Job Interview Questions For the Employer
A couple of times a year I participate in a forum panel for a local community college that has a program for people who are entering the work force after a few years of not having to interview for a job. One of the suggestions I have for the students is to interview the company as they are interviewing you. In todays fast pace world no one seems to have the time to tell you about their company or the details of the job you will be performing.
Before you go for an interview, how much do you know about the company you are interviewing with?
All too often we are so excited that any company called us to come and interview that we don’t take the time to research the company, it products or services and what might possibly be the job we are interviewing for. Too many times I have people who come to interview with me, and when I ask “how much do you know about Comfort Keepers?” I get a blank stare and the proverbial, “not much or nothing.”
Why would anyone want to waste gas money to drive to a place to feel like a nervous wreck and be disappointed to hear that the job they are applying for is something they have no interest in?
Pre-Interview Research
Before you go to the interview learn a little bit about the company and the job you are applying for. If you are not familiar with the industry you might be quite surprised to learn what the job entails. For example I applied for a marketing job that advertised as marketing but when I arrived I was told by the interviewer the job was for the marketing/admissions position. This means that during the interview I was told that I would be responsible for marketing as well as admitting clients. If I had not been in the industry for several years and well aware that most settings have a full time marketing person and a full time admissions person I would not have realized that this particular company was expecting me to do the work of two full time people until after I started. As a result of being in the industry for awhile I also knew that admissions is a 24/7 business, which means that I could have been called to do an admission at 4pm and been stuck with paperwork until late into the evening.
If you are not familiar with the job you are applying for you should ask some basic questions such as:
How long on average does the task take?
How many hours am I expected to be here on site and is overtime required or voluntary?
What is the reason the person who had the position I am interviewing for is no longer here?
Some individuals might say asking such questions will guarantee you are not hired. Well if you are hired and you didn’t ask the questions you will be miserable and quit. Companies would rather you ask the questions and know what the responsibilities are before they spend the money to hire, train and orient you. Again in our fast paced world people are always in a hurry and may not explain everything about the job to you. Nowadays companies are not scared of the fact that you have children or may need to leave to get to the babysitter. They are more focused on their bottom line and how many individuals they hire and cannot retain.
This blog written by Melody McHugh of Comfort Keepers, an international provider of assisted living services in the private home to anyone over the age of 18 who is sick, disabled or elderly. Comfort Keepers serves many seniors in their homes and is an equal opportunity employer. Many retired nurses, teachers and other retired individuals work for this non-medical in-home provider. For more information, go to our website www.comfortkeepers.com
Tags: comfort keepers, interview, job, older workers
August 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
[...] Create a list of questions you can ask the recruiter about their [...]
October 10th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
[...] Ordinary to EXTRAordinary: Success begins Within”. Workshops covering resume preparation, and interviewing skills. The job fair finale features an affordable Fashion Show for job seekers on a budget. All workshops [...]