The Difficult Questions You Should Always Ask Your Hiring Manager
You’ve come to the end of a job interview, or maybe you’ve just been offered a new role. You feel confident. Your potential future manager then asks if you have any questions for him . How can you tactfully obtain important information about your future boss directly from your future boss?
Now is the time to give yourself full permission to take on the role of the interviewer. This is not an easy task. You are well aware that you are still being evaluated for a position, but you also want to get a critical understanding of the values of your future boss. By asking the right questions, you can reinforce a good impression and come to an informed decision about what it will be like to work with this person.
Below are some tough questions you can ask your potential boss to see if the work environment is right for you.
Could you tell me a story that illustrates your management style?
Don’t expect to get a meaningful answer by asking someone, “What is your management style?” Think about when someone asks you, “What are your biggest strengths/weaknesses?” question. Enumerating a list of attributes is unreliable. Instead, the key is to get a story that really showcases what you’re looking for. I hope your future boss can talk about how to create the work environment you’re looking for. If they can’t think of a single example that portrays their leadership in a positive light, consider how that might affect your work.
How do you solve performance issues? Do you have a real life example?
If the previous question didn’t give you a good idea of your future manager’s style, then this is a more specific approach. Does this person describe their process for providing constructive feedback? Does their tone hint at hidden rage? Of course, in any interview you run into the problem of an unreliable narrator. Hopefully if you ask for a specific example of how your boss was, well, the boss, it will help you decide if this relationship seems desirable to you.
How did you approach the latest promotion in your team?
The point of this question is to find out a few things about your potential for growth in the future: how often promotions happen, what it takes to get them, and what specific contribution your potential manager makes to them.
Again, asking how the promotion happened is critical to getting a better picture of how the promotion process works in your future team. Also, you want to make sure you accept a role where you have the opportunity to grow with the team if that’s what you want.
Is this a new position or are you hiring someone to replace you?
Plus sequel: why did the last person leave? This question is scary, but can be a revelation. Pay attention to how calmly your interviewer answers this question, and listen for signs of a potentially toxic workplace. Is there an unusually high turnover rate? Or, on the other hand, was the last person promoted to a better role – paving the way for you to follow?
How will the arrival of a new employee make your job easier?
In addition to figuring out how you can be a real asset, the answer here can also reveal exactly what your manager really expects from you. Hearing directly from your boss why your role is important will be more meaningful than a set of bullet points from the original job description.
All my interviewers were men. Can I speak to some of the women on the team to learn more about their experience?
This question is from Lily Konings , product designer at Instagram. Conings writes that she learned this from “a candidate who specifically asked to speak to me, the only woman on the team at the time. (Spoiler alert: she accepted the offer after our call.)” If you’re about to take on a new job, it’s good to hear different points of view before jumping on board.
Final Thoughts
Reversing the script to ask the interviewer questions can be intimidating for many job seekers. However, this is an important opportunity for both you and your potential employer. You’ll prove you’re a critical thinker and see if this job is right for you.
And no matter what, preparing questions for the interviewer is a must: if you don’t ask anything, it will appear that you are not fully involved or even interested in the position. If all goes well, hopefully your next question will be: So, when can I start?