Reply to: Interview questions

[RaLaCon]

should people really be asking about trivial matters before offered the role.....once you know you have the role, then you can ask for amenities......

does using the same facilities as permies cross the IR35 line?.....it is a bit tricky

you really need to know what you are doing?
why you are doing it
and what is expected of you
everything else can come after the handshake

[curtis]

Secure the role first, then deal with that stuff afterwards.

So if you get a few offers and it may end up coming down to down to something like the hours, travel situation to the job or situation when at job are you going to accept both and then see what the T&C's say?? Are you really going to believe what the agency tell you when you ask them as they will tell you what they think you want to hear.

If I want to clarify something I want to hear it from the horses mouth.

[jmo21]

I agree with this i don't want to start a job and be told we need you to cover to 7 when I'm there and I can't work those hours.

I don't do project work so don't just set my own hours I fit in with their hours when they need me.

I want to know as much as possible about a job not only so I can make a confidant decision about taking the job but to save possible awkwardness later.

I would expect this kind of thing to be told to me either up front by the agent (sometimes they will, sometimes they won't), during the interview (I'd absolutely expect this), or at worst, finally mentioned in the contract.

I wouldn't expect to find out on the first day or have to ask myself if there were any hours required outside normal working hours.

There are a number of questions being suggested in this thread that I think would just irritate an interviewer.

Most interviewers see interviewing as an annoyance in the first place, and then you have a candidate asking about parking and the like when they haven't even been offered the job yet, seems a little presumptious.

By all means ask about the in's and out's of the role, tech, project, team etc, but going past that, to me, is presumptious.

Secure the role first, then deal with that stuff afterwards.

[robin]

It's called "having a chat".

I agree with this i don't want to start a job and be told we need you to cover to 7 when I'm there and I can't work those hours.

I don't do project work so don't just set my own hours I fit in with their hours when they need me.

I want to know as much as possible about a job not only so I can make a confidant decision about taking the job but to save possible awkwardness later.

[SueEllen]

WTFS

1) When is the go-live date?
2) What are you looking to achieve?
3) What are the business requirements?
4) What is the scope?

Blah blah.

I'm a consultant. I'm there to help them deliver. Why the feck do they want me to know about

1) When is the canteen open
2) Can I park on site
3) Is this IR35 compliant
4) What is the day rate/hours

First is for the client/2nd is for the agent.

Agents know SFA about anything.

You are best finding out about the first load of questions from the client and if they don't ring any alarm bells, asking the right questions/making the right small talk about the second lot.

Though to be fair sometimes you have to mention something about travel arrangments before you get down to the nitty gritty. As many clients are used to employing permies or have had contractors who don't take contract extensions/walk out due to having to stay away from home during the week.

Also IR35 related questions are related to the first set of questions.

[nomadd]

If you start questions like this at interview, surely it makes you look like someone whos going to moan about everything?

If I interview someone and they don't ask questions like these, I reject them for being an imbecile.

[MarillionFan]

When's the go-live date?

WTFS

1) When is the go-live date?
2) What are you looking to achieve?
3) What are the business requirements?
4) What is the scope?

Blah blah.

I'm a consultant. I'm there to help them deliver. Why the feck do they want me to know about

1) When is the canteen open
2) Can I park on site
3) Is this IR35 compliant
4) What is the day rate/hours

First is for the client/2nd is for the agent.

[SueEllen]

I think I agree with NLUK. If you start questions like this at interview, surely it makes you look like someone whos going to moan about everything?

It's called "having a chat".

You will then find out odd things like what sports the inteviewer likes and what phone they have.

Oh and most companies with a lot of contractors are happy to tell you these things, sometimes even before you ask them.

[psychocandy]

Suit yourself. I for one plan on getting offered a role before I start asking this marlarky and then I start to negotiate my working conditions before I start where possible and after proving I can deliver.

I think I agree with NLUK. If you start questions like this at interview, surely it makes you look like someone whos going to moan about everything?

[SueEllen]

Suit yourself. I for one plan on getting offered a role before I start asking this marlarky and then I start to negotiate my working conditions before I start where possible and after proving I can deliver.

I actually ask during interview as there is no point going further to find out that due to some senior manager's personality issues you have to work exactly when they say. Most companies don't care as long as you aren't specifically taking the piss, but there are some managers who are anal about working times.

[jmo21]

Interesting thread.

I wouldn't have thought to ask about parking. In fact I'd feel odd about asking that, logistics like that have always been irrelevant to me as a tough parking situation wouldn't stop me taking a role

I think I'd just figure it out myself if I needed to compare to another role

[northernladuk]

But as we all know IR35 is about working practices as well as the written contract. You're right they have to be worded very carefully to avoid looking awkward, but stuff like asking aout working hours, reporting lines, scope of work, getting given tasks etc will provide at least a hint of how outside IR35 the role is

Suit yourself. I for one plan on getting offered a role before I start asking this marlarky and then I start to negotiate my working conditions before I start where possible and after proving I can deliver.

[JoJoGabor]

[QUOTE=northernladuk;1442727]I don't think these are valid questions for the interview. IR35 is a contractual issue so will be addressed when you get the contract reviewed by someone. It is highly likely the people interviewing won't have a clue what IR35 is and you asking questions about working time etc will make you look more like a trouble maker.

/QUOTE]

But as we all know IR35 is about working practices as well as the written contract. You're right they have to be worded very carefully to avoid looking awkward, but stuff like asking aout working hours, reporting lines, scope of work, getting given tasks etc will provide at least a hint of how outside IR35 the role is

[curtis]

The thing is I've found you cannot always tell if there is enough parking, I've worked in one place where it looked like they had enough but it became apparent there was not when I started I had to park on the road close by most of the time (luckily).

I have to admit I have brought up parking in interviews I had another contract where the car park was tiny so had to ask what the situation was and did they know of anyone else to park (did not know area)

I want to leave an interview with as much info as possible especially if I get made serveral offers as I want to be clear with which one I want to take, waiting till the T's & C's in this situation is too late as I can't accept them all if I get more than one offer. For the sake of a few extra questions in an interview I would rather that than mess people around.

[psychocandy]

Inclined to agree. If the car park space is severely limited then I would understand but other than that I don't tolerate twats who waste my time for no reason. I've got a job to do and I expect co-operation from them not silly arbitrary rules which obstruct me while I'm going about my business.

Agreed. If theres space in the car park, stopping you parking there is just childish....

Imagine if they tried to get a plumber in to unblock the bogs and told him he had to park miles away?