University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
10 Impressive Questions to Ask in a Job Interview
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10 Impressive Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

Alison Green
The Cut , 2023
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In preparation for a job interview, you’ll likely do your homework: You’ll read up on the target company and industry, think of relevant examples that showcase your skills, and coin strong answers to common interview questions. But will you prepare questions to ask the interviewer? Presented with the opportunity to ask questions, many job candidates politely decline, and most neglect to prepare for this aspect of the interview. Alison Green, a career advice columnist at online magazine The Cut, offers useful tips to asking questions that will elicit the information you really want to know. 

Summary

At a job interview, don’t forgo your opportunity to ask questions.

As your job interview draws to a close, the interviewer will give you an opportunity to ask questions about the role and the company. Skeptics might view this invitation as a trap. Others might decline the chance to ask questions because they don’t know how to phrase what they want to say in a diplomatic way: A candidate who asks, “Are you a horrible boss?” or “Is everyone here miserable?” is unlikely to land the job. But with careful consideration, you can pose questions that divulge useful insights and yield the answers you seek. 

Ask about the role to elicit details that don’t appear in the job description.

To find out what you would need to do to fulfill the role’s expectations, ask how your success would be measured. The answer will inform you of the extent of the work you would need to put in to satisfy your manager. You might find that while the...

About the Author

Alison Green is a career advice columnist at The Cut, an online magazine. She runs a career advice website and is the author of the book Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work.

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