20 avoidable problems every company encounters

20 avoidable problems every company encounters20 avoidable problems every company encounters0Chances are you have several colleagues and friends who work at medium to large-sized companies. If you were to poll them, asking what problems they encounter on a daily basis, you might be shocked by how similar the answers are.There appears to be a natural state of existence that companies drift towards as they grow- no matter the industry. I cant say exactly why that is, but it likely includes an underlying social-technological dynamic.Ive seen these problems first-hand and heard about them over and over again throughout my career. Between jobs, I decided to write out a list of the 20 most common, yet seemingly avoidable, issues every company faces as it grows.When I joined the team at Morphic Therapeutic, we had a unique opportunity since we were starting from scratch. I wondered, Could we build certain elements in the culture? Could we prevent a number of these problems down the road if we addressed them upfront and wove the solutions into the cultural fabric?I cant say weve solved for each and every issue- or even tried to- but we seem to have made ur own unique dent.This is ur list. See if they have any benefit for you.1. People Dont Talk To Each OtherIt never ceases to amaze me that for all the technology and open-plan offices, it can still be so difficult to get people to talk to each other. Different departments can feel like entirely different communities, even though they only operate 40 feet away from each other.Were so used to sticking with ur group that we often get in the habit of ignoring the people we dont normally interact with.At my previous company, the commercial team was only probably 50 yards away on the other side of the elevators. One week, the coffee machine in the executive section of the office broke, so I had to walk that 50 yards to the next closest coffee machine. I ended up saying Hi to people I literally had not seen in six months.Follo w Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraAt Morphic, I tried to head this off by bringing everyone together once a week and giving each rolle 90 seconds to talk about what theyre working on and what problems they have. Its not about solving the problems then and there, but making sure everyone has a good idea of what other people are working on so they can help, if possible.As our team continues to grow, were once again being tested to come up with new processes.2. Too Much EmailCompanies that rely on email for communication quickly reach a point where inboxes fill up faster than they can be checked. Inefficiency reigns. People cc team members on email threads with reckless abandon and constantly check on urgent messages, which can begin to take up significant amounts of daylight.Thats why I knew our team needed a different system. We decided to use Slack instead, and its clearly the better path. Yes, people still use email in some situations, but the majority of internal communication is done on Slack channels. Plus, the format increases transparency and is much more user-friendly and easy to follow than an email chain. It is possible to reduce email traffic to a virtual standstill.3. Too Many MeetingsIm not necessarily anti-meeting, in the way some people are- I dont see them as a total waste of time. In multi-disciplinary situations, a productive meeting is synonymous with work. You bring diverse people together, and they figure things out.The problem with most meetings is that theyre dominated by presentations. Bullet points on a slide simply arent the best way to get information across, yet a slideshow often takes up the majority of the meeting, leaving people with little time to ask questions and discuss the topic.Its much better to write out information in a document form, providing all the clarity and context your team needs to understand whats going on. People can read the document beforehand and come to the meeting ready to have productive discussions. This practice can change your culture completely.4. Not Enough TransparencyA team can usually handle unpopular decisions, as long as they understand the rationale behind them. If theyre kept in the dark, and it looks as though each decision is arbitrary, thats when theyll begin to lose faith in leadership.For now, our leadership errs on the side of transparency. By making things as transparent as possible, we let people figure things out on their own. Rules and policies cant account for all situations.By making information available, you let everyone write their own narrative.Transparency can be a ersatzdarsteller-edged sword, however. Younger employees who arent as familiar with the cycle of ups and downs in any company may end up feeling like theyre on an emotional roller coaster if theyre always looped in on whats happening. This may cause you to lose people.Still, if you can decide as a management team that youre all in this roller coaster together, then the benefits of keeping people in the know outweigh any emotional cycles.5. Supporting SmugnessOne of the unfortunate side-effects of success is that it often leads to overconfidence, even arrogance. Over time, someone who is continually successful will begin to think thats just the natural state of things. It becomes increasingly difficult for them to believe they were