Job Interview Questions You Should Always Ask.

As your job interview comes to a close, you breathe a small sigh of relief, happy this stressful situation is almost over. Your interviewer then asks whether you have any questions. Resist the urge to say, “No.” Sure, you want to leave, so you can reduce your stress level. But it’s never wise to exit without asking a few questions. 

Your questions could make or break your chances of getting the job. So use this time to your advantage, and ask questions that will make the hiring team take note of you. Here are 15 questions you need to ask at a job interview if you want to make a good impression.

1. What’s the biggest change your group has gone through in the past year?

Ask whether the company feels like things are getting better or worse and how it plans to handle either scenario. Ask how the company is changing, so you can gain a better perspective of its goals and values. The interviewer’s answer will offer insight into what type of employee they’re looking for. Career expert Marc Cenedella said it’s important to show an interest in where the company is headed, and learn how you can help it get there. “By asking these questions, which focus on the needs, traits, and preferences of your future boss and future employer, you’re demonstrating that you are somebody who is genuinely interested in their well-being,” Cenedella said.

2. What new skills can I hope to learn here?

This question shows you are eager to continue learning. It shows you won’t become complacent and stop bringing value to the company because you got too comfortable to care. Employers don’t want to hire someone who eventually becomes a flat-liner, so do your best to ask questions that demonstrate you’ll do what it takes to continue to grow and add value. Honigman Media CEO Brian Honigman said this question says a lot about a candidate. “It signifies a few positive things: The applicant acknowledges they don’t know everything, and it signals both humility and potential. This individual is actively seeking knowledge and using that as a criterion to judge opportunity. They know that skills are important, not just knowledge,” he said. 

3. What are your expectations during the first 30 days, 60 days, and a year?

Don’t be in the dark about what is expected of you. The worst thing you can do is get the job and then totally miss the mark because you didn’t ask the right questions. Learn what the hiring manager is looking to accomplish through your role. “Find out what your employer’s expectations are for the person in this position,” said Pamela Skillings, career expert and founder of Big Interview.

4. What is a typical day like?

Don’t forget to ask about the basics. The answer to this question will help reduce the chance of being taken by surprise. For example, if everyone is expected to attend a weekly staff meeting at 8 a.m. Mondays, it would be helpful to know that information if 9 a.m. is your typical start time. Simpson said if he hadn’t asked his future employer what a typical day would be like he would have been unprepared. “Having the day laid out for you from beginning to end is a smart way to get a quick overview of what is expected of you outside the job description. I was hired for a job once where all the employees were expected to participate in a group physical activity before starting our day. Had I not asked about a typical day I would have been completely unprepared for my first day and unable to participate,” Simpson said. 

5. What is the company culture like?

This question is important because the answer will let you know whether the company is a good fit for you. A poor culture match could make your days at the company unpleasant. Just like a pair of jeans, it’s important to find the right fit. Find out what you’re getting yourself into before accepting an offer. It’s also a good idea to do some of your own research. Career sites, such as Glassdoor, offer insights directly from current and past employees. 

6. Could you tell me about the team I would be working with?

You’ll want to know as much as you can about your potential co-workers. Chances are you’ll work closely together, especially because most companies encourage collaborative work environments. Some of the information you’ll be able to glean from this answer is how long employees tend to stay with the company, advanced certifications or degrees some of your teammates have, and the types of projects you’ll be working on.   

7. How are employees recognized?

This will give you an idea of whether the company goes out of its way to show appreciation for a job well done. It doesn’t feel great to go above and beyond the call of duty only to be ignored or treated as if what you did was no big deal. Find out now whether the company values its workforce. You don’t want to work for a thankless employer who treats its staff poorly. 

8. Who is your ideal candidate?

You might be afraid to ask this question because you think it implies you’re not the ideal candidate, but that’s not true. This is your chance to prove otherwise. You’ll give yourself an advantage because the interviewer might mention some skills and specific experience that weren’t mentioned in the job description. This provides an opportunity for you to mention how your work history has given you the skills and job experience the employer is looking for. 

9. What can you tell me about my predecessor?

This answer will give you information about the circumstances surrounding your predecessor’s departure. If the interviewer is willing to answer the question truthfully, you can find out whether the previous employee was promoted, asked to leave, left voluntarily, or decided to retire. This question will provide you with a wealth of useful information. You can get a better idea of whether you have a chance at getting promoted, whether the workers are happy, and what kind of environment you’ll be working in. 

