Questions you must ask at Interview
What are the questions you must ask at interview as a contractor?
We are doing a series of articles telling IT Contractors the questions Contractors must ask at Interview if you are not to be stuffed when you start work as a freelancer.
Who will I be working for?
IT Contractor Interview
Very often there are quite a few people present when a contractor is interviewed.
It is important to find out which of those you will actually be working for when you are being interviewed.
There are two main reasons for this.
Interview Decision Maker
Firstly, he or she may be the one at the interview that you would least like to work for or with and that feeds into the decision as to whether you take the contract or not.
Too many contractors have endured miserable months working for complete assholes.
You may want to ask this person a few questions about working practices and what he or she will expect from you.
Prioritise the Person You will be Working For
Secondly, this person is likely to have most say in whether they take you or not.
It is best to ask this question early on in the interview so that you can make sure that you give this person‘s questions priority and you can try and strike up a rapport with him or her.
I learned this lesson the hard way.
I was being interviewed by three people.
I struck up a rapport with two of them and thought I did a great interview.
The other was a bit quiet.
It was only towards the end that they revealed that I would be working for the quiet guy.
I remember thinking that I wished I‘d paid him more attention.
Interview Lesson Learned
Yes, you‘ve got it – I didn‘t get the contract.
Mistakes like that can be costly – especially at times when there are few contracts about.
Indeed they can cost you tens of thousands.
Needless to say, I didn‘t make the same mistake again.
Not at Contractor Interview
So, what if the person that you will be working for is not at the interview?
Should you ask to meet him or her?
At first sight it may seem a nice touch.
However, you don‘t want to bring one more person into the decision making process.
Those interviewing you may have decided that you are the person for the job so you don‘t want to take the chance of this young project leader not liking the look of you.
Leave well alone.
If he or she wasn‘t invited to the interview then they are unlikely to be able to switch the others‘ minds into taking you if they don‘t want you but he or she could have a veto on you if they said something negative like you wouldn‘t fit into the team.
So, what are the other questions you must ask at interview?
Read Questions Contractors must ask at Interview.
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