So you're at the interview and things are going pretty well. There is a lot of
competition for this job but you think it could be yours. You just need that
knockout blow. And then comes the final question "Do you have any questions for
us?" You sit there like a lemon thinking for a moment and then you say "that's
ok you've answered all my questions during the course of the interview." Your
interviewers look a little deflated disappointed that you weren't taking a
keener interest in in the company and the job. After all they'd spent the last 40
minutes asking YOU questions. They thank you for coming and tell you that they'll
be in touch soon and you wait and you wait..... Today on LetThemTalk we're going
to answer the interview question "Do you have any questions for us?" We're going to
look at how to approach this question and give you lots of examples this is a
part of a series of videos we've done on getting a job from the cover letter to
the interview so be sure to check out our other videos on the subject and if
English is not your first language we'll also look at how you can use this
question to impress the interviewer with your English skills to find out more
stay tuned.
Hello and welcome to LetThemTalk so do you have any questions? Yes you do! Not
asking questions makes you seem uninterested asking the wrong questions
is worse you can seem ignorant or just strange so
it's important to get it right. Now, if you're running neck-and-neck with
another candidate asking the right questions can land you the job and even
if you've excelled at the rest of the interview this question is so important
for two reasons. Firstly, I'm sure you have genuine questions that you want to
ask that will help you decide whether this job is for you or not. You might
have some other offers. Secondly, while asking these genuine questions you show
that you are taking an interest in the company and the role. Like any good
conversation there should be engagement from both sides.
They've taken an interest in you and your CV and now it's your turn to
take an interest in them. It will help establish a connection. Imagine that you
have coffee with a friend and you ask your friend all the questions and they
don't ask any back you'd feel a little deflated, wouldn't you? Well it's not exactly
like that but you see what I mean. Take every opportunity you can to engage
with the interviewers and if the rest of the interview hasn't gone so well this
is your chance to recalibrate and get you back into winning position. so what
do you say? First of all, by the way, it's important to speak with confidence and
this is true throughout the interview now this is your opportunity to turn the
table and interview them they remind that and here is a psychological trick
that will really work. You want to indicate to the interviewers that you
have other offers in abundance of course don't tell them
that directly "I've got other offers in abundance." Well
maybe you should. Try it and let me know. Anyway if you scrutinize a job and ask
searching questions this will give them that impression and interviewers prefer
popular candidates to those who are desperate for a job and this is the only
interview that they managed to get. That's true in life in general. We prefer
those who are already successful. We prefer to watch the carrot cake recipe
with two million views on YouTube than the one with 20 views. Is it a better
carrot cake? Maybe not but that's how we behave time and time again. So let's look
at what you shouldn't say. Asking the right questions might land you the job
but even if you've excelled at the interview asking the wrong questions can
make them rethink, shall we say. So here are some real questions I've heard
interviews that you should never say. "My boyfriend is also looking for a job do
you have any vacancies for him?" "What does this company actually do?" "Do you pay by
cheque or by bank transfer?" "What star sign are you?"
In these cases honestly it's better to say nothing you've lost the
job right there - thanks for coming goodbye. Now don't ask questions about
salary or any other questions that can be answered by HR you should already
have the salary range from the job ad before the interview and the details can
be hammered out later. So make sure you get the job first then you can negotiate
pay and holidays. Don't ask basic questions about the company
you should have already known from looking at the company's website, this
will just reveal your ignorance, which is never a good thing at an interview.
Don't ask questions for the sake of asking questions. Do some research and
prepare some questions beforehand. During the interview
some questions new may come up and be prepared for that. Don't ask a question
for the sake of asking a question. You should be genuinely interested. If not
why are you there? And if this is not your first
language then asking a few questions that you prepared in advance, using rich
words and vocabulary and expressed in a clear and precise way (because you've been
practising haven't you?) will be a bonus for you because it will convince the
interview that you are confident in English. Right let's look some examples
it's important to ask questions that show an interest in the company but also
once that will genuinely answer any questions you may have so question
number one "What are my co-workers like?" this is good it shows an interest in the
team. "How will this job change over the course of the next year?" "How is
technology affecting the business or the department and what changes will we see
over the next couple of years?" "What's the best thing about working here?" "Of all my
skills what's the most important one for this *ROLE*?" this is good because they have
to read back your skills to you and this will force them to you to look at you in
a positive light. "What's the competition like in this sector and what are you
doing to stay ahead?" "From my CV what additional skills can I learn to help me
keep up with the job?" "What type of person succeeds of this company?" "What does a
typical day look like?" "What are the next steps in the
interview process?" Don't ask this question if you only have one or two
questions because it's all about you and the job but it does show an interest so
it's ok if you've already asked a few other questions. "When can I start?" Now
this question is good if you need to show confidence in an interview for a
position in sales or something like that. Of course you have to adapt the
questions to the job. Don't ask too many questions. I think three or four should
be enough based on the time you have. always use the questions as a way to get
information you need but also to reinforce your suitability for the job.
Now remember what I've said before. You'll perform much better at the
interview if you imagine you're having a conversation with a friend rather than
being interrogated by the enemy so stay relaxed and enjoy it. And if English is
not your first language do remember that they are not grammar teachers. They don't
mind, they don't care, if you make grammatical mistakes as long as you can
express yourself clearly and enthusiastically so now you have the answers
let me ask you a question when are you coming back to this channel don't be
a stranger see you soon.