Page 46 - John Kador - 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview-McGraw-Hill (2002)

WHY YOU HAVE TO QUESTION

Great! When do you want me to start?
More likely, the interviewer will say something like:

I am very impressed with your credentials,but we have a number of other
steps to go though before I can give you an answer to that question.

That’s fine. It’s also possible the interviewer will state some objections.
Believe it or not, that’s even better. An unstated objection will kill your
chances every time. With stated objections, at least, you have the possi-
bility of reversing the concern.
Of course, there are some objections that you really can’t do much
about:
The job listing clearly noted that the position requires a minimum of six
years of object-oriented coding experience.You don’t have any.

Some objections are softer:
I’m concerned that you are not as seasoned in leading large multidisci-
plinary teams as this position requires.
Here you have some recourse:

I can see how you might get that impression. But if I can take you back
to my work for XYZ Company, I showed you how I led four separate
teams.What I might not have emphasized is that I coordinated the teams.
At the height of the project, there were 65 developers across the four
teams all reporting to me in a matrix structure. In the end, under my su-
pervision, the teams succeeded in launching a strategic product on time
and on budget. Does that speak to your concern?

Note how the candidate checks out if the response moderated the ob-
jection. If not, try again.
Even if your experience is light in some area, it may not be fatal. Try
to find out what percentage of the job that requirement represents. Then
attack the gap head-on with something like:
I am willing to put in extra time to come up to speed in this area.Would
that help?

If so, ask for the job:

21