You are sitting with the hiring manager. It has been a great conversation. You have answered all the interview questions with aplomb. You have provided colourful examples of your work and experience.
In other words: you are rocking the interview.
Then the manager says “Do you have any questions for me?”
And you say “No, you have covered everything. I’m good.”
Boom! You blew it!
There are always questions. You cannot possibly know everything at the end of an interview. It will look like you are not really serious about the job, and not really much of a thinker if you don’t have a few questions of your own. Your questions can focus on the team, the manager or the company.
Suggested Interview Questions
- How would you describe the culture of the team I would be joining?
- Based on your experience, what are the personality types that succeed here?
- How serious is your competition?
- Are there a lot of development opportunities?
- Or the classic: what would success look like in six months? I don’t love this one but it is effective in providing good insight into what the manager is looking for down the road.
There are a myriad of choices. Prepare five or six questions on your note pad. Look down the list to see what has not been covered in the conversation and lay it out there.
This gives you a chance to turn the tables to see how the interviewer reacts as well as the opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of the organization.
Make sure your interview preparation includes developing your own interview questions. You never know what you will learn.
Follow Laura Machan on twitter. She is a regular Oakville News contributor.