|
Jonathan Kwan, Principal at Kwantum Leap, shares some important job interview advice on how to ask the right questions at your job interview.
Ideal interviews are ones where you and the interviewer(s) are carrying a normal conversation.
Both parties take turns asking and answering questions within the flow of the conversation, and
you don't feel like you’re part of an interrogation. While you may not have the opportunity to
ask questions in the middle of the interview, you will always be given at least a few minutes at
the end.
Most people now know that asking good questions is a key part of the interview. Asking the
right type of questions can definitely leave the interviewer with a great impression about you.
|
But what are good questions to ask? Here are 3 rules to keep in mind:
1. Only ask questions you genuinely want to know the answer to
This first rule may sound basic, but it is violated over 50% of the time. An experienced
interviewer has heard virtually every question there is, especially from the younger candidate
pool. We can tell almost immediately whether someone told you to ask that question to
impress us, or whether you really want to know the answer. Not genuine = lose points and
credibility.
"What does your company do in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility?" If we haven't
talked once about CSR during the interview, and this is how the question is posed to me, I
would immediately be skeptical. Why does this person want to know about CSR all of a
sudden? Are they just trying to impress me with the latest corporate mumbo jumbo? Do they
even know what CSR means??
2. Don't ask open-ended questions; try to be as specific as possible
Interviewers have to follow a fairly strict timeline, especially if they are talking to multiple
candidates in one day. When it comes time to have you ask questions, the last thing we want
to do is have to use our brains and think really hard. That will annoy us more than impress us.
Bad examples: "What’s the one thing that you love about your job that makes you get out of
bed each morning?" "What’s the company culture like?"
3. Always start your question with a bit of a preamble
If you follow Rule #3, you will almost always adhere to Rule #1 & #2. Stated another way,
don't simply jump in and ask your question right off the bat. Start by giving a bit of a
description of what you know about the subject of your question. Tell us what you have read,
what you've heard, your opinion on the matter, or what others have told you, and then ask
your question.
|
|
Following this format will give you the opportunity to bring up all the research you've done
ahead of time and maybe even get some credit for it. By giving a preamble, you've also
automatically made the question more specific. Finally, if you've shown me the lengths of your
research and your interest in the topic, you will come across much more genuine and sincere.
Now, if you truly are interested in the corporate culture, here's a better way you could ask the
question. "I read on your company's website that integrity and respect for others are 2 of your
most important values. Speaking to previous interns, they also echoed similar thoughts. How
do these values translate into the everyday culture in the workplace?"
Here, you've shown the interviewer that you really care about this topic. You've not only done
research from the website, but have also gone out of your way to talk to other interns that
have worked for us. Finally, the question is much more specific by asking me to comment on
integrity and respect for others, not just company culture in general which can mean so many
different things.
A final point to keep in mind, in addition to the 3 rules…Try not to ask "selfish" questions,
questions that are only about you, what's in it for you. "What are the working hours like?"
"Will there be any overseas opportunities during this internship?" "What is the training
program like?"
If you want to impress someone, the last thing you want to do is simply talk about yourself, and
ask questions that only you care about. If you want to leave a lasting impression, try to ask
questions that they will care about. Find out about their interests, their challenges, their ideas.
Obviously, keep it professional, and try to never put the interviewers in an embarrassing
situation (e.g. talking about a recent corporate scandal that has been in the news). It's not
about you, it's about them.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
|
Jonathan Kwan is a Principal at Kwantum Leap, and a career coach focused specifically on
helping youth. Previously, he spent 8 years travelling the globe as a management consultant, and
also ran the campus recruiting program for his company. He holds a MBA (INSEAD) and a
Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo.
You can find more information and
tips at www.kwantumleap.sg and on Facebook - www.facebook.com/kwantumleap
| |
|
|
|
