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Questions To Ask At An Interview

23 May 2010

You’re doing well at an interview, it’s drawing to a close and the person firing the questions at you pauses and asks:

‘Do you have any questions for me?’

How do you reply:

a) Um, I don’t have any,

b) You’ve answered all my questions already,

c) Thank you and I do have a couple to ask you….

Of course the correct answer is c), but the others pop up with depressing regularity, which is a pity because asking great questions is a great way to sell yourself. There are points to be had from asking smart questions and here are three of my favourites, to get you thinking:

Q1) Can you tell me what my priorities will be on day one (or for the first three months)?

Q2) Have I answered all our questions, or is there an area you would like me to expand on?

Q3) Do you have any concerns about my application?

The first question is a sneaky one because it looks into the future and invites the interviewer to see us in the job. As they do so, they begin to see what we would be like in action and this can help to confirm in their mind that we are indeed a great candidate. This is a future pacing question and it’s always worth asking, because it gives us useful information and can lead us into a job.

The second question gives us an opportunity to make good any poor answers. If we’ve waffled, or missed a question, we can hand the interviewer a better answer and can score more points. There’s no harm in having a second attempt to get things right, because the interview is our one chance to make a good impression.

Finally, the third question is one that we are often more nervous about asking, because we fear the answer…particularly if we think the interview has gone badly. However, once we’ve left the room and are heading home it can help us to know how realistic are chances are. If the interviewer does have a concern then we might as well hear it when we’re sitting in front of him and can answer it directly. Sorting out concerns is assertive and useful and can only help us out.

As a tip I always suggest people write their choice of questions at the bottom of their notepad so that they don’t have to remember them at the end of a draining hour. Life and interviews don’t have to be a memory.

Our Task For This Week

Have fun asking questions to find out useful information, whether we are at an interview or having a sales meeting. There are more questions in the book Job Hunting 3.0 which is out on 15th June. Click here order your copy from Amazon.

Next Monday – How to build rapport

The difference that makes a difference is our ability to make contact with people and to assert our character. If we can do this well, then it’s amazing how much a interviewer will warm to us and will overlook gaps in our CV. Read the blog next week for some top tips.

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Missed Last Week’s Post?

Last week was all about where to look for work. Click here if you would like to know 20 places.

 

Thank you for reading all the way to the end! Good luck with your job hunting and see you next Monday. If you need help please feel free to contact me here.

Tags: Job Hunting, questioning, tip