The interview is the most important part of the hiring process. It's your chance to show how well you can work with others in a professional environment as well as to demonstrate your skills and abilities. The questions you ask will also give the hiring manager additional insight into who you are, so select them carefully!
What does a typical day in this position look like?
A typical day in this position might include the following tasks:
You will be responsible for setting up new clients with servers, and then helping them understand how their servers work.
You will be expected to provide support through chat or email. This could include questions about installation, configuration, or troubleshooting issues that arise from problems with the server itself.
When a client reaches out with an issue (through chat or email), you’ll need to thoroughly investigate it before responding with an answer that helps solve their problem—and makes them feel confident in your ability to assist them if they have future issues as well!
Some things we consider most important are:
Speed at which you can resolve issues and respond appropriately when a client needs help; * Your ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while still upholding high standards of quality control in your work; * Your ability to adapt easily when circumstances change (for example, if a client asks for additional services).
What are the most important projects that need to get done in the first month on the job?
The first month on the job is a great opportunity to make a good impression and get started on projects. The manager is likely to be more open during this time and you can use that to your advantage. Ask them what they feel are the most important projects that need to get done in the first month on the job. This can help you figure out what kind of work load will be expected of you, but also allows you an opportunity to talk about how much work experience you have, what kinds of skillsets could benefit your colleagues, or even ask for advice about how best to approach these tasks.
If possible, try asking if there's anything else specific from outside sources (like their own blog or Twitter feed) that could help guide their decision making process when considering candidates for an open position at their company!
How will I know if I'm successful in this role?
What are you hoping to see as indicators of success?
How would you define success in this role?
The hiring manager will likely have an answer prepared, but it's worth asking this question because there is no one right answer. Success is subjective. You'll want to understand what your manager thinks makes a person successful at the job and why they feel that way. This will give you some insight into how they approach their work, which can help you develop a relationship with them and gain their respect. After all, if your manager doesn't think highly of your performance—even if it's because she's unreasonable—it may hinder your ability to do good work and move up in the company or even leave on good terms when the time comes for turnover or promotion opportunities elsewhere.
What's your style of management, and what kind of team environment do you foster?
What's your style of management, and what kind of team environment do you foster?
How many direct reports do you have, and how big is the team that reports to you?
You're likely to get a more honest answer from an interviewer if you ask these questions in person as opposed to over email or phone.
What are the biggest challenges this department/team is facing at the moment?
You should ask about the challenges, not the problems. The hiring manager is likely to provide you with a laundry list of every single thing that's going wrong in the department, but that's not necessarily what you want to hear. Ask about the most pressing challenge facing them right now and how they're trying to solve it. This way, you'll get an idea of what your role could entail—and if it's something that excites you or makes you feel like a valuable addition to their team.
When asking for this information during an interview, don't be afraid to frame it as "I'm interested in learning more about this issue," rather than "What do we need help with?" This puts less pressure on yourself and can lead naturally into more useful conversations regarding how your skillset fits into those ongoing issues within their organization.
After asking this question, make sure not only to listen carefully but also think critically before responding—you'll want some ideas of how best utilize those strengths while contributing meaningfully towards solving these problems!
Who does this job report to, and who would it interact with most as part of their daily work?
In order to understand how a job would fit into the larger organizational structure, you should also ask about who does this job report to, and who the hiring manager works with most.
For example, if you're interviewing for an administrative assistant position and your hiring manager says that their supervisor is a marketing director and their boss's boss is the CFO of the company, you can expect that your daily work will largely consist of assisting those two people with their responsibilities. If instead they say that their supervisor is another department head or executive, then perhaps there will be less collaboration between departments or little need for independent action.
How much independent decision-making authority does this job have?
You will want to know how much independence this job has. You can ask the hiring manager, "How much independent decision-making authority does this job have?" This will allow you to gauge whether or not you are comfortable with the amount of responsibility that comes with this position.
If you are given too little freedom, it could be a sign that your employer doesn't trust you or doesn't value your opinion. If they don't trust or value their employees, it is unlikely that they'll take their advice when making decisions about the company's future direction.
On the other hand, if there is too much freedom given to employees in terms of decision-making authority and what projects they work on—and few checks in place by management—then employees may feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and become less productive as a result.
Can you tell me more about how my performance will be evaluated, and how often?
Ask the hiring manager to give you more details about how your performance will be evaluated and what criteria they use to measure it.
How often will you be evaluated? What does the evaluation process look like? How will you know if you are doing a good job, or not doing it well enough?
How is feedback given and received in this organization?
The best way to answer this question is to be very specific, and not just say “we give feedback.” You need to break down exactly how you do it in your organization. For example, if you have a public Slack channel where everyone posts their ideas and people can discuss them, then make a point of mentioning that. If you have one-on-one meetings with your employees every week where they can give feedback on their coworkers directly, then make sure to mention that too. If the person interviewing you isn't familiar with how the company operates, then no matter what type of feedback process you described will sound foreign and weird!
The most important thing about giving feedback is making sure that it's constructive—that means being kind but honest about what someone needs to improve upon or change in order for them to succeed in their role moving forward (and hopefully become an advocate/leader). The second most important thing is letting employees know when they've done something well so they know they're doing good work!
Are there opportunities to grow within the company, and what might that look like for someone in the role I'd be filling?
You might be thinking, “I want to grow within the company.” And who doesn’t? But what does that mean for you? How do you take advantage of this opportunity to learn and grow in your role? Where do you start? And how can your employer help facilitate it?
This question will give the hiring manager a chance to talk about their internal training programs, which may include courses on soft skills like communication or leadership development, or even more specific topics such as accounting or graphic design. If they don't have any formal training programs established currently but are open to creating one for new hires in the future, this is an opportunity for them to lay out a plan for developing employees from within.
If you are in the interview process, chances are you've already done some research on the company and role. You may even have a few questions about what your day-to-day would look like. In this case, asking about the manager's experience or how he/she likes to operate is an excellent way to show that you're interested in learning more about him/her as a person.
You've come this far—don't let your nerves get the best of you. Remember that these are real people, just like you! They want to find someone who's a good fit for their team and organization—so they'll appreciate your interest in them as much as they appreciate yours in joining their ranks. If there are any questions we didn't answer here that still need addressing, don't be afraid to ask them during the interview process itself: it's better than being unprepared when it counts most.
If you're ready to put your interview skills to the test and apply to legit work from home jobs, check out the latest listings from Legit Mom Jobs here.