An interesting observation of candidates I’ve interviewed– it’s been about 50/50 between those candidates who ask questions during the interview and those that don’t.
One of the things I love about a candidate asking questions during an interview is that it shows genuine interest. Even if the candidate has already heard the answer, or maybe asked the question of another interviewer, it never hurts to get another perspective.
But there’s one question that is solid gold, and I have yet to hear it. I’ve made it a habit to ask this question when I’m in the candidate’s position. The question: Does any doubt remain that I would be a good fit for this position?
Boom.
Likely that you caught the interviewer off guard with that one. I could see some interviewers not liking this kind of direct question asked by a candidate. But I think the pros of asking it far outweight the cons, and I’m usually willing to take the risk. You should be too.
Think about it for a minute.
The interviewer, out of politeness, is not likely to say ‘I don’t think that question is appropriate.’ Or ignore it. They have to answer, and the only two options are ‘yes’ and ‘no’.
If the interviewer answers ‘yes’, well then, you have a chance to probe a bit further and use your mad interviewing skillz to try to reconcile that doubt.
If the interviewer answers ‘no’, you have the job, right?
Not necessarily. But that’s the fun part about this. You have a chance to ask this of all your interviewers… you can get consensus, and then you can use that consensus to your advantage. Build on previous responses to this query in subsequent interviews, and wrap this up at the end of the day with an explosive close that is the last thing the company will hear from you before they call to offer you that job.