101 Smart Questions to Ask on Your Interview (11 page)

You will be able to tell how the company’s sales and profits have been increasing or decreasing over the past few years, what its plans are for the years ahead, and the health of the industry in which it operates.

In addition, an annual report should indicate how the company feels about its employees. Note whether the report features accomplishments of particular employees. Does it have photos of people at work? Or does it focus strictly on “the numbers” and highlight the self-aggrandizing musings of the chairman?

Employee handbooks.
Be gutsy. Ask the company to send you a copy of this valuable document. At the very least, the handbook will tell you about benefits, vacation time, salary-review policies, and other information you might not want to ask about in an initial interview. It also should give you valuable insights into the company’s attitude toward its employees. Is in-house training provided? Is the company picnic a much-anticipated annual event?

Sales/marketing brochures.
Knowing about a company’s products will help you determine whether you’d like to work for the organization and will give you material upon which to base your questions.

Company newsletters.
There may be far more details about the company picnic than you would like, but there also might be some personal information about your interviewer, your future coworkers, or your future boss. You’ll also get a better feel for how the company communicates with “the troops,” how they view their future, new product launches, recent awards, and so on.

Although nobody likes doing it, homework does have its payoffs, especially during a job hunt. From the research you doggedly pursued on prospective employers, you should have learned several important things about each of the companies you targeted:

What it’s looking for in its employees.

Its key products and markets.

Whether it has hired employees from your school and how they’ve fared.

Who the hiring manager is and what type of people he or she usually hires.

Why you might enjoy working for that company.

All this information will prove invaluable to you, not only during the interview, but in helping you get the interview in the first place.

Research from books, the Internet, phone calls, interviews, and the like is all necessary, but don’t disbelieve what your eyes and ears tell you if you visit the company. When you’re waiting in the reception area, look around and listen up. What do the people seem like? Is it a loose atmosphere? Fast? Slow? Is there a lot of joking around? Does everyone who passes by look like a much-loved pet just died? Are they talking to each other, joking around, having fun? Or does it seem like a row of Dilberts in cubbyholes?

Plan to get to every interview early so you can play a little detective. Talk to everyone you meet: What do you do? How long have you worked here? Do you like it?

CHAPTER 4
QUESTIONS TO ASK “PREINTERVIEWERS”

The questions in this chapter are those to
ask of anyone who lacks the final authority to hire you.
If you’re relatively young and inexperienced, you may do a series of
informational interviews
to learn about an industry, a company, or a job you think you’d like. Depending on your level of experience, you may utilize an employment agency, a recruiting firm, or a headhunter. And even if you know you should do everything to avoid them, you might find yourself interviewing, on the phone or in person, with a Human Resources staffer.

None of these people can offer you a job.
But all of them can offer you something almost as valuable: the information about the company, position, and hiring manager you
do
need to land that job.

This chapter will show you how to utilize each of these “pre-interviewers” and the questions to ask them.

Information, Please

An
informational interview
should be utilized by someone either new to the job market (i.e., a recent high school or college graduate) or an experienced worker seeking a career change.

There is a huge difference between a job interview and an informational interview. In an informational interview, your goal is to learn as much as possible about the industry, company, and job you’ve targeted (although such an interview may come very early in the job-search process, long before you’ve begun to pursue specific companies or even a specific industry). If you are actively seeking a job at
a specific company, such an interview is rarely one you would schedule at that company; rather, you should seek out a similar company in the same industry.

If you are more concerned with learning about a particular job description, not as picky about the industry, and not ready to hone in on specific companies, then you could seek an informational interview with someone in the same position at virtually
any
company in
any
industry.

A meeting with someone already doing what you soon
hope
to be doing is by far the best way to find out what you need to know
before
a formal job interview. You’ll find that most people are happy to talk about their jobs. I know I often sit down with “friends of friends” and share what I’ve learned about book publishing. Because there is no immediate pressure on me to evaluate that “friend” as a candidate, I can be more informal, forthcoming, and relaxed.

You may learn of a specific job opening during an informational interview. If so, you are in an enviable position to unearth many important details about it. You may learn the identity of the actual interviewer (or, more important, the decision-maker) and, if you’re lucky, something about her experience, values, and personality. With your contact’s permission, you may even be able to use his name as a referral.

As you prepare to conduct informational interviews, there are, ideally, six individual goals you hope to fulfill during each:

1. To unearth current information about the industry, company, and pertinent job functions. Remember: Gaining knowledge and understanding of broad industry trends, the financial health of the industry and its key players, hiring opportunities, and the competitive picture are key components in your search for the right job.