Worker Profile: Interview Questions and Interview Techniques The quality of the questions you ask will have a direct impact on the quality of your finished product. Good questions are open-ended, which means they cannot be answered with one word. Open-ended questions are usually identified with the 5 W/H question words (who, what, where, when, why, and how) but can also begin with other phrases such as "Describe . . .," "Tell mw about . . .," or "Explain . . ." The most important job of a good question is to get the interviewee talking. Concentrating on the "how" and "why" questions should lead your subject to give answers that will be the most useful.
Good questions will elicit detail and inspire other questions: -Describe a typical day at work -How did you arrive in this field or job? Would you choose it again? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? -What are the challenges you face in your job? -An article I read said that one of the challenges in your field is . . .. How does this issue impact you? -In what ways is this career better than others you could have followed? -People have this impression . . .about your career. In what ways is this accurate or inaccurate? -What is something people don't generally know about your field? -In what ways does this career meet needs that you have--like psychological, physical, or spiritual ones? -How do publications or organizations help you in your field? Poor questions may give too few parameters for the response: -So, tell me about your job. -Do you like your job? -Do you read any publications in your field? -Do you go to conferences? -What's the worst thing about your job? -What are the main issues in your field? (This could be a good question as long as you have researched the answer to some extent so you can explore the answer.)