But we should also be prepared and ready to ask the right questions to have a leg up on the competition.
"What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?"
A company's history or information about a past employee were suggested subjects appropriate for questioning.
Prior Knowledge
"When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?"
"This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained. She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job."
A Previous Employee
"One that has always gone over well for me:"
"What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?"
"Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this."
Hypothetical questions were suggested as helpful examples of inquiry.
Indicators Of How Companies Treat Employees
"A question that landed me a job once was: 'If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they'd tell me?' Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but got the job.
"In my current interviews I'm asking 'what did your company do for its employees during [the virus] to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.' and I ask 'Is there anything your company adopted during [the virus] that they plan to keep post [the virus]?"
"These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well."
Past Performance & Adjustments
"If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?"
"If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?"
Wage Increases
"Perhaps not the best but very interesting. A candidate asked me if it is possible in our company to get a significant raise without climbing up the career ladder in our company. This guy never wanted to be a manager, he wanted to do what he applied for but wanted to know it will be well paid. We hired him. He's introvert, working alone in his 'basement' but he's great at what he does."
People Break Down Their Greatest Accomplishment On The Internet | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The following questions about a prospective company may not be answered from initial digging on their website.
Measure Of Success & Career Trajectories
"How is success measured in this role?"
"What are some possible career trajectories within the company that could stem from this position?"
Being A Solution
"Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to 'don't think of a purple hippo,' this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position."
Simply The Best
"Who is your best employee and why is he/she the best?"
"You will then face 2 situations mostly:"
"panicking CEO who can't answer you 'Bob who works 17 hours a day for a slice of bread' so the fear in their faces must be a big nono for you"
"entusiast CEO who actually follow their business and can tell you who is an added value for the company and why."
– ThePiz91
The Office Culture
"'Do you enjoy working here?' or 'What do you like about working here'. If the interviewer is not convincing, consider that a red flag and look elsewhere. Also look at the faces of the employees, if they look miserable, walk back out."
My experiences with job interviews are different than others seeking work in office environments.
Having had a years-long career as a dancer, my "interview" was the dance audition, where hopefuls dance in small groups of people at a time after learning a routine and then awaiting their fate after the panel evaluates their performances.
The question I may or may not have asked in such a scenario earlier in my career was: "Did I make the cut?"
I did not make the cut. And I learned never to ask that again.
Fear not. Reddit has your back.
Those who have had successes based on their interviewing experiences shared their helpful tips when Redditor Cage_Dreams24 asked:
"What is your # 1 job interview tip that helped you ace your interview and land your dream job?"
If you truly want that dream job, you may want to take notes.
A Redditor shared two main points based on his experiences from his recruitment days.
When readers found his contribution helpful, he updated his points by adding a few more examples.
An Expert Weighs In
"I could write a lot on this from my recruitment days, but I'll just keep it to two main points."
- "Answer their questions. Lots of people will start answering the question but never really finish because they go off on a tangent halfway through. It's frustrating as an interviewer to have to ask someone to get back on point, but it's also a little embarrassing for the candidate and it can throw you off your rhythm. I want to know the information because it's important. It also shows you listened to what was being asked of you and you delivered what was required."
- "At the end of the interview, ask if they have any concerns about your resume, your interview answers or your application in general. It's a great way to see if there is anything they perhaps misunderstood or you didn't explain well enough. I've asked this in every interview and in all but one it's given me some immediate feedback and the ability to allay any concerns they might have. For example, I once had someone say I interviewed great but they were concerned I lived too far away, something that didn't come up in the interview. I was able to then say I would be relocating."
"Edit: as requested, a couple more things."
3. "Do interview prep before you go. You should be able to predict most of the questions, but just writing down what your strengths are and thinking about them will increase your confidence. Make notes on the company and role from the job description; how does that match up with your skills and experience? This crossover is important because it's usually why they will hire you."
