In 2022, power has fallen into the hands of the job candidate. With so many companies struggling to scout and retain top talent, the modern job-searcher becomes faced with more options and opportunities than ever before.

As a job seeker, how you research and narrow in on your preferred companies or working environments can be a game changer for landing a role that is perfectly aligned with the ideal next step you’d like to take in your career.

Through reverse interviews, you can make use of the power in your hands and let your potential new employer have their turn in the hot seat!

What is a reverse interview?

During a job interview, a reverse interview is when you (the interviewee) get to take the stand to ask your potential new employer some questions. This puts control into the hands of the job candidate and empowers them to find a company that suits their goals, culture, and interests. These interviews are typically on a one-on-one basis in 30-minute time slots. There should be enough time for you to answer your most pressing questions.

The benefits of a reverse interview

1. You gain knowledge about the company

Just as the company would learn about you when asking you questions in an interview, this is your turn to learn about them. A reverse interview is super helpful to get an idea of the organization’s processes, culture, and future plans. Some areas to ask questions about include:

• Reporting structures and processes

• “Day in the life”

• Perks and benefits of working within the company

• Future plans (short-term or long-term!)

• Team environment and communication styles

• Acceptable working styles

• Required in-office versus remote working opportunities

2. You can showcase skills you want them to know about

Showing that you went the extra mile to learn about the company and ideate questions surrounding your new knowledge is a great way to showcase skills like independent research, critical analysis, and presentation capabilities. This will also make the employer feel confident that you will come to your role prepared and ready to do what it takes to succeed.

3. You show your interest in the role

Having a series of well-researched questions can show your potential new employer that you already have a base-level understanding of the company’s workings. It demonstrates that you took your interest in the opportunity beyond the industry or role—but you’re actually interested specifically in the company itself! As companies look to build strong corporate cultures and well-aligned teams in the next few years, proving that you’re a great candidate for that specific company can really help you stand out.

4. Your chance of landing a role that aligns with your goals and values is increased

When you’re going through the job search process, it’s likely that you have defined your ideal workplace environment, including your preferred working hours, paid time off, reporting or communication flows, and more! Asking questions about these important factors in a reverse interview enables you to have the information early, before you even land the job. This eliminates a lot of the risk of entering into a job that you don’t know anything about or that you’re not even sure you’re going to like. In turn, this helps the company retain more employees as employees are more likely to be happy in their roles.

Tips to have an effective reverse interview

1. Know what you want

Do your research. Spend your time deeply investigating your ideal workplace. Also consider researching industry or role-specific requirements that you might wish to seek out in your next position. Sometimes there are differences in accepted working hours or benefits in one industry or role. For example, sales positions often get lower salaries with a higher percentage of their compensation stemming from commissions.

When thinking of your “dream” environment, you also need to maintain reason—what is actually achievable? For example, accountants, lawyers, and many other professions will tend to work longer hours, especially in their first few years of work.

2. Search for companies that match your needs

Finding a company to work for can take some “shopping around.” Companies, even in the same industry and size, can have widely different cultures and growth plans which might impact your interest in working for one of them over another. Use a variety of tools and platforms (like Indeed or LinkedIn) to search for companies and narrow down some of your favorites based on what you know so far. Then, apply for the job(s) and get researching further!

3. Brainstorm questions before the interview

To stand out in any job interview, you’ll need to be prepared. This is especially important if you’re going to be guiding part of the interview! In most hiring processes, the end of the interview is left for you to ask any questions to the recruiter or hiring manager. You might choose to use this time to ask one of your planned questions, or you might want to probe deeper into something else you learned about the company earlier in the interview.

Researching questions ahead of the interview can also help you learn about the company and be more prepared for your next call with the hiring manager.

4. Use a collaborative meeting agenda to write questions and record answers

Communicate with your hiring team about upcoming interviews and try to determine the structure of the calls. Many hiring organizations have structured processes that they need to follow across candidates in order to maintain non-bias policies. From there, you can take your learnings about interview expectations and place them into a meeting agenda (which you can share with participants on your upcoming call). This shows the recruiters that you’re organized and well prepared. For you, having your questions in a meeting agenda can also help ease anxiety since you know when you’ll be leading part of the interview versus when you’ll be interviewed yourself.