Top 10 questions to ask at a job interview

ASK Europe plc, experts in leadership development, has launched a guide designed to help graduates secure their first role in the job market. The guide comes in the wake of statistics released by The Office for National Statistics, which revealed that graduate unemployment had reached its highest level for 15 years*.

According to the guide, asking a potential employer “What would make someone fail at this job?” or “What potential do you see in me?” could help this year’s graduates swap their gowns for a business suit.

ASK works with HR departments on a daily basis across the UK’s top private and public sector companies. Following feedback from employers stating what they are looking for in an ideal employee, and what would most impress them at an interview, ASK’s consultants have compiled a handy list of the top killer questions to ask an employer, as part of the guide.

Some of the top questions to ensure you ask the interviewer are:

• What motivated you (the interviewer) to decide to work for this company – and what has motivated you to stay?
• What did you wish you knew before you started working here?
• Which managers are most admired here, and what is it they are admired for?

Dr Anton Franckeiss, ASK’s Managing Director said: “We work with HR departments everyday to improve workplace performance, and we constantly get feedback from employers as to what they are looking for in their employees. We put this guide together to help graduates make that all-important first step onto the career ladder. We know that graduates have a lot to offer employers, and are an important part of the UK’s talent pool and we want to ensure they are making the most of their skills to succeed.

“The guide also looks at how best to survive the workplace, and ensure that graduates shine, in order to progress up the career ladder, and become tomorrow’s leader.”

As well as helping graduates get their ideal first role, the guide also offers advice on how to cope with office politics, dealing with a difficult boss, and defining what exactly does ‘bottom-line’ or ‘SWOT’ means?

More of ASK’s top killer interview questions include:

• What personal qualities and behaviours would you hope to see in your ideal employee?
• What is the first problem that I will need to address, and what has been done to address it so far?
• What potential do you see in me, and what might the organisation do to help me fully realise it?
• What are the most important things I could do in my first three months here?
• What are the organisation’s values, and how does it go about living them?
• Could you describe your company’s management style and the type of employee who fits well with it?
• How much guidance or assistance do employees get in developing their career or their career and personal development goals?

Source: Euro Graduate