#586 Questions to ask in an interview

0:00Hi, I'm Sarah. And in this squiggly shortcut, I'm going to be talking about the questions that you can ask when you're being interviewed. Now, I know our emphasis when we're in an interview is often on the questions that are coming at us. But I always think it's interesting to think about what questions do you want to ask for a few reasons. One, it's something you're in control of. So there's lots that's out of your control in an interview, you don't know what questions are going to come your way. but in most interviews they will end with somebody saying to you have you got any questions for us so it is your opportunity to prepare beforehand which can increase your confidence but also to end an interview really well because that's the last thing that people will remember that'll be the end of the conversation together and so I've thought about two different sets of questions so hopefully you've got a few here that you can choose from and this is really prompted because I've been doing lots of interviewing recently.

0:54So I was reflecting on like, which questions stood out? And what do I think are most useful? So I've got three culture questions, which I think what you're trying to get to there is, what's it really like to work here? And three commercial questions. So that's where you're sort of stress testing, like how is the business performing at the moment? So the three culture questions, I'm going to share each one and give you a short answer, if you were talking to me about Amazing If and squiggly careers. So just to give you a feel for the sorts of things you might hear back. So question one, what do you enjoy about working here?

1:29Really simple question, but I always like to hear what's front of mind for people. So if you were asking me that, I would probably say, well, I love the variety of my job. I like the fact that we have a real mix of different things that make up our week. Now, that might be great news for you. You might think, well, I love variety and I like to switch from different tasks. Or you might think, well, I like to really focus on one thing at once. Maybe I find variety stressful. So there's some good quick clues from a really simple question. Question two, still thinking about culture. How do you think people would sum up the culture here in a couple of words?

2:08Again, I want to hear people's first thoughts. so again I was answering this and I think for our company I would say pacey and supportive and so again that might that might prompt you to ask a follow-up question of those two pacey is probably the one that people will pause for thought on like do I like working in a fast environment or do I prefer things to be kind of slower and more thoughtful and then my third question on culture what are you most proud of over the past six months so I think this gives you some insights into the sorts of achievements that are valued by that organization and again if it was me I would talk about launching learn like a lobster but not just the book but actually what we achieved as a team it felt like a real team effort and it felt like we sort of went beyond just a book it's the first time that I felt like everyone in our company was really involved with making that idea a success.

3:06And so again, there, if someone heard me say that, they'd be like, oh, okay. They, you know, talked a lot about team there coming together to work on big projects. And again, you get a feel for what's most important in that organization. Some commercial questions. So you might want to pick one culture, one, one commercial question. One, what do you think customers like the most about your products and services? So, you know, like maybe what stands out for your customers about your product and service? Again, if I was answering, I would say that we're useful and practical. And again, you can start to question, am I motivated by that, about working on a product and service that's useful and practical?

3:44Or actually, would I be rather work on a product that is inspiring or all about telling stories? Question two, what's one thing about your competitors that you're impressed by this one actually made me pause for thought I was like oh and so I would respond here and probably say well we think more about collaborators than competitors again that gives you some insight into our company and I'm always really impressed by More Than Now who are a behavioral science consultancy because they have real rigor around experiments and they they're really good at measuring impact what works and what doesn't So I take a lot of inspiration and borrow a lot of brilliance from them.

4:25Quite interesting. Third question, where do you see an opportunity to increase revenue or maybe impact, depending on what kind of company it is? Maybe if you were talking to a social enterprise or a charity, you might talk about impact. If you were talking to us, we're a commercial company, but you might use the word impact. And I would respond here and say, I feel like there's an opportunity maybe to get better at connecting our squiggly community together. And so before you go into any interview, yes, prepare for the questions that you're going to be asked, but definitely prepare the questions that you want to ask.

5:01It's the last thing that you will get to say. It's how people will remember you. And I think thoughtful questions really help people to stand out and make sure that it feels like part of a conversation and gives a really good energy, I think, to how you end those conversations. so if you need some more top tips on interviews if you've got an interview coming up which you know always feels scary um maybe episode 388 might be helpful to listen to because that will give you some extra tips on interviews that goes beyond just the questions you ask at the end but i hope you found that useful and we're back for another shortcut soon