Ask Your Own Questions

 Ask Your Own Questions

Okay, you have made it to the end of your interview and the interviewer says it is now 

your turn.  They want to know if you have any questions for them.  And most likely you 

do:  “How did I do” and “Are you going to hire me” – unfortunately you can’t ask either 

one.  But there are questions that you can ask to glean some information on how you 

performed and to determine if the company is a right fit for you.

Although it is not acceptable to ask how you did in an interview, it is okay and 

encouraged to ask what the next steps are and the timeline for them.  Depending on how 

this is answered, you may be able to figure out their reaction to you.  But this is not full-

proof and is not a guarantee.  If they take the time to explain all the checks they need to 

go through, how many people they have left to interview and so on, they are probably 

interested and want you to understand that there is still steps left in the process.  If they 

only tell you that you will hear from them within a certain period of time via letter, well it 

isn’t as promising.

Look at the opportunity to ask your own questions as your chance to interview the 

company.  Of course you have done your research prior to attending and have made up a 

list that you wrote down before attending.  Show your preparedness and pull out the list 

to ask your questions.  Things like company direction and expansion show an interest in 

the business.  Feel free to take notes; it can earn you brownie points.  Ask questions that 

are important to you as well, if vacation time and benefits are a deal breaker for you, find 

out now what the company has to offer.

How to Answer the Tough Interview Questions

 How to Answer the Tough Interview Questions

Each interview has at least one, a question that you really don’t know the best way to 

answer.  It is the one that you agonize over for days and keep going over it and over it in 

your head and you ask others how they would have answered.  There is not way to avoid 

these types of questions but you can answer them with confidence to give yourself peace 

of mind until you get a call back.

Do not feel that you have to answer immediately after you have been asked a question.  

You are not on a game show where the fastest contestant to answer wins.  Your 

interviewers will appreciate that you have taken time to formulate your answer.  If you 

are concerned by a prolonged silence – don’t be, it is normal.  If you have been asked a 

question that you do not know exactly what to say, ask for a moment to think of an 

appropriate answer.  This is preferable to taking a long time to answer without explaining 

what you are doing.

If you really can’t think of an answer off of the top of your head, ask if you can come 

back to the question in a moment – keep trying to think of an answer.  Don’t think that if 

you get to the end of the interview and you haven’t answered the question that you are off 

of the hook.  Even if your interviewer doesn’t ask again, it has not gone unnoticed that 

you didn’t respond to a question.  The best case scenario is for you to bring the topic back 

to the question and answer it accordingly.  Thank your interviewer for giving you the 

extra time to come up with the right answer.  

If it is a lengthy question that is broken into parts, break it down into, don’t try and 

answer it all at once – you can always ask for parts of the question to be repeated.

How to Thank an Interviewer

 How to Thank an Interviewer

You may think that it is best to follow-up with an interviewer to thank them for their time 

and keep your name in the forefront of their mind.  While this may have that affect on 

them, it may not be in the positive way you are looking for.  An interviewer takes time 

out of their regular job to fill vacancies in a department.  It is an extremely busy and 

stressful time for them and they do not want (nor have time to) take calls from everyone 

that they have completed interviews with.

But this is not to say that sending along a thank you is a bad idea, it’s not.  The method 

that you thank your interviewer is going to make a difference.  If you received a business 

card, send a quick e-mail to thank them for their time and that you are looking forward to 

hearing from them.  Quick and to the point and leave it at that.  Do not expect a reply 

because you probably won’t get one and do not follow-up on your e-mail to make sure 

they received it – you will become an annoyance.

Second to sending a quick e-mail, you can send a short and professional thank you note 

(this means no scented stationary or something too cutesy).  The message should be 

similar, thanking the interviewer for taking the time to sit down with you, express how 

much you enjoyed speaking with them and learning more about the company.  It is a 

nicety that while not necessary, can be an added touch to a strong interview.

It may not guarantee you the job, but thank you notes, if done the right way, may open 

doors for you in the future.  If there are openings in the company at a later time, the 

interviewer may remember you and think of you before others.

If you Get Stumped by a Question

 If you Get Stumped by a Question

You can prepare for an interview until you are blue in the face and still get stumped on a 

question during the process.  It is okay, it happens to a lot of people.  Some questions 

come out of left field, sometimes you draw a blank, and others – you really don’t know 

what to say.  Here is a brief run down of what you can do in these three situations.

A (Seemingly) Off Topic Question – These may be thrown in to the interview out of 

curiosity by the interviewer or to gauge your knowledge on a certain subject.  It is not a 

reason to dismiss the question though and not pay it the care and attention you would to 

any other one.  Do your best, and if you really can’t figure out the correlation between the 

question and the job you are applying to, you can ask at the end of the interview – along 

the lines, “out of curiosity….”

