Early signs that you must know in order to avoid potential disappointment. Speak your piece or hold your peace forever.
Whether you are a fresh graduate or a seasoned job seeker, the journey of getting employed is a complicated art by itself. It is an art that demands you to have a pair of sharp eyes for nuance and subtlety in judging every situation critically. Since the job interview is a two-way street, you must remember that the entire interview process is not solely about you.
At the end of day, it lies on whether the company and its workplace can suit your talents as well as meeting your expectations. Hence, you just need to make sure that you have asked these 5 critical questions to a company before joining to work in it.
How’s the job and what is it like?
Obviously, you have read about the your job and its scope before applying for it. However, you still want to ask and learn from the person that has been working with the company. More often than not, such question definitely enables you to be very familiar with your future job and its constraints. As it turns out, this question becomes increasingly crucial when you are applying from a startup which still undergoes an volatile phase of undetermined goals and variables. In fact, it is normal in a startup culture that the nature of your job can change dramatically from day to day.
For a start, it will be great when you can ask about the current situation that the company faces at the present. Such question will reveal about the company’s expectation of you and your ability in solving its problems. Not only that, you also get the opportunity in understanding the exact nature of your job scope. Basically, you must know whether you are hired to deal with an unique problem, reduce the workload or oversee some execution processes.
Getting to know about your future colleagues
Sooner or later, you have to be prepared to work together with your future colleagues. While that will be an upcoming challenge for you to discover, another greater challenge at hand will be knowing how to ask the right kind of question to your interviewer especially when it comes to your future colleagues. Most importantly, you should ask about working schedule in that company. These things include the timing of team meeting so that you can expect how you and your future colleagues work together.
Generally, the word “team player” should be a valuable trait in every employee. Yet, it will not be an issue when you are expected to work alone without any extended supervision from your superior. Another useful question is to ask questions regarding the ability of its employees to devote their time in their hobbies and other passions. In addition, this is another question that allows you to find out whether the company is healthy when it comes to supporting your interests.
Familiarizing with the company culture
Culture runs deeper than any attitude or behavior in a company. As such, the company culture can either uplift or ruin its workforce. This is why you need to familiarize yourself with its culture even before joining in. If your interviewer asks about how your friends or ex-colleagues think about you, you can ask about the same thing to the company. Not only that, you can ask about the latest hire in the company so that you can decide whether the company exhibits high turnover rate.
Problems in hiring the right kind of people for the job
Without the shadow of doubt, your future company is definitely interested in your ability and attitude in performing your task. Despite your seemingly impressive CV and power-grooming method, even the company is not sure whether you are the best fit for the job. Ask about what the problems that the company faces in getting the ideal person for the job. From there, the answers will help you to adapt to your job without much trouble.
Things that I can do to surprise you
Last but not least, this final question can prove to be unconventional but it is able to deliver results that will surprise yourself. In a simpler term, it is all about asking how you can be a valuable team member in the company. As a matter of fact, this question also will offer you an idea to contribute creatively!
In conclusion, these 5 questions are vital for you to get to know about your future company before joining in. Not just that, the best thing of all is that you do not have to pitch yourself too hard in the process.
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This post was written by Aaron Tam based on insights from the recruiting team and staff at iPrice Group.
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