The Great Resignation has changed many aspects of interview-related etiquette.
Hiring managers and companies need to be prepared to answer critical questions in order to attract top talent.
Interviewers should think critically about their company and the position they want to fill, then give honest, relevant answers.

Changes in interview etiquette

Traditionally, going into a job interview entails the candidate answering the interviewer’s myriad questions and reviewing the candidate’s experience and skills. Now more than ever, the tables have turned. Questions and answers must go both ways.

The Great Resignation has changed many aspects of work-related etiquette, including the way interviews are conducted. Most importantly, it’s changed how candidates can conduct themselves during interviews.

Candidates for employment can and should ask interviewers questions about the job and company they are thinking of signing up for. Many other offers from potentially better companies and jobs are available, and candidates can and will ask, “what makes your company and job any better than theirs?”

Employers and interviewers need to anticipate this change of etiquette if they are to hire the best candidates. One way to prove that the job being interviewed for might not be worth a top candidate’s trouble, for instance, is if the interviewer cannot say why the job is worth it in the long-run.

What questions asked by job interview candidates should employers be most prepared for?

Interview candidates are looking to know whether they are a good fit for your company and whether your company is a good fit for them.

In the former case, this means candidates are interested in whether their career experience, personality, and skill-set match up with the job being interviewed for and the company culture.

In the latter case, this means candidates are interested in whether the company they will be working for is honest, has a low turn-over rate, pays well (and increasingly so), provides demonstrable opportunities for career growth, whether the role is as advertised, and whether they could do better elsewhere.

The top six questions interviewers should prepare to answer from candidates during an interview reflect these concerns, and include:

“How do you think somebody like me might work out at your company?”
“What are some reasons people stay long-term at this company?”
“What are some of the changes you would like to see at your company?”
“What makes this company better than competitors?”
“What makes this position stand out above comparable positions elsewhere?”
“How much room for career-building is there at this company?

Here’s how and how not to answer candidate interview questions

The typical questions that candidates ask during interviews are not trivial.

These questions demand hiring managers think critically about the company they are working for and the position for which they are conducting interviews. What they require, ultimately, is attentiveness to detail, preparation, and honesty.

Starting out the interview in a less formal manner to try to get to know the candidate through cordial dialogue is a good way of preparing for question 1, and questions 2-6 is simply a matter of having a keen-eye on what is going on at the company you are hiring for and forming honest opinions about it.

Interviewers should not sugarcoat what the company or job is like to the candidate. Instead, interviewers should be honest, even when such honesty reflects negatively on the candidate’s fit for the role, the company, or the role which is being interviewed for.

Just as it is inadvisable for a candidate to lie during a job interview, is it unacceptable for the interviewer to lie, mislead, or give other sorts of unhelpful or irrelevant responses to a candidate’s questions.

This is especially misguided behavior if the answers given are readily verifiable – especially questions 2, 4, and 6, because it will lead to a high turnover rate and scathing online reviews from disgruntled employees and interview candidates.