32 QUESTIONS ON ECONOMIC TOPICS AND PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES

ECONOMIC ASPECTS

The economic aspects are usually determining in a search: however, this topic is usually relegated to the end of the interview. Many of the postulants will ask for this information before accepting the interview or the initial minutes of it and, on the other hand, the interviewer will try to get an idea of the remuneration level pretended by the interviewee before giving any sign.

Some books recommend candidates to try to avoid discussing the salary requirements before assuring themselves a real interest from themselves and the employer.

We suggest the following questions:

1. (For high executives which remuneration usually includes a fix salary, variable concepts and benefits) What is your annual compensation? (For other levels of postulants, simply): What is your current remuneration (or the last one)?

2. If you don’t want to be too direct you can ask for their work history. Can you tell me about your salary history?

3. If the way the postulant’s remuneration is composed is not really clear, then you will have to ask: What is your monthly/annual salary, excluding the benefits?

4. What kind of improvement are you hoping to get with a change?

5. In your professional opinion, what would be a fair remuneration for a position like this one?

6. Would you be willing to get adapted to the salary we offer for this position, even when it may be lower than your expectations?

7. What was the last salary raise you have gotten? Did you feel satisfied?

8. How would you justify a salary raise to your current employer?

9. How would you feel if a person who depends on you would gain more than you would?

10. Do you consider money the most important aspect of this position?

11. What do you think about a process in which the subordinates can give opinions about the remuneration of their superiors?

12. Have you ever worked only on commissions? Tell me about that experience.

13. Do you consider stock options plans as important?

14. What non-remunerative aspects of your compensation are important for you?

15. If your performance is over average, would you expect to be economically compensated for that?

16. Have they ever denied giving you a salary raise?

17. Do you have any extra income?

The professional objective of the interviewee should be to adapt themselves to the position to fill. Along with the motivation for the change that is developed in Part II, they are topics we need to pay attention to. Even when the economical incentive is important, it is not the only, and sometimes not even the main reason to work or change jobs.

The key to determine the objective is to discover as much as you can about the position and the candidate before the interview.

We suggest the following questions for the moment of the interview:

18. Is the opportunity to reach a better level important to you?

19. Why are you interested in this position?

20. How long will you stay in this company?

21. How do you see yourself in five or ten years?

22. What are your professional objectives?

23. Are your professional objectives different from the original ones? (depending on the age of the interviewee you can ask about the different professional objectives and the different stages of work history).

24. Are you currently thinking about making any change in your career?

25. Do you consider the possibility to move to another city or another country?

26. Would you like to become the president of this company?

27. Would you have liked to become the president of your current company?

28. Would you have liked to have the position of your last/current boss?

29. Would you like to have your own business? Which one? What type?

30. When do you expect a promotion?

31. How do you imagine your work development in the future? (depending on the case you can decide how long in the future you want to talk about).

32. What are your training objectives in the short term?

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