4. Focus on the future. Ask something like, "You've achieved large productivity gains in the past three years. Where do you believe future operational improvements will come from?" or "Looking ahead to the next couple of years, what are the potential growth areas that people in the company are most excited about?" Not incidentally, the answers could give you a sense of where your own career path could lead if you get hired.
5. Find out about the culture. You can learn a lot about what it would be like to work at a company, Sobel says, by asking, "What are the most common reasons why new hires don't work out here?" or, conversely, "What kinds of people really thrive in your organization?" Along similar lines, "Why do people come to work for you rather than a competitor, and why do you think they stay?" could yield some valuable insights.
6. What are the interviewer's selection criteria? Sobel says you should ask, "If you were to narrow the field to two final candidates for this job, with equal experience and skills, how would you choose one over the other?" You may not get a totally candid answer (the truth might be, for example, that the candidate with the lower salary requirement would win out), but you still might learn something worth knowing.
The right questions, Sobel says, "allow you to demonstrate your knowledge without sounding arrogant, and they greatly improve your chances of hearing the best question of all -- 'How soon can you start?'"
Talkback: What questions did you ask in your last job interview? If you're a hiring manager, which questions from candidates impress you most (or least)? Leave a comment below.
