Questions to Ask Employers During Interview - - "Let's say you hire me. In a year, what kind of metrics would let me know I've done a good job before we go into my annual review?" o How do you measure success in this role? How would you describe the company culture? What do you enjoy most about your job? Please describe what a typical day looks like for someone in this role (or similar role). What are the top priorities during the first three months for the person selected for this position? What are some of the future projects [the company] is hoping to take on? What are some of the projects [the company] is working on now and is really excited about? Greatest Weaknesses - - - One way to do this is either say a weakness that’s actually a “positive” – this has been done to death and is such common knowledge that it’s no longer a clever “trick” and is now seen as avoiding the question For the weaknesses, NEVER, EVER, mention the word "weakness". I always try frame it this way: o "One area there's still room for improvement is..." Better way to do this: Frame it in terms of something you're looking to improve. "Well, at my last performance evaluation I received some constructive criticism regarding X, so since then I've been doing Y and Z to focus on improving in that regard. o People want to see some self-awareness, obviously don’t bring something absolutely terrible up, but mention a real flaw and most importantly what you’ve done to address or work with it. Ex: I can be forgetful, so I now keep multiple sets of calendars, reminders, notes, etc to cover as much as possible. Ex: Inexperience and what you are actively doing to “bridge the gap” Ex: I think of myself as an independent learner, but I can be too proud to ask for help. Sometimes it's more efficient to simply ask someone experienced to explain something: they might be able to explain in 10 minutes something that could take me a few hours to figure out on my own. Because I know I have this tendency, I've worked on recognizing when I'm not making progress figuring out a new task and that it's time to ask for someone to explain what I'm missing so I can continue with the rest of my work. - - Ex: I like to do a lot of research before I start a project because I prefer doing things right the first time. However, sometimes I delayed starting a project for too long because I'm worried I haven't done enough preparation: maybe there's an important article I've missed or I feel like I haven't completely mastered the subject. I now try to recognize that sometimes I simply need to start work and figure things out as I go along because book knowledge can't substitute for experience. Greatest Strengths The strengths are easy. You should know your strengths. If you don't know this, you shouldn't be interviewing. Strengths are whatever is listed "required/preferred skills" section of the job description. Pick something you're really good at, and even better if it's something people aren't.
