The first thing to remember about interviews is that the
more specific and relevant questions you can ask, the better. For example, if
you’re being interviewed for a marketing role then you might ask the
interviewer about the target market. However, this isn’t about asking ‘who is
your target audience?’ but instead, about the brand’s place in that market e.g.
‘what would you say is [magazine name] distinctive advantage in the industry?’
These types of specific and relevant questions will surely impress the
interviewer and will enable you to think about the brand more. Be prepared for
the interviewer to ask your opinion too.
It may trickier trying to think of specific and relevant
questions if it’s not for a brand but for a role. For instance, my role at IPC Media is across various brands so I had to ask the interviewer a question that was
relevant to the role itself. Through research, I discovered that the best PA’s
were the ones that had strengths aligned with their bosses weaknesses. The
majority of PA’s make their bosses life easier by being organised. However,
instead of directly asking ‘what’s your weakness?’, instead you can make it a
bit more thought provoking by asking - ‘how do you make the most of your
current PA and what would you change in future?’.
I tend to prepare two questions for the interviewer and a
third as a backup/alternative. Some questions are generic and can be used for
multiple interviews. Personally, I really like ‘what is the difference between
someone who will perform this job well, to someone who will perform
exceptionally well?’ it can be used for any job role. Remember as your final
question talk about next steps.
There are also questions that I prefer not to use. For
example, asking how the interviewer felt the interview went. If I were an
interviewer I’d probably answer either average, good or great but even with the
great ones I’d always be tempted to pick holes in it afterwards. I think there
is a certain element of ego in the question that I dislike. Anyway, if you
agree with me or not, the chances are, if you do a great interview, you’ll get
the job without having to ask a question like that.
Other times, you may be in an interview and you get some
inspiration about a question you could ask the interviewer based on what has
already been said. Go for it. I really like a two part questions, and by that I
mean a question based on an observation ‘I noticed earlier you said......how do
you think that’s......’. So make sure you take some time to really think about
what questions you are asking and what you need to ask to make a lasting
impression!
