, and we have a quality over quantity ethos. We are proud that our contingent fill rate is nearly three the industry average and we augment our retained search methodology with rigorous psychometric testing. Champions of diversity & inclusion, all staff have undertaken unconscious bias training.
Please contact us on 01525 864 372 / [email protected] to learn more.
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