lucky, rather than smart. Or even that luck played some role in their success.If your team falls into that trap, youre leaving yourself open to being blindsided at any moment. Theres not much to be gained by being overconfident, but its an inevitable part of success that youll experience at some point.The only thing you can do is continue to stay humble, build effective governing processes, and reflect on the process that got you this far- which brings me to our next problem.6. Not Understanding A ProcessOftentimes, people tend to focus on outcom es, rather than process. If an outcome was bad, then the decision-making process must have been bad. And if the outcome was good, well, that must have been a great decision.The problem is, you may have just been lucky. A bad process can still lead to a good outcome. And unfortunately, that means if you continue following that process, its highly unlikely youll get another good outcome.Its always better to focus on the process rather than the outcome. One way to do this is by documenting your assumptions before you make a decision. That way, you have a record of whether you were thinking clearly, or you just lucked out. You cant look back and say, I knew it all along, when your words show that you had no idea what would happen.7. Designing Processes For The 1% Bad Apples, Rather Than The MassesAs companies grow, they often begin putting rules and regulations in place in an effort to prevent mistakes from happening.For instance, fraud in expense accounts is a common concern. Preventin g that from happening will certainly save the company some money, but you have to realize youre really designing that process for the 1% of people who may be dishonest and take advantage of the system. And it often comes at a huge cost for 99% of people who dont need that regulation but are now burdened with it.This starts to get unwieldy very quickly.The more you can build trust within your organization, the better. Bad things are going to happen, and you should have processes in place to stop catastrophic events. But you should also be cognizant of what rules and regulations youre placing on people who never needed them in the first place.8. Dont Get Corrupted By The PitchWhether youre looking for customers, investors, or even talented employees, youre always pitching something. Usually, the pitch boils down to one simple fact you can solve something that others cant.You need to be very careful that your pitch matches your teams abilities. You still have to be honest about what yo u can and cant do.Its easy to fall into a trap of promising things to people, assuming youll be able to accomplish them when in reality, you dont know that for sure. This is essentially the story ofTheranos and Elizabeth Holmes. Once you convince yourself what youre doing is for a good cause, it becomes easy to press ahead and ignore the warning signs. At some point, youre no longer able to distinguish marketing from reality.9. Reacting To Fear Disproportionately To OpportunityAfter a while, most companies begin to focus on preserving what they have. Success is something to be maintained rather than built upon, or, as history shows, cannibalized by another product.Although there are exceptions, like Apples iPhone draining the market for iPods, companies generally avoid that type of revamp to their product line. Most of the time, theyll only begin to change as a reaction to fear, not opportunity. They wont act until a competitor starts doing something that eats into their market shar e.In other words Dont fear like Blockbuster innovate like Netflix.10. Forecasting Is Heavy On The Internal ViewTheres always an internal and external view.If you want to get the external view of how much product youll sell, then begin looking at the sales numbers of another similar product. And build from that baseline.The internal view starts at a different place. It uses a bottom-up analysis. In many cases, it assumes rosy outcomes and ignores the history of other products or companies. The market is X. If we own 2% of the market, then our sales will be Y.Those number may add up, but that doesnt mean they reflect reality or can predict what will actually happen. You still have to take into account the external view and see how those gel.11. Preferring The Dumbed Down Version Of ThingsInformation tends to get dumbed down as it moves up the chain of command. Theres often a perception that everything has to be simplified for management. The reality is that you dont have to simplify i nformation- you just need to clarify it.That might mean actually adding more context to what youre sending. For instance, if I sent you step-by-step instructions on how to get from your house to mine, you may be able to follow it. But if you were able to see a map of the entire neighborhood along with those instructions, youd have a much better idea of the route.Instead of dumbing things down, think about them carefully and then describe them in a way that provides the necessary context and clarity for good decision-making.12. Heavy Approval ProcessWhen a company is small, the decision-making processes are very fluid. Its fairly simple to change direction or get approval when you need it. As companies grow, they almost always operate more slowly.A good portion of our team came to us from large pharmaceutical companies, and were doing drug discovery