Career hack: Maximize Q&A time to accelerate professional growth

Professional growth is not a spectator sport. Yes, your boss and others have a major influence on when – and how quickly – you are given opportunities for career advancement. However, that doesn’t mean you should passively wait for opportunities. Taking some seemingly small actions can have a big impact.

One area you’re probably overlooking is the value of asking good questions. In my experience, far too many people miss how asking timely, smart questions can help them stand out.

Here are two areas where asking strong questions supports career growth:

1. Positioning yourself with leadership by showing engagement.
2. Building confidence and getting the most out of your job interviews.

???? Positioning yourself with leadership by showing engagement

Especially for younger workers, you might not get many opportunities for exposure with senior leaders on your team or within your organization. However, most good teams schedule time for leaders to present strategies and ask for feedback.

When that happens, you have two options. You can stay quiet and hide, or you can raise your hand and ask something. Contribute to the conversation.

This is an unscientific number, but about 97.5% of people in any given large group meeting I attend will not ask anything during the time held for Q&A. This is a huge missed opportunity. Why? Because leaders often regard the lack of comments or questions as disengagement.

If you choose to ask something or make a comment, you stand out. You show engagement. If you do that a few times and combine it with strong work performance, it will make a difference. You will get asked to join workgroups and take part in projects that others won’t be considered for. You’ll build a reputation as someone who is invested in the team’s work.

So, what should you ask?

Don’t overthink it.

A simple strategy is picking a point from a presentation and asking the speaker to expand on it. For instance, you could ask something along the lines of:

• I’m really intrigued by your second point. How do you to plan to measure our success in this area?
• How well do you think we are doing compared to our competitors on XZY?

Basically, just ask whatever you think would allow the presenter to open up and share more about the topic. Remember that others are probably wondering the same thing.

My only point of caution here is to avoid framing the question in a negative light or putting the leader in a position to be defensive. Tough questions are fine, but they don’t make for a good first impression and are generally best when asked during private meetings. Tread lightly.

In other words, aim for being more of an inquisitive podcast host instead of an investigative reporter.

Here is another way to think about it. This advice is about 80 years old, but still as relevant as ever:

“To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons will enjoy answering. Encourage them to talk about themselves and their accomplishments.” - Dale Carnegie

???? Building confidence and getting the most out of your job interviews

I’m always shocked – and a bit disappointed – when job candidates don’t maximize their Q&A time during interviews and only ask simple, logistical questions. That’s a big miss. For you!

Job interviews should be treated as a two-way street. As much as the company is trying to see whether you are a fit through their interview questions, you should be doing the same with them. You do that by asking them good questions.

For instance, why not ask behavioral-based questions like what they probably asked you?

Here are a couple of questions to try:

• Can you tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team? How did you make the decision, and what was the outcome for your employees?
• Can you tell me about a time when your team came together to tackle an especially tough situation? How did you work together to make it a success?

And so on.

My advice is to come into job interviews with at least four scripted questions to ask. They don’t all need to be behavioral based, but avoid asking questions about a start date, benefits/salary, etc. Those topics should be handled before or after your main interview.

If it’s a panel interview, make sure that everyone weighs in on at least one of your questions. Take as much time to ask questions as they give you. Don’t let anyone hide.

Asking smart questions will show that you are engaged and thinking critically about the role.

Furthermore, asking good questions will help you assess whether the hiring manager and employer are a fit for you. Making a mistake there can lead to a major career setback.

This 2018 Harvard Business Review article sums it up best:

“When interviewees focus on selling themselves, they are likely to forget to ask questions—about the interviewer, the organization, the work—that would make the interviewer feel more engaged and more apt to view the candidate favorably and could help the candidate predict whether the job would provide satisfying work.”

Both sides being engaged? That's truly a win-win.

???? Key takeaways

Asking smart questions in front of people who can influence the direction of your career is an easy way to position yourself for career growth. Never pass up a good Q&A opportunity. Maximize it!

On a personal note, I realize that the recommendations in this article will be hard for shy, introverted people to follow. For years, I rarely asked anything or spoke up during meetings. I had to really work on it, and still do to this day.

What can you do about it?

One strategy for overcoming fear of speaking up is to write out questions you want to ask in advance. Practice them. Get comfortable.

Another strategy is to ask for help from colleagues or mentors on how and when to ask questions. You can also observe people who do it well. Copy their techniques.

Overall, think of becoming adept at asking questions as a skill to practice and develop.