job interviews

[ocatoro]

Bloody hate job interviews... and I have one in the morning.

Something I always find a bit of a tumbleweed is when I'm asked if I have any questions. I'm generally quite pragmatic and things I've wanted to find out, I've gleaned already by this point and am left with nothing but a reiteration.

Any of you have any advice for general stuff I should be asking that sounds thoughtful and intelligible?
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CBT - 17/09/12 * Theory - 23/10/12 * Mod1 - 05/03/13 * Mod2 - 25/03/13 * BOSH!
Current - None but shed project H100 (first bike )
Past - ER5, '93 ZZR600, '92 CB400 SF, ZZR600 (again), yellow Monster 620, Blackbird - black Monster 620ie - '96 ZZR600

[Rogerborg]

Ask a leading question about the working culture and let them ramble.

If you already have a decent idea what it actually is, then their veracity will be instructive. I was assured by one interviewer that they had an informal culture with good work-life-balance when I knew that they actually worked long hours and nobody dared to leave until their immediate boss had gone. That wasn't so much an issue (at the time and for the money) but I wasn't prepared to be flat out lied to about it.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[yen_powell]

Ask them if they can provide two references from previous employees.
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[MarJay]

I would not ask either of the previous questions to be honest. Not if you want the job anyway.

I'd keep to questions that have factual answers, and things that aren't going to make you sound difficult. Don't ask a question that you already know the answer to, as it makes it look like you've not done your research. I've found that lots of companies deliberately don't mention something that would be considered a downside to the role. Some examples I've experienced personally include:

Exactly how much travel is expected of you
Exactly what is expected of you when doing out of hours on-call duties
Exactly how much responsibility you will have
How many times the company bonus scheme has actually paid out.

You can't ask those questions directly, but you can say things like "I'd like to ask for a bit more information on the bonus scheme?" or whatever. Make sure your question is as non confrontational as you can make it.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Rogerborg]

Asking a leading question about the working culture is confrontational?

Where do you wanna meet?
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[MarJay]

[RhynoCZ]

When they ask you, why do you want to work there, ask them why do they work there.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Big Jock]

I wouldn't worry about it to be fair. If you have a question at the end then ask. if not. don't.
They'll have made their mind up by that point anyway
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1998 Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat

[linuxyeti]

I also like to ask, what the homeworking arrangements are, expected on call out of hours support & what's the staff turnover like.

I turned down a role, when I could see it had been re-advertised every couple of months or so, of course at the interview, I was told virtually nobody leaves, and that I'd be joining a highley skilled team which currently had 2 members..

Mmm, maths didn't work in their favour there, so, I cordially turned the role down.
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Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[Rogerborg]

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

[Wonko The Sane]

I have previously asked the business owners (who were doing the interviewing for a small graphic design / printing company of 5 employees "where do you see the business being in 5 years time?"

He laughed, said he'd never been asked that question before and told me his vision for the company for the next 5 years.

Unfortunately I didn't get the job, Brexit was blamed.
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They're also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Focus-Rider-Training/196832923734251

[MahatmaAndhi]

Do you have any reservations with regards to my candidacy?
Give you the opportunity to address anything which they may have misunderstood or might need reiterating.
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2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250

[RhynoCZ]

Or even better, OP. Fight club the whole interview. If you and the interviewer are the only people in the room, and there's no CCTV, do exactly what Edward Norton did, when they tried to fire him.

Like so: https://youtu.be/6pJC0FLA3Sk
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Baffler186]

I'd always ask about career progression and professional development, unless it has been covered in the interview. Don't be afraid to write your questions down and pull them out of your pocket at the end if you've forgotten. If all of your questions have already been answered, then either think of a new one based on the interview content, or just be vocal about the fact that you had questions prepared but they've answered them sufficiently.

In my experience it's better to say the above than to pluck some dumb question out of the air; you don't want their lasting memory of you to be negative.
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Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[Tigerlea]

Definitely say if they've answered any questions you may have had – I find good interviewers tend to share the wanted information before you have the chance to ask anyway (ie: benefits, culture, bonus schemes, hours).

If you were looking for a question, find something on their website that you want to know more about. Depending on who's doing the interview, they do like to see you've done research by even visiting the website, and asking something relevant.

This is all a bit late, but hope the interview went well, anyway.

[J0Al1]

I've had two interviews recently and I actually felt much better saying; 'no, I really don't think I have, thanks for your time', than at the first one where I asked a question that I could easily have already looked the answer up online'.. Not sure why he said it was a good question :/

[MCN]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVp9rKF3hag
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[ocatoro]

cheers for the input dudes... got the job, so must have gone well
____________________
CBT - 17/09/12 * Theory - 23/10/12 * Mod1 - 05/03/13 * Mod2 - 25/03/13 * BOSH!
Current - None but shed project H100 (first bike )
Past - ER5, '93 ZZR600, '92 CB400 SF, ZZR600 (again), yellow Monster 620, Blackbird - black Monster 620ie - '96 ZZR600

[thepuma]

Congrats.

You were over thinking things. Most people try to overcomplicate interviews. Unless you're going for a top high flying job, most of the time the comany just want someone hard working, easy to get on with, reliable and of sound background. They will have more than likely made there mind up by halfway through the interview...and I can guarantee if by the end they'd decided you'd got it, they wouldn't change their mind just because you never asked a question back.

There are so many crappy people out there going for interviews that as long as you're a half decent person you'll always stand a chance, even if you don't necessarily have all the right attributes for the job in question.
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YBR125 (SOLD) - CBR250R(SOLD) - CBR650F(SOLD) Current - Street Triple
765 RS

[FretGrinder]

Best piece of advice that was given to me for an interview was to interview the person giving the interview just as much as they have interviewed you. It gives a good indication of how much you have researched the particular company that you want to work and how interested you are in the job.

If you're going to the interview and you're only interested in how much you're getting paid, then you don't really want that job, they'll know this too if you haven't got any questions to ask at all.
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Yamaha MT-09

ಠ_ಠ

[ocatoro]

ended up being more of they'd covered what I wanted to know, and the tour I'd had beforehand around the place had answered plenty in itself as well.

it's an odd one for asking about the company and stuff as it's the blood service, testing donated blood and managing a small number of underlings. same with progression, I'm already doing an extra degree in my own time outside of work to cover that progression, and they seemed enthused by that even if it meant I'd realistically only hold this position for a couple of years before moving up in all, I think I nailed it
____________________
CBT - 17/09/12 * Theory - 23/10/12 * Mod1 - 05/03/13 * Mod2 - 25/03/13 * BOSH!
Current - None but shed project H100 (first bike )
Past - ER5, '93 ZZR600, '92 CB400 SF, ZZR600 (again), yellow Monster 620, Blackbird - black Monster 620ie - '96 ZZR600

[Omega]

Asking if you have answered all of their questions fully or if they want to know anything more about you might give you a second chance at something you've missed.