Next time out, here are ten critical questions to ask before you accept a job offer:
- What are the working hours? What are your expectations in terms of arrival and departure times?
- What are your expectations around reaching me after hours? I normally respond to emergency email messages and texts, and I check both infrequently on the weekends. Does that work for you?
- What are the rules and/or norms here about taking time off? How do vacation, personal and sick time work? What about occasional hours I might need for a doctor's appointment or something else?
- What are your norms for working at home, especially when the weather is bad or I'm not feeling well but not sick enough to take a sick day?
- What about flexible hours?
- Who are my internal clients, and what are the expectations around my interactions with them? How can I communicate my off-hours availability to those folks?
- Who will be evaluating my performance in this role? What are the evaluation criteria?
- Tell me about my most important internal clients and other contacts. What do I need to know about working with each of them -- their particular requirements, quirks, communication styles, etc?
- What do you think will be the most challenging part of the role? What is your advice for surmounting that hurdle?
- What else do I need to know about the culture, the management team and the company?
Questions and Answers
I don't want to ask questions like these on a job interview. I'm afraid they sound too bold. I'm afraid that if I ask them, a company might not hire me.
That's important to know! Do you think that someone who finds these questions out of line is going to treat you liked a valued collaborator once you have the job? No way! If they don't like your questions and therefore they don't hire you, you dodged a bullet. You avoided the heartache that poor Genevieve is experiencing right now.
When is the right time to ask these questions?
You can dribble them out, one or two questions at a time, throughout your interview process. The most important juncture is the moment after they've extended a job offer, and while they are waiting for you to sign it. That's when they need you most -- if they really need you.
That is the perfect time to ask any questions you haven't asked already.
They might not show any signs that you are valuable to them during that interlude between the offer extension and your acceptance. They might treat you dismissively during that period, ignoring your voice mail and email messages. No need to ask questions, in that case! If they don't show the love when they're trying to get you to sign on the dotted line, they never will. Walk away -- they are fearful ninnies who don't deserve your talents.