in a similar way to what a large company might. Yet our timelines are much shorter.Its the same people, same equipment, same approach- b ut as a smaller company, we arent held back by convoluted processes. Decisions get made in a much more fluid process.13. Being Afraid To Give FeedbackPeople are generally very afraid to speak up and give feedback at work, especially when they have to say something negative.Its not easy to be the person who raises an issue, and the anxiety only increases if theres even a small chance you might be blamed for it. No one wants to be associated with a major problem. Of course, that reluctance to give feedback is a problem in itself.Issues have to be raised quickly so they can be corrected. Otherwise, theyll linger and cause greater damage later on.14. Only Celebrating People Who Put Out FiresThe thing about consistent high performance is that it tends to look somewhat boring after awhile. Its actually easier than youd think to overlook someone who is quietly doing a good job week after week.Instead, promotions and recognition often go to people who storm around putting out fires. Staying late into the night every day for two weeks in reservierung to fix something may look heroic, but that shouldnt necessarily be celebrated at the expense of the people who dont have to put out fires because they never let one start in the first place.15. Prioritization Of Processes Over PeopleAs companies grow and hone in on their core product, they tend to become more and more efficient at focusing on that one offering. They build processes to streamline their approach and concentrate heavily on making it better and better.Unfortunately, the world is complicated and changes very rapidly. If you look at the SP 500 from 1900 to the present, GE is the only company still on it. And even that legendary company has been struggling lately.Companies are not robust. People are. If you want to be capable of adapting to change, you have to hire the right people and let them drive the approach. The belastung thing you want to do is hire smart people and dumb them down to fit your process. Stev e Jobs probably said it bestIt doesnt make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.16. Mistaking Confidence For CompetenceThe people who rise within a company tend to be confident. Theyre loud, they present well, they speak directly. They have the look of a leader.Oddly enough, the more confident someone is in themselves, the less knowledge they usually share. People who are actually experts come off as unassuming and less assertive, mostly because they recognize the nuance involved in the decisions they make.Businesses often end up hiring and promoting the most confident employees, even though their confidence may be misguided.17. Having A Work Self And A Home SelfWhen your team is at work, you want them to be incredibly focused on the job. And when theyre at home, you dont want them worrying about work.Yet Id hesitate to use the term work-life balance. That implies your work and the rest of your life are separate spac es that never overlap. In reality, everyone benefits when people bring their unique talents and interests to their job. Theres no reason to check emotions at the door when you walk into work.18. Dont Bring Me A Problem, Bring Me A Solution.That sentence is the common wisdom I hear over and over in the business world- and it drives me crazy.Why is the person who notices a problem automatically the best person to have a solution to it? Sure, maybe they can find a solution, but maybe its going to take the rest of the team to figure it out. Maybe someone else has the necessary expertise.As a CEO, even if Im not being presented with a solution, I would much rather learn about a problem than not hear about. Telling someone to bring you solutions is actually an incentive for them not to bring problems to your attention.Why would they if they dont have a solution for it?19. Consensus Decision-MakingIn a big company, doing anything often requires getting a lot of different people to say, yes . All it takes is one person saying, no, and your idea is done.The problem with that is when you need consensus, you tend to revert to the mean. If you need ten different people to sign off on a hire, the person you choose has to be acceptable to everyone. Which means there may be nothing wrong with them, but there may also be nothing right with them either.You see this watering down happen all the time in big companies because in order for an idea to work its way through the system, it has to be stripped of all its interesting- yet potentially objectionable- elements.20. Establishing A Non-Rigorous Promotion ProcessThe system for promotion in any company makes a strong statement about what the leadership team values. If someone who has known the boss for a long time gets promoted on that bias, that tells everyone else something. Namely, knowing the boss is the key to getting promoted.Companies ought to be promoting based on skills. You want people to believe theyre working in a mer itocracy where their skills and their efforts will be rewarded. You can talk all day about culture and happy hours and company parties, but none of that will matter at all if youre promoting the wrong people.Promotions are essentially a keystone skill. So much of your success will flow from getting them right, that you literally cant afford to get them wrong.This article first appeared on Quora.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Understand the Military Retirement Pay System

