Page 154 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

CHAPTER 10

DEFENSIVE QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS THAT LET YOU KNOW
WHAT YOU’RE GETTING INTO
AND PROTECT YOU FROM
MAKING A MISTAKE

Defensive questions are designed to make sure you want the job. By
this time, the organization has either offered you the job or expressed
a strong interest in your qualifications. Relish it. You will never be in
a position of greater strength. Now is the time to ask the tough ques-
tions that will give you the information on which you can make the
best decision for your career.

Even if you are unemployed, resist the temptation to take the job
just because it is offered. You may be in the frying pan now, but the
fire is surely hotter if you accept a job you don’t fully understand.
Honor your identity and ask away.

While you never want to ask questions that spoil your rapport with
the interviewer, make it clear that you expect candid answers to your
queries. Actually, there is an advantage to being real at this point.
Most interviewers expect you to look out for your interests. If you
can’t speak up for your own interests, they will figure, how can you
be expected to speak out for the best interests of the organization?

Here is where your research protects your interests. You need to
know why the company is losing money, why the incumbent quit,

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