Interviewing the InterviewER

[Fear The Spear]

There's a lot of stuff written about how job candidates should, and should not, respond to interview questions.

But what about looking at the job interview from the other angle ?
How about some advice on how the candidate can interview the "interviewer", to determine if the company is a good match for the employee, and not just vice-versa, which is the typical topic along these lines.

What are some good questions to ask the interviewer - but again, not just questions just for the sake of asking an "impressive question" to please them, but a truly functional question, to determine if the management AND the company overall is going to be pleasant and beneficial TO YOU ? Naturally, you don't want to be stuck in a miserable position, working for a miserable manager, and/or a miserable corporation.

Interviews should be 2-way. Both parties should be satisfied in this mutual agreement, and relationship. You should have just as much of a right to put them "on the spot" (to a certain respectful degree, of course), as they should have the right to put YOU on the spot.

So, what are some strategies that you use, to determine if you want to "hire" this particular company to be your boss ?

Also, what are some good "forums" where employees rate and review businesses, as a place to work for ?

 

[Goaldeje]

glassdoor.com give employee ratings of companies, fairly useful. Keep in mind though that most happily employed people don't seek something like this out to give a glowing report to. They may happen across it, but you are probably getting far more unhappy people looking to dump on their boss/company actively searching this site out. The scores may reflect that, as may the reviews. Just be careful not to put too much stock in it.

As for questions to ask, be careful too. A lot of employers know that in this kind of economy, they will have enough applicants that quite frankly, they don't need to cater to anyone.

 

[renaissance]

I'll second glassdoor. The only issue is that, as with most review sites, I think a lot of people who posts actual reviews are the angry ones.

As for interviews, I make it a point now to ask my interviewer why they like their job, how long they've been with the organization, where THEY see me in 2-3 years.

In followup interviews (if I have them), I'll get into the specifics of what kind of projects I'll be working on at first, and the really important stuff like will I get free parking

I absolutely hated my last job. Bad environment and work I didn't enjoy one bit. Had I been more engaged and followed my instincts during the interview process (as opposed to just trying to get the job), I would have never accepted the position.