Page 111 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

I N TERV IEW THE I N TERV IEW ER

thing vague and unimpressive? Note the tone of voice when the boss
talks about the team. Is it one of enthusiasm or disappointment?

8-4
How, specifically, does an employee succeed on your team?
What you want is something more specific than “just meet your dead-
lines” or “do the job right.” You want to learn the specific standards
against which you will be measured. If you’re applying for a sales
position, the answer will be pretty straightforward. Every sales job
has specific measures that are well known. But for most other jobs,
the criteria for success are less well established and more subjective. If
the answer is too generic, you may have to follow up with more ques-
tions to get specifics. Ask the boss to think about a specific employee
who succeeded. What did that employee do to earn the success?

8-5
What do you feel the team/division/company is missing most at this
moment?
Your goal is to flesh out the main challenge and then talk about how
your experience and past results predict that you can fill in what’s
missing.

8-6
What do you see as the critical success factors for this role for thirty/
sixty/ninety days?
What you want the hiring manager to hear is that you are eager to
be held accountable for quick results. A variation on the question:
What are your primary goals for the next two quarters?

8-7
What is the first problem that needs the attention of the person you
hire?
The phrasing of the question accomplishes two things. First, it
focuses the interviewer on the very real problem that he or she has
to address right now. Second, it emphasizes that the interviewer is
committed to hiring someone. Your goal is to communicate that the

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