Hello and welcome back to the awfully quiet podcast. I am really excited for you to be here today. Today is going to be all about how to step up your job interview game with a very practical tool that I'm going to give you. It's five questions. really good questions that you can ask in a job interview.

And this may sound very, very simple at first, but let me tell you, with these simple questions, you can take an interview from blah to very, very exciting, wowing the interviewers a lot. Wowing the hiring team and the hiring manager, and this has literally happened to me in the past. I once had a job interview for my, my, the role that I'm currently on.

I had a job interview where there were several parts to the entire panel day that I was on. And one of the parts with the hiring manager at the time actually didn't go so well. And I had prepped a lot and I had put a lot of effort into the answers that I would give. And I talk a lot about this on, subtle careers, but also in this podcast and that The more effort I would put behind conventional tools and advice like the STAR method and, the more I would Google the perfect questions to ask, how to answer, give the perfect answers to why should we hire you or tell me about yourself.

The more I set myself up for failure, and that is the whole reason why I came up with this program, three day interview prep, where I really want to prepare you for your next job interview in a way that is unconventional and really, really helpful for you. If you are anything like me, If you're introverted, if you do not shy away from putting in the work to deliver a great interview to show up as, you know, your, your most authentic, true self, then this is a resource for you.

It's going to focus you on all the things that are going to really, really move the needle for you. Instead of on all the things that are going to set you up for failure and all the things that, yeah, are just distracting you from what's really important in a job interview.

So what I want to cover today is. The questions that you should be asking the hiring teams across the span of an interview. And quite frankly, this can be before the actual job interview. It could be when you connect with the hiring manager before the actual interview day. It could be with the HR person through the screening interview.

But it could also be at the end of the interview when they give you the space to ask questions. And when they ask you, do you have any questions for us? And what happened to me so, so often when I was in HR and when I recruited for high level positions across marketing and sales is that people would often say, Oh no, thank you.

I think we covered it all. Not realizing that The biggest mistake you can make when it comes to asking an interview question at the end is to not ask anything at all, because quite frankly, this is not where you ask any questions along the lines of the logistics or when do I hear back from you or, you know, what's the start date, what's the salary, et cetera.

No, you do not ask these organizational questions. This is your chance to demonstrate that you're really interested in the role. It's your chance to demonstrate that you really, really want the job. And coming back to what I said earlier is I truly believe that I turned around a very crappy interview in the last 10 minutes of that interview.

Just by asking the right questions. And I have prepared these questions. I did not come up with these questions on the spot. I have previously prepared them. I've written down questions that were tailored to the role and to the hiring manager. And although leading up to that part of the interview, the interview was really not that good in my perception.

I kind of felt The hiring manager almost like put out a sigh of relief when I asked some of these questions and almost like, Oh, finally, we're getting to the juicy stuff. Finally, we're, we're seeing something that, that we really wanted to see. So I could almost see how they started to ease up and how the conversation started to shift.

When I started asking these questions. And so there is a lot of power in asking the right questions. Like I said, it shows that you're really interested. It shows that you've done your homework that you've before the interview that you looked into who the hiring manager is and the kind of person and what you could ask them.

And it also gives you an ability to Just kind of like direct the interview in a direction that you feel comfortable with. You could open up to become more vulnerable. You could open up to have a deeper conversation, about a certain aspect that you're really interested in. And so what I want you to do, regardless of whether you're going to be using these exact questions that I'm going to give you today, or you'll come up with your own.

What I want you to do is moving forward to never, ever, ever again, say that you're good, that you don't have any more questions at the end of the interview. I always want you to ask a question. So that is absolutely not an option anymore. And that's half the job done, if I'm honest. And then the other job is to ask a really, really good question.

Now you can obviously go on Google and put in, you know, what are great questions to ask at the end of the interview? And that could be questions like, what's the company culture or who would I be reporting to? How will you measure my success? What are the main KPIs that you're going to be looking at? And so on and so on. And like I said, they are half decent. It's better than asking no question at all. But at the end of the day, they're quite interchangeable.

You could ask these questions. In for any role that you apply to, and you can almost tell that they're, you know, Googled questions. They're not original questions. They're not particularly juicy. Now, the questions that I'm going to give you, they are also quite generic, so you can use them for a variety of different roles.

So I almost still want you to work with them. Once you apply them to your next job interview, I want you to make them a little more specific. I want you to showcase that you've done your homework. You've looked into the company, you've looked into the hiring manager and the team. So you're almost not asking this generics anymore.

