Page 179 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

172 Nail the Job Interview!

7. Tell me about a time when you took action without your supewisor’s
prior approval. (page 34)

Always Ask Questions

One of the most important questions you can answer is # 10 1 - “Do you
have any questions?77 The answer should be “Yes, I have afew questions. ” No
matter how thorough the interview, no matter how much give-and-take,
you should have at least two or three questions to ask near the end of the
interview. Not asking any questions may hurt your chances of getting the
job offer. During the interview other questions will probably come to
mind which you had not anticipated.
When asked whether you have questions, you may indicate that many
have been answered thus far, but you have a few additional questions.
You should have jotted some questions down as you prepared for your
interview. Feel free to refer to that list if you need to at this point. The
fact that you have given thought to this aspect of the interview and have
come prepared will be viewed as a positive by the interviewer. You may
have questions, for example, about the relationship of this job to other
significant functional areas in the firm; staff development; training
programs; career advancement opportunities; the extent to which pro-
motions are from within the organization; how employee performance is
evaluated; or the expected growth of the comp,any. You may want to ask
questions that probe areas that were touched on earlier during the
interview. For example, if the interviewer has mentioned that the com-
pany has an excellent training program, you may have specific questions:
What kinds of training would you be offered? How frequently? How long
do most training programs last?
If you are still interested in this job, be sure to close the interview by
summarizing the strong points you would bring to the position and
indicate your continued interest in the job and the company. Ask what
the next step will be and when they expect to male a decision. Follow the
advice in Chapter 8 on closing the interview and Chapter 9 on following
up the interview. If you follow this process from beginning to end with
intelligent answers and questions, you’ll go a long way to nailing the job
interview. Indeed, tale the “Nailed or Be Nailed” job interview quiz again
on pages 4-6. You should nail the job interview because your total score
is above 150. Congratulations!