Braxton Taylor
The interview is going really well. You practiced your interview questions ahead of time. You were smooth when they wanted to know why you were leaving the military. You could cite chapter and verse about why they should hire you instead of the other candidate. Then they offer you another bite at the golden apple: “Do you have any questions for me?”
Your mind goes blank. You should know this one. You should say something smart. You should ask a follow-up question so brilliant, they decide to hire you now.
Instead, you choke on the apple. You decide to be an easy, no-trouble, non-choking candidate. You say: “No, thanks. I think you answered everything.”
Then the interviewer gets a little look on their face like a door just closed. How could a follow-up question go so wrong, so fast?
As always, veterans and military spouses get in trouble when we don’t rehearse and prepare for an interview. Just like you know the opening question is always coming, you know the closing question is coming, too. “Tell me about yourself” always starts the interview, and, “Do you have any questions for me?” ends it.
Do You Have Any Questions for Me?
You need to have your questions ready for this part of the interview. This is not the moment you ask about their job or company culture or how they picked the tile in the bathroom.
This is not a throwaway question, either, signaling the end of the interview. In fact, the very best interviewers will ask you this question in the middle of the interview, reminding you that the interview goes in both directions.
The questions you ask at this moment signal that you are interested in the job and that you are weighing your options based on their answers. These questions demonstrate you care. Here are three of my favorites:
Do you have any questions for me? You can always reach out to me with your job hunting questions on LinkedIn @jaceyeckhart.
1. Based on What I’m Hearing Today, It Sounds as Though My Day-to-Day Would Be ‘X.’ Do I Have That Right?
Your first follow-up question should demonstrate that you have been listening to everything the interviewer said as if it had been carved upon your heart in fire. Use some of the details the interviewer dropped into the conversation to confirm your own thoughts about the job. This is your chance to hear more.
This follow-up question also gives the interviewer a chance to clarify and expand about what the job entails. This is when they tell you that 90% of your time would be on the road. Or that you spend most of your day in meetings. Or that the team actually works from home three days a week, and that every third Thursday, you play volleyball for cash.
Hidden bonus: It makes the interviewer imagine you (and only you) in the job.
2. What Kind of Skills Have We Not Discussed Yet that Would Be Critical to This Job?
This question often requires the interviewer to come up with the secret sauce. What is a trait or a skill that would make this team work better?
While the research shows hard skills get you hired, soft skills get you promoted. Interviewers often respond to this follow-up question with a certain soft skill you probably have, such as an attention to detail, creative problem-solving, adaptability and emotional intelligence. Follow this with a story about how you have that exact soft skill and how you use it on the job.
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3. How Well Do You Think My Skills and Experience Line Up for This Job?
The one thing you really want to know from the interviewer is whether you are going to get hired. That is the one question you cannot ask. You can get a pretty good answer by asking this subtler question or its cousin: “We’ve been talking for a while. Have I said anything that makes you question whether I would be a good candidate for this role?”
Both these questions make the interviewer think back to your responses and give you an answer. Sometimes it is not an answer you want, such as: “We still have a lot of candidates to consider.” Other times, the interviewer lets you have another bite at the apple with a response, such as: “I think your project management skills are good, but I don’t think you have enough experience leading a team.”
This allows you to point out where you have that kind of skill and experience and how it matches up to the job.
Most civilian candidates fail to prepare for the last question of the interview. As a veteran or spouse, demonstrate your attention to detail by preparing to ask the questions that matter most.
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