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Asking the Right Questions to a Future Employer?
coronaride asks: "One of the things that always seems to leave me stumped in a job interview is the dreaded 'Do you have any questions for us?' question. I was always taught that while it's great to have the answers, almost equally important is to ask the right questions. When interviewing for a development position, what are some good questions to ask? For you employers, how much weight, if any, do you put on this open-ended question? A few obvious things come to mind regarding benefits, atmosphere, development style, etc., but I'm curious to see others' opinions on not only what is expected, but what is appropriate as well."
And say Who's the slut
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
What about: "Can I go now?"
YEARS ago when I worked retail while I was in college I managed a software store and was interviewing people for seasonal part time help. I had just finished interviewing a new applicant I asked him "do you have any questions for me". His reponse was "Will my hours be flexible, because I have to take my wife to meet with her parole officer on Tuesday's....".
;)
That was almost as good as the guy who came in asked for a application then asked who the hiring manager was, I replied "I am", he replied "No who really is the hiring mananger", I just pointed to my nametag which said "manager" and said "No I really am". Sort of surprised he never came back with the application
And in case the previous incumbent got fired for banging secretary in stairwell, find out if you can bang secretary in stairwell before you get the job !
See, that only works if the interviewer is a married man with a photo of his wife or daughter on his desk. If you get to the "Do you have any questions for me?" part of the interview and the hiring manager is a woman, you need to ask,
"Who let you out of the kitchen???"
[FYI - it's *FUNNY* people... stop being so PC, no one's being serious here! Geez - I'm a woman!]
Funnily enough, not all of them are made up.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Geez - I'm a woman!
Hi.
Once when I was a young whippersnapper (well, ok, 2001 or so), I interviewed for a IT position at a local school district. Now my dad is an HR director, and one of the pieces of advice he gave me was that you should always ask a question when the interviewers ask if you have any questions. School districts (at least in this area) do group interviews, so you're not talking 1-on-1, you're talking to 5-7 employees, all from different departments. (I think a couple teachers, one of the custodial staff, a couple administrators, I can't remember anymore.)
Anyway. I asked about the dress code and, I'm not making this up, they *laughed* at me. Then I left my interview where my aunt (who worked nearby) was waiting to ask me how it went, and I told her about them laughing at my question, and then *she* laughed at me.
In short, no, don't ask about the dress code. Not unless you want to be laughed at by total strangers.
Comment of the year
Wow. What do people say when you hit 'em with all that?
This space for rent. Call 1-800-STEAK4U
I asked "What's the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"
They responded correctly.
To be honest I thought it was the screw-off interview in which I got all the jokes and smartass remarks out of my system. Ended up taking the job. Whoops.
A history of suing one's employer does not generally bode well for future employment opportunities.
Yeah, just ask Darl McBride - who sued former employer IKON Office Solutions for breach of contract before moving on to PointServe (where I worked briefly as Chief Architect before leaving over disagreements with the management direction of the company), Franlin Covey (where I used to buy planners before I went electronic), and SCO (where I never bought anything, especially their lawsuit against IBM). Nonetheless, it's probably best to not ask "what's your insurance coverage for employee lawsuits?" early in the interview process.
I used to work at a used CD/record/etc store. One application we got in, in the section for "Have you ever been convicted of X type of crime?" The person had written in "Yeah, possesion with intent to distribute marijuana. Btw do you guys need any?"
So yes, make sure and ask if any additional skills and or resources you may have access to will be applicable to the job.
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Hint : don't pretend to take notes on your PSP. Most PHBs have seen a PDA before.
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