There are three types of questions I teach all of my career coaching clients to ask when they are in an interview. These three questions are especially important when you’re in those final stage interviews with higher-ups. If you ask these critical questions, you are going to be seen as more intelligent, more engaging, and the candidate who will give them the return on the investment they’re looking for if they hire you.
At the end of your next job interview, make sure you ask the following three questions so you can stand out as the best candidate for the job.
1. A Connection Question
When you get to the end of the interview and the hiring manager says, “Do you have any questions?” the first type of question you want to ask is a connection question. This type of question allows you to ask them about their experience at the company. Here are some examples:
- How did you get your job here?
- What do you like most about working here?
- What’s the most impactful part of your job?
I particularly like the connection question around how they ended up in their job and what they like most about it because it gives the hiring manager a chance to talk about their own professional journey and people enjoy sharing that.
2. A Question About The Company’s Challenges
The second type of question you want to ask should be about the company’s difficulties and challenges. Here are some examples:
- What is the greatest challenge your department will face this year?
- What do you think is the biggest challenge the company will face this year?
Then, you end the question with this:
- And how will the role that I am interviewing for help overcome that challenge?
- And how would the job I’d be doing positively impact overcoming that challenge?
By asking this type of question, you’re saying, “I get it. You’re hiring me to solve problems and alleviate pain. So tell me about the big challenges.” In fact, I’ve even coached people to say:
- Can you tell me the one thing that’s keeping you up at night with respect to the business? And how will the job that I’m doing help with that?
No matter how you phrase it, this type of question lets the hiring manager vent and talk about what concerns them, and it also gives you the framework of what you would need to do in order to succeed in the role.
3. A Question About Next Steps In the Process
The third and final type of question that is so important to ask in a job interview is about the next steps in the process. Here are some examples:
- Can you tell me what the next steps in this hiring process process are?
- Can you tell me what I can expect going forward in this hiring process?
- Can you tell me how you feel about me as a candidate for this role? And is there anything else you feel I could provide for you that would help me stand out? Because I’m really interested in the job.
This closing question is all about you getting to the bottom of what to expect (managing your own expectations), and the hiring manager should be able to frame that out for you.
I’ve given you a few different examples of how to ask these questions because everyone has to find their own voice. So, at the end of your next job interview, remember to ask these three types of questions (we’ll call them the three Cs), and ask them in a way that feels right to you:
- Connection question
- Challenge question
- Closing question
When you ask these questions consistently, you’re going to see much better results from your interviews. I guarantee it.
Good luck, and go get ’em!
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