When you meet with some company to figure out whether they will be lucky enough to have you join their team, there are 5 questions for which you need answers*:
1 What does this job involve?
2 What are the skills a top employee in this job would have to have?
3 Are these the kinds of people I want to work with, or not?
4 If we like each other, and we both want to work together, can I persuade them there is something unique about me that makes me different from 19 or 900 other people who are applying for this job?
5 Can I persuade them to hire me at the salary I need or want?
With the online resources available today, you can do a lot of basic research to find out about the company, and you can use LinkedIn as a resource to communicate with people who work there, but the interview is often a great opportunity for you to speak one-on-one with people who work there.
Here are some sample questions you may want to ask. You should think about what you need to know about the company and the job. You may now want to ask all the questions, and may want to modify them to fit your individual situation.
1. Why is this job currently available?
2. Why did the individual who was previously assigned this job decide to leave?
3. What are the main responsibilities and objectives of the job?
4. How are objectives, deadlines, and metrics regarding performance established?
5. Is there a career path established for individuals assigned to this position?
6. What are your success metrics and measurements for this job?
7. Please describe for me the financial health of the company and its future direction over the next
few years.
8. How would you describe your management style when it comes to supervision of employees?
9. What are the work traits that you look for in a successful employee?
10. How would you describe the quality of work life within the company and this department?
A. What is it like to work at [Company]?
B. Has the company done a quality of work life survey?
*According to Richard N. Bolles in What Color Is Your Parachute?
