Reply #21: Bring a notebook, and have questions prepared [View All]

[Patiod]

I second whoever said to have questions ready.

Sadly, the most important questions to me (how much vacation do I get? how many personal days? what's the latest I can get to work? how often can I get away with working from home? how obsessive are you about getting in when the weather is bad? can I stay in nicer hotels, or are you strict about per diems? ) are not the ones to ask until you're sure you're going to get hired.

Good questions:
- what are your criteria for success in this position? (or alternatives, like "what are you looking for in a candidate? or how are we evaluated?)
- are those who work late seen as "go-getters" or as inefficient users of time?
- why did the last person in the position leave?
- what's the mix of team work and work-on-your-own?
- what kind of support staff will I have available to work with? (in my line of work, it helps to have good admins to make our reports look nice, or plan our travel, for example)
- who do I report to? how does that relationship work (strict supervision vs. help vs. simply hands out assignments)
- tell me about a typical day for someone in this position - I'd like to get a feel for the proportion of challenges, crises, paperwork, routine tasks, etc.

Good luck!!! Let us know how it went!!