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Career Development
How to Master the Art of
Interviewing
The Prudent Use of Questions
Beware: An interview will quickly disintegrate
into an interrogation or monologue unless you ask some high quality
questions of your own. Candidate questions are the lifeblood of any
successful interview, because they:
- Create dialogue, which will not only enable
the two of you to learn more about each other, but will help you
visualize what it'll be like working together once you've been
hired;
- Clarify your understanding of the company
and the position responsibilities;
- Indicate your grasp of the fundamental
issues discussed so far;
- Reveal your ability to probe beyond the
superficial; and
- Challenge the employer to reveal his or her
own depth of knowledge, or commitment to the job.
Your questions should always be slanted in such
a way as to show empathy, interest, or understanding of the employer's
needs. After all, the reason you're interviewing is because the
employer's company has some piece of work which needs to be completed,
or a problem that needs correcting. Here are some questions that have
proven to be very effective:
- What's the most important issue facing your
department?
- How can I help you accomplish this
objective?
- How long has it been since you first
identified this need?
- How long have you been trying to correct it?
- Have you tried using your present staff to
get the job done? What was the result?
- What other means have you used? For example,
have you brought in independent contractors, or temporary help, or
employees borrowed from other departments? Or have you recently
hired people who haven't worked out?
- Is there any particular skill or attitude
you feel is critical to getting the job done?
- Is there a unique aspect of my background
that you'd like to exploit in order to help accomplish your
objectives?
Questions like these will not only give you a
sense of the company's goals and priorities, they'll indicate to the
interviewer your concern for satisfying the company's objectives.
< Previous Page • Next Page
> Give it Some Thought
How to Master the Art of Interviewing
> How to Master the Art of
Interviewing
> The Other
Fundamentals
> Basic Interviewing Strategy
> Don't Talk
Yourself Out of a Job
> The Prudent Use of Questions
> Give It Some
Thought
> Money, Money, Money
> Some Questions You Can Count On
> Wrapping it Up
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