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Now, Do You Have Any Questions?"Who is that hot babe in the picture?" isn't the type of reply an interviewer expects to hear when he or she invites you to ask questions near the end of an interview. In fact, the way you approach the Q&A session will have a direct impact on the interviewer's perception of you. Based on the questions you ask, a judgment will be made in regard to how interested you seem to be in working for the company. For this reason, when you are forming questions ask yourself, What do I need to know about the company in order to determine if this is the workplace for me? How you answer this question depends on the career values that are important to you, and therefore, there isn't a right or wrong answer. That said, make sure that you do not ask the "What's-in-it-for me?" type question. Though questions regarding salary, benefits, and vacation time are valid, the place to broach those topics is when an offer is on the table, not before. SAMPLE QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK Are there any plans for a corporate merger or outsourcing initiatives? When a merger or outsourcing happens, layoffs follow. Before you accept a position, you should inquire about the direction the company is taking. Many candidates are under the misconception that only failing companies downsize. In truth, no matter how stable they are, companies are always looking to cut costs. How closely do my qualifications match the requirements for the open position? Two things can happen when you ask this question. (1) The interviewer can affirm that your experience, skills and abilities are a perfect fit. Needless to say, if that is the interviewer's response, you have a good shot at landing a job offer. (2) The interviewer may divulge that the company is looking to hire someone with more experience in XYZ. Believe it or not, if this occurs it can work out to your advantage because you have another opportunity to sell yourself. How long has this position been open? If the interviewer reveals that the position has been open for three months, you can ask a follow-up question such as, "It is obvious that the company is taking its time in finding the right candidate, and there must have been qualified candidates that have interviewed. What would you say they were lacking that an offer wasn't extended?" In asking this follow-up question, you will find out exactly what the interviewer is looking for and you can adapt your responses to meet the company's specific needs. Are promotions based on seniority or accomplishments? Some companies still hold on to the old-school mentality where old-timers, no matter their accomplishments or lack thereof, are offered an opportunity to move up the ladder before a new hire gets the same opportunity. You deserve to know that if you put 110% in your work, you will be rewarded accordingly. If you could change one thing about how this company functions, what would it be? Just as you are not perfect, neither is a company. Interviewers are aware of this fact and therefore, during the interview process they do their best to sell the organization as a great place to go to every day. It is part of your job to uncover everything about the hiring organization ? the good, the bad, and everything in between. FINAL THOUGHT Well-thought-out, clear, and intelligent questions are the ones that leave a positive impression with the listener. Take the time to evaluate what is important to you and form questions around those issues. About The Author Recognized as a career expert, Linda Matias brings a wealth of experience to the career services field. She has been sought out for her knowledge of the employment market, outplacement, job search strategies, interview preparation, and resume writing, quoted a number of times in The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, Newsweek, and HR-esource.com. She is president of CareerStrides and the National Resume Writers' Association. Visit her website at www.careerstrides.com or email her at linda@careerstrides.com. |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES Your Job Search Is A Marketing Campaign (Part 2) Here's a continuation of my article from a few months back on how the successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign. Four Simple Steps To Better Results With Your Resume Is every job description you read the same? No. Integrity At Work - How Do You Show Up? As the business sections of today's papers and magazines read more and more like the police blotter, ''Integrity'' is fast becoming a hot topc of conversation in business boardrooms, around water coolers, and in today's business best-sellers. Integrity is defined as walking the talk when it comes to living one's true values, being authentic. Take this self-assessment and explore how you walk your integrity talk when you show up at work. Stacking The Deck In Your Favor Many people do not bother to look at their own magnificence and without that view it is not likely that we will recognize the need for strategies to maximize our strengths. When we buy an outfit for a special affair, we automatically try to coordinate each piece so that they enhance one another and amplify our sense of "looking good" from head to toe. A man will make sure his socks and tie are in sync while a woman will adorn herself with color coordinated makeup, jewelry, nail color, etc. But when it comes to our gifts and talents, we get extremely casual or sloppy and so we stack skills on top that don't bring out our best and sometimes we are so off kilter, our skills are actually a tacky appendage that detracts from our gifts and talents. Rethink Your Career Transition Are you going nowhere in your career? If you've decided it's time to change your career completely, here's a new way of changing! Telephone Phobia: Make the Phone Your Job Search Friend