By J. Larry Tyler, FACHE, FHFMA, CMPE, Master Career Coach for Senior Players

When people in career transition are preparing for an interview, they tend to spend a lot of time practicing their answers to the questions that they think they’ll be asked. This is wise. You can almost guarantee you’ll be asked some form of the questions “Why are you interested in this position?” or “Tell us about a time when you ____” or “How have you made a difference in your previous organizations?”

But here’s the problem: In all their interview preparations, interviewees often fail to consider what questions they will ask of the people who are interviewing them. Some may have a few finance questions prepared for the CFO, or patient care questions for the CNO or physician executives. But these are not the kind of questions that will help you to discover if this position and workplace are a good fit for you.

There are certain questions you should ask of every single person you meet, regardless of their position or job responsibilities. The fact is, that a lot of position- or organization-fit issues could be avoided by asking the right questions while you’re still in the interview phase. You could be interviewing for a job that someone doesn’t want filled. Or perhaps the job doesn’t have clear objectives, or the person you report to is particularly challenging to work for. You are more likely to unearth potential issues if you ask questions that help you notice those red flags.

Here are some questions you should ask in every interview:

1. What is it like to work here? Some may answer with info about projects they’re working on or the direction of their organizational strategy, but inevitably this will lead to clues about the culture of the organization.

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