If at the end of the interview, you're asking, who am I reporting to? It's almost, you know, you should be knowing who you're going to report to. If you're in. That interview, you should know about the company culture already because you will have spent at least an hour with everyone on that company. So you'll have already a sense for that.

And so you want to take it a little bit deeper. And another thing that I will say to this is that this is where you can truly, truly leverage your introspective capabilities. This is where you shine as an introvert. In a job interview, this is where you can take the reins. You can ask a question. You can showcase that you prefer deep talk over small talk and you can ask some of these juicy questions.

You've done the, you've done the work. You have prepared. For this conversation. And now you can truly leverage that to shine in this moment. I think these tools, these questions are the most introvert friendly way of standing out as a candidate. And so without further ado, let's dive into the five questions.

Now, question number one is what is the mindset and behavior? You look for in the person to join the team. Now, this is obviously different than asking for capabilities or experiences or strength. You're asking for what is the right mindset? How do you want this person to show up? Who are you envisioning?

And why is this question so powerful is it almost takes away all this about the job description and you know, who do you want this person to be on paper? What's the kind of, you know, boxes you want this person to take? No, it's a lot deeper, more deeper than that. It's about the behavior, the mindset, how do you want this person to tackle challenges or conflict?

So I even believe that this is a great question. Before you go into a job interview, if you get a chance to connect with a hiring manager, it will be a great question to ask before the interview, because that way, you can already tailor anything that you answer on the day of the interview to the knowledge that you have about the job.

What the hiring manager is looking for in terms of mindset and behaviors. Now, this is the exact question that I referenced earlier that I asked in the job interview, where I was able to turn around the whole mood, the whole vibe in the last 10 minutes, just by asking this question. And I got a beautiful answer back.

I got a really good answer back in terms of like,who they are looking for. What's the mindset of this person? And, those who know me a little bit better know that that was a position of, a brand manager for a big iconic brand. And what they said to me is they're looking for somebody who. Almost thinks of themselves as the CEO, the general manager of that brand who takes real ownership, who fights for the brand, who owns the brand and who is really, really passionate in the organization about this brand.

And so that helped me a lot in kind of like understanding what they are looking for, who they look for and what they want the behavior to be. And. It opened up a couple of other questions, a really good conversation. So I feel like this is a question that you can always ask. It's very, generally applicable to any job that you will apply to.

And so, yeah, this is question number one that you could potentially ask at the end of an interview, or even if you get the chance before the job interview, if you get a chance with a hiring manager. Question number two is what do you anticipate the biggest challenges to be in the first 90 days in role?

Now, This showcases your ability to think yourself into the role and almost act as if the role was already yours. Now, be careful with how you voice this over and the kind of terms that you use because you obviously don't want to come across as if, you know, it's already a done deal and you're, you know, Super, super confident to the point of slightly arrogant in terms of like, oh, I'm going to get this role anyway.

But you know what I mean? You want to demonstrate that. You're already thinking about how would I tackle this? What would this look like? Like, what's the challenge that you need immediate help with from the person to join the team? And it just kind of shows that you're super, super hands on solution oriented.

You're ready to go ready to, as they say, hit the ground running. And it's something that often impresses the hiring manager in terms of like, Oh, this person already thinks about how they would do that. It's, you know, not a theoretical question, but it's a question that is actually very helpful and targeted at the job at hand.

And it shows that, you know, you're not just there to sell yourself. You're there to really, really think yourself into the role and see if you're going to be the right fit. If you are going to be the person who can add that value, who can bring whatever they are looking for in the first 90 days. What it also opens up is a potential conversation about.

What do you need help with in the first 90 days? Now think yourself, think from the perspective of the hiring manager. You do want to think about, The kind of support that you will likely need from them. If you can already voice that in the job interview, it will give them a really good understanding for the kind of support and help you will need in those first 90 days.

And whether or not, frankly, they will be able to give that to you. Now, if you tell them, look, this area, this area, this area. I'm ready to hit the ground running. I've done it before. I have experience. I will probably have to learn a couple of things, but you can leave me alone with these. I can run with these.

But there is this one area that we discussed where I will likely need your help and support because I've not done it before, because I'm really interested to learn from you. This is what I would love to do. For you to, help me with. So then the hiring manager has a very, very tangible idea of what they can give you to just run with and where you need support.

And. It makes it super, super easy for them, doesn't it? It's almost like, yeah, you know, they can assess whether they feel fine or whether that is a potential issue. And it just kind of makes sure that you both go into it eyes wide open and it shows them that you take leadership and ownership to think about these things in advance.

