You've just spent the last 45 minutes answering questions from a hiring manager. You gave it all you had. You think you did okay. The hiring manager seemed to smile and nod a lot when you were speaking. Then, suddenly, she asks, "Do you have any questions for me?"
While your initial instinct might be to quit while you are ahead and say, "No. I'm good," the right thing to do is ask a set of strategic questions designed to help you stand out and get the job.
4 Cs Of Interview Questions
In the video above, I map out why you need a strategy for asking questions in an interview.
If you don't know what to ask and why, you will not only miss out on the opportunity to make a good impression, but also fail to get the insights you need to determine if this employer is right for you.
The secret to asking great questions in an interview is to use the following four Cs as your guidelines:
- Connect
- Corporate culture
- Company challenges
- Closing conversation
When you use these correctly, you can craft questions that will make you look friendly, collaborative, well researched, and professional—all great qualities to display to a hiring manager during a job interview!
8 Simple Interview Questions You Can Ask A Hiring Manager (That Support The 4 Cs Mentioned Above):
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- How did you come to work here? (CONNECT)
- What do you love most about working here? (CONNECT)
- Who's the most successful person hired here in the last year and how have they succeeded? (CORPORATE CULTURE)
- Who's been the least successful person hired and what did they do wrong? (CORPORATE CULTURE)
- What's the biggest challenge the company will face this year and how will it be overcome? (COMPANY CHALLENGES)
- As an employee, what can I do to make a difference and have an impact on the company this year? (COMPANY CHALLENGES)
- Is there anything about my candidacy that you would change to make me a better fit for this job? (CLOSE CONVERSATION)
- What are the next steps in the hiring process? (CLOSE CONVERSATION)
NOTE: To learn exactly why these are the perfect questions to ask, watch the video above.
You'll impress the hiring manager if you ask these eight questions during your next job interview. But don't just do it to stand out. Ask these questions to better figure out if you really want to work at this certain company.
It's your career. You want to make sure you're making the right decision for YOU!
There's no better way to do that than remembering the four Cs and asking the eight questions above.
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.