Understand the Military Retirement Pay SystemUnderstand the Military Retirement Pay SystemIn recent years, the military retirement system has become a bit more complicated. Here are some basics to help you understand what to expect. Who Is a Retired Military Member? For Navy and Marine Corps members, you are considered to be a retired member for classificationpurposes if you are an enlisted member with over 30 years tafelgeschirr, or a warrant or commissioned officer. Enlisted Navy and Marine Corps members with less than 30 years tafelgeschirr are transferred to the Fleet Reserve/Fleet Marine Corps Reserve and their pay is referred to as retainer pay. Air Force and Army members with over 20 years tafelgeschirr are all classified as retired and receive retired pay. When a Navy or Marine Corps member completes 30 years, including time on the retired rolls in receipt of retainer pay, the Fleet Reserve status is changed to retired status, and they begin receiving retired pay. The law treats retired pay and retainer pay exactly the same way. Military retirement pay is unlike civilian retirement pay systems. You either qualify for retirement by honorably serving over 20 years in the military, or you do not. Military Retirees Being Recalled to Active Duty Another significant difference between military retirement and civilian retirement is that a retired military member can be recalled to active duty. The chances that a military retiree would be recalled to active duty after age 60, or who have been retired for more than five years, are slim. DOD categorizes retirees into three categories, with category I as the most likely to be recalled to active duty, and category III as the least likely. Individuals over the age of 60 are in category III, which is the same category as individuals with disabilities. Recall of category III retires is extremely unlikely. Military Retirement Pay Computation For members who entered active duty or on prior to neunter monat d es jahres 8, 1980, retired pay amounts are determined by multiplying your tafelgeschirr factor (normally referred to as your multiplier) by your active duty base pay at the time of retirement. If you entered active duty after September 8, 1980, the base pay is the average of the highest 36 months of active duty base pay received. Additionally, your initial (first) cost-of-living adjustment will be reduced by 1 percent. The multiplier for the above two plans is 2.5 percent (up to a maximum of 75 percent). For example, a person who entered active duty on or before September 8, 1980, and spent 22 years on active duty, would receive 55 percent of his/her base pay as retirement or retainer pay. A person who entered active duty after September 8, 1980, and spent 22 years on active duty, would receive 55 percent of the average of the highest 36 months of active duty base pay. If you are a commissioned officer or an enlisted with prior commissioned service, you must have at least 10 years o f commissioned service to retire at your commissioned rank. If you have less than 10 years of commissioned service, and voluntarily retire, you retire at your enlisted rank, and only the highest 36 months of active duty enlisted base pay counts for retirement computation. Newer Military Members Retirement There is a third retirement system for anyone who joined the military on or after achter monat des jahres 1, 1986. These individuals are required to make a decision at the 15-year point of their careers. They can elect to participate in the same retirement program above, or they can choose to receive an immediate monetary bonus ($30,000), andselectthe REDUX system. If they elect the REDUX system, the factor is determined by taking 2 1/2 percent times your years of service then reducing that factor by 1 percent point for each year less than 30 years. Using the same examples as above, a person with 22 years ofactive dutyservice would retire at 47 percent of the average of their h ighest 36 months of base pay. The REDUX ends at age 62, and the individual then begins to receive his/her normal retirement pay. Additionally, folks who elect REDUX will have their annual cost of living allowance reduced by 1 percent. At age 62, those percentage points are added back to the retired pay, however. How Years of Service Are Calculated For all plans, years of service includes credit for each full month of service as one-twelfth of a year. Years of service for officers includes all active service, periods of inactive reserve service prior to June 1, 1958, ROTC active duty time prior to October 13, 1964, constructive service credit for Medical and Dental Corps, and drills performed while in the inactive reserve after May 31, 1958. Years of service for Fleet Reservists and all other enlisted retirements include all active service, active duty for training performed after August 9, 1956, any constructive service earned for a minority or short-term enlistment completed pr ior to December 31, 1977, and includes drills performed while in the Active Reserves. The Tower Amendment Your pay will be computed according to provisions of the Tower Amendment if it applies to your situation. The Tower Amendment was enacted to ensure that you