Over at US NEWS and World Report, my friend Alison Green wrote a helpful post titled What To Ask at Your Interview. Her advice and suggestions are great, but she did miss one important question. Can you spot it?
1. Why is this position open?
2. What are the biggest challenges or obstacles the person in this position will face?
3. Can you describe a typical day or week in the position?
4. What would a successful first year in the position look like?
5. How will the success of the person in this position be measured?
6. Thinking back to the person whom you’ve seen do this job best, what made their performance so outstanding?
7. How would you describe the culture here?
8. How would you describe your management style?
9. Are there reservations you have about my fit for the position? (This is a great way to give yourself the chance to tackle any doubts they might have about you—as well as for you to consider whether those doubts might be reasonable and point to a bad fit.)
10. When do you expect to make a hiring decision?
Here is the one question that I think should be asked at the end of each interview: When can I start? Admittedly, this is a hard question to ask and it takes a bit of confidence to be all exposed like this—after all, the answer may well be something the applicant does not want to hear. But if you consider the question as a way to simply check to see how you have done in the interview so far, it might help. The hiring manager will have to be honest with you as a result of this question. It is far better to know their objections while you are still there and can handle them.
23 users commented in " The One Question Applicants Never Ask, But Should. "
I think this question springs from your knowledge of sales. Good question!
Thanks. Maybe so, does it show through that easily? For those who believe this is un realistic, it is simply a How Am I Doing So Far? type of pre closing question.
What’s beautiful is that the interviewer will tell you.
I like it — it’s a much more clever way of getting the answer for question #10.
Of course, a lot depends on the interviewer’s reply to #9. If they’ve just expressed legitimate doubts about you, asking when you can start might not be such a wise move.
[...] (h/t WWDS) [...]
I totally agree with the intention of this closing question. The key for the candidate is to flush out any obstacle (i.e. interviewer concerns) that stand between the applicant and the job offer.
There is a risk that the question could make the insecure interviewer uncomfortable. The best use of this question comes down to how the interview has evolved, as mentioned above. If the interview has gone very well it feels natural that the next step is to discuss start date.
If the candidate asks “When can I start?” and the interviewer does not reply positively, then there is likely a lingering interviewer concern about the candidate.
Bottom line, it is imperative for the candidate to flush out all concerns the interviewer has about the candidate’s ability to do the job.
What a great question! Like most brilliant concepts, it’s simple.
Thanks Brad….coming from you, high praise indeed. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for the compelling post, I will link to it and post about it.
[...] came across a informative post regarding the one question you should ask but no one does in a interview The question is, “when do I start?” I have interviewed perhaps thousands of sales [...]
Awesome, I loved the list of questions.
What about – “What hesitations might you have in offering me the position?” It is a little less presumptive and can open up the dialogue again to help squelch any reasons they may harbor in not hiring you.
i’m an hr director. love the questions but that “when can i start” bs is hokie and annoying. fair warning . . . a lot of manager see through it. to better position yourself have a ton of readily available and specific examples of things you’ve done well.
Hi there:
As a recent job seeker and one still negotiating couple of offers, I was interested to read this article. As much as all these questions are wonderful including the one question you suggested, I never got so much time to ask so many questions. Most I could ask is 3 or 4 that including asking for potential objections and trying to rectify them. It would be awesome if I can get to ask all the questions and have the answers and not running out of time before accepting a job offer.
Good post though, I guess one has to choose a sub set of these important questions in any given interview.
Thanks for a good post.
GK
I think the best closing question is this: Is there anything on my resume or in my background that would preclude me from working for your company? If the answer is no, then the follow up question should be: Great, then when may I start? If the answer is yes, I have concerns about this or that. Then the candidate has a chance to answer those concerns.
Thanks for a great post.
Nah that’s daft. You’d look like a total smart arse.
The 10 questions above are really good, but the last one is risky and smug.
[...] The One Question Applicants Never Ask, But Should. » What Would Dad Say (tags: questions jobsearch jobs job interviews interview interesting career lists reference the) [...]
I am currently int he process of interviews with different companies. I am from the Philippines and usually companies conduct several interviews before the real hiring part. I wanna know what are the usual objectives of each interview? DO you happen to know?
And at what stage should we ask these questions? SHould we ask these during the initial interview? Or in the final interview?
Rather than “When can I start” I like some of the other options presented by some of the comments – like “What objections…” and the one about anything on the resume that would keep me from being hired… What’s worked best for me in the past has been a simple, “What chances to I have of obtaining this job?” It’s fairly simple and direct, and most interviewers will be impressed by it, but won’t be caught off guard by it and think that you’re being presumptuous.
[...] The One Question Applicants Never Ask, But Should. [...]
“When can I start?” or “Would you like for me to start now?” I am 48 yrs old now and I have used that line or something very close to it, but indicating a sense of urgency and confidence and the ability and skills to this particular position most employers see a self motivated employee, ready and willing to work.
I have had 2 jobs in my life and both jobs I had to interview for. I love the interview process. That is a place where you can “sell yourself” and I am really good about that. My personality is outgoing and enthusiastic. Lots of eye contact. No signs of nervousness and complete confidence in yourself.
Never show signs of weakness or being overly nervous. Know what you are applying for. If you lack any skills for any particular position chances are you are going to blow it during the interview or later while in your probation period. Never give false information to be hired. Sometimes, no experience is the best experience. Many employer’s enjoy molding employee’s.
Good luck to everyone looking for employment. Remember a resume is only a tool to highlight in brief you.
Don’t use the resume to get hired. You should be able to sell yourself to the interviewer with the aide of a resume.
Worst question!
You should never ever ever ever ever ever ask that question!
It is cliche and it will not impress the interviewer.
Even if they like you, they will not answer that question.
The best question worded in a polite non-aggressive way is:
Are there any questions about the skills I spoke about or is there any additional information I can give you that will help you make a decision?
9 is a great one to ask. 10 is as far as you should go, you can walk away with a good idea of whats going to happen from there.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Know what is expected of you. I really loved this article. I think so many people are THAT nervous and unprepared in an interview that they forget. Go into an interview thinking- hey, I really want this job- but if it all goes bad… no biggie. You WILL find another. PROMISE. Also – go into an interview with a very suave attitude, it will help you to relax, and help you find the interviewers personality and will help you two get along well.
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