Who’s Asking the Questions Here?

As a reporter of many years’ standing, I’m used to asking lots of questions. Here at TheLadders, I ask my colleagues for their insights into the job search, I ask job seekers and HR pros for perspectives from both sides of the desk, I ask my team to go out and explore the trickiest questions that might arise in the employment market. … I may even have asked you a few questions about your experiences!

But even for a professional questioner, it’s hard to shake the notion that a job interview is primarily a place for me to answer my prospective employer’s questions, not ask my own. (Maybe it’s because candidates are accustomed to talking about job interviews as if they were oral exams that they can pass or fail.)

As Debra Donston-Miller reports in this week’s package, what you ask both before and after you’re hired can be every bit as important as what you answer — especially when jobs are scarce.

Now, I assume anyone in a senior position realizes that you need to demonstrate some focused interest in the job. But in the big leagues, it’s essential that your questions in interviews and during your first weeks in a new position demonstrate the same experience, insight and drive as your answers. Follow the directions in these articles to “walk out of your job interview in a blaze of glory,” to quote contributing columnist Scott Ginsberg.

Now, one final question: What questions have worked for you in your career? Write me at matthewr@theladders.com with your stories.