Many people aren’t satisfied with the job they accept. And almost always they could have foreseen the outcome. Often the trouble starts when people are desperate enough to take a job knowing it’s merely to have a job…to get paid for time. They need the work. So they settle merely to gain employment. However, there is another group of job seekers who are in a position to be selective…who can choose the best fit for them…and still fail.
Selecting who we are going to spend a portion of our lives with and who will likely define, at least in part, our legacy is a big deal. We should treat it as such. And we should start in the interview. Most of us are taught how to prepare for an interview...look the part, be confident, make sure the resume is typo free and so on. We’re also taught to treat the interview like a test...something we can study for and hopefully answer enough questions correctly to pass. But very few of us are taught to develop insightful questions to be sure we select successfully. Certainly an ample amount of research can be done ahead of time to gain valuable insight into the organization and even the person conducting the interview. The internet has given us that. But what it doesn’t give us is the opportunity to sit in front of a live person...to see body language, to hear tone, and to exchange thoughts and opinions about the work, the goals and most importantly the culture that’s on offer. The questions we pose to gain this insight are just as important as those being asked by the prospective employer, perhaps even more so. So here goes…a not complete list of interview questions we should ask.
Please describe the culture of the organization.
What are the core values?
What are the top things which are working? How about those which are not working?
How are improvement ideas typically generated? And how are they implemented?
How are employee performance evaluations handled? What is the process?
Is there an HR department? If so, please describe their role.
How are conflicts resolved between people and departments?
Please describe the typical day for this position. And what a successful day looks like.
What change may I help make to improve the work we do?
What are the challenges currently facing the department? The company?
How do you see my role developing in terms of career growth and learning?
I would like to learn the following in hopes of achieving my long-term goals. How will you help me achieve this?
The most important choice we can make in selecting who we do our work with is not to settle. An interview helps us avoid that trap. Use it wisely.