Page 29 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

THE RULES OF THE GAME

Ask for the Job

Another bold approach is to use your opportunity for questions to
actually ask for the job:

Everything in this interview tells me that my qualifications and experi-
ence are a good fit for the job responsibilities you have outlined. It’s a
job I would very much like to be offered. Would you recommend me for
the job?

Now, the purpose of the question is not to get a direct answer. You’re
not going to have the interviewer say, “You got it! When would you
like to start?” Unless you are talking to the owner of a small busi-
ness, there are steps to go through and processes to honor. The inter-
viewer will probably say that there are other candidates to consider,
etc., etc. Don’t worry about it. Your point has been made. You have
demonstrated enthusiasm and confidence. If two applicants are
equally qualified and one has asked for the job and the other one
hasn’t, whom would you hire?

If you don’t ask questions in the interview, many recruiters will
wonder if you would avoid asking questions on the job. If an inter-
viewer sets up a scenario for a technical candidate, and the candi-
date doesn’t ask qualifying questions, the interviewer often wonders
if that is how he or she would approach any assignment. These inter-
viewers may well wonder, “Is this person letting ego get in the way
of asking the hard questions? Does he (or she) play on a team or play
against the team?” Interviewers learn as much from the candidate’s
questions and his or her thought process as you (the candidate) can
from the answers.

Here’s another wrinkle. Recruiters expect candidates to ask
enough questions to form an opinion about whether they want the
job. If you don’t ask enough questions, recruiters who may other-
wise be willing to make you an offer may nevertheless reject you
because they have no confidence you know what you would be get-
ting into. At the end of the day, the interviewer has to feel satisfied
that the candidate has enough information on which to make a deci-
sion in case an offer is extended. Open-ended questions that generate
information-rich answers signal to most interviewers that they are

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