4. "Take a notepad, for example the one you used for your interview notes. Make sure you ask if it's okay that you have your notes out, or if you can take notes during the interview. You won't always be able to do this because of a strict NDA, but that's why you ask. Good things to write down include the person's name since it can be easy to forget, especially if more than one person is interviewing you."
5. "Ask what the next steps are and when you might be hearing from them. Use your instincts when it comes to follow up. If you interviewed at retail and it went well, check in with the manager in a week and let them know you enjoyed your interview and you'll be available to start very soon if they pick you. But if you interview at a large company that specifically doesn't take phone calls then don't harass them. If I'm in HR you email me asking when you will hear, chances are I'm chasing the hiring manager for an answer too."
6. "Do not be scared of failure. If you perform poorly, you'll know it straight away and my best advice is just to take the rest of the day off and forget it. Then when you're feeling better try to figure out why it went poorly; bad preparation etc. I find a big one is the stress of getting somewhere new, where to park, who to ask for when I get there etc. Then work on these for the next interview."
"If you did well and didn't get it, there was probably someone better. Don't take it personally. I've had to call great people and say no, and by and large the younger people took it rough and the older people took it on the chin."
"On a personal note, I actually really enjoy interviews now. It's you on your own talking about yourself, who doesn't like doing that? If you dread it, it will probably not go as well as if you look forward to it. You have a captive audience listening to you telling them how great you are. How many times do you get that opportunity?"
Some points were expanded on while new suggestions were made.
Turn The Tables
"Start asking them questions - reverse interview always helps your position."
Follow-Up
"I always come with a long list of questions. My favorite being, 'What is the company culture like at CompanyX?' Then when I write my thank you letter after the interview, I make sure to include a reference to something they said when answering my questions to make the letter more personal."
Manner Of Speaking
"I've noticed that if you treat it like a conversation with people you're going to work with, it tends to go a lot better than if you're thinking of it answering questions from people who might drag you out of unemployment."
Become The Interviewer
"Wait until they ask if you have any questions, and then HAVE QUESTIONS PREPARED! It makes it seem like you're either a know-it-all or not very thoughtful if you have no questions. Have at least one in mind, even if it's something like 'How long have you been at this location?' or some other question that was not answered on the website or through others."
Awkward
"Though it sucks when the person whose hand you're shaking doesn't know how to shake hands. I had a job interview yesterday and the woman who interviewed me missed my hand initially and had the limpest handshake I've ever experienced, it felt like I was just holding her hand up."
– sl4y4
Breaking The Ice
"When they ask about your weaknesses tell them you are terrible at interviews. I have always gotten laughs when I have said it and after that I find the interview easier because everyone seems to be in a better mood."
– VSahota
About Former Employers
"Don't say bad things about your last employer. You next employer can assume that you will do the same for him."
– Chrys
Parents Explain Why They Regret The Name They Gave Their Child | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Confidence
"The goal in any job interview is to make the interviewer feel like THEY are losing something if they don't offer you the job. I have interviewed so many people in my life that think that being humble and projecting how badly they want the job is the way to go. It isn't. You aren't trying to get a job, you are trying to convince another human being that it would be stupid of them to let you walk out the door and not come back."
Showing the interviewer you care by putting in the following basic efforts could make you stand out from the rest.
Show Them It's Your Dream Job
"Prepare. If your dream job is something corporate then it is very easy to take an hour or two and read some articles about the company, look over their annual reports. Pick out a few tidbits of information, not super random ones that you would have to say 'I was looking over your annual report and...' because then that sounds like you're boasting (I'm kind of assuming this would be closer to an entry level job than an executive job, the exec job you would need to do mad research and would want to reference that ish). Basically you want to be able to reference a few of the company's key initiatives/policies/strategies as touch points throughout the interview."
"You need to do more than stick your reference into one answer or ask a canned question. You need to be able to create a cohesive story that not only shows you're capable of thinking critically but also demonstrates either how you embody a characteristic of the company/position or that you understand the impact of the company's strategy/business model on the larger market. (Etc. That is by no means an exhaustive list of examples). If you can do that then you'll be much more successful convincing/tricking/demonstrating your abilities."
