Are You Sabotaging your Interview with This One Mistake?

Most people prepare for their job interview by preparing a professional outfit, paying attention to their appearance and grooming, and practicing their answers to interview questions. However, many of these same well-prepared interviewees are forgetting to prepare for a critical part of the interview – the part where they ask you if you have any questions for them. Ignoring this critical step in the interview process may just cost you the job.

When you fail to ask any questions you send the interviewer one of these messages – none of them positive.

Impression: You are unprepared

Not asking questions may leave the impression that you did not take time in advance to prepare for the interview. Failing to ask questions makes you look as though you conducted no research on the company or industry.

Solution:

Research the company and learn about its product, its customers, its industry, and its competitors. Once you have your research you can ask questions that demonstrate your knowledge of what is happening in their world, you can show you understand the issues they are facing, and you can discuss your ideas of how you can contribute.

Impression: You are uninterested

When a candidate fails to engage the interviewer and ask questions at the end of the interview, they send the message that they are not interested in the position. One of the reasons hiring manager’s cite for not offering the job is that they are unsure of whether or not the person will accept.

Solution:

Leave no question as to whether or not you are interested in working for the company by asking the interviewer about the company’s culture. You can also show interest by letting them know that you agree with their customer service philosophy or mission statement.

Impression: You are unqualified

If you don’t take advantage of asking questions you may never discover that the interviewer has concerns about your qualifications.

Solution:

Always ask the interviewer a question at the end of the interview such as “Do you see any skills that I may be lacking to excel in this position?” This encourages the interviewer to express any objections they may have and allows you to immediately address and overcome their concerns.

Do you Have Any Questions for Me? Don’t Miss This Interview Opportunity.

When an interview is drawing to a close, the interviewer often says “I don’t have any more questions, but do you have any questions for me?” All too often, interviewees do not take advantage of this golden opportunity to take back a bit of control in the interview. Here are some tips that will help you make the most of this opportunity the next time you are faced with the situation.

• Always ask questions when given the chance. When you do not ask questions in the interview you appear either disinterested or unprepared.

• Often hiring managers do not want to offer a job to someone they do not know whether or not will accept. Use this question session to clearly communicate that you are interested.

• Prepare your questions in advance and write them down. This will be one less thing you need to commit to memory.

• Research the company thoroughly and use your questions to demonstrate your knowledge and preparedness. For example, you may ask “I see that the ABC Company is your biggest competitor. I know they recently launched a new version of the software you both license. What is your strategy to counterbalance this new release?”

• Show interest in the interviewer by asking them what they like about the company, asking about their career path within the company and how they view the company culture. Use their answers to make your assessment of the company climate and whether or not it is a match for you.

• Identify and address any concerns they may have by asking, “Do you see any areas or qualifications where I may be lacking for this position?” This will allow you to overcome their objections and provide additional information about your skills and experience that may not have come up during the interview.

• All questions should relate to the company or the job. Never ask about salary, benefits or time off.

• A few examples of appropriate questions:
* Can you describe a typical day for someone in this position?
* What is the top priority of the person who accepts this job?
* What are the day-to-day expectations and responsibilities of this job?
* What do you think is the greatest threat/opportunity facing the organization in the near future?
* Why did you come to work here? What keeps you here?
* When will you be making your decision, and how will I be notified?