Page 145 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

THE QUESTION LIFE CYCLE

interviewer by asking him or her questions that ultimately get to the
WIIFT. It’s a great way to show that you did your homework on the
person and the department with which you’re interviewing, and how
you see your role adding value for that interviewer. Be ready with
responses to his or her answers that show how you will add value.
All WIIFT questions include some statement about how the can-
didate can help the interviewer or some form of the question: How
could I be of most help to you?

“Structure questions that show specific interest in the company
or the interviewer,” Cucuzza says. There’s a difference between
questions that can be easily answered from additional research on
the company and well-thought-out questions that dive several lay-
ers deeper into the company and its strategy. An example of a basic
question: “I see that the company has recently gone through leader-
ship changes. What do you think about that?” An example of a bet-
ter question: “I see that Frank Pierson was recently named general
manager. I know he came to your company from Honeywell. How
do you think operations will receive Honeywell’s Six Sigma method-
ology, which I understand is different from the Six Sigma paradigm
this company is used to?”

Finally, Cucuzza says, the candidate must be ready to “respond
to the responses” rather than listening to the answer and moving on.
“If a good question is asked, and the candidate just doesn’t say any-
thing after being given the answer, the interview will become awk-
ward and the candidate will appear weak,” she says.

TWENTY BEST QUESTIONS ABOUT
THE POSITION

9-15
May I see a job description? What are the most important responsibili-
ties of the job?
A good place to start is to ask for a job description.

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