You're pretty comfortable using the phone. It's something you do every day in your working routine; so why is it that as soon as you need to use it for career change or job-search it becomes too difficult? Invest in Your Career Change--Put Your Money Where Your Dream Is You say you want a new career, you say you want to start your own business, you say you'd love to be a freelance writer and travel more but are you serious? Can I really believe you? Are you investing in your dream? Recruiting Excellent Job Candidates An independent recruiter, recruiting agency or executive search firm is charged with tracking down excellent potential candidates for available job positions. Despite the fact that there are innumerable people seeking positions of employment in the 21st century, it often seems to a typical recruiting agency that qualified men and women are few and far between. Negotiating Skills: How to Obtain the Salary You Want Salary negotiating is an important topic that must be addressed prior to your initial interview with a prospective employer. Knowing your bottom rate, and being able to live with it [or on it?] is an important thing for candidates to uncover before the first interview. Why then do so many of us make the tactical mistake and go to the interview unprepared? Knowing and Guessing The line between average and exceptional work performance is dotted with ordinary day-by-day behaviors. I was reminded of that line recently. My husband was explaining to a nurse how he'd inadvertently taken the last dose of the live typhoid virus on the wrong day and wondered if he needed to retake the sequence prior to our Africa trip. "No," she commented, "I think you'll be fine." We both knew she was guessing. Networking Masterclass - Part 1 - Practicing Empathy Practicing Empathy A vital part of your networking skills is your ability to build rapport quickly and effectively with others. To build rapport successfully with another individual you need to understand 'where' they are coming from and have 'empathy' with them.  People often think of empathy as a mystical commodity, a special, almost uncanny ability to experience the thoughts and feelings of someone else. In fact 'empathy' is quite simply applied imagination and only requires a little exertion and discipline. The next time you are sitting in a room conversing with three or more people, try this very simple activity: Temporarily remove yourself from the conversation. Be very quiet for a few moments. Pay particular attention to the person doing the most talking. Imagine the following things: Imagine the physical sensations the speaker is experiencing. Mentally place yourself in that person's body, sitting or standing in a particular position, eating the same food, drinking the same drink. Mentally become that person. Do you feel energised? Tired? Irritated? Imagine what kind of day the speaker has had - using all your knowledge about the speakers' day. If you know little about the person, guess. Continue to imagine yourself as that person. How does your day colour and affect what you are saying? Imagine the person's relationship's to everyone in the room - including yourself. Continue to mentally be that person. What kind of feelings are generated by the people around you? How do they affect the things you say? Now step back into yourself and rejoin the scene. Does your own role in the conversation feel different?  Empathy, like memory is a creative act, not a mystical property and it requires imagination and practice. It lies within the grasp of all of us. Job Offer Negotiations: Getting What You Want You have worked hard at finding your next job. You have come through many obstacles and have reached your career objective. You have received a job offer. You're thrilled. Mission accomplished. After all, what else is left to do? Tips for Building a Successful Career 1. Develop excellent work habits ? for example, meet deadlines and don't procrastinate. So Youre Thinking of Changing Careers "You don't have to take life the way it comes to you. By converting your dreams into goals, and your goals into plans, you can design your life to come to you the way you want it. You can live your life on purpose, instead of by chance. ~ Whatever it takes" - The Goal Resume Formats ... The Hidden Pitfalls Deciding on a resume format is the first major decision to be made when creating your resume. The overall look of your resume depends on the resume format, font and outline you choose. Your Resume is Just One of the Tools in Your Job Search A resume is a tool. It allows employers to see what skills you have and what benefits you bring to the table. When an employers looks over your resume they will most likely scan for highlighted points. Most HR people do this. This way they weed out your resume. Updating Your Plum Job Now That Youre a Parent It's startling to discover how having kids changes the way you see the world. Just compare your "before kids" vs. "after kids" views on what counts as:A good place to live. A desirable car. A great restaurant. A wonderful evening. Your ideal or "plum" job. Change Your Career, Change Your Life Change Your Career, Seven Deadly Types of Job Recruiters Collect them all! Job Search Techniques: Smashing The Gray Ceiling For decades, women have chaffed at the invisible glass ceiling which prevents their moving into the high executive brackets that their competence, knowledge and skills have earned. The same amorphous barrier confronts older workers both in terms of advancement within a company and, most especially, when a job change is required. There is an adage in the military that if a rank above major has not been obtained within twenty years, it never will be. The ranks of early military retirees are sprinkled with majors who knew that ten or fifteen more years would never bring a Colonel's cluster. |
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