Normally, I limit my interview question advice and experience to what the interviewer should ask, but, today, I have a turnaround…
A client recently prompted me to give some thought to what the most important questions a job applicant should ask might be. Because of all the “miserable-first-day-on-the-job” experiences I’ve heard over the years from those who attend my presentations, I concluded one of the most important questions an applicant should ask would be:
If you decide to offer me this job and I accept, take me through my first days and weeks on the job from A to Z.”
Although you may never be asked, as a hiring manager, you need to have the answer.
If you are not satisfied with what your answer would be, then you need to make some changes. A huge percentage of costly, short-term employee turnover is caused by sloppy, unprepared, disorganized on-boarding experiences.
Also, whenever you do hire a new employee, you need to spell out what will happen during the first days and weeks so your new hire not only understands what you expect, but also that you’re prepared and organized and want to help them succeed.
This was originally published on Mel Kleiman’s Humetrics blog.