Now, Do You Have Any Questions for Us? Ten Flawless Interview Questions

Now, Do You Have Any Questions for Us?

Now, Do You Have Any Questions for Us?

Ten Flawless Interview Questions

In job interviews today, the questions you ask are at least as important as the questions you answer. Unfortunately, recruiters and job coaches lament, few candidates go into a job interview prepared to ask three to five intelligent questions framed to advance their candidacy.

That would be a big mistake if you were interviewing with Janice Bryant Howroyd, president of Torrance, CA-based ACT, the largest minority owned employment service in the country. Her first question after greeting the job seeker is:

What is your understanding of our meeting today?

But it's just a preamble to the real kicker:

I would now like you to ask me three questions.

"I learn a lot more about people by allowing them to ask me what they want to know than by having them tell me what they think I want to know," she says. "The candidates I most admire insist on being full partners in the selection process."

To be a full partner in the selection process means questioning the very assumptions about every aspect of the job interview. This article considers the point when the interviewer leans forward and says, "Now, do you have any questions for us?" Forget everything you ever thought you knew about why you ask questions.

With the infinite resources of the Internet available to you, there is little need to ask questions that merely elicit facts. Much better to ask questions that demonstrate you are a superstar committed to staying the course and ready to add value from day one. It's much better to think of questions as another platform for you to demonstrate your qualifications, reinforce your commitment, and ask for the job.

Here are ten of the strongest questions candidates have actually asked:

What's the most important thing I can do to help within the first 90 days of my employment?

What exactly does this company value the most and how do you think my work for you will further these values?

In what areas could your team use a little polishing in?

Am I going to be a mentor or will I be mentored?

Who are the "coolest" people on my team? What makes him or her "cool? Can I meet them?

What do you see in me? What are my strongest assets and weaknesses?

Do you have any concerns that I need to clear up in order to be the top candidate?

What kinds of processes are in place to help me work collaboratively?

Do team members typically eat lunch together or do they typically eat at their desks?

This position sounds like something I'd really like to do and I know that your endorsement is key to my receiving an offer. May I have your endorsement?

Not for the faint of heart, are they? But, then again, neither is getting a job.

Think strategically. The first question not only tells you what the hiring manager considers his or her top priority, but sets up the expectation that you will hit the ground running. Questions 8 and 9 ask for objections. Yes, it takes a certain amount of confidence to ask for objections, but every salesperson knows that only stated objections can be addressed. Unstated objections will sink you every time. The last questionasking for the jobmay be the most powerful of them all. When two candidates have equal qualifications, the one who asks for the job will get it.

Now, Do You Have Any Questions for Us? Ten Flawless Interview Questions

By: John Kador

POST COMMENT

How to Answer Initial Interview Questions How To Pass the Final Interview For A Call Center Position Interview Questions You Need To Nail - What Would Your Previous Manager Say About You Preparing For A J2ee Interview 7 Questions That You Should Ask During Your Interview Job Interview Questions difficult interview questions Interview Questions You Need to NAIL - What Would Your Previous Manager Say About You What Is The Best Type Of Men's Suit To Wear On Interview? How To Answer Initial Interview Questions How To Pass The Final Interview For A Call Center Position Preparing For The Interview Students Talk About Job: Discrimination In Interview Struggling