Great Job Candidates Ask Great Questions

Currently I have several clients that are looking for new opportunities.  Most are looking around because they don’t like working for whom they are working.  When they do leave their jobs, most likely their supervisor will attribute their leaving to a multitude of other factors – completely leaving off the most important factor, how they managed.  Today’s blog is dedicated to those in search of the opportunity.  Inc. Online had an article about the 5 questions great job candidates ask.  I’ve doctored it up a bit, with my own spin.

Candidates many times ask questions to make themselves look smart and really don’t care about the answers.  I’ll give you a clue, the person interviewing you knows this and is not impressed.

Great candidates ask questions they want answered because they’re evaluating the interviewer, the company and whether they really want to work there.  This shows confidence and maturity – contrasted with neediness and manipulation.  Here are six questions great candidates ask:

What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?

Great candidates want to hit the ground running.  They don’t want to spend weeks or months “getting to know the organization.”  They want to make a difference right away.

What are the common attributes of your top performers?

Great candidates also want to be great long-term employees.  Every organization is different and so are the key qualities of top performers in those organizations.  Great candidates want to know because they want to know if they fit and if they do fit, they want to be a top performer.

What are a few things that really drive results for the company?

Employees are investments, and every employee should generate a positive return on his or her salary.  Great candidates want to know what truly makes a difference.  They know helping the company succeed means they succeed as well.

What do employees do in their spare time?

Happy employees like what they do and like the people they work with.  This can be a tough question to answer.  What’s important is that the candidate wants to make sure they have a reasonable chance of fitting in – because great job candidates usually have options.

How do you plan to deal with…?

Every business faces a major challenge.  A great candidate doesn’t just want to know what you think; they want to know what you plan to do – and how they will fit into those plans.

What do you like best about working here?

This question can build a relationship.  Watch the body language and the words the interviewer uses for their answer.  You can learn a lot by evaluating their answer.  If they don’t like working at the organization, what chance do you have.

What questions have you asked that have helped you through the evaluation process?  Have you ever had a surprise answer?  Leave you comments below.

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