Best Question to Ask During Your Final Interview and Why?

Interviews & Resumes RSS

Your resume, LinkedIn profile, and interview are your best opportunities to present yourself as the ideal candidate for a position. These are tools to help you succeed. Of course, asking the right question is vital to an interview.

In a recent article in Inc. Magazine by J.T. O’Donnell titled “Why Asking This 1 Question in a Job Interview Increases the Chances You'll Get Hired,” the author suggested this question:

"What's the company's biggest threat to success this year, and how will I be able to help overcome it in this role?"

The reason was: “By asking this, you're allowing the employer to articulate how this position (and the person it!) can offer the biggest impact”.

Planning out questions to ask before the interview is essential, and thought needs to be given to what impression does a question communicate? Both sides to this crucial question suggested will reveal more than they might expect with this question. If the job candidate does want to make a difference in their work, their genuine sincerity will be communicated along with the question. The question can hurt the candidate’s chances if genuine interest isn't there. Likewise, suppose the employer doesn’t see the candidate’s contributions as necessary or has already decided whether they are the right candidate. In that case, that will be communicated with how the question is verbally answered. Both sides of an interview need to read and understand the nuances of body and speech communication.

The Inc. article offers other insights into how questions can be helpful. Still, some pre-interview research can often help learn what the people in the interview might consider their hot-button priorities. If the last person out the door with you has little involvement with the job being considered, then a different question might still show a candidate’s sincere interest in the company.

Also asking about the next steps in the process should not be missed because it communicates that the candidate does have a strong interest in the company and position.

Present Soft Skills that are Transferable and Portable on Your Job Searching Resume and Interview →

Interviews & Resumes RSS

Soft and transferable or portable skills can be challenging to capture on a resume or even in an interview, but they can be the difference that gets you the job. First, you have to know enough about the job and company you want to talk with to be able to identify the skills from these categories that will be important (good focus for your informational interview) and then be able to present these verbally as you answer questions and talk about yourself in the hiring interview and process.

Some skills will be significant enough that you will want to make them part of your career path story. Some of these skills should be included in your “About” section on LinkedIn. Some may fit into the skills section of your resume, but of course, these skills need to match where you want to do the skills you want in the company posting. Cover letters can be the best place to present your career path story and show that your soft and transferable skills will bring value to the organization.

Your “Me, in 30 seconds” or your elevator pitch, even though often tailored and memorized, should consider the opportunity that the particular networking opportunity represents and weave some of these skills into the message that will be meaningful to the target audience you are speaking to.

In the interview, when asked questions often, you can demonstrate how you got results and reference the transferable skills you have to get the desired results. Just as you would identify the skills you’d like in a posting to present on your written resume, you will want to match those keywords to your verbal responses. If the post asks for someone who gives attention to detail, use those words in your verbal exchanges in the interview. Show that you understand and did your homework by identifying what the potential employer went to some effort to communicate.