Good questions to ask at interview?

pbowenroe

I have an interview for an entry level job in a factory coming up. I have some experience of this type of work. However at the end of interviews I can never think of something to ask the employer so I would like to be bit more prepared this time.

What are some good questions to ask at an interview?

murphym7

pbowenroe wrote: »

I have an interview for an entry level job in a factory coming up. I have some experience of this type of work. However at the end of interviews I can never think of something to ask the employer so I would like to be bit more prepared this time.

What are some good questions to ask at an interview?

Pay?
Shift pattern?
Oppurtunity for advancement?
Future of new products?

pbowenroe

murphym7 wrote: »

Pay?
Shift pattern?
Oppurtunity for advancement?
Future of new products?

Thanks.

murphym7

Don't worry about making up a question either, its not the end of the world if you don't have any questions. It means the interviewers have done a good job in explaining the role to you.

I am always more concerned that the candidate has done their research on the company, how you answer "tell me what you know about the company" is the key.

Good luck with it.

Wishbone Ash

I'd keep it much simpler and ask something like "When can I expect to hear from you" or "How many do you hope to recruit"?

I interview regularly and personally prefer when candidates ask very simple straightforward questions. At times, I've felt that it was myself that was being interviewed. Doesn't make a great impression IMO.

Munstermissy

I would never ask about pay/salary unless it was brought up by the interviewer. To me it's a big no no.

Zascar

At the end ask if they have any concerns - so you can address them - or ask "Is there any reason you would not want to hire me"

the_syco

murphym7 wrote: »

Pay?
Shift pattern?
Oppurtunity for advancement?
Future of new products?

Would never ask about pay in the first interview.

=-=

Research the company, and ask questions that you already know the answers for. Although this may sound bizarre, you are displaying that you researched the company, but yet you say it in a question. This will not be a "do you give donuts to your employees", but a "I see you got a contract as the sole suppliers of computers for the Department of Defence; will you now be expanding to the other governmental departments" question if such an award was recently given.

Mr. Loverman

May not be suitable for a factory job, but I always ask questions about the management.

I ask them to describe the current management structure. I ask them if the CEO / other senior managers "get involved" in the day to day running of their department. I ask them do the senior managers fully understand the tasks of their department. I ask them does the company have a high turnover of staff. I ask them would they describe the average person in the company as liking their job...

Basically I use this to determine if I would be walking into a ****ty company. You can generally tell by their answers if they are unhappy and working for an unhappy company.

Interviewing the company is just as important as them interviewing you... don't walk into a job where you will be miserable.

murphym7

Munstermissy wrote: »

I would never ask about pay/salary unless it was brought up by the interviewer. To me it's a big no no.

It’s an entry level job in a factory, why wouldn’t you ask? It’s not like you have an opportunity to negotiate at the offer stage. Would you suggest they wait until they are offered the job to see how much they will be paid? Silly advice! Ask how much you are going to paid for god sake, its important and waiting until the end of the process may mean that you have passed over a better opportunity in another company, assuming this one will pay more.

The wage is the wage, there is no wiggle room for these entry level jobs. I conduct interviews for these positions every week, I am asked regularly what the hourly rate is (it’s not a big “no no”), I would also assume the same applies to retail too?

Would I give this same advice for all roles? No, of course not. But my response is catered for this role.

Irish_Elect_Eng

murphym7 wrote: »

It’s an entry level job in a factory, why wouldn’t you ask? It’s not like you have an opportunity to negotiate at the offer stage. Would you suggest they wait until they are offered the job to see how much they will be paid? Silly advice! Ask how much you are going to paid for god sake, its important and waiting until the end of the process may mean that you have passed over a better opportunity in another company, assuming this one will pay more.

The wage is the wage, there is no wiggle room for these entry level jobs. I conduct interviews for these positions every week, I am asked regularly what the hourly rate is (it’s not a big “no no”), I would also assume the same applies to retail too?

Would I give this same advice for all roles? No, of course not. But my response is catered for this role.

I appreciate what you are saying, but I disagree.

The purpose of attending the interview is to get the job, to put yourself in a position to accept/reject an offer. Most employers like to think that they offer more than just a pay packet, breaking it down to just the $$$ pay, right at the end of an interview does not give the right impression of why you want to come and work there. Asking how much and your reaction to the answer is more likely decrease your chance of getting the role rather than increase it, on average.

