Cristina Cavero: How To Ask The Right Questions During Your Interview
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You’ve made it to the end of your interview, answering any tough question thrown at you. Now the positions have switched and it’s your turn to ask your interviewer the questions…what do you ask? Where do you start?
My advice is twofold: First, understand what the interviewer can tell you and what they actually will. Second, impress them!
To address my first point, many people have told me that the question portion at the end of your interview is a time to learn something about the company that you are genuinely interested in. For many people, that is the organizational culture—what does the day-to-day experience look like at this firm, what are the expectations socially and culturally, how does the team work together….etc. Most interviewers may provide partial insight into what happens behind company doors while some may not be allowed to share too much because of confidentiality agreements. You really aren’t going to learn much about the internal operations of a company from one short question about company culture. My advice is to avoid these types of questions.
Instead, focus on how you can impress the interviewers with your questions, while secretly positioning your questions to learn about the company. The secret is to look up your interviewers on LinkedIn prior to your interview (if you know who they will be). Look deep into their work experience, look into the companies they have worked at in the past, their education, and anything else about them that is of interest to you and relevant to the job. Form your questions about them. For example, ask them about a certain project they worked on at the company. If they have completed specific education programs, ask how these programs helped them succeed in their current job. By framing your questions towards the interviewer, and not the company, you will impress them by showing that you did your homework, and you will learn WAY more about the company and employee experiences.
If you have any internship or career search questions, please email careerconsultant@scu.edu.