will not receive a lesser amount of retired pay than you would have received if you had retired on a prior date, because of arecentretired pay cost-of-living (COL) adjustment. In the past, there were times where the retiree COL exceeded the annual militarypay raise, which would have resulted in more pay, had the member retired prior to the COL date. The Tower eligibility date is usually the day prior to the effective date of an active duty pay increase. Tower pay is computed by utilizing the active duty pay rates in effect on that date, your rank/rate on that date, total service accumulated on that date, and all applicable cost-of-living increases. For example, assume a member at the rank of E-8 with 22 years, 7 months s ervice on June 30, 2000. The members pay would be computed as follows 2 1/2 percent x 22.58 years 56.45 percent56.45 percent x $3,119.40January 1, 2000 active duty rate for an E-8 over 22 yrs $1,760.90 Since the E-8 was eligible to retire on December 31, 1999, Defense Financing and Accounting Services would also compute the entitlement as of that date. The E-8 has 22 years, 1 month of service as of December 31, 1999. The pay would be computed as follows 2 1/2 percent x 22.08 55.20 percent55.20 percent x $2,976.60 (1/1/99 active duty rate for an E-8 over 21 yrs) $1,643.00 2 percent (COL Increase) $1675.00 In thissituation, this retiree would receive monthly retainer pay of $1791.00 since the Tower Amendment computations are not more beneficial than the current pay computation. Disability Retirement If you have been found to be physically unfit for further military service and meet certain standards specified by law, you will be granted disability retirement. Military member s with 20 or more years of active service can retire, regardless of the percentage level of disability, if they are found to be unfit and removed from the service by reason of physical disability. People with less than 20 years of active service at the time they are removed from the service by reason of physical disability may be either separated or retired, based on the following If you have a disability that is rated by the military disability evaluation system at 20 percent or lower, you can be discharged (most likely with severance pay, unless the condition existed prior to service and was not permanently aggravated by service or misconduct is involved). Those who are separated for disability may be eligible for monthly disability compensation from theVeterans Administration. If the condition is rated at or above 30 percent, and other conditions are met, you will be disabilityretired. Your disability retirement may betemporaryorpermanent. If temporary, your status should be reso lved within a five-year period. The amount of your disability retired pay is determined by one of three methods The first method is to multiply yourmultiplier by your base pay or the average of highest 36 months of active duty pay at the time of retirement by the percentage of disability which has been assigned. However, the minimum percentagefortemporary disability retirees will equal 50 percent. The maximum percentage for any schrift of retirement is 75 percent.The second method is to multiply only your years of active service at the time of your retirement by 2.5 percent by your base pay or the average of highest 36 months of active duty pay at the time of retirement. The third method applies to you if you were eligible to retire/transfer under any other law. DFAS will compute your entitlements using both methods above, and use the one which results in the greatest amount of retired pay. If you desire that another methodisused, you may request it in writing. The difference betwee n temporary and permanent disability is the stability of the medical condition. Ifyour condition is not deemed stable, you may be placed on the TDRL (temporary disability retirement list). When on the TDRL, you are subject to reevaluation every 18 months and limited to 5 years max on the TDRL. At the 5 year point, if not sooner during a re-eval, you are removed from the TDRL and either found fit, permanently retired, or discharged with severance pay. Veterans Administration Disability Compensation Dont confuse VA Disability Compensation with Military DisabilityRetirement Pay. They are two separate animals. The VA uses completely different standards for determining service-connected disability than the military uses for its disability retirement system. All retiring members who believe they have a service-connected disability can apply for VA benefits prior to, or after retirement. If you are eligible, a service-connected disability is established. While you are required to relin quish military retirement pay on a $1 to $1 ratio in order to receive VA Disability pay, the following benefits accrue as a result of VA compensation VA compensation is nontaxableVA approved disability gives you a priority admittance to VA hospitals for medical treatment for your disabilityVA outpatient facilities are available for treatment of your disabilityIf you die as a result of the service-connected disability, your surviving spouse is eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the VAEven a rating by VA of 0 percent (although of no monetary benefit) documents your physical condition as service-connected.A rating by VA of 30 percent or higher allows you to receive additional