Page 148 - John Kador - 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview-McGraw-Hill (2002)

CHAPTER 11

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS THAT INDICATE AND

SOLIDIFY YOUR POSITION

Ed Koch, a former New York mayor, made famous this quip: “How’m I
doing?” You should pepper your conversation with forms of this ques-
tion as well. Feedback questions allow you to uncover and disarm an
interviewer’s concerns.
It is often extremely difficult to learn what the interviewer doesn’t
like about you. In many cases, company policy or fear of litigation pre-
vents interviewers from giving you information that is critical for you to
know if you are to improve your interviewing techniques. “Candidates
need to understand that providing honest feedback is really tricky for re-
cruiters and sometimes impossible,” says Janice Brookshier of Seattle-
jobs.org. “If you received a bad reference, for example, I can’t tell you.”
However, you must uncover doubts, if they exist. I believe that the facts
are friendly. They may not always be convenient. If you have been fired or
been in jail or have a big gap in your work history, these facts are not
pleasant. But they are friendly because you have control over their dis-
closure. You are always better off dealing with the facts than hoping they
will be ignored. Facts may not be discussed, but they are never ignored.
The point is that you can’t address an objection you don’t know
about. These questions require courage. Don’t be afraid of letting your
weaknesses surface. You want to be in the position of overcoming
objections since this is when selling occurs.

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