It's a very funny thing, a job interview - especially if you make it past HR, and you're face-to-face with your next prospective manager. There is no one more important in your job satisfaction equation than your boss. So here you sit, and he or she is asking you questions, and you're trying to get a read - what will this person be like to work for? Is she patient? Is she smiling? Is she testy? Are there any questions that you can ask her, to get a sense of her management style? Here are ten, to get you started. I doubt that you'll get the chance to ask all ten of them, so pick your favorites in advance!
1) Can you tell me about some of your proudest professional moments so far?
2) What are some things that have driven you crazy about subordinates in the past?
3) What is the skill or attribute that you most value in a member of your team?
4) What sorts of things do you do outside of work? (Listen to me now: if you don't feel comfortable asking this question, that's a big red flag. It's a perfectly appropriate question to ask the person who might be managing you, a few weeks from now. If she's giving off a vibe that such a question would be too intrusive, THAT'S NOT GOOD.)
5) Can you tell me a little bit about the interactions that happen within the team?
6) I'd love to hear about my predecessor - what worked in the job when he or she had it, any elements that you're changing now that the job is open again, and what happened to that person. (See the note after question #4 - ditto for this one.)
7) What keeps you up at night, work-wise? What's your biggest concern?
8) I don't know whether you've ever done the Myers-Briggs assessment or DiSC or any of those, but how would you describe your communication style - more forceful, or more interpersonal, or detail-oriented, or what?
9) Can you tell me about your boss, and his or her big priorities?
10) From our conversation so far, what are concerns that you may have about me? Where do you think a person like me might thrive in this job, and where might someone like me have trouble?
You NEED to feel comfortable with your next boss. I just heard from a friend in Chicago who had to leave a job after six months because the fit between her and her boss was atrocious. Don't take a job like that. LIKE your boss. I know, it's not always easy. But you'll know right away, if the interview doesn't create a safe space for you to ask questions like this, that things are dicey. And then you can decide whether you want the job so badly that you're willing to walk eyes-open into a possible bad-boss situationto get it.
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Comments: 16
Many of these are great questions, and I have asked them myself. However, don't you think most of them are really more appropriate once you know for sure you have the job?
But I couldn't tell if you were being fecitious when I got to #4.
What sorts of things do you do outside of work?
Putting on my "boss" hat for a minute, this question would make me very uncomfortable if a potential employee had asked it! I would have felt like saying, "That's none of your damn business!"...However, being the professional I am, I'm sure I would be more tactful than that. Although, I have to say that I might be a little skeptical of that person's motives for asking it.
#7 is also a little strange to ask. Again as a boss, I'm not going to tell my employee that something "keeps me up at night". I like the direction of the question though, so if I were asking it I might rephrase it. Perhaps, "What are your biggest priorities?" might be a less innocuous.
#10 is excellent, and I would say that one should be asked every time. I especially like how you suggested asking:
Where do you think a person like me might thrive in this job, and where might someone like me have trouble?
Cheers - Liz
If question #4 were reversed (prospective boss asking prospective candidate) it would be illegal and grounds for a discrimination lawsuit if you didn't get the job. Given that, I would be very uncomfortable asking a prospective employer that question. What does their passion for quilling and thai cooking have to do with my ability to do the job at hand?
Shannon, that was somewhat my point when I said as a boss I would be a little put off by that question. On the other hand, I see what Liz is trying to say. It doesn't have anything to do with your ability to do the job, just a way of building rapport and ensuring this is a boss you want to work for.
Liz - Although I'm not currently managing people at the moment, I've also been in that role for many many years. I think it just comes down to the fact that bosses (like people) come in different styles and flavors.
For example, I had colleagues who enjoyed going out for happy hour with their subordinates every week. Others would never dare do it. I was sort of in the middle. Occasionally I might drop by if there was a really special occasion.
And part of the reason for that over the years it's become increasingly more problematic to manage people from an HR perspective. Everything is about perception. So personally, I just felt it best to keep my employees at arms length socially.
