As a recruiter, I am always impressed by candidates who have questions of their own to ask-and I consistently receive feedback from hiring managers all over the country who feel the same way. The candidate who’s asked, “So, do you have any questions?” at the end of the interview better come up with something. One who answers, “No, I don’t think so,” is going to get a big negative mark against them in the hiring decision.

Companies want candidates who have critical thinking skills, as well as candidates who are knowledgeable and interested in the job. The questions you ask demonstrate these things. Not having questions of your own to ask sets you up as a candidate who’s passive, won’t work very hard, and isn’t all that interested in the job-even if you are.

General Questions:

What you are looking for in a candidate?

What qualities did the last person you hired have?

Why is this position open?

What was it that you think kept that person from being successful?

What are the tasks in this job that will make someone in this position successful?

How do I rank among the other candidates?

Can you tell me about the company’s culture/mission/philosophy?

What do you like best about working for this company?

What are the next steps?

When do you expect to make a decision?

Do you have any reason why you would not consider moving me forward during the (hiring) process?

Are there any other folks who will be interviewing me later?

What’s a typical day like?

What stops most employees from being successful?

Are there any more questions you have for me?

Do you see how my past experience translates well for this position?

Questions for sales jobs:

Which product line of yours is your lead line? (i.e. the one that everyone should buy)

Which product line should they probably not buy?

How does the travel program work?

The more research you do on the company and the job before your interview, the easier it will be to come up with questions to ask. Naturally, your questions will be more detailed and they will show that you have done your homework, and that’s a very impressive quality in a candidate. You’ll come across as a hard worker who’s also creative, insightful, and engaged.

The questions you ask will allow you to “get inside the hiring manager’s head,” so that you can tell what they’re really looking for, and what they want to hear, so that you’ll have a more successful interview.

Your questions also do the critical job of uncovering any issues the hiring manager might have with you, so that you can correct any problems before you leave.

By Michael Neece, Monster Contributing Writer

1. Confusing an Interview with an Interrogation
Most candidates expect to be interrogated. An interrogation occurs when one person asks all the questions and the other gives the answers. An interview is a business conversation in which both people ask and respond to questions. Candidates who expect to be interrogated avoid asking questions, leaving the interviewer in the role of reluctant interrogator.

2. Making a So-Called Weakness Seem Positive
Interviewers frequently ask candidates, “What are your weaknesses?” Conventional interview wisdom dictates that you highlight a weakness like “I’m a perfectionist,” and turn it into a positive. Interviewers are not impressed, because they’ve probably heard the same answer a hundred times. If you are asked this question, highlight a skill that you wish to improve upon and describe what you are doing to enhance your skill in this area. Interviewers don’t care what your weaknesses are. They want to see how you handle the question and what your answer indicates about you.

3. Failing to Ask Questions
Every interview concludes with the interviewer asking if you have any questions. The worst thing to say is that you have no questions. Having no questions prepared indicates you are not interested and not prepared. Interviewers are more impressed by the questions you ask than the selling points you try to make. Before each interview, make a list of five questions you will ask. “I think a good question is, ‘Can you tell me about your career?’” says Kent Kirch, director of global recruiting at Deloitte. “Everybody likes to talk about themselves, so you’re probably pretty safe asking that question.”

4. Researching the Company But Not Yourself
Candidates intellectually prepare by researching the company. Most job seekers do not research themselves by taking inventory of their experience, knowledge and skills. Formulating a list of accomplishments prepares you to immediately respond to any question about your experience. You must be prepared to discuss any part of your background. Creating your talent inventory refreshes your memory and helps you immediately remember experiences you would otherwise have forgotten during the interview.

5. Leaving Your Cellphone On
We may live in a wired, always-available society, but a ringing cellphone is not appropriate for an interview. Turn it off before you enter the company.

6. Waiting for a Call
Time is your enemy after the interview. After you send a thank-you letter to every interviewer, follow up a couple of days later with either a question or additional information. Try to contact the person who can hire you, and assume that everyone you met with has some say in the process. Additional information can be details about your talents, a recent competitor’s press release or industry trends. Your intention is to keep everyone’s memory of you fresh.

Spring’s here, We always talk about spring cleaning at the restaurant, dusting artifacts, redoing landscaping and exterior painting.

How does your restaurant resume look? Maybe it’s time to dust it off and make sure it is ready to send out to prospective employers.

Some of the details you might want to check;
Are dates of employment correct?
Do you have your current employment listed?
Phone number, address and e-mail all correct?

Do you have a current list of references? Often, when we ask for references we find there are incorrect phone numbers or e-mail addresses. Getting in touch with your references is very important for us. More and more we are asked to have reference checks completed along with submitting your resume.

What are your references going to say about you? When was the last time you spoke to your references? It would be great to give them a call and get back in touch. Having a recent discussion with a reference will help remind them what a great manager you were.

Why should you have your resume fresh and ready to go? In the past month I have had calls from 2 long tenured GM’s who found themselves suddenly out of work. One manager was placed quickly, he had his resume ready to go and had great references who spoke very highly of him.

So, dust off that resume, don’t post it or update it on Monster or Career Builder!! Mistakes can happen and your resume could suddenly appear on line without your knowledge.