Tips for Work and Life with Andrew LaCivita The Most Valuable Question To Ask in a Job Interview
Before we get rolling, I want to express I understand many of you struggle with what questions to ask an employer as well as how to ask them.
This part of the interview—when you get to ask your questions—offers a great chance to sell yourself. It's also the most important part of getting the information you need to make a great decision about whether the employer is a good for you.
Good vs. good for you!
There are a lot of questions you need to ask and several areas you need to investigate. Is the company a good company? Is it solid in general? Is it a good company for you?
Even though the company is a good company doesn't mean it's a good company for you! There are a lot of questions that go along with trying to figure this out.
All good things come in 3's
When you ask your questions, you should keep these three goals in mind. Every question should be designed to:
- Sell yourself
- Get the information you need
- Get the information as quickly as possible
The faster you get the information the more time you have to get more information. The more information you have the more informed the decision. The more informed the decision, the better the decision. (Whew! That's a lot of mores!)
A question is never just a question
There is a whole lot that goes into asking your questions, how to organize them, when to use the information and so on. I have an entire free webcast that covers these called 3 Keys to Ace Any Job Interview. See below for details. Go ahead and sign up. I dare ya.
You can protect yourself with your questions
One other aspect I'd like to add regarding why I think this is such a valuable question is it helps you overcome one of the biggest reasons you don't get hired.
A month or so ago, I shot a video and made a blog post titled The Number 1 Reason Why You Do Not Get Hired. The number one reason you don't get hired is not because you lack qualifications. Chances are very good if you're interviewing you're qualified.
It's the job candidates' inability to map how their qualifications align to what the employer needs. Keep that in mind because there is a great chance you can made that misstep in the interview.
What is the question already?
The reason I think this question is a valuable one is because it helps you sell yourself, gets you great information quickly, AND helps you overcome that great obstacle in getting hired.
So, here it is…
"If you were to give me a job offer and I was to accept it, after one year on the job, what would you consider a success? What would success look like to you? Specifically, what will I have accomplished you would consider to be a success?"
Why is this an uber cool question?
This question gives you clarity regarding what the interviewer thinks success looks like.
Now, you can use that insight to reply how you would accomplish that or how your skills or capabilities align to accomplish that success!
You're speaking to exactly how you would to work toward that success and it's what the interview wants and needs to know. Ultimately, interviewers need to answer, "Will this job candidate be successful in the role?"
Wait! There's more!
Here's what else it does. If you ask that question to every single interviewer you might get a slightly different answer. At least now you know what that interviewer thinks success is.
Maybe you're interviewing with various people within the organization and they each have different goals or requirements. Now you can align your answers to how it affects that person and his or her interests. (Let's not worry just yet whether or not all their answers are consistent. That's something you can sort out later. The most important thing while you're in that particular interview is to get that interviewer to like you.)
The reason this question is so powerful is because it surfaces for you what each interviewer thinks success looks like. They make their decisions on what they think, not necessarily reality. This helps you overcome the disparity and makes sure they all want hire you—for whatever their reasons might be. :)
Free Live Job Interviewing Webcast: I'm offering a FREE LIVE WEBCAST titled 3 Keys to Ace Any Job Interview. It comes with great instruction and a nice workbook for note taking. Even more, I have an awesome giveaway when you attend. It's an eBook titled How to Interview the Employer: 75 Great Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Job. There are several times available.
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