Page 65 - John Kador - 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview-McGraw-Hill (2002)

THE RULES OF THE GAME

Charles didn’t realize it, but the resistance from the recruiter signaled
the start of the job interview, not the end. Remember, Charles was being
sized up for a senior sales position. A critical skill for such a position is
grace in handling a prospect’s objections or rejection. So the interviewer
threw a big objection at the candidate to see how he would react.
What could Charles have done? One Fortune 500 recruiter suggests
Charles could have responded:

Excuse me, can I just have another minute? I’m confused. I thought
the interview was going pretty well and that my experience fit the
position you described very closely. Apparently, I missed some-
thing important. I would very much like to understand where you
saw a disconnect between my skills and the job so that I might have
the opportunity to demonstrate that I really am the best candidate
for the job.

“This kind of response would tell me that Charles can handle objec-
tions, accepts responsibility for not making his case, and asks for in-
formation so that he may continue selling, which is why I’m hiring
him,” the recruiter adds. In short, Charles needed a bid-for-action ques-
tion, as described in Chapter 12.

AT THE END

This is the typical point at which you’ll be invited to ask any questions
you may have. The interviewer will lean back and turn the interview
over to you. It may seem like the interview is coming to an end. It’s not.
Interviewers are unanimous on this: They really expect you to ask in-
telligent questions.
Don’t assume you know when the interview is over. The safest bet is
to apply this rule: The interview is not over until you no longer have an
interest in the job. Until then, the clock is ticking.

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