Page 114 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

QUESTIONS FOR HIRING MANAGERS

8-19
What were your primary goals for the department/team/division/com-
pany in the last year? Which ones did you meet, and which ones can I
help you meet?
This covers two important issues. First, it identifies the interviewer’s
primary goals for the recent past. Second, it uncovers those that have
yet to be met, emphasizing the need for someone like you, and the
implicit promise that you can help ensure that the goals will be taken
off the interviewer’s plate once and for all.

8-20
What responsibilities have the highest priority?
Here you are drilling down to determine which of the priorities the
interviewer has identified is the most important. Watch out for man-
agers who say all the priorities have equal importance. It is impos-
sible to satisfy such a manager who is unable to prioritize. Follow-up
questions include: How might these responsibilities and priorities
change? How much time would you suggest I devote to each area of
responsibility?

8-21
How often would we meet together to go over my progress?
A question designed to tell you how involved your supervisor intends
to be. At the same time, it communicates your desire to have a close
working relationship.

8-22
What are the traits and skills of people who are the most successful
within the organization?
Going from the general to the particular, this is the first of a two-
part question (the next one follows). The goal is to determine the
interviewer’s estimation of what it takes to succeed in the organiza-
tion as a whole.

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