The best way to avoid taking a job you will hate (resulting in another job hunt too soon) is to learn as much as you can about the job, the employer, your boss, your coworkers, and the environment before you accept the job offer.

Job interviews should be as great a source of information for you, as they are for employers. Be ready to answer the common interview questions, but also be prepared to ask your questions in every interview.

Don't feel obligated to wait until the end of the interview to ask your questions. Some questions are appropriate at different times in the interview, as described below, and at different stages of the interview process which often goes several rounds.

Different Questions for Different Stages of the Interview Process

The job interview process may be simple. You may come in for one set of interviews and be hired. Or, you may have several different interviews on different days and in different locations.

With larger employers, the process is usually longer and more complex with an average of well over 3 weeks to fill a job. Typically, the interview process is comprised of several "rounds" of interviews, and making it past the first round is usually considered a good sign.

If the employer is local for you, the first interview may also be a phone interview which is often called a "phone screen" because that's what usually happens. They screen applicants to determine who may be a qualified candidate to be invited in for a face-to-face interview.

Most of these questions are appropriate for every round of interviewing when you are interviewed by new people (to you) in each round.

If you see the same people again in a 2nd or 3rd round, as part of the interview process for the same job, you probably should not repeat a question unless you want to follow up on something another interviewer said. Hopefully, by that point in the interview process, you hopefully will have learned enough about the person and the job to have developed new questions to ask.

Questions to Ask at the Start of the Interview

At the start of the interview, understanding the people who are interviewing you will help you provide answers appropriate to the person's role in your work life. You will also become a bit more comfortable talking with the interviewer(s), hopefully turning the interview into a discussion rather than a series of questions and answers.

Ask These Questions to Learn About the Interviewer

You should be introduced to each person interviewing you before an interview begins. Make note of the person's name, and ask for their job title if it isn't provided. Ideally, you should receive a business card from the interviewer that contains all relevant information, including their contact information.

Particularly if the person will be a co-worker or your manager, understanding what motivates their questions and interest in you will give you more insight into both them and the job. You will also be able to ask the most relevant questions.

• How long have you worked here?
• How long have you been in this job?
• Who is your boss? Where is your boss located?
• What do you enjoy most about working here?
• Why are you successful here?
• If the interviewer would be your boss, ask: How would you describe your management style?
• If the person is not a recruiter or the hiring manager, ask: Will we work together? How?

Understanding more about the person will help you choose the next questions to ask, and also help you keep their responses in perspective.

These questions are most relevant when you are meeting an interviewer for the first time. If you are returning for a second or third round of interviews with the same person, you should already know the answers to these questions, so repeating them is not necessary or smart.

Questions for the Main Part of the Interview

Once you understand who is interviewing you, you can move on to asking these questions as appropriate during the interview.

Ask These Questions to Learn About the Job

Ask questions that will help you determine if you would actually like the job, and be able to do it well.

• Why is this position open? Is it a new position or a replacement for someone?
  
  
  • New position is usually good (sign that the organization is probably growing).
  • If the job is a replacement, ask if the employee transferred to another part of the company, was promoted, or left the employer.
    
    NOTE: Be wary of an employer with many employees leaving constantly. People leave for a reason, and the reason may be because this is not a good place to work.
• How long does someone typically stay in this job?
• Who does the person in this job report to? What is the boss's job title, and where are they located?
  If the manager and the person in this job don't work in the same location, ask where the manager is located.
• What is the salary grade for this job? What is your lowest salary grade? The highest?
• What can you tell me about this job that isn't in the description?
• What is the key to success in this job?
• What are your future plans for this job?
• What are the prospects for growth for the person in this job?
• How do people grow in this job?
  Do they have OJT (on the job training), pay for training, or are you responsible for your own training?
• How often is this job open?
• What is a typical (day, week, month, or year) for a person in this job?
  Choose multiple time frames, if that feels appropriate.
• What is the toughest time of (day, week, month, or year) for a person in the job? Why?
• What is the key thing someone does to be successful in this job?
• How is success in this job measured by you? By the organization?
• What are the most important skills of the person who does this job?
• What is the biggest challenge someone in this job faces on a daily (or weekly or monthly) basis?
• If anyone has failed at this job, why did they fail? What mistakes did they make?
• Who does the person in this job report to?
  (If this job reports to more than one person, ask who writes the performance report.)
• Is there much travel associated with this job? Where and how often?
• What hours are typically worked in a week for someone successful in this job? Is overtime expected or accepted?
• Where is this job located?
  Ask this question if it isn't clear where the person will be working. You might be able to work from home, or the job might be at a different location than where the interview is happening.

Understanding more about the job will help you decide if the job feels like a good fit for you.

Ask These Questions to Learn About the Organization

Visit the employer's website and do some quick Google research before the interview, .

• What can you tell me about this organization that isn't widely known?
• What is the key to success in this organization?
• How many people work in this group (department, office, and/or company)?
• How many have joined in the last year?
  (In a fast growing company, several people could have been added. In a tough place to work, several people could have left.)
• How many people have left in the last year?
• Where do people usually go when they leave this group (another company or another part of this company)?
• How long do people usually stay in this organization?
• How do you define (or measure) "success" here?
• How would an employee know if they were considered a success or not?
• How does someone get promoted in this organization?
• How does senior management view this group?
• Where do you see this group in five years?
• When and how is feedback given to employees?
• If regular performance reviews are done:
  
  
  • What is the time frame between reports?
  • Who writes them?
  • Who contributes to them?

Source: Job Hunt

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