Remember, you're also interviewing them

Long gone are the days of questions such as, ‘tell me why we should hire you’. Now, the tables have certainly turned, with the new question being, ‘tell me why I would want to work here’.

Whenever I am helping a candidate prepare for an interview, I always tell them to remember that it is not only the company interviewing them, but they are also interviewing the company. It is so important to make sure that this move is the right move and that this company is somewhere they would feel happy and proud to work.

With that in mind, here are my suggestions for alternative questions to ask during the interview process.

In what ways have you actively contributed to your team’s development?

Do they regularly arrange 1:1 meetings or quarterly reviews? Are they giving realistic and achievable goals and providing advice on the ways to achieve these goals? A career without development will feel stagnant and while you can’t guarantee this will be your ‘forever move’ (is this a thing anymore?), you need to ensure that this move will contribute to your future goals. A good Manager will view your development, and their team’s development, as important.

When did you last promote someone within your team?

A follow up question to the last would be to find out when they last promoted someone. The role you are interviewing for could be a result of a promotion, which is a great sign that you could follow in the same steps. A promotion within your role may not be your ultimate goal, but if progression is important to you, this is worth asking.

How do you approach your team members when they make mistakes?

Everyone makes mistakes and this question may give you examples of that individual’s management style. Ideally, the answer would be that they see your failures / mistakes as their failures / mistakes and they would utilise that instance as a learning opportunity.

How do you think you could improve as a Manager?

This question may come across as too direct and could make the interviewer feel uncomfortable but honestly, that is okay. You’re not asking this to catch them out, but rather to get to know them as both a Manager and a person. At the end of the day, no-one is perfect and individuals who see this will be better Managers. If they can accept their own imperfections and strive to continuously improve, you know they will champion your own development and push you to continuously learn and improve.

How do you champion diversity and inclusion?

Follow up this question by asking for an example. Unfortunately, a lot of companies say they have a D&I policy and use this for marketing purposes. If this is something that is important to you, make sure you feel comfortable with the examples they are providing. You may feel this is an area they could improve on, and you could ask what opportunities there are to get involved in this aspect of the company (i.e., do they have a committee you could join?)

Remember too your recruitment consultant is always there to help you prepare before an interview, so do take the time to have a call with them beforehand. Knowing as much about the role as possible will help you come up with any other questions that you have to ensure that this is the right move for you.

If you are Corporate Governance Professional and thinking about making a move please do get in touch.