It is common sense to leave that discussion to the offer stage, even if there is no real hope of significant negotiations, as you are in a stronger position with an offer on the table and may be able to get some increase, an extra day off or perhaps a favorable shift.

But of course every interview is different and you need to gauge the questions appropriately.

tatli_lokma

"how has this position become available" is a good one too - it isn't too intrusive but it also gives you a chance to gauge a few things - has the position become available because someone moved internally? in which case there may be opportunities for advancement internally. Did someone leave? at times you can tell by how the interviewer says this whether it was on good terms or not.

A few weeks ago I conducted an interview where at the end and we ask 'do you have any questions for us' the candidate took out a typed A4 page with what must have been 30+ questions on it! They then proceeded to take notes on our answers. Some of the questions were rather obscure and a bit odd. Others were just unneccessary - such as what is the dress code - this is for a standard office type role, and they had been brought through the office to the interview room so a quick look around would have answered that question, and even if it didn't surely you would dress the same way on your first day as you did in interview (i.e suit) and then take it from there? It just seemed an odd question from someone who had many years experience in office work according to their CV. It was a good 15 mins by the time they asked their questions (and they didn't even ask all the questions on the list!) It really did feel like we were being quizzed, not to mention the fact that a lot of the questions were already addressed when we gave an overview of the role and company at the start of the interview.

So I would second what Wishbone Ash says - keep it succinct and relevant. Finer details such as dress code and pay negotiations and parking facilities can be discussed at offer stage.

pharmaton

Irish_Elect_Eng wrote: »

I appreciate what you are saying, but I disagree.

The purpose of attending the interview is to get the job, to put yourself in a position to accept/reject an offer. Most employers like to think that they offer more than just a pay packet, breaking it down to just the $$$ pay, right at the end of an interview does not give the right impression of why you want to come and work there. Asking how much and your reaction to the answer is more likely decrease your chance of getting the role rather than increase it, on average.

It is common sense to leave that discussion to the offer stage, even if there is no real hope of significant negotiations, as you are in a stronger position with an offer on the table and may be able to get some increase, an extra day off or perhaps a favorable shift.

But of course every interview is different and you need to gauge the questions appropriately.

sorry for hijacking the thread, just curious about this myself. I was interviewed recently and the question about pay was brought up by the panel. (did I have an amount in mind) It was a first for me and I honestly hadn't given it much thought so stumbled over the answer which conveniently was same as above! "I hadn't really given it much thought".
Afterward it was the one thing that's been going round in my head, should I have been more definite about what I would expect?

L.Jenkins

murphym7 wrote: »

Pay?
Shift pattern?
Oppurtunity for advancement?
Future of new products?

I'd stay away from asking questions regarding pay. It may give some potential employers a bad impression. I'd consider pay to be apart of the terms and conditions of the role to be discussed when an offer of employment has been made.

In the interview stage, you're best to discuss the role and company.

Mr. Loverman

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Basically I use this to determine if I would be walking into a ****ty company. You can generally tell by their answers if they are unhappy and working for an unhappy company.

I always used to ask straight out "do you like working here?"
They have to say yes, but how they say it and the reasons they give will tell you everything

syco's answer is also a good one

tatli_lokma

bluewolf wrote: »

syco's answer is also a good one

syco didn't give an answer?? they just said don't ask about pay??

the_syco wrote:

Would never ask about pay in the first interview.

Little Ted

Little Ted wrote: »

syco didn't give an answer?? they just said don't ask about pay??

Eh, he wrote another paragraph under that...

tatli_lokma

ahhhh - the little =-= break he made stopped me from reading on as it appeared to my lazy eyes that it was the signature!!!

Just read it now - agreed, they are fair and sensible questions to ask.

callaway92

Munstermissy wrote: »

I would never ask about pay/salary unless it was brought up by the interviewer. To me it's a big no no.

In certain roles I think there isn't any harm in asking it i.e commission based roles. If someone is skeptical about if there is proper base pay etc then there's nothing wrong with checking to make sure.

Other than that though I agree it's a no-no.