Page 86 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

SELL YOURSELF IN ANY INTERVIEW

Closed probes can lead to awkward, never-ending conver-
sations that are frustrating to both of you. Let’s look at an exam-
ple. I want to know what kind of ice cream you like. Using a
closed probe, I would ask, “Do you like vanilla ice cream?” The
answer would be either “Yes” or “No.” Then I would have to
ask, “Do you like chocolate ice cream?” Obviously, this could
go on forever.
An open probe still may give you a specific answer, but it
also might give you greater insight into the mind of the other
person. Here is our example using an open probe: “What kind
of ice cream do you like?” The answer could be, “Well, I love
chocolate ice cream, especially chocolate milk shakes, but I
haven’t had one in three years. I’m watching my calories.” Not
only do you know that your listener loves chocolate ice cream,
but you also know that he is avoiding high-caloric desserts, so
you could offer an alternative that would meet his current needs.
As you can see, an open probe generally provides more
complete and valuable information than a closed probe. Fur-
thermore, the interviewer tends to feel more comfortable with
this style of question, which is less aggressive and more con-
versational in nature. As mentioned in Chapter 3, most inter-
viewers have little or no training in the interview process, so
if you bombard them with a series of direct questions, they
may feel defensive or under attack. On the other hand, most
people enjoy talking about what they know, and by phrasing
questions smoothly using open probes, you enable the inter-
viewer to give expansive answers.
Here is an example specific to job interviewing. Let’s say
that you want to find out about salary. Some closed probes
and their answers might be

Question: “What is the salary for this job?”
Answer: “We are offering x amount per year.”

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