I’ve recently been involved in the recruitment of a mid-level manager in an organization I’m involved with. That got me thinking (always a good way to prepare for anything):

What questions are reasonable to ask? There are rules of course, but what kind of questions is it OK for the prospective new employee to ask.

There are all the professional questions. But you should also be interested in what kind of a workplace you are potentially entering.

I think a good question is: What kind of employee benefits do you offer? And why those?

The added question is important. I am not interested in knowing that you offer all the fruit I can eat. That is not what will decide if I want to take the job.

But it does make a difference if company A offers free coffee. And company B offers me all the water and electricity I will need to brew coffee on the brewer I have to bring myself, using coffee grounds that I will have to buy myself.

And it would be interesting to hear a manager reflect on why they offer free yoga, coffee or whatever.

I think it says a lot about how employees are viewed in a company.