What is the Most Important Question You Can Ask in a Job Interview?
Saturday, July 10, 2010 Over the decades I have asked many job seekers which questions are most important in the interview. Many answers come out, such as:
- Why is this position open?
- Is this a new position or a replacement?
- What are you looking for in this position?
- What are the long-term potentials of the position?
- What are the next steps in the process?
- What would you like someone to start?
Books have hundreds of questions to ask during the job interview about the company, the future of the department etc. But I don't often see, and rarely hear from job seekers, a question that seeks direct feedback of how you are doing in real time. Surprisingly, most candidates never think of asking it. Most candidates interpret good conversation or politeness as an endorsement or a favorable vote. They prefer to assume that everything went great and then wait at home hoping for the next steps in the process. When no one calls or returns their calls, and time drags on, they then begin to second-guess about how they interviewed, what they said, or perhaps the agenda of the manager. Stories and excuses begin to form in order to rationalize why they are not moving forward in the hiring process. It is a very frustrating experience.
So as I coach job seekers on how to close a job interview properly using a four question technique, it is this question that surprises them. It's based on the sales cycle where you must ask the tough questions in order to see where you stand. A “no” or a “concern” can be your best friend because it gives you a chance to address it while you are there. Since a job interview is a selling situation, finding out any issues is the best thing you can do near the end of the job interview. Once you know them, you can probe for clarification, address the issue, outweigh the weakness or clarify a previous comment.
So the Question to ask is:
“Mr. Manager, is there anything I said today or anything in my background that would prevent you from recommending me for this position? If there is, could I at least have a chance to talk about it while I’m here today?”
Candidates have relayed to me that this question has often surfaced misconceptions, miscommunications and/or opportunities to address weaknesses with more information. If the manager is hiding an answer from you it will be obvious from his facial expressions or hesitation. If it looks good, the answer will be quick and positive. If there is a concern, they often will bring it up and say something like “we were thinking of looking for someone little more like this” or “I'm not sure I see you as a proper fit for the job in this area”. This will require you to probe deeper to understand the real issue.
Now you have a chance to summarize your appropriate background and try to outweigh or resolve such a weakness rather than going home and being put into the reject pile with no explanation of where you fell short. Many times during the job interview, you may be emphasizing one point of your background and strengths at the expense of another, or inadvertently fail to address a negative answer or weakness. Asking this question gives you a chance to recover and to really assess how well you're doing in this job interview.
Asking this important question shows maturity and the ability to communicate even when the topic could be negative or uncomfortable. So always ask this question with courage. A direct answer is your friend. A positive answer and a quick response confirms you may have interviewed well and you are qualified. Other answers will help you refine your interview technique. Either way, you come out a winner in understanding what your status is for this particular job opportunity and you can proceed to close or strategize for the next appropriate step with this knowledge. Good luck and good interviewing.
Howard J Cattie
Founder and Head Coach of CareerOyster
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