There is a reason behind every single job that gets posted… a VERY important reason.  You want to know this information if at all possible when planning your interview strategy.  In some cases, it might even lessen your interest in the role.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to see the future and say no to a job that would have otherwise been years of therapy, set backs and suffering?

There are 4 key scenarios driving most job openings and you can glean a wealth of valuable information by understanding “the why” behind them.  Unless you’ve already been a senior leader responsible for team design and staffing models, this may not even be on your radar.  To gain the edge, take advantage of that magic moment when your interviewer asks you if you have any questions:

 “I was really excited to hear about this opportunity and was curious why you need to hire another person.  Is your company experiencing some growth?”

Response types (the 4 why’s):

1. Growth – Yes, company is doing great and needs more help which creates space for you.
2. Promotion – Actually, someone got promoted to a better position which creates space for you.
3. Vacancy – Well, someone unfortunately left the company which creates space for you.
4. Termination – We had to let someone go, but that makes space for you.

Reading between the lines:

Let’s translate those responses according to the most common job type: the production based position.  Most companies determine when to hire another employee based on the demand for their product/service and how many employees are needed to meet that demand (build it, transport it, market it, sell it, improve it, etc.)  For example, the staffing model at ‘Fun Frost’ says that 1 person can serve 137 snow cones per day.  If the company is selling 2000 snow cones per day, they need 14ish people making them.  So when you’re wrapping up your interview at Fun Frost and ask your interviewer why they’re hiring a new snow cone scooper, here’s what their responses might tell you:

1. Growth – Awesome, a prosperous employer can offer more job security and opportunity.  (They sometimes pay better as well.)  Growth is the answer that should leave you feeling ooey-gooey happy inside. Ask follow-up questions like:
   • How long do people in this position typically stay with the company? 
   • Is there advancement opportunity? 
   • What are the company’s goals for growth over the next few years?
2. Promotion – Even better!  This is the best evidence you could ask for that there is potential for advancement in this role.  Be impressed when you hear this and ask about the last person in the role. 
   • What made them so successful?  This can be a roadmap for your future success as well!
   • How often do positions like that come open?
   • Does the company usually hire internally for roles like that?
   • Caution:  Don’t overdo it.  If you ask too much about a promotion from a job you don’t even have yet, the interviewer may view you as entitled (and assume you think you should own the company after your first 6 weeks.)  Get this job first, then work with your new boss on planning your career path.
3. Vacancy – Hmmm, small red flag.  Is there a reason people are leaving?  The generic answer is that the person got the opportunity of a life time and they’ll be missed.  Insider tip:  Some companies will say that no matter what actually happened.  They may even force a departing employee to write a farewell email or give a speech announcing that they are leaving due to a better opportunity.  It’s completely possible there actually was a better offer or maybe the person had just a small issue with the company… but also possible they may have literally tried to burn the building down on their way out due to how poorly they were treated.  The point is that you will not get reliable info from your interviewer on the specifics of why someone left.  What should you do instead?  I’m so glad you asked! 
   • Ask for details on team structure such as how many people are on it.  Then jump online later and look for reviews on the company.  See if you can find anyone in the same or similar position and see how they felt.  Generally, only bad things get posted online so don’t be surprised if you don’t read anything good.  However, if you find 14 awful reviews in the last year (and there are only 10 people on the team) all saying they’d rather work in an overseas sweatshop than for your soon-to-be new boss, YIKES!!! 
   • Ask how long people stay with the company in this role on average.  It’s a great indicator of how enjoyable this job is going to be and if people generally move up or out of the company.  Its also more pleasant than asking what the turnover rate is.  That question can put an interviewer in a bad mood (unless they have a really low turnover rate that they’re proud of… not likely).
4. Termination – Uh-oh, need more info.  This is a great place to talk about expectations with your potential boss.  You can find out how a normal employee would avoid the same fate by learning what a normal employee versus a great employee looks like, and how performance is measured.
   • Ask what a normal day of production looks like for this company’s average worker.  Is that a good rate for that type of work or do they feel it’s pretty easy and more could be done?  How much do the top performers, the superstars, produce?
   • If everyone else was serving 137 snow cones and hour and Phil was only serving 29, that’s actually a good reason to let Phil go. 
   • If everyone else was serving 137 and you know you can do 150-200 from prior snow cone work, you are set up to be the superstar!
   • If the expectation is 137 snow cones an hour and everyone eventually gets fired because there’s no way a human can possibly serve 137 snow cones in an hour… maybe you don’t want to serve snow cones for a living (or at least not at this particular employer).

There’s always a reason

There is always a story to be told about a job posting and the reason I can say that with the utmost confidence is:

Employees Are Expensive!

Payroll is the number one expense in most companies (unless they’re using robots).  More expense = less profit, so businesses put a smorgasbord of controls in place to ensure only the minimum needed staff are hired. The hiring manager most likely had to: write a lengthy justification for the position, use it to convince at least 3 other leaders to approve the cost, and possibly even repeat the process a few times if the justification wasn’t persuasive enough.  The bottom line is that the hiring manager you’re interviewing with likely went through hell to get the job approved and absolutely knows why they have an opening. They probably have a small novel about “the why,” so if you aren’t getting an answer you’re either asking the wrong person or they are deliberately being evasive (red flag!) 

Now that you know that there is always a story behind a job opening and how valuable it is, you can ask about it with confidence. It’s easy to ask for and can serve as a crystal ball for your potential future with a new employer. You are interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you and this one little question can set you up for a bright future, or possibly save you years of pain.  An insider knows how to make this process work for them instead of against them, and now you do too!