How to Choose Your Future Employer Wisely.

Most job-seekers aren't just looking for the right work — they're looking for the right manager, too. To a large extent a manager will control your assignments and your work environment, so it makes sense to try to learn more about her long before you're hired.

But in an hour-long interview with a hiring manager, you will be lucky to get fifteen minutes to ask your own questions. For this reason, as a job candidate you should not only be concerned with your answers to a
hiring manager's questions, and but also a potential manager's answers to your questions.

To make an informed judgment about your potential boss, it's important to ask the right questions during the interview:

Even before the Q&A section of the interview, look for repeated patterns of unconscious behavior. This will help you predict future behavior. Notice how the interviewer is saying things, not just what he is

saying. Does the manager talk about "the team" and compliment or refer to others on the team? If you are a team-oriented person, you probably will have an easier time working for a team focused manager, regardless of what the job is.

Listen carefully during the interview. Does the manager grill you? Challenge your answers? Not let you get a word in edgewise? You can expect that to continue on the job. Or, does the manager welcome you? Show you around? Give you a chance to present yourself? You can expect that in the future, too.

The thing is, get the data on your potential boss early on — then decide if (s)he's the right manager for you. This way, when you accept an offer after you have learned what to expect from your manager, you are much more likely to be secure in your success.

Posted in: Career Advice