Chapter 3 Part 5 – The Art of Asking Questions
After you have been asked a long list of questions, you will have the opportunity to ask questions to the interviewer. This is a normal procedure and most of the time it will happen at the end of the interview. No matter how clear are you about the company and the job, always have at least one question to ask. Simply not asking any question gives an impression that you are not interested in the job or not well prepared. Below are some guidelines in asking questions to the interviewers:
The most common questions to ask
Before attending an interview, take note of the general questions being used by candidates. The frequently asked questions (FAQ) will allow you to be prepared with at least one question. It is highly encouraged to have more comprehensive and unique questions but having an FAQ will at least be a good back-up in case you cannot come out with other questions for whatever reason.
To prepare for a couple of FAQs, all you need to do is to browse the company’s website again. You have visited the company’s information when you applied for the job so it is quite straight forward. Look into the news area at the website and find out what are the latest happenings within the company and the industry. From this information you can prepare at least one question. For example, a construction company might publish news of exploring new business market in the Middle East. You may use this information to ask question like “I’ve discovered your company’s interest towards the market in the Middle East, how does it affect the company’s overall investment in terms of manpower and re-assignment of personnel?” This way you are indirectly asking of any possibilities of being located in the new market.
Asking common questions can not only be about the company but also the interview process itself. Some good common questions regarding this matter are “How long will it take for the whole interview process?”, “How many levels of interview will I have to go through?”, “Do you need any additional testimonials or support documents from my prior employer?”. These are just some of the many good common questions that can bring a nice ending to your interview.
Preparing the Questions
While FAQ plays the role as your back-up questions, it is encouraged to have questions relating to the interview itself. As mentioned in previous sections, it is important to give full attention to all the questions and facts given out by the interviewers. By listening carefully and taking notes, you can ask questions that reflects not only your interest but your capability and experience.
A good tip is to use the direction of the questions that are being asked. For example, interviewers for an IT Executive job might ask you many questions relating to your technical capability on specific software such as Microsoft Access. During your turn to ask questions, you might want to ask about the software that the company is using and why it is important to emphasize on Microsoft Access compared to other available software. This shows that you are paying attention and wanted to know the rationale behind all the questions being asked to you.
The asking question session is a unique opportunity to clarify any matters that you want to know. Questions should fall on one or many of these categories of about the company, the job, the industry and the interview itself. Curiosity has its rewards so do ask as many good questions as possible.
An important note is not to ask questions that are related to job benefits, salary and compensation on your first interview. Unless being asked by the interviewers, you want to stay away from this topic so that you would not be seen as too materialistic and over-confident. You can however casually ask about how long you will have to wait before being informed of the result for the interview.
Asking the Questions
When asking questions, try to limit yourself and not to go overboard by asking too many questions, especially those obvious ones that you can easily find the answers on the company’s website or annual report. It is good to have more than one question but do prioritize and ask questions that are the most relevant and would give most impact to your chance of getting the job.
Now that you know what to ask and which questions to ask first, you will have no problem asking your questions. The beauty of asking questions is that when you feel you have enough, you can just simply stop and end the interview. Structure the questions to be clear, precise and short and group your questions accordingly so that it will be in an order of relevance making it easier for the interviewers to answer.
An easy mistake made by many is being too arrogant and overconfident in asking questions. Despite being prepared and equipped with questions, do not give an impression that you know everything about the company or challenge the interviewers on too many details. Note that some details about the company are not meant to be shared with a job candidate and the interview might get offended if you want to know too much and too deep of any information. Always begin your questions with phrases such as “If I may ask… or if it is ok with you…” for questions that can be a bit sensitive to the organization. Just like other things, you will feel comfortable once you have a bit of practice in asking questions so do practice a lot!
1 Comment
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