May 6, 2013 Interviewing potential employers. What questions would you ask?

Tonight I read a few posts from my fellow bloggers, mostly because I knew that by the time I finished writing, I'd be ready to take out my contacts and go to bed!  It's been a long, busy day and I finally got back to my gym workouts after neglecting them, after a fashion, over the weekend.  That is not to say that I didn't get a great deal of exercise, walking a good portion of a twelve acre property, but I didn't do my weight work and frankly, I missed it.  So tonight, I did my Saturday workout and tomorrow I'll do my Monday one, and then I'll be back on track.

I also spent part of today working on falling in like with my day job.  I know that I'm still a ways off from making my dream job keep me in the style to which I'd like to become accustomed, and I really am learning some useful skills from a job which fulfills my needs if not my passion.

I read an interesting post today about going into a job interview with the intention of interviewing the company to see if they are a good fit for you, which the writer then likened to going into a dating/social situation with the intention of determining if the person or people were a good fit for you.  I was quite intrigued by this perspective, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that going to an interview with questions for your perspective employer is a rather good idea.  Giving it some thought, I've come up with a few questions of my own, and would love to hear ideas from other people.

1. How would you describe your company's culture?
2. What would you consider your company's essential values?
3. Where do you see this company in 5 years?
4. Are you in a growth cycle, or one in which you've established your niche and are solidifying your position?
5. What do you see as your company's biggest weakness?
6. What challenges presented by your competitors are most important for you to overcome?
7. What, if anything,  do you expect from your employees in terms of innovation?
8. Do you believe that it is important to hire for key positions from outside the company or to develop from within?  Can you tell me where you found your last 5 key hires?
9. How long does the average employee remain with your company?
10. Do you offer training or educational incentives to encourage employees to improve current skills or gain new ones?   .

OK, that's a good start.  I look forward to seeing what other people come up with, and find important in determining whether a potential employer will be a good match for their own personality, culture and skill set.

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for the amazing and inspiring posts which are coming into my world.
2. I am grateful to be back on track with my gym regimen.
3. I am grateful for aching muscles which are a sign of a stronger me to come!
4. I am grateful for inspiration which will get my book back on the right track (even if it means discarding thousands of words!)
5. I am grateful for my dreams as they drive me forward into new and uncharted territory.

Love and light.