end of interview questions help? (trainee role)

Wellydancer

I dread when the interviewer says have you any questions. I was told by a careers adviser to say no you have explained everything and I have no questions at this time.

What kind of questions should I ask. I know everything about the training contract, exams, diary etc.
I don't feel comfortable asking questions in relation to the firm, like how the recession has affected them and competitors. I feel that these are personal questions. (When interviewed by smaller firms anyway).

What kind of questions should I be asking.

Thanks in advance.

Pawwed Rig

Wellydancer wrote: »

I dread when the interviewer says have you any questions. I was told by a careers adviser to say no you have explained everything and I have no questions at this time.

That is pretty poor advice from a careers adviser.

You can ask things like 'what will my day to day activities initially entail', 'what kind of clients will I be working on' 'I have an interest in developing new trainess, will there be scope to mentor someone in the course of the contract' etc etc. Ask questions that show an interest in the company and always (repeat always) use the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and teamwork skills

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This post has been deleted.

Jim2007

Wellydancer wrote: »

I dread when the interviewer says have you any questions. I was told by a careers adviser to say no you have explained everything and I have no questions at this time.

Without doubt some of the worst advice I've ever heard!!!

This is you opportunity to demonstrate your interest in the firm to a much greater extend than at any other stage in the interview, because you can set the agenda!

I'd suggest starting with an observation - something you've read on their website, an article of local business interest or whatever and then go on to ask some relevant questions on the topic.

For example, "I was reading in the papers last week that the tourist industry around Cong has seen a 15% growth this summer because of the anniversary of the making of the Quiet Man and I note that you have a large number of clients in the tourist industry, so I was wondering if the boom was local to Cong or have other parts of the West benefited from the bounce as well?" Then depending on the response, you might ask a few more questions on the industry just to show your knowledge of the topic.

This kind of thing shows that you know something about his clients, the industries they operate in and that you keep up to date on current topics.

Good luck with that,

Jim

Don't ask about things like holidays, bonuses etc - stick to what has been mentioned above.

ted2767

pg633 wrote: »

Don't ask about things like holidays, bonuses etc - stick to what has been mentioned above.

Stick to safe topics like career progression, areas of growth in the firm etc. but, by all means do not say that you have no questions.

doz

Under no circumstances say you have no questions! That is awful advice. In line with what other posters have said I would suggest (from personal experience) that whatever question you ask, you should aim to achieve three things;

1. Demonstrate knowledge and interest in the industry
2. Do not ask a question whereby you are not able/unprepared to enter into discussion/debate with the interviewer/s
3. If possible, ask something that will make you stand out from the others. That may involve you stepping out of your comfort zone. Whether you can do this really depends on how confident you are and how well your interview has gone up to that point.

Other people may not agree with asking something as bold as this, but as an example (in an interview which ultimately landed me my current job), I asked the interviewers whether the E&Y/Anglo Irish incident would have far reaching consequences for the way in which audits are conducted and whether they thought that the fall out would have any consequences for that particular firm.

Pandoras Twist

Do you think the focus of your business has changed in the recession.

It's not personal and it can show the areas that are growing in the firm