*If it helps people to have some context, I have worked with and will continue to work with young children, either as teacher’s aide, or an aide for a child or small group of children. *
I get through job interviews with as much comfort as can be expected until I get to that dreaded question: " Do you have any questions?" at which point my mind goes completely blank.
Since I feel utterly clueless about what they want me to ask, and I will, god willing, have at least one interview in the coming week, I want to take this time to beg for advice from my fellow dopers. What on earth should I ask them??
Through trial and error, I have come up with one question that always goes over very well “Could you describe a typical day for me?” Although I really have no idea why they smile and seem pleased when I ask it. it shows interest? <shrugs>
Please give me examples of appropriate things to ask, please please please. While I have managed to get through many interviews successfully despite feeling like a moron, I’d love to have some questions already in mind when I get to that portion of the interview(s).
And, as a bonus question for people who conduct interviews:
What on earth is there to be gained from asking someone “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I usually say something along the lines of I’d like to go back to school and get my masters/teaching certification and so on (and what are they even asking anyway? Just your career plans, or are they also interested in personal goals?) I’d really like to turn the question around and ask them “How well do you have the next 5th of your life mapped out?” since I think it’s a ridiculous question to ask someone fairly young (I was first asked this at age 20!) given how large a portion of our lives five years is but since I’d like to get the jobs I’m interviewing for, most of the time, I wouldn’t dare to
I usually have some questions and I don’t really have to try hard - there’s usually something the interviewer didn’t cover. One good thing to ask about is the possibility of promotion, and whether they try to always promote from within or not. At one interview I went to I asked this at the end of the interview and was told that there was no second level in the department I was going to be hired for, and there was only one manager over the department, so there was basically no way to advance in the company. I told him I wasn’t interested after that, and I bet he regretted asking me if I had any questions as he seemed eager to hire me.
Now I’m in a job with lots of promotion paths, though it doesn’t pay as much to start as the one I turned down. I think asking questions like that is good because it shows the interviewer that you have some ambition and want to stick with the job for the long term.
That’s a pretty good question. If nothing else, you can learn if they have an actual job for you or if you will spend your time sitting around doing nothing.
Similar questions would be:
Where do you see this position leading to?
How will my performance be evaluated?
What happened to the last person who held this position?
as well as any legitimate questions you might have
Maybe they want to know if you plan to quit in 5 years to go back to grad school.
It can be a turn off for some companies.
It’s one of those questions that interviewers use (I’ve done it myself) to see if the person’s actually interested in the job.
Always ask a question here. Whem I’m sitting interviews I try to work out some way of asking them to elaborate on something they said earlier. Otherwise, the “where will this job lead” question is always the back-up. You know, promotions, exposure to other parts of the business, that sort of thing.
Of course, it depends on the interview. In one job I knew I really didn’t want, I asked the interviewer if he knew he had his foundation smeared in his beard.
Once when I was looking for a summer job, I was at an interview and couldn’t think what to say when he asked me that question. Still, I was offered a job on the spot.
Only after I left the interview did I realize a few questions I should have asked: What exactly are the title and responsibilities of the job you hired me for?
If it’'s a professional position of some sort: “What happened to the last person who had this job?”
It’s a professional-only question: it sounds dumb to ask about for low-end/manual labor stuff like fast food–the last person got tired of busting their a$$ for pennies and split.
~
What I do is prepare a list of questions beforehand: What are job duties? Who do I report to? How often would I be going on business travel? How many people are working with me? Under me? Everything I can think of that, when answered, will completely describe the job position. Then I write all the questions down in a little notebook.
When the interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions?” I whip out the little notebook and start ticking them off: “Lessee, I was gonna ask you about promotion, but you covered that pretty well…got this one, this one too…already met the boss…” (Well, not that obviously.) If anything on your list of questions isn’t covered, I ask it. If everything was covered, then I just say, “Gosh, I had a whole bunch of questions, but they’ve all been covered. The only thing I can think of is: Can you describe a typical day for me?”
