How to Learn More About the Company’s Expectations of the Position You Are Interviewing for
To help you navigate your next job interview, we’ve gathered insights from CEOs and HR directors on how to better understand a company’s expectations for a position. From inquiring about a typical day or week to discovering success factors and goals, here are thirteen invaluable tips these industry leaders have shared.
- Inquire About the Typical Day or Week
- Ask About First Year Expectations
- Understand the Organization’s Immediate Needs
- Seek a Description of the Ideal Candidate
- Probe Personal Expectations of Stakeholders
- Request a Breakdown of Main Duties
- Find Performance Objectives and Success Stories
- Learn About Key Performance Indicators
- Talk with Your Interviewer About Role Expectations
- Refer to Your Application Highlights
- Frame Questions Around Success
- Analyze Previous Job Advertisements
- Discover Success Factors and Goals
Inquire About the Typical Day or Week
As the CEO of a recruiting firm working in the industrial sector, I can share that one way to learn more about a company’s expectations for a position during an interview is to ask what a typical day or week looks like. This query allows for a concrete answer that breaks the job down, task by task, making it more practical than asking for a list of necessary skills or attributes.
It might surprise you at how much the actual responsibilities differ from the job posting. I recently had a candidate ask this question in her first interview and came to me surprised that there was next to no overlap between the actual role and its advertisement. I told her this is not an uncommon phenomenon. Companies tend to rely too much on their imaginations when writing a job posting, and too little on the actual experiences of current and former employees.
Linn Atiyeh, CEO, Bemana
Ask About First Year Expectations
Among the questions to ask at the end of an interview, ask, “Let’s say you hire me and I come on board. What would your expectations be for me over the first 30, 60, 90 days?” That is a straightforward question for them to answer. However, if you continue and ask, “Let’s say you hire me, it’s a year from now and you are thrilled with the decision you made to hire me. What would I have accomplished during that year that would make you think that way?”
These questions are the same as asking what success will look like. However, they’ve heard that question before and are less honest answering that one than the ones I’ve reformulated.
Jeff Altman, Global Job Search Coach, The Big Game Hunter, Inc.
Understand the Organization’s Immediate Needs
When interviewing for leadership roles, a question I often ask is this: “How will your organization know it made the right decision by the end of year one? What kinds of things are you looking for this position to accomplish in the first 12 months?”
This question gets the interviewer or committee to think and visualize what outcomes they truly want, and their answer offers the candidate insight into the organization’s immediate needs.
Matthew Ratz, Executive Director, Passion for Learning, Inc.
Seek a Description of the Ideal Candidate
One great way to learn more about the company’s expectations for the position during an interview is to ask them to describe their ideal candidate.
While you might like to assume it’s you, since you’ve made it this far, there may be attributes you’re lacking and need to brush up on before accepting the role. Or, it might lead you to highlight unexpected parts of your resume.
Even if you’re perfectly qualified, hearing them describe their dream worker in their own words will help you understand what the day-to-day responsibilities and challenges will entail. Pay close attention to the terms they use. If they mention “strong leadership skills,” you’ll likely be in charge of a team; “highly motivated” can be code for little oversight; and “detail-oriented” can suggest rote tasks.
Rob Reeves, CEO and President, Redfish Technology
Probe Personal Expectations of Stakeholders
Job descriptions, even when well-designed and linked to thoughtful career ladders, are fundamentally useless with articulating real-world role accountabilities. This is because companies don’t have expectations of employees…managers do.
If you want to learn what is truly important to your future boss and other key stakeholders, such as colleagues and direct reports, you have to ask about their personal expectations. A great way to frame this inquiry is by asking, “If I were selected for this job, how could I make your life easier?”
The question prompts them to think beyond a standard profile and provides insight as to what is truly important. Ask it of all interviewers and you’ll get critical data on both alignment of needs and individual expectations.
Tim Toterhi, CHRO, Plotline Leadership
Request a Breakdown of Main Duties
To effectively understand the company’s expectations for the position during an interview, one can directly inquire about the core responsibilities and day-to-day tasks associated with the role. Requesting a breakdown of the chief duties of the position offers valuable insights into the company’s priorities.
This approach highlights a commitment to aligning skills and experiences with the organization’s requirements. By comprehending the specific requirements of the role, candidates can tailor responses to demonstrate how their background is directly relevant to the role’s demands. This illustrates an understanding of the company’s expectations and the capacity to excel in the position.
