Career Cube Blog

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and he mentioned that one of his biggest pet peeves about candidates was when he asked the person he was interviewing if they had any questions for him, and they replied that they had already asked their questions of the other interviewers.

I’m not sure why people do this.

Yes, the interviewers will definitely talk about you when you leave and compare notes about what you said and what questions you asked. That’s why they ask different people to interview you. They’re checking to see if their questions covered different parts of your experience, if you gave some drastically conflicting answers, or if they could see you fitting in with the company. They’ll also talk about what questions you asked of them.

Now granted, asking everyone you interview with to explain the job description, typical duties or skills that are required for the job is not the best use of your time because you’ll probably get the same answer from everyone. You want to ask questions that will give you different people’s opinions about the company. For example, a good question to have in your back pocket for any round of interviews is “What do you see as the biggest challenge for this company (or this position) next year?” or “What do you think will be the biggest threat from a competitor in the future?” “Where do you think that this industry is headed?”, or even “What is it like to work here? How would you describe the atmosphere of this company?” You want to ask any question that will give you a different answer when you ask different people. A question that shows that you want to hear the interviewer’s opinion about a topic.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if you did ask the same question of your interviewers and got different opinions? Remember, they’re assessing you, but you also need to assess if the company will be a good fit for your needs. If you are a very creative person who felt stifled in your last job, then ask them about the most creative thing the company had produced. If they can’t think of anything at all, or respond with a blank stare, and everyone you interview with does the same—that’s an ut-oh for you and could be a reason why you may not be happy at this company.

After you leave the interview, will they compare how each of them answered YOUR questions? Yup! And they may have a chuckle over how one person describes the company vs. another.

Keep in mind that the last thing you want to do is make the last interviewer of the day feel like you’ve used up all your best stuff on the rest of the staff. By saying “I’ve already asked all of my questions” you’re telling them that you don’t need to hear their opinion, or that you feel that you’ve already interviewed with the important people and they’ve already given you the correct answer. The last interviewer has just as much weight—and could have more—than the people you’ve spent the rest of the day with. Don’t shortchange your opportunity to learn more about the company.

by Melanie Szlucha

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