tax-free allowances for your dependents. Annual cost-of-living increases to your compensation amount.VA disability percentage (and VA compensation) can be increased, based on a request and approval of reevaluation, resulting in increased tax-free compensation.The possibilityof purchasing up to $10,000 of National Service Life Insurance without a physical exam. If you are awarded VA compensation, the gross amount of the compensation is deducted from your retired pay. Special Compensation for Severely Disabled Certain severely disabled retirees of the uniform services that have a disability rating as reported by theDepartment of Veterans Affairs(VA) are entitled to special compensation. The special compensation is paid for that month in accordance with the following schedule 70 or 80 percent $10090 percent $200100 percent $300 You must meet the following requirements for entitlement to special compensation for severely disabled You are not retired from the military for a disability.You are in a retired status and on the retiredpayrolls. Members recalled for morethan30 days to active duty are not in a retired status.You have 20 or more years of service for the purpose of computing retired pay. A reservist must have 7,200 or more points to qualify.The VA rating for disability of m70 percent or higher must be awarded within 4 years of retirement.The VA rating must be 70 percent or higher for each month. If the rating falls below 70 percent any given month, then the retiree has no entitlement to special compensation for that month. When and How You Get Paid Unlike active duty pay, retired/retainer pay is only paid once per month. Your net retired/retainer pay should be sent to your financial institution by direct deposit unless you reside in a foreign country, which direct deposit is not available. Your retired pay will be deposited to your account on the first business day of the month following the end of the month. Your first payment for retired pay normally will arrive 30 days after your release from active duty, or, on the first business day of the month following the month of first entitlement to pay. In a separate mailing, you will receive a letter which will show you how your pay was computed. Foreign Employment Any applican t who accepts employment with a foreign government without approval is subject to havingreserveor retired pay withheld for the period of unauthorized employment. If you are retired and contemplating employment by a foreign government, you must obtain approval from the Secretary of the service concerned and the Secretary of State. Federal Civil ServiceRetirement If you retire from themilitary and are retired/retiring from Federal Civil Service, you can elect to waiveyour military retired pay in order to include your military service in the computation of your civil service annuity. However, for retired reservists, this is true only if you are service retired years of service or disability retired. If you are age retired (age 60) then there is no waiver or offset. If you choose to do so, you need to notify DFAS, in writing, at least 60 days prior to your planned civilian retirement date. It is suggested that you contact your civilian personnel office prior to the submission of you r waiver request to ensure that you are aware of all the available options. If you elect survivor coverage from your civil service annuity, your military survivor benefit plan (SBP) participation will be suspended while you receive the civil service annuity. If you want to retain military SBP you may do so, but you must then decline survivor annuity from the Office of Personnel Management. If your pay is subject to court-ordered distribution, you must authorize an allotment in an amount equal to the distribution, in order to include military service in the civil service annuity computation. Taxation of Military Retirement Pay In most cases, retired pay is fully taxable. The amount of taxable income is reduced by SBP costs and any waiver for VA compensation or deduction for dual compensation (federal civil service employment). The amount deducted from your pay for federal withholding tax is based on the number of exemptions you indicate on either your pay data form or your W-4 af ter retirement. State tax withholding is on a voluntary basis and must be in whole dollar amounts. $10 is the minimum monthly amount. Before making your request in writing, you must contact the taxing authority in the state in which you have established residence to determine if you are required to pay state income tax. Retired/retainer pay is not subject to FICA (Social Security) deductions, nor is your retired pay reduced when you become entitled to social security payments. Garnishments/Withholdings Unlike active duty pay, military retired/retainer pay cannot be garnished for commercial debts (i.e. credit cards, automobile loans,etc.) Military retirement pay can, however, be garnished for alimony,child support, IRS Tax Levies, and debts owed to the government (i.e.student loans, PX/BX Deferred Payment delinquencies, Officer/NCO Club payment delinquencies,etc.) Additionally, under the provisions of theUniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA), state courts maytr eat military retired pay as joint property between the member and the spouse during divorce proceedings. Visit the DFASwebsitefor more information.

