If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Last week, I went over some of the interview questions that you should be ready for when searching for a job. As a part of your interview, you should also be pro-active and ask questions that will help you gauge whether or not the position and environment is suited for you.
Here are 5 Questions to ask in order to gain a clearer picture about the position your are interviewing for:
1. What happened to the person that was last in the position I am applying for?
Why should you ask?
Seeing as you will be in the same role as the previous person, you want to know how secure the position will be. Their answer will potentially show you what the expectations for the job are and how they handle employees
Good Answer:
“The position is new due to an influx of new projects and firm growth.” Another good answer is that the person left to become a project manager with another well-known firm. That will show you that the firm cultivates higher levels of skill in their employees that can translate to other offices.
Bad: “There were layoffs but, due to some new projects that have recently come through, they are looking to fill the position again.” See how this is different from having more work that wasn’t there before? This is a sign that the firm isn’t strategically adding long-term employees but rather trying to fill positions according to their short-term work loads.Another bad answer would involve any negative feelings that they had towards the previous employee on a personal level. You want to hear that the firm tried to work with the employee but it just wasn’t a right fit.
2. Why did you chose to work here and why haven’t you left? Why should you ask?
Part of feeling out a future employer is asking their employees how they like working there. The opportunity to get the most amount of information about the place may be with the actual interviewer.
Good Answer:
“There was a continuous stream of opportunity and the firm culture is great.” Obviously, the person interviewing you has achieved some level of rank within the company if they are in charge of hiring staff. Another positive response would involve some mention of a high amount of responsibility or creativity that the employee was allowed to have throughout their tenure there.
Bad Answer:
You don’t want to hear that they stayed there because nothing better came their way. Also, you should be wary if they hesitate much before answering the question.
Disclaimer: Often you will be interviewed by the firm’s partner and this question is redundant. You can still ask other employees this question on your walkthrough after the interview.
3. What project will I be working on?
Why should you ask?
You want to know if they have a plan for how you will fit into the firm right away.
Good Answer:
“You will be working on a specific project with a specific team for a somewhat specific amount of time.” This shows that they have a plan for you to hit the ground running and that they know exactly how they will use you.
Bad Answer:
“There are a number of opportunities available” or ”What would you like to work on?” Any sign of ambiguity is a bad sign. This shows that the firm is hiring because they think they should be growing but they don’t have any reasons for it. The worst thing that can happen is that you show up on your first day and don’t do anything at all. This often happens. I also knew someone that didn’t do a single task for the first 2 months!
You also don’t want to here that ”there are a few minor projects we will have you work on until this particular project picks up.” That project will inevitably never pick up and those little projects will always be around.
4. Who will I be reporting to?
Why should you ask?
You want to know who you will be working under and it could very well be the interviewer. In larger firms, your direct supervisor will be someone lower on the totem pole who is not in upper management. It is important to get a sense of the person that you will be working with on a dialy basis. It would suck to have to work with a lazy dictator or social idiot.
Good Answer:
“You will be working with so and so and you will love it.” It’s really that simple. You want the interviewer to be excited about the people that they will be putting you with. You want to get the impression that everyone loves working for and with the person.
Bad Answer:
A sigh or an eye-roll is bad! Any hesitation, or blushing. Architects are bad at lying about other people and it should be clear whether your new boss will suck or not by the interviewers reaction. Working under a bad supervisor is the biggest reason why architects grow to hate their jobs and eventually quit. Nip this issue in the bud before you even work there.
5. Where is the firm going in the future?
Why should you ask?
A firm that has a strong idea as to where they are going is more likely than not destined to grow and become succesful.
Good Answer:
“We have x amount of projects lined up and ready to go.” If they already have an arsenal of projects that will carry them for a few years, then obviously they clearly have a sense of where they are going. This is specifically encouraging if they are projects that show more innovation or opportunity than their resume already shows
“These are the trends that we want to focus on.” A firm that actively pursues technologies and innovation can set themselves apart from the crowd if they consistently implement those practices into their built projects. It is also encouraging to hear “we will be having people come in to lecture about this area of interest.” It shows that they will be fostering a culture of learning within the office.
Bad Answer:
Ambiguity. Hoping that they will have future projects of a ceratin caliber isn’t the same thing as having it. Also, if they feel as though they do not have any room for growth or they are comfortable in their niche, you have to ask yourself whether or not you would like to spend a considerable amount of your career doing their same ole thing.
As a job seeker, the key to a good interview is to find out as much about your potential employer as possible. Asking questions will not only make you appear more committed as a candidate, but will also give you better insight into both the challenges and opportunities that may lie ahead for you.
Related Posts:
10 Difficult Interview Questions
4 responses so far ↓
1 Chloe // Feb 20, 2008 at 10:13 am
I don’t know how much I agree with #3. As a young intern, and depending on the firm, you’d be lucky to be on one project. Often your skills are not well developed enough to warrant permanent placement onto just one project.
Also, I think it depends on the size of the firm to know what project a new employee would be on. Larger, more corporate firms would probably have a particular project chosen, but smaller firms probably wouldn’t know exactly which project an intern would be working on.
2 Marc Joseph // Feb 20, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Great Comment!
Particularly for recent graduates, this is very true. You will be put on projects on an “as needed” basis. But it’s important to make the distinction between working on multiple projects from month to month and working on five projects in one day.
As a developing intern, it is much more beneficial to get into a project elbow deep than to skim the surface of multiple projects.
As to your point, sadly this is most often what interns will experience. The question is important to ask through to try and gauge just how much you will be prostituted.
3 Chloe // Feb 20, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I agree - it’s definitely better to be elbow deep into a project to really understand it.
It seems like at least at the beginning of a career, interns need to understand that they may very well be jumping around doing small tasks on multiple projects throughout the day. And that doesn’t mean an intern should steer clear of that firm.
It always seems to be a balance of finding an appropriate position and just having to ’start somewhere’ when you’re starting out.
4 Marc Joseph // Feb 20, 2008 at 10:32 pm
“It always seems to be a balance of finding an appropriate position and just having to ’start somewhere’ when you’re starting out.”
I completely understand and sympathize. My first job was a small-fry firm located on Staten Island. I took the job because it was the only way I could get into the NYC market becauseI was applying from 8 hours away. It was the only position available to me at the time and I just had to put my time in until I was ready (financially and professionaly) to apply to larger more established firms.
Leave a Comment