The 1 Thing You Must Do In Every Job Interview
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The One Thing You Must Do In Every Job Interview
There are many that make the fatal error of not asking a question at an interview.
*Keep In Mind *
By not asking questions, you are telling the interviewer you aren’t truly interested in learning more, in creating value, and in the company. Another issues is that they can’t hire an otherwise very-well-qualified candidate because, in the lack of questions, the interviewee displays a lack of passion for, interest in, and curiosity about the company and the position.
The most important thing you must do in every interview is to ask great questions.
The key is to ask great questions- not to ask questions that you should know the answers to already (“What does the position entail?) or questions that make it all about you (“What is your vacation policy?”)
Here are 9 great questions you can use or make your own on your next job interview. Obviously they’re generic and should be tailored based on circumstances:
1) Who would make the ideal candidate for this position?
2) How will the work I’ll be doing contribute to the organization’s mission?
3) What were the best things about the last person who held this position?
4) What are three ways I can contribute to the company beyond the job description?
5) How can I best contribute to the department’s goals?
6) How do you see me best contributing to the corporate culture and morale?
7) What do you see as the biggest challenges of working here and how can I overcome those challenges?
8) What is your vision for where the company or department will be in one year? In 3-5 years?
9) How can I best help you and the team succeed?
Of course, the more research you do in advance, the more you can ask specific questions about the company’s recent news, blog posts, product launches, plans, etc. But here’s the bottom line:
Ask questions that demonstrate genuine interest in the organization and how you can fit in to their success.
Remember, also, job interviewing is a two-way-street! By asking questions, you can get a much better sense of the organization you’re interviewing at, and the extent to which you’d even want to work there.
An interview is just like a date. A date is a two way street– where both parties are seeing if it is a right fit. The dater who talks and talks, even if they’re a good match, seems disinterested in the other person. It’s the same with interviewing. Show that you are invested and interested in the person, by asking questions.
Job seekers that come in not only with great answers, but with great questions, excite the potential employers about the prospects of hiring them. And hopefully, they can get some great answers from them, and get excited about the prospects of working there as well.
Article by-Dave Kerpen-CEO, Likeable Local, NY Times Best-Selling Author & Keynote Speaker
This is very good information I plan to utilize this in future interviews, good planning ahead of time is the key to success. I want to do well where ever I go and I hope to show this to future employers. Bringing your best into everything you do makes life more satisfying.
I always draw a blank in interviews when they ask if I have any questions!
I have done a few interviews in my life, but I’m always having trouble thinking of questions to ask them. I think it might be lack of experience/nerves. So thanks a lot for posting, this will come in handy!
Thanks for the great question suggestions. I have been asked if I had questions and always drawn a blank.
I always draw a blank when I am asked if I have any questions. Thank you for the list of question suggestions.
During interviews I always thought it was rude to ask questions since I was the one being interviewed not the other way around.
If you feel it is rude to ask during always ask after. It is not rude. Think about it like this, they’re needing to fill a position and you are needing to be hired. It is expensive to train, and recruit. It takes time and manpower. So when they get someone in there they should be happy with the position for a significant period of time. The best way to cut down on turn over is to get information. You get information by asking questions. So ask questions in the beginning so you don’t have to quit months down the road because it just wasn’t a good fit.
I’ve never really had issues, when it comes to interviews. Tho, this blog is a good reminder of questions you should and shouldn’t ask when in an interview. There are times you may freeze up or completely forget what your talking about, during the interview. I think the best way to do this is practice. When a person prepares questions for their “interviewer” and practices them the easier it will become
That’s great. Motivate and encourage others. Pay-it-forward as they say. You are right on target with your comments.
Wow! How very convenient that I’m having an interview tomorrow morning to be a lifeguard at the YMCA! Thank you for these great tips. I’ll keep them in mind :).
Glad to be a help. Give us a call and let us know how it went we love to hear about those sort of things.
I never used to ask question when going into an interview, but I did at my last one. I was able to get the hiring manager to talk more than I did. After she hired me she told me that the fact that I was able to make her do a majority of the talking was intriguing to her and it is now something she looks for in the interviews she conducts.
This is a great lesson to others. There are times when candidates are over looked simply because they don’t ask questions. You are interviewing them as well, that is important to remember.
I never know what to ask.
Look at the job posting before hand, study it. Also, look at the company website and begin to develop questions based off of what you lack in information from those pieces.
This is some really good pointers for anyone to use!
This was a very good reminder of questions that come up in an interview. I feel this will help better prepare students for future jobs.
When I am interviewing I tend to think of it like I’m interviewing them as well to see if it’s the right fit for myself. I don’t want to work at a place that I don’t feel like I can be myself and be comfortable.
Awesome! It is very important that you do that.
Those are some really helpful questions. I find that asking questions at an interview is always the hardest part for me.
That is understandable. Career Services offers Mock Interviews to students as well as graduates. It is important to prepare and practice for everything.
I think the services offered by the school are really supportive of us. Also, these are good questions to practice with in front of the mirror or out loud, so, you(I) can learn to say them in your(my) own words. I am defiantly going to use some of them in my future job(s) interview(s).
thank you for the awesome advice! I will for sure use the question method in future interviews
Although these are most commonly asked questions, I have an interview last week and the ONLY common statement I was given was to “Tell me a little about yourself”. Yes other questions were asked but it just comes to show that one should always be prepared for the most unruly caught off guard questions.
This is one thing i need to get better at for the future. Thank you for the help!
I have an interview tomorrow, this is great info. I will ask some of these questions.
Glad to know!
Hope it helped. Thank you for the comment.
I’ve heard that you should ask questions, but knowing what to actually ask was kind of difficult to think of. This really helps out, thank you!