"Assuming it's genuinely your dream job this part shouldn't be that hard, but you need to actually care about the conversation/questions. You shouldn't care about whether or not it was a good answer, you should care about your talking points and the talking points that are in the question/are teased out in the ensuing answer. Caring is much, much better than having a canned answer."
Overall, having the confidence to show you are dependable, easy to work with, and right for the job are essential.
Anyone can be technically prepared to show how knowledgeable they are of the company they want to work for by taking the time to educate themselves.
But at the end of the day, they want to see your personality as well.
Because with artificial intelligence already taking jobs away from people, no one wants to work with a robot.
But beware of potental employers who brag about the company you're interviewing for.
Sometimes the job description and what is expected of employees is very telling of the company that may not be compatible for you.
Curious to hear from people who were turned off by job interviews, Redditor u/Baker_1-2 asked:
"What is the worst thing a potential employer has bragged about the job you were interviewing for during a interview?"
That's Dedication
These Redditors were appalled by how much time employees were expected to put in during their work week.
Putting In The Hours
"'We pay such a high base salary because we expect a 70-hour work week.' That's all I needed to hear."
The Loophole
"They bragged about a 'loophole' they were exploiting to not pay overtime, which amounted to a one-page NDA promising not to discuss payment, compensation, or labor practices with anyone, including government officials."
"First of all, the mere existence of that document is two federal crimes: the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits employers from even hinting that employees shouldn't discuss compensation and trying to get someone to sign an NDA to cover up a crime is coercion."
"I reported them to the Texas Workforce Comission."
Red Flags
The following warnings indicated these were not the jobs applicants expected.
Constant Turnover
"'We are a fast paced company. We routinely evaluate everyone's performance to remove the poor performers. It's why we are always hiring new people. Those who stay get great perks like fruits and biscuits and team lunches.'"
"Like wtf. Such a red flag. I withdrew my application straight soon as I got home."
Questionable Shifts
"Hiring manager talked about how the work ethic in the office is to show up before your boss and go home after the boss leaves."
"Hiring manager once showed up at 4am and the hiring manager's boss was already there, so the hiring manager stayed a few extra hours that night."
"And they were saying all of that like it was a fun and exciting game."
– CPOx
On-Call Position
"'When you work for us, you'll be available 24/7, if we call when you're on your honeymoon, you answer the phone'. Not to mention the IT manager was a massive jerk to the nth degree anyway... Needless to say, I didn't start at that company."
chelsea peretti no GIF by Brooklyn Nine-NineGiphyBad Examples
The egregious behavior of these employers indicated the company was one to avoid.
The GM
"At the time I was a drug addict and considered it a good thing but now years later in recovery I realized a GM that provided me with free drugs all of the time to get through long shifts without days off was actually a scumbag."
– wo0kie
Punctuality
"I showed up to a interview 10 minutes early. Interview didn't get started for at least another half hour. At the end of interview and tour, the owner went on a big rant about how important punctuality is and being late is his biggest pet peeve. I was like hold up, you just made me sit around for a half hour and you want to preach to me about being late."
"Same employer was highly impressed with my previous experience in that career field, said it was hard to find people with a passion and knowledge to do the job. Then he balked at my pay request and wanted to start me out at the bottom end of the pay range. Entry level wages for over 10 years experience, no thanks!"
Manipulation
"I accidentally became part of a group interview with a life insurance company where the main guy said 'It's amazing what you can talk the elderly into'. I asked out loud 'How do you manage to sleep at night?' and he isolated me from the group to quietly get me to leave, which felt great."
We all do our best to bring our A-game to job interviews. It's an opportunity to present the best part of ourselves to persuade the interviewer you're the person for the job.
But while you can't afford to be too picky, remember to never sell yourself short, and listen to your gut if something during the interview seems a bit off.
Also, be wary of companies that are too eager to hire you with a hard sell.
There's nothing wrong with asking plenty of questions. Because it is as much your interview as it is theirs.