Question number three that you can consider for the end of the interview is what is the number one skill you can't compromise on in hiring for this role? Again, this is a really great question for before the actual interview. It will allow you to tailor your preparation a lot more and potentially even bring examples that showcase that you have that number one skill.

So if you get a chance, ask this question before the interview. If not, it can also be a great question at the end of the interview because chances are you will have likely discussed a number of different skills, strength and experience needed to thrive in the role at hand. There will be a couple of topics on the table.

So bringing it down to the number one skill they can't compromise on gives you the clarity of what is really, really important in this role. Like when you read the job description, I always try to educate people on, you know, how to read a job description. Some of the information to disregard where to hone in and where to focus in, but at the end of the day, a job description is just never a real reflection of what the job is going to be, because the job is going to heavily evolve once you started.

and therefore. I, this is a great question to ask a hiring manager because more often than not, you'll have a number of skills required, a number of strengths, experiences, and requirements on the job description. And it's almost like this laundry list of things, but you want to really bring it down to what's the number one thing they can't compromise on.

Like if you had to choose one, what's the number one skill you need this person to be Thank you. Or have the potential to develop in the first six to 12 months on in the role. And again, it opens up a really good conversation and it shows that you're really interested and committed. Question number four is what is the team dynamic and what personality do you consider to be a good fit?

Now, this goes beyond the question of like, what's the company culture and you know, what are the benefits? This shows that you are really, really interested in the team. And at the end of the day. What I often find is least discussed in job interviews is the day to day is really getting down to, okay, what is, what is my day to day going to look like?

It's a lot about theoretical stuff in terms of like, some of the projects you'll likely work on, some of the things you will be facing, some of the potential, some of the potential hardships that you will be facing. But at the end of the day. You are looking to start a new job, and that job requires you to interact with a set amount of people on a daily basis, the team that you're going to join is almost as important as the hiring manager that you'll be reporting to.

It is crazy for me to think. That you never meet these people before you actually sign the offer. And it happens all the time, doesn't it? But, back when I was in recruitment, I would often try for candidates when they were in the final, final rounds. To interact with some of the team members to, to see whether it is a good fit, to see whether there is a great match and, it's more often than not, it's not done.

And there is often no time to do that. And there's often very good reasons, confidentiality reasons, legal reasons, that prevent that from happening. So you want to make sure to ask questions that give you information about what the team is like, what is the team dynamic, what are some of the personalities on the team, and do not shy away from having this conversation about personalities.

I often find that people, especially introverts think that they are likely looking for somebody Who fits the team, who is as extroverted as the rest of the team, especially when it comes to job functions that are predominantly extroverted. Like I will have often had that feeling in marketing because I often thought that most great marketers are extroverts and therefore I have to be extroverted in order to fit to the team.

The, the reality is yes, there are a lot of extroverts in marketing. There are a lot of extroverts in sales, but that doesn't mean the perfect candidate is extroverted. What that means is the perfect candidate is introverted, bring something to the team that some of the others may not have, may overlook, I often think that when it comes to diversity and the way we hire.

We don't take personality into consideration as much as we should, but hiring managers already know that. Hiring managers, especially in corporate will likely be attuned to the team personalities. There are lots of tools that are very commonly used in corporate these days, like the MBTI test or discovery insights or the Gallup strength finder, where they will likely know the personalities on their team.

And they will also know that great high performing teens have a variety, a diversity of different personalities to thrive, to be at their best and to perform really, really well. So for you to have this information of, Oh, the team is like this and that here's how they collaborate with each other. This is how we work on our team performance on how we, collaborate and interact.

Great.and these are the kind of personalities on the team, you could almost bring that in and say, look, I am more of an introverted person, which essentially means that. I'm often going to need some time to think I'm often going to need some time to work by myself in peace and quiet to come up with new ideas to come up with a perspective, but I just as well work together with others.

I have, demonstrated some great relationships and some great collaborations in my career to date. I am great at working one to one with people at working in small settings. I can even facilitate large workshops and bring to life really effective meetings because I'm more introspective, because I am very attuned to what people think and other perspective in the rooms, because I am able to point out somebody who may not have spoken up yet and give them their voice.

And so that's something that I'm really, really good at. Regardless of that, after big social interactions, I will likely be the person who, you know, take some time for themselves, who will go home, be on the couch, be by themselves in order to regain their energy. And so this is absolutely something that you can say in an interview.

And you probably should, because that gives them a flavor of who you are, who they potentially work with and more often than not. People in the room will empathize with that. People in the room will agree to that because introversion is not something that is uncommon. Like chances are half the people in the room are introverted and will be really impressed by you sharing something like that.