I usually ask about the work environment - something like “Could you describe the atmosphere I’d be working in in this position?”
Also - “What would you consider to be the biggest drawbacks/biggest advantages to this job?”
“How independent will my work here be? Will I be working closely with a team, or will I be more on my own?”
“What personal characteristics are you looking for in a successful candidate?”
“Will I have an opportunity for professional/intellectual growth?”
The question about a typical day is a very good one, too.
I’ve always been told that you should never have no questions. So I memorize a list of them, and if any haven’t been answered by the end of the interview (which is usually the case), I ask them.
I generally don’t ask about salary, benefits or promotion until after I receive an offer.
I usually ask about the work environment - something like “Could you describe the atmosphere I’d be working in in this position?”
Also - “What would you consider to be the biggest drawbacks/biggest advantages to this job?”
“How independent will my work here be? Will I be working closely with a team, or will I be more on my own?”
“What personal characteristics are you looking for in a successful candidate?”
“Will I have an opportunity for professional/intellectual growth?”
The question about a typical day is a very good one, too.
I’ve always been told that you should never have no questions. So I memorize a list of them, and if any haven’t been answered by the end of the interview (which is usually the case), I ask them.
I generally don’t ask about salary, benefits or promotion until after I receive an offer.
I usually ask about the work environment - something like “Could you describe the atmosphere I’d be working in in this position?”
Also - “What would you consider to be the biggest drawbacks/biggest advantages to this job?”
“How independent will my work here be? Will I be working closely with a team, or will I be more on my own?”
“What personal characteristics are you looking for in a successful candidate?”
“Will I have an opportunity for professional/intellectual growth?”
The question about a typical day is a very good one, too.
I’ve always been told that you should never have no questions. So I memorize a list of them, and if any haven’t been answered by the end of the interview (which is usually the case), I ask them.
I generally don’t ask about salary, benefits or promotion until after I receive an offer.
Given your specific circumstances, you could ask about the philosophy of the school or day care in regard to teaching, discipline, class size, team teaching, etc. Ask about camraderie and team play among the teachers. And about the management style/administrative style of your boss and the administration as a whole. Ask about interactions with and support from parents/caregivers. Or about the impact of budget issues (general seaking, not about the money you will be getting), because this shows interest in being able to stay there awhile.
Try to think of the things that were important to you in your current job or past jobs and ask positive questions about those issues. I use what really bugged me on a current job to inspire questions about a new one. Right now I am not very busy so I would ask about the level of responsibility and potential to add new projects going forward as I gain experience.
When you run out, or freeze up, just assure them that you will be in contact if you think of anything further, and ask for a card.
As someone who’s conducted hundreds of job interviews, this was a question to see whether the candidate had actually given the job they’re applying for any real thought. Yours in the OP was fine, as well as Kn*ckers’ suggestions. Others (if they’re not covered in the interview):
“How would you describe the (corporate) culture here?”
“What would you say is the most demanding part of this job?”
“What do you like best about working here?”
“Does the company provide any additional in-house training or employee development workshops/seminars?” (even if you don’t care, it looks like you’re into career self-improvement)
And if you’re real gutsy: “How do you think my interview went?” Getting feedback from the source never hurts (unless they lie to spare your feelings, of course )
Dude! You better have questions! You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.
Think about your previous jobs: what things drove you absolutely nuts? What things did you love?
Think of questions whose answers will tell you if this new job will provide you with things you will love or hate. Indirect, open-ended questions are better than yes/no and multiple choice questions because they make the interviewer talk more which allows you to read in-between the lines. Remember to take into account that they will “sell” their organization as much as you are “selling” yourself. So measure their response with that perspective.
Ask if the interviewer knows why manhole covers are round.
(so they don’t fall through…)
My best answer so far for “where do you expect to see yourself in five years?”
“Heckifiknow, I’m a computer professional. I haven’t done the same thing for more than a year and a half for my entire career, so how do I know what I’m going to be doing five years from now? I could be retired by then, for all I know.”
)