What are the organization's/company's strengths and weaknesses compared to its

competition?
How does upper management view the role and importance of this department and this
position?
What is the organization's plan for the next five years, and how does this department fit in?
Could you explain your organizational structure?
What do you most enjoy about your work with this organization / company / agency?
How have various types of decisions been made?
What are the various ways employees communicate with one another to carry out their
work?
How will my leadership responsibilities and performance be measured? By whom?
What are the day-to-day responsibilities of this job?
Could you describe your company's management style and the type of employee who fits
well with it?
What are some of the skills and abilities necessary for someone to succeed in this job?
What is the company's policy on providing seminars, workshops, and training so employees
can keep up their skills or acquire new ones?
What particular computer equipment and software do you use?
What kind of work can I expect to be doing the first year?
What percentage of routine, detailed work will I encounter?
How much opportunity is there to see the end result of my efforts?
How and by whom will my performance be reviewed? Are there specific criteria upon
which I would be evaluated? And how frequently is formal and informal review given to
new employees?
How much guidance or assistance is made available to individuals in developing career
goals?
I read on the company / organization / agency website that employees have recently done
presentations at XX conference. Is that a typical opportunity in the job for which I am
interviewing? Are there specific professional organizations employees have been
encouraged to join?
How much opportunity will I have for decision-making in my first assignment?
Can you describe an ideal employee?
What is your organization's policy on transfers to other cities?

What are the top three qualities an employee needs to be successful in this job?
- What would I do during a typical workday?
- How will I be trained or introduced to the job?
- What is a typical career path from this job?
- What are some of the goals and challenges your group is likely to face in the next year?
- How would my job performance be evaluated?
- What are some of the things that you like about working for this company?
- Who would I work with?
- What hours do people typically work?
- What are the next steps?

General Questions

The people who do well at your company: what skills and attributes do they usually have?
What do you like best about working at _____?
What results are expected?
What specific problems are you hoping to solve during the first six months?
Who are the key internal customers? Any special issues with them?
What happened to the person who had this job before?
What communication style do you prefer?
What is your philosophy regarding on-the-job growth and development?
What are your goals for the department?

Pillars of a Successful Interview - Sample Questions

Source: http://beckeastwood.com/Pages/pilsuc1.html
1. What do YOU SEE as the three most important capabilities of the person you'll hire in this position?
2. (If it's a territorial or regional position) Where is the (territory/region) at, compared to your goal or plan? Where is
it ranked against the other regions?
3. What do you see as the primary challenges to building more business or capturing more market share?
4. How does your product stack rank in the market? Would you classify your product as the industry leader? The
cost effective solution? The Rolls Royce product?
5. (If it's a replacement hire, rather than a newly created or expansion position) What was the last person's success in
this (territory/region/position)? What would you see as being the capability you'd most like to improve with the
new hire?
6. What is your vision for the (region/territory)?
7. How does the performance of this role play into the bigger goal or plan for the company?
8. How are you perceived in the marketplace??
9. Assume I'm the selected hire--let's fast forward 90 days: Give me a taste of what a typical week will be for me in
this position.
10.
In reviewing your current sales staff, what would you say are the key qualities that are common to your top
producers, as I'm going to model myself after the best people in your company?
11.
I'm also interested in career pathing--logically, is there a next step that would be in progression from this
role? (National/Major Accounts? Management?)
12.
What type of support and tools are provided in this role? Leads? Contact mgmt software? Sales support?
Laptop computer?
13.
How would you define ___________'s Unique Selling Proposition?
14.
Historically, what has been the primary concern or logjam in closing a sale on your product?
"Your Turn To Ask"
adapted from National Business Employment Weekly -- Interviewing by Arlene S. Hirsh, National Business Employment
Weekly, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Source: http://www.careergroupinc.com/career/applicant_questions1.html
What are the major responsibilities of this position?
Is there a job description? May I see it?

Can you tell me why this position is open?

How often has it been filled in the past 5 or 10 years?
What did you like most about the person who previously held this position?
What would you like to see the person who fills this position do differently?
What qualifications would you expect the successful candidate to possess?
What do you see as my strengths/weaknesses for this position?
What are the greatest challenges facing the person in this position?
What are your immediate goals and priorities for this position?
What kind of support does this position receive in terms of people and finances?
How much freedom would I have to determine my work objectives and deadlines?
How would my performance be measured and how is successful performance usually rewarded?
What career progression do you see for someone in this position? Do you normally promote from within?
How would you describe your management style?
Can you describe your organizational culture?
Do you have a lot of turnover?
How many people would I be supervising? How long have they been with the company, and what are their
backgrounds?
Why are you looking at external candidates for this position, instead of promoting from within?
What do people seem to like most/least about working here?
Would it be possible to meet the people who work in the department?
Do you encourage participation in community or professional activities?
Do you have a management development or internal training program?
What are the company's plans for growth in the next five years?
How does the company intend to remain competitive?
Let's fast forward to 6 months from now. What thing about my performance would you want to be
seeing? How will you define success? What would be red flags for you?
If I were to start tomorrow, what is the top priority on my to-do list?
What would you say are the top 2 personality traits someone needs to do this job?
What improvements/changes do you hope the new candidate will bring to this position?
I know this company prides itself on X and Y, so what would you say is the most important aspect of
your culture?
Is there anything that stands out to you that makes you think I might NOT be the right fit for this job?