Flipping the interview – why applicants are now asking the tough questions

With Australia’s unemployment rate sitting at 3.6 per cent, employees have more power in the hiring process than ever before. Right now, across the country, there are more vacancies than there are jobseekers in most job categories, and employers are competing for the best talent across the board.

Where the interviewer once held all the power, the tables have somewhat turned. It’s now the case of businesses being grilled in a job interview, competing with other organisations for top talent.

Astute potential employees want to know more about what to expect from a role, right from the interview stage. They want to understand the culture, how interesting or impactful the role will be, the flexibility as well as the opportunity for growth.

Candidates are interviewing you, and here’s what they might ask:

“What do new employees typically find surprising after they start?”

This is a question for an employee who prioritises longevity in their role and doesn’t want to be hit with surprise skeletons in the closet after they sign on the dotted line.

They may have been in a position before where a job was different to what was advertised or want clarification surrounding the expectations of the role.

This is also a great opportunity for you, as an employer, to be open and authentic. Be clear and transparent about what challenges lie ahead and what it takes to thrive in your organisation so they can knowingly opt in or out.

“Can you share a story where you supported an employee’s personal or professional growth?”

Employees want to know that their career has a trajectory and that your company sees a future vision for them. This question is for every employee who has been asked in an interview, “where do you see yourself in 10 years?” Now that it’s flipped, they want to know what their potential employer sees as a career pathway ahead.

Professional growth has a tendency to be forgotten when the day-to-day work begins. Understanding if there is a professional and personal growth plan in place will create accountability for both sides to see it enacted.

“How are successes and milestones celebrated within your company?”

Reward and recognition are central to showcasing your company culture. When it’s done well, it drives employee engagement and encourages discretionary effort. However, embracing individuality and acknowledging that one person may like a public celebration, whereas another may prefer a quiet “well done” is crucial.

This question will give a prospective employee a window into how people-centric your workplace is. It also doesn’t need to be costly to celebrate collective milestones – simple words of affirmation can have an enormous impact. What is important is ensuring your company places value in recognising both team and individual effort and success and that it’s done consistently.

“What strategies does your company employ to ensure open and transparent communication at all levels?”

Will an employee be valued, listened to, and included? They want to know if they’re walking into a safe and inclusive workplace or if it’s an environment where they’ll be shut down if they raise a different view.

Again, authenticity is crucial. If your culture has a top-down approach, how often is the business strategy or decision making communicated, and how receptive is your company to feedback?

If your culture has a more inclusive approach, it’s important to be clear on what input is desired, or even expected, from them and to outline specifically how it’s done (all-hands, open-door policy, etc.).

“Could you share an instance where your company’s core values directly influenced a business decision?”

Now more than ever, people want to do work that matters and work with organisations that have a positive impact on the world and society or, at the very least, “do no harm”.

As an employer, how do you ensure your values are more than a poster on a wall but rather an intrinsic way in which you work together and show up in business?

Not all organisations are going to live up to the standard of a B Corp, but if you can showcase your non-negotiable values in terms of how you work together and how you behave, you’re going to be an employer destination of note.

“How has your company changed since you joined?”

Does the company reflect on its past, and does it have a clear vision and roadmap for its future? Employees are eager to learn how agile and responsive to change companies are.

Companies that fail to reflect and change may not value innovation. Or rather, a company may be receptive to innovation, but the decision making/implementation process can be slow due to various approval layers and inefficient processes.

If your company falls into either of these buckets, how are you actively working to address the issues?

For jobseekers, an interview is the perfect time to consider what is important to them. They may use it as an opportunity to investigate the organisation’s attitude toward day-to-day flexibility.

Do they embrace people as individuals, encouraging them to bring their whole selves? For example, would it be a non-issue to go to the gym during the working day, see your child win an award at school, or even just take the dog for a walk while you’re on a call, or would this be a permission slip ask?

The fact is, despite the current climate, many businesses aren’t making any adjustments to the way they recruit or the environment they’re creating. They’re doing the same things over again, blind to the fact that it directly impacts their ability to hire and retain talented people.

Approaching an interview differently is one way to approach the entire hiring process differently, as long as what you share is real and authentic.

By Sarah Piper, founder and director of Invisible Partners, a talent strategy and advisory business