Interview Technique

[emmelinemay]

Ok, so once I get a job interview, I seem to do pretty well. I read all about the company on their website beforehand where possible, and I'm smiley and bubbly and professional. I think carefully about their questions and answer them with a mixture of honesty and I'M REALLYGOODness.

I generally get pretty good feedback from interviews, but I'm not actually getting any jobs. I think one of the places I fall down on is asking questions.

They always ask you if you have any questions about the company or the role, and my mind just goes BLANK. I can never think of any good questions to ask.

So. What are good questions to ask? What should I avoid asking?

Comments

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

from a recent post to a mailing list that I saved because it seemed to contain Good Information:

Is this a newly created position or will I be taking over from someone else?
What does your orientation/training involve?
What kinds of personalities will you be working with; coworkers, people who
report to you, clients (as applicable).
If you are being considered for the position, can you meet the people you'd
be working before making your decision?

Are there any issues in the workplace to be aware of? I use this one. It
has been a very useful question to me and I've gotten some surprisingly
honest answers. Best to communicate it in a way that you say existence of
issues in the workplace won't necessarily dissuade you from taking the job;
you simply prefer to be aware of them in advance.

[sera-squeak.livejournal.com]

In the same vein as this:

Is this a newly created position or will I be taking over from someone else?

you could ask whether there will be a handover period (if you're replacing someone else).