Questions you should ask the interview panel

In our effort to appear as the perfect potential employee, we train ourselves on answering the questions and forget to come up with questions of our own. Linda Mbabazi, a recruiting agent, says it is important for you to prepare questions to ask your potential employer.

“I have witnessed a number of promising candidates stammer and lose their cool when told to ask their own questions. We usually expect you to ask questions that show interest in the position you are interviewing for, management, and the company which shows that you are actually interested in the job,” Mbabazi explains.

Your questions should be smart, polite and should demonstrate your desire to succeed in that position and an inquisitiveness that shows you have done your homework about the company. These questions are basically supposed to help you learn more about the company, understand who succeeds there, understand management policy and the hiring strategy.

The right candidate: “Employers are not looking for someone to simply fill a vacant post, they want someone who will do extraordinary work and these questions make them see that you want the same thing too. You appear as someone who is focused and ambitious,” Mbabazi says.

Human resource manager Charity Kabasambu says it is okay to ask your interviewer to describe the qualities of person they are looking to fill that position, the tasks involved and productivity expectations.

She says that asking about career trajectory for the person in that position in that company shows that the person is interested in growing and advancing within the company.

“I have met many candidates who answer questions brilliantly but mess up by refusing to ask any follow up questions. The candidates who impress the most are those who seek to get as many answers as possible,” she adds.

The key question: Another question interviewers find impressive is asking about the biggest challenge the company is facing and how you can help them solve it. Keep in mind that you have something the company wants which is the reason why you were called in for the interview.

So, finding out that one thing they found attractive in your CV and making the most of it will help you increase chances of getting the job. This question will give the employer the opportunity to articulate how this position (and the person in it!) can offer the biggest impact.