Changing Jobs & asking questions before going interview

greep

Say I'm thinking of changing jobs.
Before attending any interviews, however, I would like to get to know & compare a few basics versus my current company, e.g.: salary, benefits, flexibility (working from home).

I guess it's OK to ask these questions with the agency or directly with the recruiter ahead of the interviews, so that you know whether it's worth your time/effort?

Or... maybe they will ask these questions anyway, before meeting you, having known you currently have a job & should have some expectations?

Never been in such situation before & would appreciate any advice on this matter.

Also, would questions about "People/Atmosphere" at work be worth asking before interview?

cml387

I would ask the questions after the interview, it's usually the case anyway that you have an opportunity to ask questions at the end.

To ask beforehand sounds a bit like you are interviewing them which might seem a bit presumptuous.They are the right questions to ask, of course.

You'll be researching the company anyway to prepare for the interview. Possibly you might be able to find out via third parties what the work environment is like.

seamus

It's OK to ask them, but whether you'll get a straight answer is another thing. Especially if you're going through a recruitment agent, don't believe a word out of their mouths. They're all lying bastards.

Even in interviews you can find companies pretty coy about things like benefits and flexibility because they don't want to paint themselves into a corner. Remember that often few of the people interviewing you actually know any of this information - benefits are a HR competence and a salary may only be decided by the department head rather than your direct manager.

I agree that it's useful to have this info beforehand so you know whether it's worth your while. But one funny thing is that sometimes a company that's "worse" on paper works out far more fun and interesting than the better one. I would ask before interview what the expected salary range is. They may not have one - so prompt them. Give them a range and ask if that's the kind of thing they're expecting. If they say probably not, then you know it's not worth your while.

But either way you can end up kissing a few frogs. Especially if you go through a recruitment agent, they will tell you anything you want to hear, just to get you to interview.

Write down some of the key questions, bring a small notebook and pen with you to any interview. When they ask you if you've any questions, you have them written down.