Introduction | Table of Contents | Preface | Site Index

201 Best Questions to Ask
On Your Interview

The most critical question in a job interview is often the last one. That’s when the interviewer leans forward and asks, “Now, do you have any questions?”

This step may be the most neglected aspect of the job interview.

In the Bookstores NOW!

Nothing can guarantee a negative judgment from an interviewer faster than an applicant who comes off as knowing it all. This is the applicant’s chance to shine; to demonstrate your interest in the organization; that you will fit in well. Most of all, it gives you an opportunity to sell yourself and ask for the job.

Don’t Ask: The Best and Worst

For this book, I am asking human resources professionals, recruiters, and career coaches for anecdotes about the best and worst questions that job applicants have come up with. Here’s a sneak preview of questions that job applicants actually asked:

Five Very Good Questions:

• I am very interested in this job, and I know that your endorsement is key to my receiving an offer. May I have your endorsement?
• How would you characterize the organization? What are its principal values? What are its greatest challenges?
• Corporate culture is very important, but it’s usually hard to define until one violates it. What is one thing an employee can do here that is sure to be perceived as a violation of the company’s culture?
• What have I yet to learn about this opportunity that I still need to know?
• If I were to be employed here, what one piece of wisdom would you want me to incorporate into my work life

Five Very Bad Questions:

• Before you tell me about your benefits, can I go get my wife? She's in the car and she's the one who wants to know about the benefits.
• What’s the minimum number of hours I can work?
• May I see the break room?
• Can I get a small loan from the company?
• Do you think the CIA is spying on us through a camera in your computer monitor?

201 Best Questions to Ask On Your Interview is published by McGraw-Hill.

Introduction | Table of Contents | Preface | Home Page | Top of Page