Congratulations, you have been invited in for the interview! Now that you are in the game, get beyond asking the typical interview questions. When preparing my clients for interviews, we spend quite a bit of time developing thought provoking questions. Asking these types of questions demonstrate critical thinking skills and preparation. They infer extreme seriousness about the position. What do these questions look like? Here are a couple of examples of typical interview questions and their more penetrating counterparts:
Examples of typical interview questions about the company include:
1) How big is your company
2) What are your core competencies?
These are alright, but will certainly not impress your audience. Better questions include:
1) What is your market share?
2) What are your strategies for growth?
Although they are both geared toward a better understanding of the operation, the second set of questions imply that you are familiar with business and are interested in the financial health of the organization.
Examples of typical interview questions about the position include:
1) Are there opportunities for personal growth?
2) Can you tell me more about the position?
There are better questions you can ask to gain the trust of your audience, such as:
1) Can you describe a typical day for this position?
2) Can you elaborate on the growth potential within the company?
Although both questions inquire about promotion and career growth, the second set of questions probe deeper than the first set and will help you build trust and gain additional insight about the position.
Lastly, examples of typical interview questions about the reason for the opening.
1) Why is there an opening?
2) What happened to the person who filled this position?
You want to find out the reason this position is available. Is it due to the environment, bad hiring decisions, or expansion requiring newly added positions? The better way to ask this question is:
1) Is this position a new addition for your company or has it been recently vacated?
I prefer the not-so typical interview questions because they do not have a negative connotation. You are asking for the recent history of the position in an upbeat and positive manner. This puts your audience at ease when they respond. You need to inquire because asking about the position will clue you in to whether or not there is a warning label attached to it.
When interviewing, you can prepare like you normally have. Conducting some research, practice your responses to questions you know will be coming at you, and develop a list of those typical interview questions. Or, you can raise the bar of your candidacy by using your research to ask probing questions to go a little deeper than your competition and demonstrate your critical thinking skills and your deep seeded enthusiasm for the position.
