What questions should I be sure to ask?
Get the latest Flash player
What should I say when I'm asked to summarize my job experience?
What should I say when asked why I left my last job?
What should I say when asked where I see myself in five years?
How should I answer questions about strengths, weaknesses, successes and failures?
How do I respond to questions about gaps in my resume?
If I don't get along with my supervisor, what should I say if the interviewer asks to speak with my boss?
What questions should I be sure to ask?
What are some good questions to ask if I have the time?
Negotiating Salary
Getting the Job Interview
What research should I do before a job interview?
How do I know what the interviewer is going to ask me?
What should I say when I'm asked to summarize my job experience?
How do I find out what a job pays?
How should I dress for an interview?
Should I send thank-you notes after an interview?
How to Choose the Right Career
Can you sum up the process of finding the right career?
What can I do right now to prepare for a career?
What do my values have to do with my career?
How do I figure out if a career is right for me before investing lots of time and money in training and education?
The Importance of Values in Choosing a Career
What's the difference between skills and abilities?
What are interests?
When can I ask for a raise?
Should I address salary questions in my cover letter?
When during the interview process should I start negotiating salary?
How can I prepare for salary negotiations?
How To Write An Engaging Cover Letter
Top IT Jobs In The US
Top Government Jobs In The US
Top Entry Level Jobs In The US
The Dos and Don'ts of Social Networking While Job Searching
How To Avoid Common Interview Mistakes
Create A Professional Looking Resume
How to Ask The Interviewer Your Questions
Reduce Homework Stress By Focusing
How to Unlock the Hidden Job Market
How to Get Your Resume Noticed
How to Prepare for the New Job Search Season
Karen James Chopra, LPC, MCC, NCC, has been counseling career clients since 1999 and has helped hundreds of clients change careers, find new jobs and deal more effectively with workplace challenges.
In addition to her private practice, she has worked for two national corporate outplacement firms: Lee Hecht Harrison and Resource Careers. These are the organizations that help people who have experienced a layoff or downsizing to find new jobs, and their programs are usually considered the gold-standard of job search technique.
Ms Chopra is a regular presenter on career issues, having taught career theory at the graduate level, designed and delivered numerous workshops, and served as a regular guest commentator on WMAL’s career radio show “Your Career Life.”
She is a career-changer herself. Before entering the counseling field, she worked for nearly a decade as a trade negotiator for the United States Government, first at the Department of Commerce and then at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Ms. Chopra holds a number of relevant licenses and certifications: licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the District of Columbia; Master Career Counselor (MCC), a designation of the National Career Development Association (NCDA); and National Certified Counselor (NCC), a designation of the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). She belongs to all of the relevant national and local associations involved in career counseling, including the American Counseling Association (ACA), the National Employment Counselors Association (NECA), the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Career-Life Planning Network (MAC-LPN).
Her B.A. is from the University of Virginia, and she received a masters of science in foreign service from Georgetown University, and a masters in community counseling from George Washington University.
What questions should I be sure to ask?
Host: What question should I be sure to ask?
Karen James Chopra: You want to ask as many questions as you want to, to understand exactly what you are going to be doing when you get into the job. So what the day to day duties are for the position? What the top responsibilities are for that position? How much time you are expected to spend on each of the key responsibilities for the position? Who you report to? Who is going to report to you? Who are you going to be working with on the team? You also want to ask questions about why the position is open, if there was somebody who was in the job before you, you want to make sure to ask, "What happened to the previous incumbent? Why is the job open?
" If the previous incumbent has moved on to another job, you might say, "How long was the previous incumbent in this position?
" If the answer is, "Oh, three months or six months," you might say, "Well, how long was the person before that in the position?
" If the answer is, "Three months or six months," you might start to wonder about what's going on with this position that people aren't staying? So ask about who came before you in this job and what happened to them. If the position is new and no one has ever been in this position before, ask why it was created.
Transcripts
Host: What question should I be sure to ask?
Karen James Chopra: You want to ask as many questions as you want to, to understand exactly what you are going to be doing when you get into the job. So what the day to day duties are for the position? What the top responsibilities are for that position? How much time you are expected to spend on each of the key responsibilities for the position? Who you report to? Who is going to report to you? Who are you going to be working with on the team? You also want to ask questions about why the position is open, if there was somebody who was in the job before you, you want to make sure to ask, "What happened to the previous incumbent? Why is the job open?
" If the previous incumbent has moved on to another job, you might say, "How long was the previous incumbent in this position?
" If the answer is, "Oh, three months or six months," you might say, "Well, how long was the person before that in the position?
" If the answer is, "Three months or six months," you might start to wonder about what's going on with this position that people aren't staying? So ask about who came before you in this job and what happened to them. If the position is new and no one has ever been in this position before, ask why it was created. This will give you a lot of information about what problems they are trying to solve with the position and allows you to interview strongly by demonstrating that you are the best fit for that particular need or problem.
How to Find a Job in a Down Market
Job Hunting in a Down Market
Job Hunting - Networking Tips
How to Find a Summer Job
How to Start a Summer Job Search
Summer Job Searching Tips for Teens
Summer Job Searching Tips for College Students
Summer Job Searching Tips for the Currently Employed
Job Interview - Details Make a Difference
(Add Comment)