The Question You Must Ask In any Interview

I interview lots of people on a daily basis and have many candidates interviewed by companies.   I have a whole litany of things I require my candidates to do and ask as I prep them to be successful but there is one question they need to ask.

If you ask most people after an interview "So How Did It Go?" 80% of the time or more they answer "It Went Great".    Then the call comes back from the company that"No, it didn't do Great" or "Yes It Did".   Usually though it's a No  (about 1 in 3 of candidates going into a face to face interview get hired per industry standards).

So how can you change the odds as a candidate?   Pretty simple.  Ask One simple question at the end of the interview, and it can be asked many different ways.

Here are the blunt, direct question you ask the interviewer:

1. "So, how do you think this interview went in comparison to others you've had?"

2. "After interviewing me, is there any reason we can't move it to the next step?"

3.  "{interviewers name}, we've spent a good hour together getting to know one another.  Do you see anything in this interview that would prevent you from hiring me?"

4.  {person's name}, when I get home the first thing my partner/spouse/mother is going to ask me is "How did it go?".  I was curious how I should answer him/her."

5.  "After interviewing me today, was there anything you would like to have seen more of, less of or need further explation of that you are still wondering about?"

These are a few different ways to ask "How did it Go?" to the person interviewing you so there is no surprise.  When you leave the interview you should have a pretty good understanding what was good, what was not good or where there is not a match.

Learn from it and improve on that in the next interview if this one didn't work out.

On a final note…. People interviewing others.  Why not end the interview with "Here is what I liked, Here is what I didn't like".  I do this after every interview and candidates really appreciate the candor.

Now go get that job!!!