What to ask in a reverse interview to get the job: a column from a career strategist

A reverse interview is a part of a classic interview during which the candidate asks questions to the recruiter. It allows you to learn more about the company and future responsibilities and helps the candidate to understand whether he will be interested in this job.

However, not every applicant uses this opportunity - and in vain. After all, the sincere interest that he broadcasts in the reverse interview helps to build trust in him. This means that it increases the chances of getting a job offer.

How to prepare for a reverse interview

Before the interview, you should get to know the company in absentia and study the products or services offered.

Take the targeted action as a customer

This step will help you decide for yourself whether the company is right for you. Try doing the following:

• Use the company's service and try the product.
• Call the call center and ask the manager about all services.
• Make an order in the online store.

Through these actions, you will be able to evaluate whether you can use the service or like the product. After all, if this is not the case, you are unlikely to be able to work in a company.

Another option: you tried to go through the entire customer journey and met aggressive, angry and tortured employees at each stage. Do you want to become the same? After all, if you spend most of your time in such collective, it is likely to adopt the behavior of colleagues.

Explore freely available information

All the necessary information can be found on the Internet:

• Explore the social media, blog, or website of the organization.
• Pay attention to the company's values. Many organizations include this information in the "About Us" section.
• Look at YouTube for speakers and business consultants, if there are such recordings.

The values ​​of the employer should be close to you, and the philosophy and point of view should match. Imagine: you decide to work with a blogger. He is in his account. swearing, uses strange slang, looks unpleasant and appears naked on social media from time to time. Do you really want to constantly be in touch with this person? Or are you closer to someone who brings some benefit to people?

With the help of such an analysis, it will be easier to understand what kind of person you want to work with. And already at the stage of correspondence acquaintance, weed out options that are not suitable.

In addition, such training will help to get acquainted with the product and the target audience. At the interview, this will facilitate the dialogue and allow you to speak the same language with the representative of the company. Your interest will certainly be noticed and regarded as a big plus. And subconsciously all this will create a feeling of your person.

What to ask an employer in a reverse interview

Before meeting with the employer, it is better to prepare a list of questions in advance. We list the options below.

About company

This will show your interest in a particular job and your desire to find out if it really suits you. And the employer will note that you think not only about yourself, but also about the company.

How are you developing, what are your plans for this year?

Here are some conclusions that can be drawn from the answers.

Let's say a recruiter says: “The company decided to open 5-7 new outlets. The business needs a new marketer, sales department, development staff.

All this shows that the company is growing and a lot of interesting work awaits you. So, there is a good opportunity for professional growth. However, if you do not want to work hard, you will have to consider whether this position is really suitable for you.

Another situation. The recruiter says: “We are not developing, there is a crisis in the country. At least we can survive." And here it is worth considering whether you are ready to work in such a company. Will it be able to develop employees and will it pay salaries on time?

Can you share the secrets of your company's success?

The recruiter can tell which employees and how they achieve success. And also to mention the indicators that were achieved last year.

All this will indicate that the company has ambitious plans. And if it develops, employees will grow with it.

But there may be another situation: no one can name the exact indicators. And the recruiter, without much enthusiasm, will list what awaits the employee in the organization. What conclusion can be drawn? With a high probability, one should expect work for the sake of work - when there are many tasks, but why they are doing them and what future they are heading for is not clear.

About the leader

Questions may be:

• How did you come to the company?
• How did they develop?
• How did you get into leadership positions?
• Why do you like working for the company?

It is worth paying attention not only to the immediate meaning of the answers, but also to read between the lines. Listen to how the person speaks.

For example, you are told that the manager is not particularly interested in his work, that he came only for the sake of money, and in six months he himself will most likely leave. It turns out that the boss does not respect and does not like his workplace. Ask yourself if you want to work in such a company?

Another example: the manager tells how he became a director from a manager, has been working in the company for 12 years and is familiar with the owners. 10, 20, 100 people have grown in his subordination, and now they all occupy high positions. positions.

In this case, it becomes clear that the manager develops his employees and it is interesting to work with him. He will not betray and will defend the interests of his team.

