By the time you reach interview stage, the company already knows what you can bring to the role. An interview is a two-way conversation. It’s your chance to talk through your experience, but it should also help you understand the opportunity beyond the job description.
For experienced engineering and project professionals, that could mean learning more about the work ahead, the team you’d be joining and what the move could mean for your career. Some of that will come out naturally in conversation. The rest comes down to knowing what to research beforehand and what you want to ask when you get there.
Go further than the company website
The company website is an obvious place to start, but give yourself time to look wider. Recent company news, LinkedIn and industry publications can tell you what’s happening within the business. Look out for:
- Recent project or contract awards
- Investment and expansion plans
- New markets or technologies
- Partnerships and major appointments
- What the leadership team is talking about
Look at the people you’ll be meeting too, as well as others already working within the team.
And don’t forget your own network. In power and energy, there’s a fair chance someone you know has worked with the business, crossed paths with the team or knows the projects. Their perspective may tell you things you won’t find online.
Use what you find
Research is most valuable when it shapes the conversation. If you’ve seen that the business has secured a major project, for example, you could ask:
“I saw the recent announcement about [project]. What will that mean for the team over the next couple of years?”
The answer could tell you what’s ahead for the business, how the team may develop and where the role fits.
The same goes for an investment, expansion into a new market or new technology. Think about what the news could mean for the opportunity and use that to shape your questions.
Find out why they’re hiring
The reason behind a vacancy can tell you something a job description rarely will.
Is the role:
- A new position created as the team grows?
- Linked to a new project or an expanding pipeline?
- Bringing expertise into the business that it doesn’t currently have?
- Replacing someone who’s moved on or into another position?
The answer tells you what you’d be joining and why the business needs someone now.
Another question to ask is what they’d like the person coming into the role to achieve in their first 12 months. Their answer will tell you where the priorities sit and what they’ll expect from you.
Look beyond the job title
If you’re already established in a role or project, you’ll want to know what makes the move worthwhile.
Find out which projects you’d be working on, where they are in their lifecycle and what’s coming next. For a senior or leadership position, you may also want to know about the existing team, where capability needs to be added and how much influence you’d have over its development.
You’ll also want to get a feel for how the team works day-to-day.
Rather than simply asking “What’s the culture like?”, try:
- “How are major project decisions made within the team?”
- “How much autonomy would I have in this position?”
- “What tends to make someone successful here?”
The answers are likely to tell you more about the working environment than a list of company values.
Ask where the business is heading
The role in front of you matters, but so does what could come next.
Across power and energy, investment, technology and business priorities can shift over a few years. Ask where the business is looking to grow, which projects and markets are becoming more important and how the team you’d be joining fits into those plans.
If your research has uncovered something that could affect your decision, you don’t need to avoid it.
A period of change, significant investment or restructuring may leave you with questions. Ask them constructively and give the interviewer the opportunity to explain what it means for the business and the role.
Research should help you understand the opportunity, rather than turn the interview into an interrogation.
Take a few questions with you
However prepared you are, it’s surprisingly easy to reach the end of an interview and forget something you wanted to ask.
Write down five or six questions beforehand. You probably won’t need all of them, and some will be answered naturally as the conversation develops.
There’s also one question to keep for the end:
“Is there anything about my experience that you’d like me to clarify or go into in more detail?”
It gives the interviewer a chance to revisit anything they’re unsure about while you still have the opportunity to respond.
Before you make your decision
If you’re already established in a role or project, changing jobs is a big decision. The title and package are only part of it.
Use the interview to find out what you’d be moving towards, from the projects and people to where the role could take you. If an offer comes, you’ll have the information you need to decide whether it’s worth the move.