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Welcome To Call To Career

Call to Career has been in existence for over 15 years and is currently a member of the BBB. The company was founded by Cheryl Palmer, M.Ed., Certified Executive Career Coach and Certified Professional Resume Writer. Call to Career provides C-level executive career coaching and resume writing services. Cheryl Palmer has been featured in the following publications: CNN, The Ladders, MarketWatch, ExecuNet, HotJobs, Wall Street Journal, Salt Lake Tribune, and About.com. She was also interviewed on Fox Business News as well as Maryland Public TV.
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DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

Do you have any questions?  This question usually comes from the interviewer at the end of the interview.  Too many job seekers miss a golden opportunity to come across as a thoughtful and interested candidate by not coming to the interview prepared to ask good questions.

Job seekers need to be able to demonstrate to the potential boss that they have really thought about the position and have some good, probing questions. But you also need to ask questions that will help you determine whether or not this is going to work out.  After all, who wants to go through a job search in this extremely competitive job market only to have to reenter the process again quickly because the position is a terrible fit.

So what should you ask?  Here are some winning questions:

  • What are your top priorities for the person in this position for the next three months?
  • If you could describe your corporate culture in three words, what would you say?
  • What are the top qualities necessary to succeed in this company?
  • What is your vision for the organization?
  • What are some of the toughest challenges facing the person who will fill this position?
  • What do employees like most about working here?

It’s also a good idea to formulate questions that show that you have done your research on the company.  You should find press releases, articles, and other company information that will indicate where the company is headed.  Through your research you might find that the company has a new initiative coming down the pike or the company is expanding in a new area.  When you are asked if you have any questions, you can say something like, “Could you tell me how the XYZ initiative will impact this position?”  That is a subtle way of letting the interviewer know that you have done your homework.

Another good tactic is to stay abreast of what thought leaders in your field are talking about and make reference to their work during the interview.  So if you’re in marketing, for example, a marketing guru may have been quoted as saying that consumers’ buying habits have undergone a permanent shift as a result of the economic downturn.  You can quote this thought leader and ask the interviewer if he or she agrees with this assessment, and if so, how that new reality impacts marketing the products or services that the company provides.

In this job market job seekers potentially have more obstacles to overcome in landing that next position since it is an employer’s market.  Preparing thoughtful questions prior to the interview is one way to convince a potential employer that you are interested, motivated, and, most importantly, the best candidate.