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Published 2020-06-17
Questions to ask the employer during an interview
How to Interview the interviewer?
Often when coaches are looking for a job, they are excited to get the interview and hope they land the position by answering all the questions the best they can.
At the end of every interview comes the most important part when the owner or person interviewing always asks “What questions do you have for me?”.
An interview should be treated as a two-way street. Your potential employer is asking you questions to learn about how you fit into their community. In return, you need to ask questions to see how their community fits in with YOU. Plus, if you don’t have questions, it makes you look uninterested and unprepared.
When you have prepared questions specific to the facility, it shows you have done your homework and are truly prepared for the coaching role.
Here are some Questions to help you be prepared and ready
Remember, they are interviewing you to see how you fit into their community, but if you really care about your career, you need to interview them as well to see if they hell like a good fit for you.
What does the typical day look like for this coaching position?
This is your opportunity to learn as much as possible about the coaching position so you can decide if this is the facility you really want.
By asking about the day to day responsibilities, you’ll learn what your average day will look like, everything you’ll be doing, and if it’s the actual position you want.
They may say that they expect the coach to mop the floor after each class, or to do admin work, you’ll find out things here that often aren’t on the job description.
What do you think are the most important qualities a coach needs to excel in this role?
This will give you more valuable information that normally isn’t on the job posting.
They may have an older demographic and the ability to scale is a top concern.
They may have a large amount of younger kids and expect the new coach to be great with them. You won’t know until you ask.
Describe for me the culture of your community?
They may have drinks Friday night as a gym together, maybe they play paintball once a month, possibly they compete in powerlifting often and their members prefer lifting heavy or they host a Joy Prom.
We can’t all for into every community and that’s information that needs to be found out before you accept the position.
Where do you think your brand is headed in the next 5 years?
As a career coach, you want to know that you will have employment with a facility that is looking ahead and planning for the future.
If they don’t have plans for growth and future success, that means you don’t have plans for growth and future success.
What specialty programs do you offer, are you open to offering more?
If you’re in the interview process, you should already know what programs they offer.
You ask this because it gives you an opportunity to show them where you can create more programs, which will make you more of an asset while increasing your potential take-home pay by running a program.
Does your facility pay for it help pay for continuing education?
A career coach is someone who is always learning.
Education never ends for those of us who are successful as a coach. If the employer values continuing education enough to help pay for it, that is always a benefit for those of us who are in this for the long haul.
If you are a coach who does often seek out more education and certifications, having a facility pay for them is the same as having a pay raise you didn’t expect.
Who is your gyms top competitor in the area, what do they do that makes them so competitive?
If you’re this far in the process, you should have already done your homework and figured out who their top competitor is.
The beauty of this question though is whatever their answer is, they are presenting you with a problem, and if you have the ability to help fix it, your stock just went up.
Plus, it will help you to know if the facility owner has an abundance or a poverty mindset and you always want to stay away from the ones with a poverty mindset because following them, will lead you to poverty.
Where do you see the greatest opportunity and growth potential for the immediate future?
This not only shows your thinking ahead, but you can see where you fit into the future plans and how you can help make them successful.
If the owner can’t answer this, you may want to reconsider your application once you leave the interview.
What opportunity for advancement is there under this brand?
If the owner can’t tell you what it looks like to advance in this role, you know already that your position will be stagnant and stuck in place.
However, if the owner can layout for you what advancement looks like, you are dealing with someone who is forward-thinking with plans to make something great, while bringing those with them to greatness as well.
How do I compare with other coaches that you’ve interviewed?
This question takes balls to ask.
The interviewer will either feel uncomfortable discussing it or will appreciate your bluntness.
At worst, they will not call you back because they felt timid at this point, at best, they will like that you’re so forward, you’ll get to see what you’re up against and you’ll have the ability to address anything that may seem like a shortcoming on your end so you can better position yourself.
It’s your choice to ask this one, but before you do weigh out the risk/reward.
If you’re ready to take the next step and get interviews, post your profile now on BarbellJobs so you can be among the thousands of other coaches that are being handpicked for interviews all over the country by the top facilities who have access to the profiles. If you’re an employer not already using profile access, it’s time to make a smart move.