Interview questions candidates should ask

Interview questions candidates should askInterview questions candidates should askThe questions you ask during an bewerberbewerbungsgesprch often determine whether you get the job.Weve all been there. Its the point in the job vorstellungsgesprch when youve answered every question thrown at you in a pointed, authoritative, relevant manner.Now, do you have any questions for me? the interviewer asks.This is the make-or-break moment of the interview, say experts, especially in a market with mora candidates than jobs. Its your chance to demonstrate your insight into the organization at which youre interviewing, your industry acumen, your communications and people skills, and your desire for the job.The worst thing you could do in an interview - other than passing gas - is to say, I dont have any questions - youve answered them all, said Mitch Beck, president of Crossroads Consulting, an executive search firm and employment agency. Who wants to work with somebody who doesnt have any in quiries about the company? It shows that you have no brains.Its your last chance to win over the interviewer, and this scenario puts pressure on the candidate to enter the interview prepared to ask thoughtful, focused questions of their own, said Cheryl Palmer, a certified executive career coach and the founder of Call to Career, a firm that provides C-level executives with career coaching and resume- writing services.Thats your last opportunity to really show to that employer, Yes, Im the best candidate for the job, Palmer said. I always advise people to do their homework and to work any information theyve gleaned from their research into their questions so that they really come across as well-prepared candidates.Good questionJ.B Bryant is president of Strategic Alignment Group, a management consultant that helps businesses identify their competitive advantage. He said job hunters should look at the questions they ask during an interview as their opportunity to create a distinct competitive advantage.Something has to set you apart, more so, maybe, in this economy, because the employers are churning through so many potential people, he said.A stahlkammer way to impress an interviewer is to know everything there is to know about the company, the industry and the interviewer themselvesKnow everything you can about a company before you interview, Beck said. Do a simple thing like Google the person you are going to interview with.The questions you bring to an interview help the employer determine whether you are a good fit for the company, but they also help determine whether the company is a good fit for you.Prospective employees may be tempted to take any job port in an economic storm, especially if they have been job hunting for an extended period of time, but a bad fit wont benefit anyone in the long run.I think its helpful for candidates being interviewed to come up with good, thoughtful questions that are going to accomplish two purposes, Palmer said. They need to be able to demonstrate to that potential boss that they have really thought about the job and have some good, probing questions. But they also need to ask questions that will help them determine whether or not this is going to work out.Beck went further, emphasizing that the interview is the prospective employers opportunity to convince you that the company will be a good fit for your needs. The interview is also a chance for the job seeker to turn the tables and get more information out of the employer.Remember that an interview is a two-way street, Beck said. You have to convince the person who is interviewing you that they need to hire you. But remember Youre not there to beg. They need to convince you just as much as you need to convince them.Accordingly, one of the most important questions to ask during an interview relates to expectations, Bryant said.In my experience, expectations are not communicated very clearly, he said. Most people - at every level - come in, a nd there seem to be an awful lot of assumptions being made, both on the new employee side and on the employer side. You hear people say that it takes six months to get integrated into a company and to really be productive. Well, it doesnt need to. If you dont ask anything else, find out what the expectations are.Bad questionWorse than silence are bad questions that a prospective employer can not answer demonstrate your ignorance or worse, offend the interviewer that it eliminates a job seeker from consideration.There are some questions that have always been taboo during an interview - rushing into questions about salary, for example. But have any questions become no-nos since the economic downturn? No, experts said. The rules are pretty much the same as always.The rules are the same - its just that ( the questions) count more than ever before, said Call to Careers Palmer. Thats not to say that it was OK to ask about salary ( during an interview) before and now its not. It simply m eans that everything is much more serious because of the competitiveness of the job market. So, things that an employer might have overlooked before are really, really going to be a big deal now because you have so many qualified candidates looking for the same position.Stay away from questions that arent going to help you any, said Crossroads Consultings Beck. Getting into somebodys personal life is really of no interest. Asking whether someone is pro- or anti-Obama is not a good question to ask. I would stay away from questions about salary. I would stay away from questions about benefits. You want to ask questions that are relevant to the job and to the opportunity that you are being presented with.Bryant said its important for prospective employees to use their intuition to help determine which questions will resonate positively with interviewers.You need to feel out the personality of the person youre interviewing with, said Bryant. Are you going to ask, Are there any disciplin e issues with my (potential) direct reports? before you even get the job? That might be seen as meddling. But, Where did my predecessor leave off? Thats perfectly acceptable to ask in an interview.