Interview Today. Need Intelligent Questions!

[aduidarnenye]

I have an interview this afternoon for a teaching job. I usually do okay in interviews except the part where they ask "Have you got any questions for us?" At this point my mind always goes blank and I have a look of utter stupidity on my face.

So naturally, I must turn to BG for help.

Has BG got some suggestions for good questions to ask interviewers about the job in the interview? It's okay if they're generic questions, I can adapt them to the situation.

Thanks for any and all help.


P.S. No, I'm not going to use the naughty questions.

[Bardicrune]

Need a little more background info if you can. Is this public or private teaching gig? If private, make SURE to ask about healthcare benefits, paid time off (vacation/sick time), etc.

[Seanr]

what kind of benefits are offered, pay, etc...
I dunno, I always go blank too.
If anything say either no, you've covered anything that could possibly come to mind right now, or no immediate question have arisen, but you'll be sure to ask when you do have any...

[aduidarnenye]

It's a private English language school. There aren't any health benefits, there never are with English language teaching. I will ask about the vacation and sick time though. Good idea.

[wop]

Ask how he/she feels about working for the company. It's good to hear what type of working environment they adapt to.

Ask about career advancement perhaps.

[kuronosan]

Always ask about personal time, including how far in advance they need to be notified, and as wop said... ask how they feel about working for the company and what future career possibilities there are. You want to tell them you are interested in long-term goals at the same time you find out whether there's any room for advancement for you.

Another question you probably want to ask them is how soon they are planning on making a decision. As long as you don't sound pushy, this is usually not a bad question to ask as you don't want them interviewing you for a position opening a year from now. It does happen, believe it or not.

[Eliseos]

My normal questions that don't usually relate to specific things about the job:

Types of advancement opportunities
Ask the interviewer his/her/their history with the company
Ask what a normal day/week would be like for the job
Ask how the interviewer will view the position as being successful

[The Stig]

Hm , if it's for a school, I think I would ask what the students or kids are like. I always view it as you can't just be in a position where you are desperate for the job, you gotta see if you would want to work there too, so kinda turning the tables over a bit.

[Mizango]

Always ask about personal time, including how far in advance they need to be notified, and as wop said... ask how they feel about working for the company and what future career possibilities there are. You want to tell them you are interested in long-term goals at the same time you find out whether there's any room for advancement for you.

Another question you probably want to ask them is how soon they are planning on making a decision. As long as you don't sound pushy, this is usually not a bad question to ask as you don't want them interviewing you for a position opening a year from now. It does happen, believe it or not.

Right on the money.

They really just want to gauge your mutual interest in the position for which you are applying, so going blank or saying "no" is really a bad bad way to go. Kudos for you though on being heady enough to ask instead of going blank and sabotaging yourself.

[Seanr]

this thread is beneficial for me too, so thanks for making it. I have an interview/exam for the MVA(motor vehicle) in less than 2 weeks. And I think this is one area where I always fuck up

[Uzor]

What does an ideal employee look like in your opinion?
What opportunities do I have for advancement?
What kind of skills does the company lack that you're looking for by hiring a new person?
What are your views on the company as a whole?
What are my expectations at this position in the coming year?
What is the most important aspects of this job in your opinion?

Those are just some general questions

[aduidarnenye]

Thanks very much for all the great suggestions! I really appreciate this, BG. I've written down everything and I'll check back before the interview this afternoon in case there is something new and brilliant that has not yet been suggested.

[BardonGaruda]

You should ask a mix of questions.

1. Questions that are to your benefit
- Hours of work (including prep time for classes)
- Benefits
- How much support will you receive (shows them you expect to be supported)
- Vacations, personal days etc.

2. Questions that show an interest in the position/company. A good way to phrase them is I know you do x,y,z but I like to know a little more about...
This shows you've done some research on the company before the interview.
- I know you provide English language classes but how many students are in the typical class.
- If you know how long they've been in business then ask how long they've been in their current premises, if the interviewer has been with the company for many years.
- Ask interviewer where they were before this company and why they chose to join the company.
- Ask about number of other teachers.
- As other have said it's important to ask about the students, how your performance will be measured, if there's a probation period, what are the criteria for passing/failing probation.
- Don't ask about salary etc. they'll either outline a package to you or it will be covered at a later date. Also not bringing this up in the interview puts you in a stronger position later.

If they contact you with an offer, at that point you know they want you for the position, they'll tell you the salary offer and you can then ask if it's negotiable. Also if there's anything else that would sweeten the deal or is important to you, bring it up at this point and have it inserted in your contract.

Never say you've got no questions or they covered everything. That just tells the interviewer that you've either done no prep or you're interviewing all over the place with no real interest in that particular position.

[Dimmauk]

The funny part about this is that the interviewer is sometimes caught off guard by an actual question, which is a good thing. Most interviewees always freeze during this portion of the interview process. An question means the interviewee is serious about this position. Just make sure the question is a good one. Dont ask about good places to eat around there, and dont ask about how many times you can call in before you get fired. LOL

[Acturus]

It's a private English language school. There aren't any health benefits, there never are with English language teaching. I will ask about the vacation and sick time though. Good idea.

We recently ran through a hiring process on my team, and here are a few questions that were asked of me:

First off, before they start asking questions, ask them if you can take notes. There's no reason why they shouldn't let you, but you may find questions to ask later if you are taking notes during the interview. We had several candidates review their notes when we asked them for questions, and they used the time to ask for clarification on things we had discussed.

Ask if it's a newly created position, or if it is an established position that has recently become available. If established, ask why the position was opened. i.e. why did the last person to hold the position leave.

I don't know much about teaching positions in general, but ask about long-term expectations for the job. Is this a job where turnover is expected, or does the company want to see someone in the position for long (read: 10 years or more) periods of time. It's a hard question to ask, because if you don't say it right, it can be construed by the interviewer as "this guy is just looking for a foot in the door. He doesn't care about the job." Again, I don't know much about the business of teaching.

Research average class size in that area, and ask them what your average class size is expected to be. If that is higher than the average in the area, ask about teaching extenders (like aides) and what resources are available to assist with the class, if any. Hell, regardless of class size, asking about available resources to assist with teaching would be a good question anyway.

Ask about performance appraisals. How is the effectiveness of the job measured? Are you part of a team of educators, or are you by yourself?

I'll keep thinking.

[wyrmtung]

"Is everyone at this company (or school) as sexy as you?"

[Dmitry]

I'm not sure why, but in my class at school that was supposed to prep us for interviews, we were told to ask for a tour of the facility. Could use that to buy time if you blank.

[Blabj]

I'm not sure why, but in my class at school that was supposed to prep us for interviews, we were told to ask for a tour of the facility. Could use that to buy time if you blank.

That's more of a 1st day of work/acclimatisation thing. I got showed around my last place on the interview, but only specific areas pertinent to my job. I didn't get the grand tour til after I started working full time for them.

[The Stig]

I think that's a fairly reasonable/normal question to ask. I for sure would love to see the environment I'd be working in. I got denied once because apparently I was being interviewed at a different office to the one I'd be working at.

On the subject of asking about benefits/qwirks, maybe I'm brainwashed but I usually feel I shouldn't be asking those types of questions as you shouldn't be in a job for its perks, but I suppose everyone lies left and right anyway and it all doesn't matter in the end (heck, you just want to work, and get money).

[Plow]

Do you like fish sticks?