Professor Adam Grant Shares 3 Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

Professor Adam Grant Shares 3 Questions to Ask in a Job Interview Professor Adam Grant 2 you have any questions for them. When  its your turn to query a potential employer, it pays to be ready with smart questions. To be sure- whether youre in a one-on-one dialogue or a group session- it can feel as though one misstep by you could derail the whole job application process.  Adam Grant, an author and professor at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business, offers some great possibilities that can make you as a job candidate look both smart and prepared when a job interviewer turns the tables. A recent  blog post at Government Executive  called Grant  a rock-star management professor- and hes a great resource for meaningful strategies about questions to ask at a job interview.  Grant  is also coauthor of the bestselling book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy  with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. On his blog, Granted, Grant answered a question from a reader who asked, What are three  great questions to ask an interviewer to determine if you would fit in with the company? From expert Adam Grant, here are three  great questions to ask in  a job interview: 1. What’s something that happens at this organization but wouldn’t elsewhere? As noted in Grants blog, this is a great question to help a prospective employee figure out office culture, which can be critical even for remote employees who will be working from home. Getting a good feel for how the company functions for in-office workers can help remote workers know what to expect in their virtual work environments. An underlying point of this question is to understand what makes this company different from others in its approach to dealing with employees no matter where they work. The question also goes to the organizations core values, which can help both you and the employer determine if youre a fit with the companys culture. 2. If you could change one thing about this organization, what would it be- and how would you do it? This question really turns the tables because it asks the interviewer to focus on what may not be quite perfect at the company. Its a potentially brilliant way to get insight about how the organization works, and what challenges the company may face. To be sure, you dont want to appear to be challenging the interviewer or playing tit-for-tat by putting them on the spot after theyve just questioned you. Instead, it can be a way to engage the employer in a meaningful way, and demonstrate in your response that youve researched the company and can talk about its operation and its mission. 3. Can you draw a picture of the organization? If a pictures worth a thousand words, then challenging a job interviewer to draw a depiction of the organization is one way to get a (hopefully) simplified look at how the company works. If you can get a streamlined picture that shows a clear organizational flow (either top-down or more circular), thats a good thing. If the picture starts looking like a plate of spaghetti with lines going in all directions- well, not so good. But note this: Grant suggests its probably a good idea in most cases to ask this question after  you have an offer to avoid the risk of looking, well, a little weird and putting an offer in jeopardy. However, if its an unorthodox company, it may be OK to ask the draw me a picture question before you have an offer in hand. Use your best judgment. In addition to Grants great suggestions, here are some other possible questions to ask at a job interview, especially if youre looking for remote work: How committed is the company to flexible work? What happened to the person who previously held this job? If its a new position, why was it created? Are there any other concerns or questions you have about my background and qualifications? Whats the time frame for filling this position? What are the next steps- where do we go from here? And of course, have a plan in place about actions to take while youre waiting to hear back from a job interview. Following through with a thank-you note after a job interview  is always smart. Keep your note short, but use it as an opportunity to reiterate your interest and qualifications for the position. Check Out More Job Interviewing Tips