Page 177 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

THE QUESTION LIFE CYCLE

12-3
Have I made it perfectly clear that I am extremely interested in secur-
ing this position and joining your organization?
Because the emphasis is on your ability to communicate instead of
getting the job offer, this form of the question is not quite as hard a
close as question 12-2.

12-4
As I understand it, the successful candidate will be someone with X
education, Y qualifications, and Z experience. Do I understand the
opportunity correctly?
Here your purpose is threefold. First, you are testing to see if you
indeed understand the situation. If you missed something, or, more
likely, the interviewer forgot some important requirement, now is the
time to get it right. Second, assuming you summarized the position
correctly, the interviewer is impressed by your organizational skills.
Third, asking for agreement at this point is a strategy for getting the
interviewer into the habit of saying yes. Yes is the answer you want
to the next question, and it’s good to have the interviewer in a yes
mood. That’s because the critical next question is:

12-5
Do I meet the requirements?
Now wait for the response. Don’t crowd the interviewer. That’s the
hard part. The interviewer is making up his or her mind. The answer
will tell you if it is time to close or if you have more persuading to
do. If the interviewer is positive and says that, yes (there’s that word
again), you have all the qualifications, you can now deliver the stron-
gest closing line there is: “I’m glad we agree. I feel that way, too. So I
am certainly interested in receiving your strongest offer.”

12-6
Is there anything personally or professionally that you believe would
prevent my being a solid contributor in this role?
If not, you can assume that the next step is working out the hiring
details. If yes, then you are positioned to address the objection.

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