Let Job Candidates Interview You

We often think about preparing questions for an employee in an interview, but spend little time on being ready to answer questions that they might ask us. Consider these samples:

• How many employees do you have?
• What are your annual sales and profitability trends over the past three years?
• What percentage of managers are promoted, rather than recruited?
• Why is the position open? Did someone quit or get fired? Is this a new position?
• How would you describe your company’s culture?
• Where do you get your greatest satisfaction in working at the company?
• What frustrates you at times working for the company?
• How does your performance appraisal system work?
• What training programs do you offer employees?
• When is the last time you faced an employee claim?
• How often does the CEO meet with the management team?
• What type of office parties and social events do you have?
• Do you publish career ladders for the position?
• What effort have you made to find out about me before the interview? (i.e., have you done a Google search?)

P.S. As a fringe benefit, preparing these answers will tell you a lot about your company.