Ask the right questions!

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Resources of the Week!

1. Check out our curated community job board!

2. Adam Broda shared this list of interview prep resources that you might find useful!

3. Just stumbled upon this company that posts jobs in the fitness industry!

Interview the Interviewers

Interviewing is a two-way street…I made a silly post on this earlier today but those might be somewhat risky ideas to bring into an interview.

But even if you’re feeling desperate and are willing to accept just about anything, I encourage you to be discerning and investigate the culture, manager, etc. This will not just give you good insights into the company and team, but it will also reflect well on you as an applicant!

Side note: I found this awesome Tiktok that covers this topic - a lot of overlap with what’s below, and I thought she offered great tips on questions to ask when interviewing with tech companies.

1. Candidates that ask thoughtful questions show that they have done their research, and they are really interested in the role and company. Hiring managers ultimately want to hire people who want to be there so this can give you an advantage over others.

2. The questions you ask can show how you’re thinking about the role. For example, I’ve seen feedback from hiring managers that someone asking really strategic questions around long-term direction for the team when interviewing for a more junior role demonstrated that they had a lot of potential to grow into bigger roles. On the flip side, I’ve seen an HM note that a director-level candidate asked very low level logistical questions and it made them think the person either wasn’t ready for this more senior strategic role, or that they weren’t super interested.

3. The questions you ask can demonstrate competencies like critical thinking and problem-solving. They can show that you’ve been paying attention and doing your research and are genuinely curious and eager to join the team.

4. The information you gain at each stage will help you be more prepared in the subsequent interviews.

AND they can help you identify places that may have good long-term growth potential for YOU! That doesn’t mean you need to exit a process or decline an offer - we all need to work. But if you know it may not be the best match, this might encourage you to keep going with other interview processes. Or it may help you figure out what you’ll need to navigate a less than ideal work environment.

So what should I ask?

Well to some extent, this will depend on the role, the company, etc. The best questions are going to be genuine questions based on what you’ve learned and what you want to know.

But here are some ideas that might be helpful:

1. Recruiters
   Recruiters often have better insight on company culture than anyone else because they work with many teams, managers, etc. so ask them questions about the company - opportunities to learn and grow, major strategic initiatives, how the core values play out in practice, etc.
   They can offer insights into the hiring process for this role, and what this particular hiring manager is looking for. I love asking them what has made previous team members stand out, and if they have insights on why some candidates haven’t been successful in the process.

2. Hiring Managers
   This is usually going to be your direct manager in the role! And with the right questions, they will tell you exactly what they’re looking for.
   You can ask them about top priorities for the role, key problems that need to be addressed in the first 30/60/90 days, insights into teams and cross-functional partners you’ll work with, and what success will look like in the first 6-12 months.
   You can also ask about their leadership style, and any themes they see in folks who thrive at the company.
   If someone was previously in the role, try asking what they did really well and any lessons learned from their tenure. The hiring manager may offer some good insights into skills they are looking for or where your predecessor fell short so you can show how you’d approach things differently.
   You may also want to ask who you’re going to be working most closely with and what their priorities are, challenges in the previous working relationship, etc. This can help you know what to highlight when meeting with those folks!
   

3. Stakeholders and Peers

   These are often the people you’re going to be working with day-to-day.
   You can ask about the day-to-day work environment, and what it takes to succeed on this team.
   Ask them about how their work with the previous person in the role was - what worked well, and how do they hope thing will evolve?
   Ask what challenges the team is facing, and what role they see you playing in solving them.
   You can also ask for insights on the priorities and goals of the hiring manager and senior leaders (which of course helps you prepare for those conversations in later stages.
   

4. Senior Leaders
   In many companies, you may meet with the head of the department or an executive. Often, these folks are not as in touch with the day-to-day work and may be more focused on someone’s longer-term potential with the company, and how someone is going to fit in with the team as well as how they will level up the team or bring something new.
   This is a good chance for a longer-term conversation. Ask about the long-term vision for the team and company. Ask about the challenges the company is facing on the market, and how they hope this role will address help solve those.

Remember - the questions you ask are opportunities for you to learn more about the role, but also a chance to gain insights that will help you be more successful in the next interview, and to show off additional skills you might bring to the team.

🙋Answering Your Questions🙋

Each week, I’ll answer a few of your questions in this section. You can submit your questions here.

This will really vary based on the company. I know of some environments where the recruiter operates as a hiring manager and makes direct hires (often in higher volume positions with really clear cut qualifications).

I don’t think it’s a negative thing for a recruiter to run profiles by a hiring manager, and different companies will approach this differently.

In my experience, when I am less familiar with a profile, I may run every profile by the hiring manager as it helps us build alignment. We might also run profiles by them when they have a healthy pool and want to be sure it makes sense to schedule other interviews, or when they have limited availability so we need to prioritize a few candidates.

And some companies or teams may just choose to do this every time as part of their process!

On the flip side, when the recruiter is very familiar with the profile, or the hiring manager has ample availability and says they want lots of interviews, then recruiters may be more likely to run this by the hiring manager.

So all in all, I wouldn’t worry about this at all of read into it.

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