Do you have any questions

[Drorain]

SO I had another interview...at 11 eh? I go in 1030...good thing I had to fill out application and a couple forms...the girls comes to talk with me at 11.15, we have nice discussion, lovely...joy...meet the hiring manager. First thing she and i just didnt...have a cohesive fit, u can tell these things, she was very electric in personality, and shes from marketing. hmm. Job includes up date content on site and design...well I can do that...

Do i have questions? They always ask this...and my answer is almost always no. Cause they do a fair job of covering everything.

This place is on the forbes top 100 places to work for...friends of mine know the owners...I have an "in"...should i persue...I dont know yet. So much to consider

the point of all this...share some more interview war stories, what works what doesnt.

Also...Do you have any questions?

[morea]

let me fill you in some more when I get home Drorain, but my career counselor always told me to be certain to ask 2 or 3 questions... but make sure that the questions show that you were listening during the interview AND did your homework beforehand. It shows your interest in the company, not just desperate and willing to work anywhere. Companies like to feel special too.

I always try to look over the company's webpage and get any inside information I can before an interview.

I always bring a list with me of 5 - 10 questions, since many of them are covered during the interview. That way I can glance quickly over the list and ask anything that may not have beem covered. That sets you apart from the crowd!

some examples of the RIGHT questions to ask:

what opportunities for advancement are available for someone with my credentials?
how long does the average employee stay with your company?
how is <x> company planning for the future...

you get the idea.

[Drorain]

sounds about right...but I get bothered when I ask these same questions to three different people...that gets a little redundant and post interview, makes them think I'm a little slow

[morea]

that's why you write 10 questions and ask different ones to each person.

also: how did you get started with the company? what is your favorite thing about working here? least favorite?



some tips: http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/CareerBytes/0604topinterviewmoves.htm

[morea]

Some links from my library:

http://www.career.vt.edu/JOBSEARC/interview/AskQues.htm
http://interview.monster.com/articles/questionsyoucanask/
http://www.quintcareers.com/asking_interview_questions.html
http://www.collegegrad.com/questions/index.shtml
http://www.resumagic.com/interviews_questionstoask.html

[defjoe]

I usually tell them i don't either cause I have looked them up on the web (which I do do). that seems to impress them that I have done my homework.

[Patrick Shannon]

Sounds like this could be a productive thread. Good idea.

When faced with that question, I don't usually just say "no," I say something along the lines of "You have answered every question I had about your company" (and they typically do). I think Morea's advice is great stuff, though; I might do that instead next time.

War stories? No need to repeat what happened to me this and last week. But I'll share my previous interview before that, it was really awful. It was my first interview in like ten months, but I just wasn't worked up about it (my instinct at work).

I got to the interview and they told me "You brought a pen, right?" I told them "yes" but I came to realize that my pen was missing from my briefcase. I didn't want to ask them for a pen because I thought this was some stupid "employer" test, so I told them I left my pen out in the car. Oh what luck, no pen to be found. But I had plenty of art pencils, so I picked a really dark color....

But onto the actual interview, we didn't click at all. When I introduced my portfolio, their response was "Oh....we're not into the whole portfolio thing..." Uh-oh, that's not a good sign, ever. I knew at that moment what direction this would be going in. As we talked, they asked me "Oh....so you're looking for more of a design position, right?" I looked at them and said "I am a graphic designer." (What the hell did they expect?)

I finally got out of there and never wanted to hear from them again (and I didn't). It did teach me one thing though, if they're not interested in your portfolio or don't probe into it, stay away.

Despite the result of my most previous interview, those interviews were completely the opposite of this one, went real well. The other guy was just a better bullsh*tter, and that taught me that to market myself and in order to beat out the competition (there's ALWAYS someone better), attack their weaknesses in your pitch.

Why don't I share another story while I'm sitting here bored off my butt? This one is more comical and goes much farther back into my post-college days of interviewing. I got called into one place; this place was a real dive, run down, no signs out front at all (not always a bad thing though). Heck, I bet it's not even there anymore. Basically it was a small independent newspaper, kind of lower than the Thrifty Nickel.

To make the story short, they offered $7.25 an hour. (I made more than that at Western U.) I said it was fine, now deep down I knew it wasn't. But I thought you should be polite like that in interviews, but my response these days would be drastically different. I had to run through a test run which I passed (they were still using Pagemaker on Mac System 7 or something like that

At that time, I had a TON of interviews (so much easier to get interviews back then) and was hoping to hear back from certain prospects. So I received a call from one place, and thought off the bat it was the one I was wanting. "How would you like a job?" they asked. I enthusiastically replied, until it sunk into my head....it was that paper calling! I quickly switched gears and came up with the worst excuse to let them down possible. "Oh...sorry, I thought you were one of my freelance clients wanting to commission me....." They were like "Uhhhhh....okay." (Probably disappointed because no one else would take them up on such a laughable offer.)

These days, I've been so hardened from war that I would have flat out told them that they can't expect a good designer for that price.

[Ulysses]

I like to ask things like:

"Where do you see the company in 5 years?"
"Do you play a part in the global business economy (and if not, why not?)?"
"How exactly, will my role fit into the wider context of the company?"
"What propsects are there for me to extend into other roles?"
"What is the working enviroment like? Could I meet some of the people I will be working with?"


Most importantly:

"Can I sleep with the female employees?"

[Patrick Shannon]

> Most importantly:

> "Can I sleep with the female employees?"

Well, duh.

[D-Frag]

one of my favorite quotes from the late great Mitch Hedburg (And I alwaaaaays hated this question)

interviewer - "So where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
interviewee- "Celebrating the fifth anniversary of you asking me that question!"

I can't wait to use this one personally : )

[Drorain]

one of my coworkers here just suggested her indifferent attitude to the interview maybe because she needed a little loving

[Patrick Shannon]

> interviewer - "So where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
> interviewee- "Celebrating the fifth anniversary of you asking me that question!"

Oh, that's too smooth not to use, pure gold.

[EC]

five year plans scare me.

[Ulysses]

If a 5 year work plan scares you EC ... I guess you're absolutely petrified of marriage!? lol

[paulrandfan]

uh...let's see worst interview.

When I interviewed for the jobs here at the University, I interviewed for the one I have currently and another within the hospital department. The Art Director at the hospital indicated that the interview would be no longer than 45 minutes, but ended up 1 1/2 hours long, and they insisted on showing me all their work.

[EC]

Good guess Ulysses! lol

[morea]

Some of the questions I used when conducting informational interviews:

What do you look for in an employee?

When hiring for prepress or other artistic positions, do you prefer to see an artistic resume or a more traditional resume?

What kind of personality traits would help someone to be successful in this type of work?

What opportunities for advancement are there in this field?

Are there any professional associations or trade organizations in this area that serve this type of career?

What sort of training or other qualifications would be most beneficial for this kind of position?

How did you get started with this company, or in this line of work?

What do you like most & least about your job?

What is the salary range for this type of position?

What is a typical work day here like?

Can you recommend anyone else that I should speak to about my job search?

[Drorain]

Morea, Thank ya for the input

[Ulysses]

Morea ... full of wonderful and practical advice as always. When is that 'everything you will ever need to know' book of yours coming out? You can count on me buying a copy.

Perhaps we should make a comprehensive sticky or a resource post, of possible interview questions!?