You Draw a Blank – Ask for a minute to compose your answer, and do some fast 

brainstorming.  If you feel that the silence is becoming uncomfortable, you can ask to 

come back to the question at the end of the interview.  As long as you do go back to it, 

this is an acceptable solution.  Silence is okay during an interview when you are trying to 

think of an answer, do not feel obligated to fill the silence, concentrate on the answer you 

want to give.

You Don’t Know What to Say – If it is a matter that you are sure what the interviewer is 

looking for in an answer, ask for clarification.  Sometimes asking for an example of what 

they mean can guide you in what you should say.  If you take a shot in the dark, you 

might provide what they want – but why take the chance?  

Know what Your References are Going to Say about You

 Know what Your References 

Before attending an interview, you should have your references lined-up and ready to 

provide to the interviewer when asked.  More than just writing down names and phone 

numbers of previous employers and bosses, you need to do additional preparation.  

Finding out how a former employer views you and your work history with them is vital 

before providing that information to a potential employer.  Even if your memory of your 

time spent there is positive, you don’t know how you were remembered or what will be 

said unless you ask.

Your first step should be to contact everyone that you are considering using as a 

reference.  You will want to confirm they are working for the same company and if their 

phone number is the same.  If a boss has moved to another company, you can still utilize 

them as a reference provided you can track them down.

When you reach a potential reference, don’t assume they will remember you and 

everything about you – remind them.  Things you say during your conversation can have 

a positive outcome on what they have to say about you later on.  Ask them if they are 

comfortable providing you with a favorable reference and if there is any feedback they 

have for you.  If you are very comfortable you can flat out ask how they felt about your 

time working with them and what they would say about you if someone called to ask.

If you are not comfortable with providing a direct supervisor or boss you can use other 

employees in the company that old a supervisory position.  Think of people you have 

worked closely with on projects or such – they are valid and reputable people to provide 

as references too.  

But if you have made it through the interview process, a reference would have to go quite 

badly for it to affect a possible job offer.

Make a Connection

Make a Connection 

Depending on how popular or sought after the job you are interviewing for is you will 

have a lot of competition for a few positions.  A stellar interview is crucial to make you 

stand out from the rest of the crowd.  To give yourself an added edge and cement yourself 

in your interviewer’s mind, try to make a personal connection with them at some point in 

the interview.

A personal connection can take numerous forms.  If you are in the interviewer’s office 

and they have a picture of a sailboat on their wall (and you happen to love sailing), make 

an appropriate comment that identifies you as a sailor too.  This may not put you above 

others more qualified than you but it will help you to stand out amongst those you are in 

direct competition with.

Take your cues from the interviewer, if they seem uncomfortable with relaying any 

personal information or are not comfortable veering off topic then follow their lead.  If a 

personal conversation does develop, let the interviewer guide it.  When they bring it to a 

close and either get back to the questions or say good bye, leave it at that.

At the end of the day, interviewers want to hire people that are qualified and who will fit 

in with the rest of the team at the company.  If you can make a connection and have the 

right skill sets you will be giving yourself a better chance than someone else.  You will 

also help the interviewer recall who you are and stick out in their mind as that candidate 

who knew a lot about sailing.

If you are not comfortable with discussing personal topics during an interview, don’t feel 

that you must go out of your way to do so.  At the end of the day, your qualifications are 

what you should be highlighting.

More than asking questions

 

More than asking questions

We would usually think that tips for the job interview would only be intended for interviewees but there are also important reminders for those who are the ones asking questions, we call them interviewers. For applicants, they are the tickets to an employed you.

 

As an interviewer should you roast interviewees to sweat because of nervousness? Should you be very intimidating to put the applicant to the biggest test of his or her life? Should you ask fiery questions that would fry him or her in his own oil? These and more would be answered.

 

Before you conduct the interview, be sure to take note of the questions you are going to ask your applicant. This would help you remember questions you need to raise.

 

Take note of the objectives you have, associate them with the questions you will be asking the applicant.

 

 

Have in mind a place that would have an atmosphere for a conversation. See to it that the place has no elements that could interrupt the interview.

 

Never intimidate the interviewee. You want to know the person, do not put him on the hot seat where he would become so unnaturally intimidated.

 

Let the interviewee speak, you have to be attentive so that you would be able to get important messages.

 

Use questions that would hit the motives of the applicant.

 

Give the interviewees the chance to ask questions.

 

 

 

With these, you would be able to get what you really want to know from the interviewee. The most important thing is that you would not have regrets by hiring the wrong person.