Page 155 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

148 Nail the Job Interview!

asked about nine questions and then it is your turn. This advice seems a
bit contrived. The interview should be an interchange of questions and
answers between both parties. Both have decisions to make and need
information to help them evaluate where they want to go from here vis-a-
vis the other.
Normally the framework and the flow of the job interview are deter-
mined by the employer. As the interview progresses there are likely to be
points at which something the interviewer has. said raises a question in
your mind. If it makes sense to ask the question at this juncture, go
ahead. If your question follows up something mentioned by the inter-
viewer, this will most likely advance the flow and not disrupt the pace of
the interview. If you are a sensitive listener yoii should be able to deter-
mine whether a question will be well received by the interviewer.
Normally near the end of the interview,
Interviewers are most employers will ask an applicant if
there are any q-uestions he has that have
often more not been answered. At this point you
impressed with the have the opportunity to ask questions
that have not lbeen raised as part of the
quality of a candi- ongoing dynamics of the interview.
date's questions What kinds of questions you should
than with the con- ask as well as those to avoid - at least
until you have been offered the job - are
tent of his answers. the focus of this chapter.

Questions About the Company

We assume you have researched the company prior to the day of the
interview. You already have information gathered from corporate
publications and, if the company is a large one, from business directories
found in your local library. You went online and checked out the com-
pany's website. You have talked with employees and former employees in
the community to get a handle on the human dimension of working
within this company. So you should not have tc) ask basic questions about
what the company does, or the size of the company - either in terms of
assets or number of employees. To ask questions about matters that you
should have been able to find out from a bit of basic research wastes
valuable interview time that could be better spent on other issues and