Job interviews are an opportunity for you to shine as a great candidate and learn more about the position and the company.  Asking thoughtful questions is a way to do both.  When a potential employer asks you if you have any questions, here are some ideas:

What does an average day look like for someone in this role?

What gets you most excited about the company’s future?

What qualities does someone need to have in order to be really successful in this role or at this company?

Is this a new role being created?  If not, where is the last person who held this job moving on to?

How long have you been with this company?  Has it changed since you’ve been here?  

What’s your favorite part about working here?

Who will I be working with/working for?  Are there other departments that work in close connection with this team?

Don’t ask questions just to ask them.  Listen carefully to the interviewer’s response.  Your genuine interest will impress them as much as your excellent resume and work experience.

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QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.

How awesome would it be to achieve financial independence—meaning, adequate savings to support you for the rest of your life—at a very young age?  It doesn’t require winning the lottery, or hitting oil, or selling your startup for millions.  For the past decade, the growing Early Retirement Extreme movement (also known as the FIRE movement—Financial Independence, Retire Early) has shone a light on how this goal can be reached.

1. Frugality.  Well, obviously, but thought leaders like the popular blogger “Mr. Money Mustache” and Jacob Lund Fisker, author of Early Retirement Extreme, have made an art of keeping expenses lean.  They advocate cutting every possible expense until you’re spending the bare minimum on your car, home, and even food.  Learning to cook, instead of ordering food or eating out, can move the needle.  It’s worth noting that extreme early retirees often end up spending their leisure time doing the exact same things that many people look forward to doing in retirement, such as gardening, walking, or biking.  Most report that spending less only adds to their enjoyment of life, and doesn’t feel like a sacrifice.  They seem to take pleasure in finding creative ways to save money.
2. Save aggressively.  Again, this seems self-evident, but too often people just save what’s “left over.”  Early extreme retirees aim to save as much as 75% of income.  That goal isn’t feasible for everyone, but with some sacrifices and resourcefulness, it may be doable for you.  As Mr. Money Mustache describes, if you can live on one dollar out of every four you make, you’ll save enough to cover three years’ worth of future expenses in just one year.
3. Accumulate savings until your passive income provides enough money for your living expenses in perpetuity.  Having this money in the bank doesn’t mean you can immediately buy a BMW and a McMansion and expect to never work another day in your life.  But if you keep working and living simply, which means saving more, there may be room in your future budget to comfortably afford some well-chosen luxuries.   The FIRE movement suggests waiting until you can truly afford these luxuries—as well as the ongoing costs associated with them—until you’ve got plenty of savings to pay for them.

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QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.

1. Be responsive.  This just means returning an email, call, or text in a timely way.  What if your day is incredibly hectic, and you don’t have enough time to respond to an employer’s detail-heavy text about your working schedule next week?  Send a quick response letting them know you’ll be back in touch when your classes are over at 5 pm.  Then circle back at the promised time.
2. Greet your employer.  It may feel overly formal, but the professional way to start a phone call, begin an interview, or greet your employer when you start work each time is the same:  Hi, name of employer.  In person, make eye contact.
3. Don’t email or text without checking your spelling.  We all use text messages to communicate with friends, so it’s easy to fall into a habit of using shorthand and incorrect grammar.  When communicating with employers, pull yourself out of that habit.  Before hitting send, take a moment to review what you’ve written.  Write full words, not abbreviations.  Even if you’re just communicating about a Friday night babysitting job, you’re also growing your professional network.  The same employer who hires you to watch her 3 kids may have an opening for a great job at her company.
4. Say thank you often.  Every text, email, and phone call should end with you thanking your employer.  Every job should end with a thank you.  There is no better way to make a strong impression than expressing your gratitude.  Saying thank you often is a game-changing professional habit.

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QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.