Richa Singh, Marketing Manager, SilverPeople
Find Performance Objectives and Success Stories
During the interview, probe the hiring manager on expectations for the position. Inquire about what success would look like during the first 3, 6, and 12 months, aiming to gain a clear understanding of short- and long-term performance objectives.
Ask them to delve into specific success stories within the organization so you can gain insight into the accomplishments, skills, and soft skills that contributed to those successes. Inquire about instances where individuals had not thrived in this role and explore the reasons behind their struggles.
Furthermore, inquire about skills that might be valuable for the position but were not explicitly mentioned in the job description, as these often shed light on the role’s nuances.
Brendan Bray, Team Manager, EC1 Partners
Learn About Key Performance Indicators
The best way to learn about the organization’s expectations is to ask, “What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) for this role?”
KPIs are specific, quantifiable measures of performance, and organizations use KPIs to track performance over time. By asking about KPIs, you signal to the employer several important messages. First, it shows that you understand employee performance in the workplace and appreciate the organization’s stake. Second, you highlight your awareness of corporate jargon, which helps with onboarding. Last, it signals that you are explicitly looking to meet or exceed expectations, giving them a good impression.
Not all employers will use KPIs as an indicator of performance, but all HR professionals and hiring managers will know exactly what you mean. Consequently, even if they haven’t formalized performance management, they will still be impressed by the question and will do their best to relay their expectations.
Ben Schwencke, Business Psychologist, Test Partnership
Talk with the Interviewer About Role Expectations
Absolutely, the most straightforward way to learn about a company’s expectations for a position during an interview is simply to ask the recruiter or interviewer directly.
You can ask, “What are the expectations for this role in the first month, and what are the expectations for the first year?” This not only shows that you are serious about the role, but also that you are thinking ahead and planning for long-term success. It’s important to clearly understand what is expected from the start so you can align your efforts with the company’s goals and objectives.
Asking such questions will also give you a better sense of whether the role and the company’s expectations align with your own career goals and expectations.
Martin Potocki, CEO, Jobera
Refer to Your Application Highlights
As a co-founding partner at Pender & Howe, a boutique recruiting firm sourcing executives for clients ranging from pre-seed startups to global public companies, I can provide some insight.
One great way to learn more about the company’s expectations for the position during an interview is to refer back to your resume or cover letter. Asking the hiring manager what stood out for them in your application keeps the focus on attributes you know you possess and reminds them why you’re there.
For example, if you’re interviewing for a leadership role, you might ask which of your previous experiences managing a team would best prepare you for working at this company. By framing your interest this way, you’ll look like someone committed to offering your best while increasing your understanding of the role.
Travis Hann, Partner, Pender & Howe
Frame Questions Around Success
When asking about expectations for a position during an interview, it is extremely important that you frame your questions in the correct manner. If not, the interviewer may perceive your questions as a sign of laziness.
If you come right out and directly ask, “What are the expectations for this position?” the interviewer may assume you are asking so you can do the bare minimum possible to get by. Instead, try framing your questions around both individual and company success. For example, a good question would be, “What would a person in this position need to do in order to be promoted?”
By framing the question this way, not only will you receive a simple answer as to what is expected, but it will also signal to the interviewer that you are serious and committed to doing a great job.
Janelle Owens, Human Resources Director, Guide2Fluency
Analyze Previous Job Advertisements
Look at previous job role advertisements and try to get averages in terms of expectations for roles either the same or similar to the one you’re applying to. Whether that’s set deliverables or simply the type of experience required, it can really help to look at past job advertisements as a means of understanding what is consistently stated as core role requirements for the company you’re applying to.
Tracey Beveridge, HR Director, Personnel Checks
Discover Success Factors and Goals
Well-crafted job descriptions that include specific and measurable success factors are key. Having a team member peer in during the interview can provide daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly expectations as well.
Asking the manager directly what success looks like within the first 90 days and what type of training mechanisms will be offered to equate to success is also important. Interviews are typically not just the hiring manager doing all the talking. It is a two-way dialogue so you can learn whether you will achieve highly at the job and if what is being asked is achievable.
Be courageous to ask burning questions: What does success look like? What are the goals and objectives for the year? What’s expected in the first 90 days? How will I be measured? Can I weigh in on the goals and pivot if need be? Be and remain intellectually curious, and take notes so you can reference them. After reviewing your notes, you might have additional questions that require further clarification.
Tanya Turner, MBA, SHRM-CP, PHR, HR Director, SALTO Systems, Inc
