Has this ever happened to you? You’ve been invited to interview for a great job, and you’ve been given an address, date and time. But on the way there, you get lost, only to discover that you don’t have a phone number to call to get directions. Or you remembered to bring the main number for the company, but you don’t know who you were meeting with, you so don’t know who to ask for to tell them you’re running late. Or you arrive at an enormous building, only to realize you don’t know what floor or room number you should go to. Or you weren’t able to prepare properly, because you applied for several positions at the same company and you weren’t told which position they wanted to interview you for.

When we get that all-important phone call asking us to come for an interview, we tend to get so excited that we forget to ask important questions that can prevent these disasters. Here’s a handy list to keep by your phone, so that you can get all of the information you need, in addition to date, time and address:

1. Which position are you interviewing for?

If you applied for more than one position, it’s understandable that you’d like to know which position they’d like to talk to you about—just ask politely. This can have the added advantage that if a hiring manager knows they’ve got a qualified candidate coming who applied for multiple positions, they might save time by interviewing you for multiple positions.

2. With whom will you be meeting?

You can’t assume that the hiring manager will be interviewing you personally, especially at a large company. It’s important to know the name of the person or people who will be interviewing you, so that you can notify them if you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment. You can also prepare by researching those individuals ahead of time so that you are aware of their title and career history.

3. What number should you call if you need to reschedule?

This is particularly important if you are going to be interviewing with a large company. You’ll need to be able to reach people directly if something comes up.

4. Is there a room number or suite number where you will be meeting?

With a large corporate building, it’s not enough to know the building address; you’ll need to know the floor or room number as well.

5. Should you park by the building? Is it a paid lot?

In smaller towns where all parking lots are free, this might not be an important question, but in a large metropolitan area, it’s important to know where to park, or you might be late simply because you were hunting for parking. The person who calls you will likely know the best place to park, and whether you will need parking money or not.


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