About the career development of employees

The employer should have specific expectations from the candidate, and the answers to the following questions will demonstrate these:

• What is expected from professionals in this position?
• How will I know that I am getting results?
• What are the development horizons?
• In what direction can I expand my zone of influence?

If HR or a manager calmly answers all questions and tells what needs to be done for growth, this is a good sign. This means that the company will reveal the potential of employees and develop them.

If the employer starts to get angry because of these questions, speaks indistinctly and invents something on the go, most likely there is no growth in such a company.

It just needs a screw in a certain position. True, this is extremely rare. In any, even a small organization, growth often depends on the employee: on how he manifests himself, what results he shows and what he does so that the company develops.

It is also possible that the company does not have a system and will have to perform various tasks - even those that do not concern you. It is worth deciding whether you are interested in a job where you need to systematize chaos, or if you want to develop purely in the position you came to.

What not to ask in an interview

In general, it is correct to ask about anything. However, there are questions that are still better not to ask:

• How many tasks will there be?
• Will you have to work on weekends?
• Are employees late in the evenings?
• When will my vacation be?
• What time is the break?

Some questions seem quite logical, because the employee has the right to find out his schedule and understand the features of the work. However, one important point should be understood.

An interview is not yet a job offer. And, perhaps, questions of this kind will repel the employer. A recruiter may see in them an unwillingness to take on serious responsibility and achieve good results. Especially when the candidate is only interested in salary, schedule and scope of tasks, not showing interest in the company itself.

Therefore, it is better to ask these questions when the offer has already been received and trust has arisen between you and the manager.

What to do if you are not given time for a return interview

To prevent this from happening, at the very beginning of the dialogue it is worth asking: “Will I also have the opportunity to ask questions? How much time can you allocate for me to learn more about the position and the company as a whole? It is very important for me".

You can also come up with an offer to conduct a reverse interview yourself. For example, if the meeting has an hour, say: “Can we consider this option: 40 minutes I will answer questions, and 20 I can ask about your company? I am interested in this position, so I am interested to know the details.”

In companies that value not only professional but also personal skills, they will be happy to listen to the candidate's questions and answer them.

But the refusal will indicate how the interaction with the employer will develop in the future. It is unlikely that you will be able to approach leaderto ask a question. And if it still succeeds, you will most likely be told: “No, go think for yourself.” And support will not be expected from anyone.

Therefore, it is worth considering: are you ready to work where the point of view of a person is not taken into account even at the interview.

How to talk to an employer

It is conditionally possible to divide the interview into three stages.

Acquaintance

First, the recruiter can tell a little about himself, and then asks the candidate to do the same. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind a ready-made self-presentation that includes basic facts about you, your professional achievements and experience. Also focus on what you can do for the company and why you want to work for it.

At this stage, the recruiter notes not only what you say, but also how you do it. How you position yourself, how confidently you present yourself and how visible your interest is. After all, he had already read about skills and experience in summary.

The main part of the interview when the employer asks questions

Interrupting the employer and asking about something at this time is not very appropriate. It is better to focus on the answers and wait for this part of the conversation to come to an end. Usually at this point, the applicant is asked if he has any questions. This indicates the beginning of the third stage.

Reverse Interview

We have already written about what questions to ask above. Perhaps all of them will not be required - the employer can tell about some points himself. Therefore, be guided by the situation.

Your first question may relate to the thought that was voiced before. For example, if a recruiter asked how you see yourself in 5 years, check with him what plans the company has for this period. If you want to ask about the schedule, revisions or vacationSave these questions for the end of the interview.

But don’t end the conversation with them — find out something else about the employees, the manager, or the company.

You can even touch on not only professional, but also third-party, vital topics. For example, if there is a photo of the manager with his family hanging on the wall, where he is vacationing in Spain, you can say that you have also been to this place and you really liked it there. And also ask what impressed the leader the most. This will demonstrate your ability to enter into a dialogue and notice those little things that bring people together.

It is important to understand that this is a conditional scheme and the conversation can deviate significantly from it. After all, HR professionals and managers are people. And each of them has their own style communication. The main thing is to be open to dialogue, tune in to a pleasant acquaintance and communication, and then the interview will become an interesting experience. Usually it is this attitude that increases the chances of getting a job offer.