The importance of asking job interview questions as the candidate.

As regular readers of this blog will already know, I am very much a proponent of proper preparation for job search or interview. Doing that research about the position, company, and industry are great ways to make you stand out and get interviews and hopefully job offers. So when I saw the following piece by Joel Peterson via LinkedIn I was prepared to agree with and sing the praises of the article:

"The One Job Interview Question to Get Right"  and as I began reading I initially thought I was going to be right... but then it turned south quickly.

First, I agree with the general premise that the most important question to be prepared for in the interview is when the interviewer will ask you as the candidate if you have any questions for them. Mr. Peterson's reasons for this questions importance are also spot on, it can be used to demonstrate to the interviewer what you know about the position, them as a company, and the industry they are in. I also agree with the reasons behind not asking the first three questions he details. As he mentions these will leave the interviewer with the impression that you as a candidate are looking to the position to solely benefit you, and not as a mutually beneficial relationship between you ans the company.

But when he gives his suggestions for four questions that would be better, I have to strongly disagree with three of the four. Before I get too far into why I object I feel that I need to give just a bit of background to remind regular readers and inform any new readers of where I am coming from. I am a librarian, more specifically a reference and instruction librarian. For the last ten years I have spent almost every day of my professional life teaching people not only how to research, but how to evaluate the information they find from their research. For about four of those years I was in an large academic library setting where I got the opportunity to work with the various career service offices at the university. In this time I learned first hand from the company recruiters exactly the point Mr. Peterson is making:

To stand out from the crowd of applicants, one must demonstrate with every interaction your knowledge of the position, company and the industry they operate in.

So now back to Mr. Peterson's suggested questions:

1. “How can new employees become familiar with, and begin to contribute to, the culture you’ve developed here?

To me this says you did not do that research. Instead you should have used the interview to demonstrate you know something about the culture and give examples of how you would contribute if hired. If you have done that, then you could ask a followup to clarify if you have the right understanding about their culture, or if the examples you gave would mesh with current initiatives. 

2. “What’s the most important way that your company differentiates itself from competitors?” (Focus the question on the particular industry you’re in, showing that you’re knowledgeable about the company and its sector.)

By asking this question, I again feel that you are demonstrating you didn't do enough research. You should have been able to learn some about them and their competitors and what the differences are... instead you might mention some of the specific things you have learned about them or the competition in the interview and make a connection with your background. (ex. "I read in the XXXX that your competitor is about to introduce YYYY and I feel that my experience at company ZZZZ would allow me to contribute immediately in your efforts to ....")

3. “What are a few of the most important challenges that the industry is facing, and how is your company going to approach them?

Again you should already know the challenges, and if the opportunity was available addressed how you can make a contribution during the interview.

4. “What might I do to add the greatest value to the business?” -- followed by, “What kinds of things can I do to prepare myself for the job?”

This combination is very good, but I think it needs to be paired with the suggestions I have made above. After sprinkling suggestions of ways you can contribute built upon the things you have learned about them and/or the industry during your research, these two questions can be a great way to wrap up the interview and hopefully receive some initial feedback on how they viewed you and the examples/suggestions you brought to the table.

The research is vitally important, but just as important is how you use what you learned and demonstrate it in the cover letter, interview, and all communications with the company.

I value comments and feedback as always.