Gary Will's WORKSEARCH:
Selling Yourself To An Employer
Chapter 14-Part One
[a] [b] [c] [d] [e] [f] [g] [h] [i]
Asking questions -- an essential and overlooked step
From the book How to Prepare for an Employment Interview.
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This book shows you how to sell yourself in an employment interview.
OPTION 1: Wing it
The most common approach is to go in unprepared and scramble to come up with something when the employer asks you if you have any questions. The result is almost always a couple of inane
questions that do nothing to tap into the employer's aspirations or address their concerns. Often,
you won't even really care about the answer, or the answer will be something you already know.
This is the approach you want to avoid. These questions don't help you in any way
except to fill an otherwise embarrassing silence. They save you from saying "No, I can't think of
anything right now" and looking like a complete dullard, but that's it. A blown opportunity.
OPTION 2: Show the interviewer that you've thought about
the organization and the work you'd be doing for them
The second way to handle the "Do you have any questions for me?" stage is to prepare a few
questions to get some additional information about the company and the position. They may just be
simple fact-finding questions, but the areas you address will reveal what your priorities and values
are.
Done properly, it's a way of communicating to the employer that you understand what's important
for success in the position and how you can help the organization achieve its objectives.
Anyone can do this. It's simple. You can write the questions down and refer to your notes during
the interview. We'll talk about some specific questions you can ask in just a minute. The only excuse
for not preparing some questions for the interview is abject laziness. Fortunately for you, this
disease inflicts many of the people you'll be going up against.
Continued here: OPTION 3: Probe the employer's objectives, expectations
and desires
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