Hiring at its core is a transaction. A company has a need to have something done and they are willing to exchange money for skill and time to get those things done. There is a sense of equality when you think about hiring in these terms. And with that concept in mind, I always encourage candidates to enter the interview with their own questions to make the transaction amenable to their needs as well.
Related:8 Simple Interview Questions To Ask Hiring Managers
The interview should serve to show both the company and the candidate that the relationship is not only going to be solid, but that it will be sustainable and put in a position to ultimately flourish. Turnover is around 7%, people do not stay in jobs as long anymore and I think part of this is that there are not enough candidates interviewing their employers before accepting a position. So, let this serve as your permission slip to ascertain your personal and culture fit with them as much as they are looking to do the same with you.
Getting a new job is stressful, and so is interviewing. But not as stressful as showing up in your first month and realizing that you made a mistake. Don’t make the mistake - ask as many questions as it takes to make sure you are making a good decision. Before I dive in, two points that are incredible important:
Do not ask yes/no questions
Do NOT be afraid of silence
For me, questions fall into three buckets: Culture, management, and the role.
Culture
You are selling time - your precious time. This is something you cannot get back. In some cases, you are selling this time to a company that you really value their mission and values on they list on their website. The challenge is seeing how they live these values in the interview and making sure that they align with yours. I usually ask some of the following questions:
Tell me about how the culture manifests itself regularly.
How important is the culture to the everyday associate?
What’s most exciting to you about the company today?
What’s a little scary?
Management
This is where you will focus the bulk of your questions. Your manager is the company and the culture to you and this person can make or break your work experience. You need to find out how well you will work together, their management style, and what they can expect from you.
What are you most proud of in your career here?
Tell me about how you make decisions?
Tell me about your favorite direct report. What was it that made them your favorite?
Tell me about someone who you did not like working with. What did they do that was challenging?
Tell me about your management style.
What keeps you up at night?
Role
As we all know, the job description is about as honest as an advertisement you see. It is only mostly accurate. And as CAREEREALISM touts: Every job is temporary. These questions will help you determine how much of the job description is true and accurate or how much is BS and falls into “Other duties as assigned."
Tell me about my average day here? What do you see me doing?
What does success look like for this role?
What would your direct reports tell me about working for you?
How do you see this role progressing over time?
Feel free to build on these and make them your own, but the spirit is true, to ensure you are making a good decision, you need to ask a lot of questions to make sure that this is the right job for you. These questions will help guide your decision making process should you get offered a position and also to really understand what you are getting into when you are a few months into the new job.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.