Sunday, April 11, 2004
Society of Broadcast Engineers, inc.
Newsletter Article Submittal
Hello
:
If your local or
national members of, Society of Broadcast Engineers, inc., would benefit from the following
career-related article, please feel free to publish in your association’s news
letter, e-zine or website.
Permission to print
intact including ending attribution box.
Category: career and
job-search tips
Title: For Interview
Success Start by Asking the Right Questions
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For Interview Success Start by Asking the Right Questions
Often the greatest
interview anxiety focuses on trying to anticipate all the correct answers to
interview questions. Equally important,
however, are the questions YOU ask the interviewer. If job interviews are getting you no closer
to an offer, maybe you are not asking the right questions.
There are three types of questions that help
jobseekers gain interview advantage:
·
Questions to
uncover the interviewer’s top hiring motives
·
Questions to
illustrate the candidate’s interest and intelligence
·
Questions to
uncover the interviewer’s unspoken concerns
1. Questions to uncover the interviewer’s top hiring motives
You’ll answer the interviewer’s questions better once you know his/her particular hiring concerns. Here are examples of questions that will help you “get inside the head” of the interviewer:
·
What do you
see as the toughest challenge of this position?
·
What qualities
do you see as most important for this position?
·
Why have
others failed in this position?
Once you’ve asked any or all of the above questions, listen very closely. The first thing the interviewer says reveals his/her truest feelings. Use this information as insight for answering his/her questions to you. After all, what is an interview but a sales presentation? Any salesperson will tell you that you cannot sell until you know what the buyer wants.
2. Questions that illustrate your interest and intelligence
Did you know that an
intelligent question can impress an interviewer even more than a snap answer?
The best types of
questions to showcase your intelligence and interest come out of your research
of the company and industry. You may
want to ask questions concerning:
·
Strategy for
reaching a specific niche market
·
The company’s
long-range goals
·
Territorial
expansion plans
Granted, some
information may be deemed confidential. If you begin your inquiry with, “Can
you tell me...” you give the interviewer an out if he/she cannot speak on the
subject. Either way, you get the
opportunity to impress the interviewer with your intelligent curiosity about
corporate goals and plans.
Remember,
pre-interview research is the key to forming insightful questions. Never try to “wing your way” through an
interview without finding out facts ahead of time. Some good sources for research include:
·
Online
searches using search engines such as Google or Yahoo
·
Public library
reference materials
·
Company
website
·
Press
releases
If you’ve been
out-performed in interviews lately, try this strategy and see if you don’t get
called back for second interviews more often.
3. Question to uncover the interviewer’s unspoken concerns.
As you sense your
interview winding down, don’t forget to find out what issues or concerns the
interviewer has concerning you as a good candidate fit. Don’t make the assumption that the
interviewer will volunteer his/her concern.
Nine times out of ten they won’t.
If you don’t ask, the interviewer won’t tell you his negative
perceptions of you. The most
straightforward way to find out is just to ask:
·
“What concerns
do you have that prevent you from asking me back for the second interview?”
·
“What concerns
... that prevent you from offering me the position?”
Once you’ve asked this question, be still and listen closely to how the interviewer responds. Pay attention to body language as well. If the interviewer says “I have no concerns,” while averting his eyes, or touching his face, it’s a sure sign the interviewer DOES have concerns but is reluctant to state them. If so, a little gentle prying is in order as long as you don’t make the interviewer too uncomfortable.
Once the interviewer
has stated his concerns, use the opportunity to answer with one of your
previously thought out success stories that illustrate your ability to meet or
exceed his expectations.
If you’ve done your
pre-interview homework and conducted a little role-play practice, using these
three types of questions in your next interview will help you reach your career
objective faster. Here’s hoping you get
a chance very soon to try out all three of these types of questions in an
interview.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deborah Walker, CCMC
Resume Writer ~
Career Coach
Find resume and
job-search tips in the article archive at www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Email:
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you
Deborah Walker, CCMC
888-828-0814
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com