While "What do you do for fun" may not directly ask about something about race, sex, age, etc. the answer could very well provide that information. Having seen applicants that would go to the labor board at the drop of the hat...better (IMHO) to sidestep the potential side effects.
Of course, there are certain exceptions to everything. Working in a company that employes thousands of people in San Diego at multiple locations, we're a little more cautious in our questions than probably the mom and pop niche store is. And the niche store could get away with asking what do you do fun, where as I usually just ask, what made you decide to apply with us.
The problem here though may not be so much in the question that is asked, but in the answer that might be given. For example, suppose you asked a potential candidate what they like to do outside of work, and they tell you they are president of the local Gay Rights Chapter. And then you decide not to hire them. It could be there was a more suitable candidate. But Shannon is right about the fact that many applicants would go straight to the labor board with that one. (Although I just found out recently that not all states regard sexual orientation as a factor in equal opportunity, but that's a whole other conversation, lol)
Even with existing employees, we were cautioned about getting too involved unless it strictly related to their ability to do their job. So even when a subordinate felt comfortable coming to me with a personal issue, I really couldn't do much but empathize and steer them to our employee assistance program. And I've seen too many of my colleagues dragged into HR over some totally innocent comment that an employee took the wrong way.
The bottom line again, is that it all comes down to perceptions. Your intentions as a worker or as a boss might be honorable ones, but in today's litigious society you just have to protect yourself.
I agree with the overall sentiment of the article, but I would have second thoughts about the interviewee who was asking me these questions. Maybe I'm the boss from Hades, but I think "liking" your boss may be overrated. I've had bosses I've adored personally that couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag, and those that were personallly difficult were my greatest mentors and supporters.
Rapport is critical, and you can find that as much by how questions are answered as the questions themselves. Some important questions I would add to your list would be;
1) What do you feel your role is as head of this department? How often do you meet with your team as a group and as individuals?
2) How are projects and responsibilities assigned within your team? Where and how are you involved in these projects and assignments?
3) What is the review and evaluation system used at this company? How do you personally handle feedback and development for your team? Coaching and mentoring?
A lot of information is encoded in stories. Getting people to tell stories can move you beyond "official" answers.
4) Tell me about a recent project within your team that you felt was particularly challenging? How did you and your team meet that challenge? Tell me about particular milestones that your group has reached? How did you get there?
5) Are there particular times of the year where there are key deadlines or deliverables that your team handles or leads? How do you handle and manage through these "crunch periods"?
Use your eyes, not just your voice. What does this person's office look like? Chaotic? Excessively organized? What do they have on their wall? Any pictures? Awards? How are they displayed and oriented?
Pictures can be a great connection point. If child's artwork is prominently displayed, it invites comment.
6) How do you manage the work-life balance issue? How have you supported/helped members of your team to do so?
I also wouldn't accept any job unless I got to meet (and do at least one lunch) with people in the team. That's where you can learn a lot about the boss. I would ask them a lot of the same questions, but in reverse, i.e. "How does your manager handle..."
Questions like this help you see if you'll like the boss as a boss - do they have the philosophy and values as a manager that you are looking for, or if this is this a trip in to one of Dante's inner circles.
My current boss and I have NOTHING in common and we have very different work styles. We had to struggle to find a professional common ground to get the work done. I LOVED her predecessor and am still friends with her. She and I were alike in personality and work style and I would have done anything for her. I knew when this woman transferred out that I would leave too.
In certain cases - say that of interviewing for a potential sales position - an interviewer might intentionally put forward a tough veneer just to see if the candidate had the skills to get past it. This was routinely done at a company I formerly worked at.
Just a thought!
You are your prospective boss are in the process of striking (or not striking) a business deal. If you would feel uncomfortable asking a perfectly reasonable question like "what else are you into, besides this job?" that would be an enormous danger sign.