Post Interview Questions

I will be interviewing soon for a job at a company that makes software similar to AutoCAD, except it is for mining purposes. You know how they always ask if you have any questions for them after an interview? I have always been told that you should never say that you have no questions for them, which show a lack of interest on your part, but asking obvious questions such as "What do you expect from a starting engineer?" displays, again, a lack of interest/research on my part, since those information can be searched easily on their homepage.

I have a good go-to-question if it were to be a 1-to-1 interview, where you could just ask the interviewer his job experience/progress within this company etc. However, I have a strong feeling that this interview will me be against a board of possible 4-5 interviewers. What kind of post interview question would be appropriate (showing my interest yet not a stupid/easily research-able questions?)

Please discuss and share your ideas, as I have not found a thread on here that talks about this. Thanks! :foo:

Well, first, I like these group interviews much better. I think they challenge people more and allows more people to weigh in increasing the potential of getting the better candidate.

To your question your questions don't have to change much just because it is a group interview. Perhaps ask them something like "How do you collaborate on a particularly difficult problem?"

Thank you for your input. The reason I am thinking that questions to a group might have to be changed is due to the fact that sometimes these groups are formed from different department that are sometimes unrelated, and it is hard to ask a question that most of them can weigh in. Your suggestion sounds pretty good actually

find couple of specific things that are interesting about the company - there should always be things in the news or PR about the specific company that you could use.

think about the people you are meeting with "how would you describe the cooperation between the engineering and marketing teams that work together on product development?"

ask about things that show off your experience - "I see that your company does business in Colombia, I have worked in mines in Colombia in my previous job, what mining companies do you work with there?



don't ask about vacation, or the cafeteria, or the bowling club



globetrotter said:

don't ask about vacation, or the cafeteria, or the bowling club

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Haha of course not. And thanks for the great suggestions!



globetrotter said:

think about the people you are meeting with "how would you describe the cooperation between the engineering and marketing teams that work together on product development?"

Click to expand...

I like this idea a lot and agree that it would work particularly well when you have folks from multiple departments at the interview.

And I agree wit the suggestion to find out something about the company through the various news outlets and try to come up with a question about a current issue - it can be either a positive or negative issue, just phrase it right.

Beyond stuff about the hiring process and other standard questions, I usually ask the interviewer (or pick a few of the folks and ask them if it's a committee) how long they have been with the organization and try to elicit some feedback about the work environment that way. You just have to make sure you ask it in a way that doesn't come off as too personal or stalkerish.

Okay, i also have a question. If i want to write a product review. Any ideas?
Like write a company's new product review. Only describe the product including details that only i can considering. Is enough?

Usually when asked I'l start with a very general question like how big the team I'll be working in is, how much money we manage (I'm in procurement) and is the ratio of things we buy. As silly as it sounds, those types of details aren't always covered in the job posting or the interview. Depending on the answer from the interviewers I may ask something a bit more in depth as a follow up question.

Interviewers want to see that you're engaged and understand the work environment. They aren't there to nail you so if you ask something that may be a bit off base or superficial, they probably won't care. What will turn them off is apparent apathy.

I always ask about career path stuff if not covered - show you are interested in your future at that company. Ask about merit, teamwork, mentorship, etc...

I never understood why you must ask post interview questions. I think this concept was brought out upon years of terrible interviewing. A Job interview should have both the interviewee and interviewer conversing with one another to gauge fit, experience etc. However it somehow has evolved to in too many cases, with an interviewer firing off questions to an interviewee, writing down their responses then asking if they have questions at the end. In this case they really have learned nothing, as the interviewee will only answer the questions you ask and give no further input. Those who are great at interviewing are able to gain an edge over those who are better qualified. I mean if it was a good interview, there really should be no need for questions at the end If the interviewer covered all their bases, and allowed the interviewee to ask any questions during the interview.

^ I agree with that. After having 5 interviews so far over this last week, most of the interviews went pretty well with me conversing and questioning the interviewer in between his questions and it felt really good. However, the norm now is that every interviewer will still ask if you have any questions at the end of the interview, and it just seems bad to not have at least one or two good questions.

One question I asked everyone for every single interview that was well-received every single time was, "What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were in my position (as in any entry-level job in general, or the specific position you're applying for that the interviewer held previously but has been promoted since)?"

Most of the time, you'll get some pretty generic answers, but that's after the interviewers actually spend a couple seconds thinking in their heads what to say, as if they've been caught off guard. After a few seconds of more silence, they'll stall and say, "wow, that's a really good question.. hmm" and then they'll give you a pretty generic answer. The generic answer is not the point. The point is you've made an impression where you caught the interviewer off guard, in a good way.

I've noticed that the more senior the interviewer is (and older in age), the more generic the advice is. It tends to be more general in nature and kind of life-specific; not specific to the position you're interviewing for. The younger interviewers tend to give you the position-specific advice.

Either way, it's a question that has been well received by everyone I've asked it to. I also tend to leave it as my last question, after already having asked some position/company-specific questions. It's a good closer question.

Very interesting GreenFrog! Thanks for sharing! By the way, how do most of you end an interview? Like.. Interviewer: Do you have any more questions? "Nope?" lol.. Do share if you have a better way of concluding the interview..

Damn, going to have to keep that one in mind.

Damn wish I knew that a long time ago thanks!