So yeah, definitely ask about the team dynamic, the personality that they would consider a great fit. And then you'll see whether you're a good fit or not, because at the end of the day, you. want to fit in. You want to make sure that they are not looking for somebody who is completely outgoing, socializes all the time, and it's just kind of like a person that you're not.

that's what an interview is for, quite frankly. It's a two way street. It's to find out whether you're a good match or not. It's as simple as that. Now, the final question, question number five. And is one that is directly for the hiring manager and it is, what is your favorite way to collaborate and work with a direct report?

Again, this is a question you can ask at the end of the interview. It's also one that you could ask the hiring manager before the interview, but it just goes to show again that you already think about what is the way the hiring manager interacts with their direct reports. And it gives you a lot of flavor.

It gives you a lot of meat on the bone when it comes to. Envisioning what that work relationship looks like for you as a candidate. Selfishly, that's definitely something that you want to know. Like this question is not only to impress them. This is to really get down to what the hiring manager is like.

And obviously you will direct this question to the hiring manager. So The answer will often be, you know, a little bit polished, a little bit biased. The hiring manager will likely not say, look, I am definitely a helicopter message manager. I will be monitoring you daily. I will be checking in with you daily.

I have trouble to trust people and so on and so on. So, they will not say I'm a micromanager. But you will likely be able to read between the lines. They might say something like, I have one to ones with my team on a weekly basis. I try to make myself available for my team. I often try to prioritize my team when.

There are challenges. You can always reach out to me. You can always call me. But on the other hand, I am also somebody who likes to give freedom, who likes to give responsibility. So I will let you run with things and I expect you to run with certain things by yourself. So that could give you a little bit of a flavor.

And then you could also say, look, here's the experience that I had with a previous manager that worked super, super well. I thrive when I'm given. Some of the agency and some of the freedom to own a topic and to truly lead it and then to check in with my manager every once in a while, but essentially to be given the freedom.

And it's so powerful to have this conversation before it builds a lot of common ground. Again, it shows that you are not just there to sell yourself, not just there to put on a show, but you're there to really assess how this is going to work. Whether it's going to work at all and what it would look like in terms of working together with the hiring manager.

Now, these are the 5 questions that I have for you. They, I believe they're all great questions. I've asked all of these questions in the past, whether in a job interview or.with the hiring manager before the interview, I have also asked some of these in career conversations that I've had with senior leadership, some of the coffee connects I have with people at work.

I think they're great, great, you know, universal questions and you can take them, tailor them. Really, really make them work for you. You want to make sure that they are something that you would actually say, that they feel natural to you, try them on and really try to work with them because I do think they make a difference to the way you show up.

I'm going to wrap them up for you one more time before we close. Question number one was what is the mindset and behavior you look for in the person to join the team? Question number two is what do you anticipate the biggest challenge to be in the first 90 days enroll? Question number three, what is the number one skill you can't compromise on in hiring for this role?

Number four, what is the team dynamic and what personality do you consider to be a good fit? And question number five, what is your favorite way to collaborate and work with a direct report? Now, I hope you're inspired by this conversation today. I hope you feel empowered to take these into your next job interview.

This is why it is so important for me to do. This is because I know that job interviews are often tricky for you. I have certainly dreaded them for the most amount of time in my career. And I know that introverts struggle with job interviews because it can often feel. Like, we're just not designed for them.

We're not designed for situations where we're in front of strangers, having to sell ourselves, having to perform to a certain extent. And this is also why, especially for you, I want you to have this tool. I want you to be aware that it's important. These questions at the end of the interview or during like pre interview outreach to some of the hiring team are all so powerful and introvert friendly.

This is where you can shine. This is where you can leverage your introspection, your introverted personality, your calm demeanor to ask really good questions to put the conversation into a direction where you want it to be. You know, cue the deep talk and, and at the end of the day, I just know that you will thrive in this moment.

And I know that this will be your moment in the interview and whether or not the interview up until this point will have gone as you wanted to or not as you wanted to know that. This is something you're really good at. This is something where you can turn things around or bring things home. And I want you to have some fun with it.

I really want you to embrace this, use it as a tool, use it to your advantage. This is what you can develop a really great strength with. And yeah, just rock your next job interview. And with that, I will leave you to it. Let me know if you end up using these questions. Let me know how it goes. Always send me a message at subtle careers.

Just a DM to say how, how it went. And if you like these questions, I'd love to hear from you. And with that, I'll leave you to it and I'll hear you next week.