Page 45 - 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview, Second Edition

THE RULES OF THE GAME

rate teams. What I might not have emphasized is that I coordinated
the teams. At the height of the project, there were sixty-five developers
across the four teams all reporting to me in a matrix structure. In the
end, under my supervision, the teams succeeded in launching a strate-
gic product on time and on budget. Does that speak to your concern?

Note how the candidate seeks to understand if the response moder-
ated the objection. If not, try again.

Even if your experience is light in some area, it may not be fatal.
Try to find out what percentage of the job that requirement repre-
sents. Then attack the gap head-on with something like:

I am willing to put in extra time to come up to speed in this area. Would
that help?

If so, ask for the job:

I understand the challenges of the job, and I believe I have the experi-
ence to take them on. I would very much like to start doing this impor-
tant work.

Before leaving the interview, thank the employer for taking the
time to talk to you about the position. Follow up with a personal
thank-you note to the employer, stating once again why you’d be an
asset to the company and expressing your interest in the position.

15. Don’t Ask Questions That Are Irrelevant to the Job
or Organization

Another awkward moment comes when the interviewer challenges
your question with something like, “Now, why on earth would you
want to know that?”

In the same way that you can respond to an interviewer’s illegal
questions with, “I fail to see what that question has to do with my
ability to do the job,” don’t give the interviewer an excuse to apply
a similar phrase to your question. To be safe, make sure that every
question can pass this test: does the answer to your question shed
light on the job, the company, and its desirability as a workplace? If
not, the question is irrelevant.

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