The best interviews are really conversations, as well they should be. You want to know if the position is the right fit – just as much as the company does. After all, the work you do makes up a good portion of your waking hours, so the company, and the team, you may join has to meet some of your basic needs.

Here are a few seed questions that can reveal facets of the position and the company you might not get otherwise.

Why did the last person leave this position?

This will tell you a lot about the dynamics of the company. Is the job vacant due to a promotion? Great. That means there’s room for advancement. Did the person get fired? That calls for additional probing to figure out what caused the company to take such drastic action. Is this a new position? Great again. That means growth, but also calls for more probing to see if it’s smart growth, or the kind that will have you out of a job in three months.

Can you describe what my first day, week, and month look like?

This will tell you how far they’ve thought though your onboarding process. Is it sink of swim, or do they have a reasonable plan with some mentoring? It can also give you a clue as to what to expect at first, and what their expectations are for your coming up to speed. Also, phrasing the question as if you are already the selected candidate can’t hurt in the neuro linguistic programming department.

Can you describe the ideal candidate for this position?

This is a good one because rather than all the “who are you and what have you done” stuff of interviews, they’ll have to tell you exactly what they want. Then, in your closing statement, you can use the information to create the narrative of you as that exact person.

In addition to those three mainstays, make sure you hit the potential employer’s Web site before the interview. That research will usually help you come up with additional questions to ask.

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1. What to ask during a job interview?

• Do some research.
• Read the job description and requirements carefully.
• Check their the web site for clues on what their environment looks like.
• Check LinkedIn and Glassdoor sites for any info related to the company.
• Armed with all this knowledge prepare these or similar questions:

1. What exactly would my day-to-day responsibilities be?
   It is essential that you clearly understand your role and the tasks that you would be expected to undertake. It is easy to make assumptions and get the wrong impression of what the work would be so it is vital for both sides that there is clarity in what is expected of you. If the interviewer cannot give a clear answer then this is a worrying sign, so politely follow up with more questions. Some people even ask to see exactly where they will sit.
2. What are the opportunities for training and career advancement?
   It will help you to understand where the job might lead and what skills you might acquire. It also signals that you are ambitious and thinking ahead.
3. What is the biggest challenge facing the organization today?
   This sort of question takes the interview away from the detail and towards strategic issues. It allows to you see and discuss the bigger picture. It proves that you are interested in more than just the 9 to 5 aspects of the job. It can lead to interesting discussions that can show you in a good light – especially if you have done some intelligent preparation. If appropriate you can follow up this question with some questions about the objectives of the department and the manager who is interviewing you.
4. What are the criteria that you are looking for in the successful candidate for this position?
   The more that you can discover about what they want and how they will make the decision the better placed you are to influence that decision.
5. How do you feel that I measure up to your requirements for this position?
   This follows on naturally from the previous questions. It may seem a little pushy but it is a perfectly fair thing to ask. In sales parlance this is a ‘trial close’. If they say that you are a good fit then you can ask whether there is any reason you might not be offered the job. If they say that you are lacking in some key skill or attribute then you can move into objection handling mode and point out some relevant experience or a countervailing strength.
6. Would you like to hear what I could do to really help your organisation?
   If you want the job then this is a great question to ask at the end of the interview. Most interviewers will reply, ‘Yes.’ Drawing on what you have learnt in the conversation, you can give a short sales pitch on why you fit the criteria and why your strengths and ideas will siginficantly assist the boss to meet their objectives. Make it short, direct and clear with the emphasis on the benefits for them of having you in the team. At the end ask something like, ‘how does that sound?’

Don’t take a passive role at the interview. If you are a proactive candidate who asks the sorts of questions given above then you will be seen as more dynamic and you will significantly increase your chances of being offered the job.

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1. Three Questions To Ask During an Interview