Foreword by Janice Bryant Howroyd CEO of Act-I Personnel Services 201 BEST JUESTIONS tO ASK on your INTERVIEW John Kador
201 BEST QUESTIONS TO ASK ON YOUR INTERVIEW
201 BEST QUESTIONS TO ASK ON YOUR INTERVIEW
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201 BEST QUESTIONS TO ASK ON YOUR INTERVIEW JOHN KADOR MCGRAW-HILL NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO LISBON LONDON MADRID MEXICO CITY MILAN NEW DELHI SAN JUAN SEOUL SINGAPORE SYDNEY TORONTO
201 BEST QUESTIONS TO ASK ON YOUR INTERVIEW JOHN KADOR M C G RAW- H ILL NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO LISBON LONDON M A D R I D M E X I C O C I T Y M I L A N N E W D E L H I S A N J UA N SEOUL SINGAPORE SYDNEY TORONTO
Mcgraw-Hill A Diisiw d Te MrmwHillganmaies opyright O 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976. no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Book0407-140629-8 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: o-07-138773-0 All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trade- marked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner. with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book. they have been printed with initial caps. McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for training programs. For more information, please contact George Hoare, Special Sales, at george_hoare(@ mcgraw-hill.cor or(212)904-4069 TERMS OF USE and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, mo ate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill's prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly pro- hibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these term IS PROVIDED"AS IS". McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WAR- RANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK. INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. INCLUD- ING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its censors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. IcGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Thi limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or other- DOI:10.10360071406298
Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. @Bookz 0-07-140629-8 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-07-138773-0. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps. McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. For more information, please contact George Hoare, Special Sales, at george_hoare@mcgraw-hill.com or (212) 904-4069. TERMS OF USE This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill’s prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms. THE WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS”. McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise. DOI: 10.1036/0071406298
my fathe for modeling so well the responsibilities and contentments of self-employment for teaching me the reasons why self precedes employment And to my entire fami for reminding me that work is play with a larger social purpose
To my father, for modeling so well the responsibilities and contentments of self-employment. To my mother, for teaching me the reasons why self precedes employment. And to my entire family for reminding me that work is play with a larger social purpose
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For more information about this book click here CONTENTS Foreword by Janice Bryant Howroyd Acknowledgments ntroduction PART I THE RULES OF THE GAME Chapter 1: Why You have to Question Chapter 2: Questions You Should Never Initiate Chapter 3: When to Question Chapter 4: Do Your Homework Chapter 5: Do You Mind If i Take Notes PART II INTERVIEW THE INTERVIEWER Chapter 6: Questions for Headhunters, Recruiters and Staffing Agencies Chapter 7: Questions for Human Resources Chapter 8: Questions for Hiring Managers Copyright 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use
vii CONTENTS Foreword by Janice Bryant Howroyd ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv PART I THE RULES OF THE GAME 1 Chapter 1: Why You Have to Question 3 Chapter 2: Questions You Should Never Initiate 25 Chapter 3: When to Question 35 Chapter 4: Do Your Homework 41 Chapter 5: Do You Mind If I Take Notes? 49 PART II INTERVIEW THE INTERVIEWER 57 Chapter 6: Questions for Headhunters, Recruiters, 59 and Staffing Agencies Chapter 7: Questions for Human Resources 69 Chapter 8: Questions for Hiring Managers 81 For more information about this book, click here. Copyright 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use
CONTENTS PART III THE QUESTION LIFE CYCLE 103 Chapter 9: Exploring Qt estions Chapter 10: Defensive Questions 117 Chapter 11: Feedback Questions 123 Chapter 12: Bid- for-Action Questions 127 Chapter 13: Questions for Superstars 139 Chapter 14: You Got an Offer. Congratulations! Chapter 15: You Blew the Interview. Now What? 153 Index of questions Index 189
PART III THE QUESTION LIFE CYCLE 103 Chapter 9: Exploring Questions 109 Chapter 10: Defensive Questions 117 Chapter 11: Feedback Questions 123 Chapter 12: Bid-for-Action Questions 127 Chapter 13: Questions for Superstars 139 Chapter 14: You Got an Offer. Congratulations! 147 Chapter 15: You Blew the Interview. Now What? 153 Index of Questions 161 Index 189 viii CONTENTS
FOREWORD job, but the path taken-the relationship to work throughout life. And as John demonstrates so compellingly in this book, empowerment begins with the questions applicants ask So much creativity and insight has gone into the concept of the "in- formational interview, thanks largely to Richard Bolles and his mar velous classic, What Color Is Your Parachute? For job seekers, the informational interview at once reduces stress, manages expectations and elicits-what else?-information For the employer, the informa- tional interview is just as useful But John has gone the process one better. In showing job seekers how to interview interviewers he has taken the informational inter view to the next level. As this practice takes hold, the benefits to em- ployees and employers alike will be palpable How do I know this? Because empowerment doesnt happen ome sort of grand revelation; it's in the details, the small etchings on slate, the right qu ked in the right way, at the right time. And because, for me, this process really worked-though I couldn t have described it as such at the time I was born and went to school in the small community of Tarboro orth Carolina. I recognized in Johns book a road map of my own early experiences. As a young girl, I saw how people's lives were shaped by their career opportunities, and I sensed that my own ac vancement was keyed to the kind of inquisitor I was. As a student Project Upward Bound, a program for academically achieving, col lege-bound, disadvantaged students, I left North Carolina to expand my education, eventually working at the National Academy of Sci- Throughout my journey, one common thread emerged: The quality of the answers I received was related directly to the pointed nature of the questions I asked. The more engaged I was, the more those around me responded. This process was nonverbal as well as verbal. Without articulating it even to myself, I was advancing my credentials by being proactive and perhaps, now and again, a bit provocative Today, having founded a company in the business of helping people transform jobs into meaningful careers(and, yes, become empow-
job, but the path taken—the relationship to work throughout life. And as John demonstrates so compellingly in this book, empowerment begins with the questions applicants ask. So much creativity and insight has gone into the concept of the “informational interview,” thanks largely to Richard Bolles and his marvelous classic, What Color Is Your Parachute? For job seekers, the informational interview at once reduces stress, manages expectations, and elicits—what else?—information. For the employer, the informational interview is just as useful. But John has gone the process one better. In showing job seekers how to interview interviewers, he has taken the informational interview to the next level. As this practice takes hold, the benefits to employees and employers alike will be palpable. How do I know this? Because empowerment doesn’t happen as some sort of grand revelation; it’s in the details, the small etchings on the clean slate, the right questions asked in the right way, at the right time. And because, for me, this process really worked—though I couldn’t have described it as such at the time. I was born and went to school in the small community of Tarboro, North Carolina. I recognized in John’s book a road map of my own early experiences. As a young girl, I saw how people’s lives were shaped by their career opportunities, and I sensed that my own advancement was keyed to the kind of inquisitor I was. As a student in Project Upward Bound, a program for academically achieving, college-bound, disadvantaged students, I left North Carolina to expand my education, eventually working at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Throughout my journey, one common thread emerged: The quality of the answers I received was related directly to the pointed nature of the questions I asked. The more engaged I was, the more those around me responded. This process was nonverbal as well as verbal. Without articulating it even to myself, I was advancing my credentials by being proactive and perhaps, now and again, a bit provocative. Today, having founded a company in the business of helping people transform jobs into meaningful careers (and, yes, become empowFOREWORD x