Page 45 - John Kador - 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview-McGraw-Hill (2002)

THE RULES OF THE GAME

13. Asking Questions That Focus on What the Company Can
Do for You
The hiring manager is less interested in how much you want to better
yourself than what you can do to ease his or her problem. “What about
me?” questions like this are a turnoff:
I’m very committed to developing my intellectual property by learning
new technologies.What kinds of tuition benefits and other educational
support can I expect?
It’s nice that you want to improve yourself, but the hiring manager is
not interested in your commitment to education on his time. He has a
problem to solve and wants to know if you can help solve it. If you can,
maybe then the company can invest in your skills so you can solve even
more of its problems. Compare the above question to:

I want to put all my experience and everything I know in the service of
solving the challenges you have outlined.At the same time, I hope to in-
crease my value to the company by learning new skills and technologies.
Does the company have any programs that help me add value by learn-
ing new skills?

14. If You Want the Job, Ask for It

We explore the issue of asking for the job in Chapter 12, but it is so im-
portant that I include a preview here. As a candidate, you should use
your opportunity to ask questions as a platform to ask for the job. These
are called bid-for-action questions because, like every marketer (in this
case, you), you should conclude every contact with the prospect (the hir-
ing manager) with an invitation to take an action (make me an offer).
Many employers feel that a desire for the position is just as impor-
tant as the ability to do the job. A very effective interviewing technique
is simply to ask for the job. One way to do this is to ask the employer:
Do you think I can do the job?

Generally, the interviewer will hedge. But if the answer is yes, smile
and say:

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