Page 96 - John Kador - 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview-McGraw-Hill (2002)

QUESTIONS FOR HUMAN RESOURCES

? Memorably Good Question

#4
What attracted you to this company, and what do you think
are its strengths and weaknesses?

The question flatters the interviewer and creates a personal
connection. If you create a bond with the interviewer, you’re
going to get better, more authentic information on which to
base a decision.
Jeanette Grill
Director of Professional Experience and
Placement
Long Island University, CW Post Campus
Brookville, NY

If you do, your application will move to where you want it to be: in
front of the hiring manager, the only one in the organization with the
power to give you the job you want.
Many HR people are informed, empathic, and professional, and they
want you to succeed. Most of them are willing to assist you in refining
your résumé, cover letter, or interviewing techniques. Many of them
have gone out of their way to help me with this book. If you are fortu-
nate enough to get one of these folks on your side, they can really make
the interviewing process much more productive and enjoyable.
HR people need to be respected, says Joel Hamroff, president of
Magill Associates, Inc., a staffing service in Levittown, New York. “Re-
member that the person sitting on the other side of the desk at one time
sat where you are sitting and they are at least as smart as you are. Human
resources folks need a reason to exist, so the more you can ask about
their experiences and opinions, the more it will endear you to them.”
But the bottom line remains: HR people cannot give you the job you
want. Nor can they give you the facts-on-the-ground important information
you need to make a good career decision. For the most part, HR people
are well informed in a general sense about the company and its benefits
policies. But they probably don’t have a lot of the specific information you
want about the position and the people you will be working with.

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