What Is the Most Important Question You Should Ask In the Interview?

Most candidates interpret good conversation or politeness as an endorsement or a favorable vote.

When I ask many job seekers which questions are most important in the interview, I receive lots of answers, such as:

• Why is this position open?
• Is this a new position or a replacement?
• What are you looking for in this position?
• What are the long-term potentials of the position?
• What are the next steps in the process?
• What would you like someone to start?

There are books that suggest hundreds of possible questions to ask during the interview - about the company, the future of the department, strategic vision, etc.

But rarely do I hear from job seekers, a question that seeks direct feedback of how they are doing in the interview in real time. I find it surprising that most candidates told me that they never even thought of asking the question.

Most candidates interpret good conversation or politeness as an endorsement or a favorable vote. They prefer to assume that everything went great and then wait at home, hoping for the next steps in the process.

When no one calls or returns their calls, and time drags on, they begin to second guess how they did in the interview or what they said or, perhaps, even the agenda of the manager. Stories and excuses begin to form in their minds, in order to rationalize why they are not moving forward in the process. It can be a very frustrating and demoralizing experience.

So, as I coach, I teach candidates how to close the interview properly, by asking key questions. One of those questions is based on a simple "sales" technique - you must ask the tough questions, in order to uncover objections and see where you stand.

When the interviewer gives you a negative response or expresses concern, it gives you the opportunity to address it, while you are there. Since an interview is really a selling situation, uncovering any issues is the best thing you can do at the end of the interview. Once you know the issues or concerns, you can probe for clarification, address the issue, outweigh the weakness or clarify a previous comment.

The question is this:

Mr. Manager, is there anything I said today, or anything in my background that would prevent you from recommending me for this position? If there is, could I at least have a chance to talk about it while I’m here today?

Candidates have relayed back to me that this question has often surfaced information the interviewer may have misunderstood, and/or given the candidates opportunities to address perceived weaknesses with more information.

If the manager is hiding an answer from you it will be obvious from his facial expressions or hesitation. If it looks good, the answer will be quick and positive.If there is a concern, they often will bring it up and say something like “we were thinking of looking for someone little more like this” or “I'm not sure I see you as a proper fit for the job in this area”. This will require you to probe deeper to understand the real issue.

Now you have a chance to summarize your appropriate background and try to outweigh or resolve such a weakness, rather than going home with no understanding of how you did in the interview. Many times, the things you choose to emphasize as strengths or skills in the interview, may cause the interviewer to perceive weakness in other areas.

Asking this direct question gives you a chance to recover, and to fully assess how well you're doing in this interview. It also demonstrates maturity and an ability to communicate, even when the topic could be negative or uncomfortable. So always ask this important question with courage. A direct answer is your friend.

A positive answer and a quick response confirms you may have interviewed well and you are qualified. Other answers will help you refine your interview technique.

In all cases, you come out a winner in understanding what your status is for this particular job opportunity and you can proceed to close or strategize for the next step with this knowledge. Good luck and good interviewing.

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About the Author: Howard Cattie is Head Coach of CareerOyster, an innovative online career coaching firm. CareerOyster helps job seekers learn powerful and effective resume writing and winning job interview skills with products such as ResumeCoach and InterviewCoach. To get started, and to get your free video career advice and job search tips newsletter, visit https://www.careeroyster.com.

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