10. If I get the job, what will be my first major project or goal? 

This will allow you to prepare for whatever might come your way during the first few days or weeks at the job. The answer will also tell you whether this is really the type of job you want to do. If it seems as though the tasks are very different from the job description, it’s possible you’re interviewing for a bait-and-switch position, where the employer lists all the good parts of the job and then leaves the undesirable aspects for after the candidate is hired. Employers sometimes do this when a position is hard to fill. 

Courtesy: Cheat Sheet.

Miracles Happen on the Platform of Hard Work.

Remember the paralyzed man in the Biblical Capernaum, how he was carried by four of men? They could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, yet the men refused to give up. They made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. Among other things, it was their hard work along with faith that impressed Jesus who then said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

What about the wedding at Cana in Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine? Most times, people don’t refer to the efforts of the servants who had to fill six stone jars to the brim with water, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

And lest we forget the encounter a widow had with Prophet Elisha. The prophet could have performed some “abracadabra” to make the jar become multiplied in numbers. Rather, he directed her to first go get a lot of empty vessels (which she borrowed from neighbors). It was only then the poor woman was able to fill all the vessels with oil.  

Out there are too many folks who are practically folding their arms while waiting for some miracles to happen in their careers, marriages, relationships, business ventures and life generally. They call it faith. But ask them what they are doing to bring about the manifestation of their faiths and they glare at you as if you are of little faith. They see great things happening in the lives of others and automatically attribute them to some mere luck. If only they can move closer to behold the other persons’ many painstaking efforts.   

On The Single Biggest Reason Why Startups Succeed.

“Timing accounted for 42 percent of the difference between success and failure. Team and execution came in second, and the idea, the differentiability of the idea (the uniqueness of the idea) came in third.” – William "Bill" Gross co-founded Pacific Investment Management. According to Forbes, his net worth is 2.3 billion USD (2015).

 

 

 

In Life, only Change is Constant.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” – Darwin.

That's it! Change is the only thing that is constant in life. No one can be more frustrated or miserable than a person that opposes changes in his or her life, career and other circumstances. Therefore, whether planned or imposed, endeavor to embrace every change that comes your way. Even when imposed---you never know---it may turn out to be the best thing to ever happen to you, at the end of the day.

When it’s Time to Make a Decision and let Go of it.

“Que sera, sera,
whatever will be, will be,
the future's not ours to see.
Que sera, sera,
What will be, will be”. - Doris Day.

[caption id="attachment_1873" align="alignleft" width="300"] Black And White Empty Road[/caption]

I had to include the above song lyrics in an e-mail response I sent to a guy who was about to take a tough, sensitive decision. The poor young man was scared that the decision might end up being wrong and regrettable. In my opinion, all we need do in making a very important decision is to consider certain pertinent factors in our lives. After all, it’s all about us, not someone else. And once the decision is taken, there shall be no looking back. We have to let go. After all, no one is perfect. And besides that, whatever will be, will be. To sweat over a decision after it has been made is like taking time to write a letter, put it inside a stamped, addressed envelope, affix a postage stamp to it and then holding on to it forever. How will the mail get to its destination if we don’t let go by placing it inside a mail box?

My Testimony.

Today, I can’t help sharing the great, wonderful feeling that has enveloped me in the past several months. It’s about my church attendance. For many years in Gods’ own country, I stayed away from churches. In all those years though, it wasn’t like Jesus and I were quarreling. Actually, I remained in constant communication with Him, except that it was just me and my God. And somehow, I felt at ease and at peace with myself. My wife however would not let me be with her preaching on the importance of fellowship…blah…blah.

So, I woke up one Sunday and decided to resume church-attendance in America. From that day though, I discovered that I was not feeling at ease any more in spite of having many smiling faces around me. Soon, going to church was like being dragged to a place I didn’t want to be, until I finally stopped. Then, I began to change churches. Unfortunately, the feeling was the same everywhere I went. I was beginning to think the problem was with me in view of my strange “extra-sensory perception” (ESP). I’m one of the very few individuals that can see and feel beyond smiling faces. And there were times when I wished I was like my wife who could, at will, turn off her “antennae". By so doing, she sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil.

I was about giving up when a friend suggested a church. Skeptically, I went visiting the place one Sunday. And…boom…I did not just feel much at ease, I actually fell in love with the church. For the first time in years, I’m always looking forward to be in church. Now, like a dream, I’m attending a church where the accumulated stress and pressures (from work and life’s tribulations) disappear as soon as I walk in. And after each service, I leave the church feeling exhilarated with a new supply of vigor and freshness. This is amazing.

A Fool at Forty.

