Posted on Aug 26, 2016
5 Questions to Ask in an Interview That'll Reveal a Lot About the Company
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Just a reminder that interviews are meant to cut both ways, you are also entitled to get a better idea as to the kind of employer you are approaching.
5 Questions to Ask in an Interview That'll Reveal a Lot About the Company
Posted from themuse.com
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Great questions especially in the private sector. You can change them just a little when applying for public sector jobs:
1. Vacancy or New Position is good in public sector. People leave public sector jobs all the time. Sometimes they are promoted, sometimes they take a lateral position (same grade but in a different organization), sometimes they leave for the private sector, or they may retire. New Positions (funded authorizations) are hard to get in most public organizations. They may be the result of mission changes, reorganization, or budget increases (uncommon these days).
2. Turnover rate. Turnover rate in most federal agencies is quite low. The jobs are pretty secure and it's almost impossible to get fired. If you find a public sector organization or team with a high turnover rate, you may have identified an area of toxic leadership.
3. Where do team member eat lunch. Interesting question in public employment. In many organizations and pay grades, breaks are strictly controlled. You get 45 minutes for lunch and that's all you should take. Other organizations are more informal. Check the work environment. If the office is located far away from places to eat, the employees may choose to eat at their desk or break room to stay within the lunch break time limit, which might be as little as 30 minutes.
4. How is the company doing. This could be reworded to ask how the organization is doing in terms of budgets. A Federal organization with a growing budget will have more opportunities; a shrinking budget may indicate a Reduction in Force (layoffs) in the future.
5. Do you have any questions about my qualifications. Good to ask public sector interviewer. He or she has asked you the same questions in the same way he or she asked everybody else. If you're not given the opportunity to say anything other than the answers to those questions, ask this.
1. Vacancy or New Position is good in public sector. People leave public sector jobs all the time. Sometimes they are promoted, sometimes they take a lateral position (same grade but in a different organization), sometimes they leave for the private sector, or they may retire. New Positions (funded authorizations) are hard to get in most public organizations. They may be the result of mission changes, reorganization, or budget increases (uncommon these days).
2. Turnover rate. Turnover rate in most federal agencies is quite low. The jobs are pretty secure and it's almost impossible to get fired. If you find a public sector organization or team with a high turnover rate, you may have identified an area of toxic leadership.
3. Where do team member eat lunch. Interesting question in public employment. In many organizations and pay grades, breaks are strictly controlled. You get 45 minutes for lunch and that's all you should take. Other organizations are more informal. Check the work environment. If the office is located far away from places to eat, the employees may choose to eat at their desk or break room to stay within the lunch break time limit, which might be as little as 30 minutes.
4. How is the company doing. This could be reworded to ask how the organization is doing in terms of budgets. A Federal organization with a growing budget will have more opportunities; a shrinking budget may indicate a Reduction in Force (layoffs) in the future.
5. Do you have any questions about my qualifications. Good to ask public sector interviewer. He or she has asked you the same questions in the same way he or she asked everybody else. If you're not given the opportunity to say anything other than the answers to those questions, ask this.
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Very relevant post (Join to see) Most interviews I do end after we ask questions. Nothing for us and I like people that think on their feet and wonder what we can do for them as well.
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