How to Address Major Concerns During a Job Interview

How to Address Major Concerns During a Job Interview How to Address Major Concerns During a Job Interview Lets say youve finally landed an interview for your dream job at the perfect company. Youve got the skills to do the work, and it looks like an ideal fit with your career plan. The only thing is, you have some major concerns and youre not sure how to address them. Maybe you know who your supervisor will be if you fill the open position, and youve heard through the grapevine that hes a micromanager and a bit of a shouter. How can you find out whether thats true without killing your chances at getting the job? Or, perhaps you highly value work flexibility, and youve read that this company isnt big on work-life balance. How  should you raise the issue? Your first step is to complete your due diligence. Before you set foot in the interviewers office, you should study the companys website and read any news articles you can find about the organization. Examine the social media accounts of the business, looking for what customers or employees are saying. And scour the web for blog posts of fans or detractors. Once your research is done, youll be ready to ask the right interview questions. If you handle your interview thoughtfully, with skill and tact, you should be able to address any concerns you have about the duties tied to the position, the companys culture, potential colleagues and managers, or the future of the business. Here are a few questions you can ask your interviewers to help you address major concerns during a job interview: What happened to the person who had this job before? This is a fair question, and if asked correctly, it can provide good insight into the scope of the job, its importance within the organization, and promotion opportunities for those who hold the position. If your concerns are centered on any of those areas, this could help alleviate them. What management style do you encourage among your team leaders? If youre afraid of getting stuck with that shouting micromanager, or someone who doesnt support the training of team members, this question is a good one to ask. Once you hear about the companys expectations of its managers, you can follow up by asking who your manager would be and what his or her style is like. What challenges might I encounter if I take on this position? This is one of many questions recommended in an article from Resume Butterfly. Your employers response to this could give you a better feel for any baggage that may be attached to the position, and how it could affect you. What stands out to you when you think of the companys culture? You may have concerns about the organizations support for work flexibility, its commitment to career development of employees, or just the general work environment. By asking this question, you should be able to discover some specifics about the company culture and whether the business is worker-friendly. Can you show me some examples of projects that Id be working on? This question, suggested in a Forbes article, could be the most important one you ask. If youre worried that your skills might not be the right fit for the job, or youve heard that the position carries huge expectations without the authority to meet them, the samples you receive could confirm or eliminate those concerns. Can you tell me about the team Ill be working with? An article from The Muse suggests that this question could help you uncover red flags. If the answer is vague, or the interviewer tries to dodge it, you might be walking into a bad situation with a toxic team. Where do you see this company in the next few years? This is another suggestion from The Muses article, which notes that the question can help you better understand the companys values and whether you fit well with them. If youve heard rumors that the business is struggling financially or may be considering a change in strategy, the tone of the answer you receive could provide some clues as to their veracity. No matter which questions you ask, be sure to listen carefully to the response. Note the interviewers tone when they respond, and look for other non-verbal cues to gather additional information. When you combine these questions with your initial research, you should be able to determine whether your fears are founded or baseless, without offending your interviewer and taking yourself out of the running for the job. Then, when an offer comes, youll be ready to respond with confidence, no matter what you decide. Have an interview coming up? Check out more tips in our  category dedicate to job interviewing.