By the age of 26, Albert Einstein had already designed some scientific works that stunned and defined the world. At that same age today, there are millions of young people who don't even know what they want to do in life. They are neither laying an academic foundation nor busy in the pursuit of some entrepreneurship. All they do is drag themselves from one pit of stagnation to another. And before they know it, they are forty years old!

There are different objectives to be achieved by an individual at varying stages of his/her life. Yet, each has its time. To carry over a failed objective from one stage to the next is a sad recipe for life's failure. It's therefore amazing to see too many young people take every stage of their lives for granted. For instance, an unaccounted couple of years  in the life of a youngster can later constitute a big clog in the life of that person. This explains the adage, “A fool at forty is a fool forever”.

 

Amazing Grace in a Hopeless Situation.

Last Wednesday, some convicted drug dealers were executed by the Indonesian government. As the guys were led to the stakes, they broke into a song:

“Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
was blind, but now I see…”

 

 

This is a highly spiritual song that gives comfort and solace to those in distress. Who would have expected the condemned men to rely on the same song for succor in such a most hopeless situation? And so, as the volley of hot bullets tore into their bodies, one could only wonder what was going on with their individual souls.

Now, if condemned men could deem it fit to express hope while in the process of a painful transition from the physical to the astral realm, how morally wretched can we claim to be (in the land of the living) to allow mere mundane issues to render us hopeless?

Pictured above are the men executed by the Indonesian government.

 

You Too can be Awesome.

Annual Medical Exams: Prevention is Better Than Cure.

As I do every year, I have just undergone my annual medical exams for 2015. In the process, I went through a battery of tests for prostate, colon, liver and heart cancers. In addition, a sample of my blood was taken for various tests on my blood pressure, cholesterol level, diabetes, cancer and several other ailments.

The objectives of these tests are to prevent, detect and promptly treat possible discovery of a disease or ailment. Incidentally, there are some diseases that are best treated through an early detection and prevention. A lot of women have lost their lives to breast cancer, cervical cancer and related diseases. In the same vein, too many men have died unnecessarily from prostate cancer, colon cancer and some other diseases. All of these deaths could have been prevented through early detection of diseases. And this can only be done merely by undergoing annual or periodical medical examinations.

I am therefore appealing to men and women (especially those in their 40s and above) to act on this issue as a matter of urgency. "A stitch in time saves nine". Make an arrangement to see your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible.

Chances of Success.

The Issue of Forgiveness.

The Hunger to Become Somebody.

Many, including some fans of Aerosmith, don’t know the history and the motivation behind the song, “Dream On”. It was written in 1969 by Steve Tyler, long before the formation of Aerosmith. Always dreaming of the day he would make it big in the music industry, Tyler wrote the song as a personal affirmation that success was a matter of time for him.

As he and the Aerosmith’s band mates continued to tour and toil in the early 1970s, Tyler never lost his sheer determination to succeed and (in his own words) “the hunger to become somebody…” The “hunger” ultimately drove the songwriter/lead singer to suggest to his band mates, the re-release of the song, “Dream On” in 1976.  The song rose instantly to number 6 and became the band’s first major single and the biggest hit so far. Steve Tyler has since become “somebody” in the music industry and the rest is now history.

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From Homeless to Harvard: The Story of David Boone.

David Boone was only 14 years old when his family lost their home to gang violence in Cleveland, Ohio. The teenager’s problems arose when he refused to join a gang. In retaliation, their house was riddled with bullets. Consequently, the family split up, causing David to become homeless. Most of the time, he had to sleep in the park but only in the afternoon because it was not safe to do so in the night.

His high school principal, Jeff McClellan, was highly impressed with boy’s constant early arrival in school (he was getting up at 5 a.m.) not knowing that he was homeless. By the time the principal realized the situation, he and his wife resolved to take David in to live with them for over a year. The young man graduated from high school as the salutatorian and was accepted to Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Yale, and University of Pennsylvania among others. He however chose Harvard University on a full scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

David Boone’s life is a classic example of an inspiring “grass to grace” story especially in the black community. In his community, too many young people are lurking in street corners to sell drugs, pimping women or wasting away in jails. Their usual excuses for taking the wrong paths can be as silly as lame and nonsensical. For instance, if the reason alluded to their negative situations in life is not due to the “lack of a father figure” in their lives, it will be because of their skin color or something else that can irritate a sane mind. Yet, in spite of the fact that David Boone could have easily hidden behind similar excuses if he wanted to drop out of school early on or to pursue a criminal enterprise, he worked hard to be where he is today.