Rules for Better Questions when Being Interviewed
In the past, students and professors have remarked that they appreciated posts on interviewing skills. I ran into some rules in an internet piece that may be useful to RT students interviewing for jobs or internships.
These five rules, excerpted from “301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview,” by John Kador, may help arm students with interview questions and techniques for sell themselves and getting the position they want.
1. Ask open-ended questions. Closed-ended questions can be answered “yes” or “no,” and begin with words such as “did,” “have,” “do,” “would” and “are.” Open-ended questions — which usually begin with “how,” “when” and “who” — create opportunities for a conversation and a much richer exchange of information. All RT students should know the difference between closed- and open-ended from instruction in therapeutic communication.
2. Keep it short Be brief with your questions. Restrict every question to one point.
3. Don’t interrupt Wait for the interviewer to finish the question before asking for clarification or interrupting with a question of your own such as “You want to know what I know about relaxation techniques?” Let the interviewer be in control of the interview.
4. Getting to yes Your goal in the interview is to end the interview on an affirmation. In fact, the more yeses and statements of agreement you can generate, the better off you will be. Why? People, including interviewers, really prefer being agreeable. Few people enjoy saying no. Who needs arguments? The best way to avoid arguments is to say yes.
5. Use inclusive language A good technique is for the candidate to subtly shift from “you” to “we.” Words such as “we” and “our” subtly give the impression that the candidate is already a member of the team. The more comfortable the interviewer is with the concept of the candidate already being on the team, the better the candidate’s chances. It’s so much easier extending an offer to someone who the interviewer on some level already perceives as part of “us” instead of “them.”
These five rules, excerpted from “301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview,” by John Kador, may help arm students with interview questions and techniques for sell themselves and getting the position they want.
1. Ask open-ended questions. Closed-ended questions can be answered “yes” or “no,” and begin with words such as “did,” “have,” “do,” “would” and “are.” Open-ended questions — which usually begin with “how,” “when” and “who” — create opportunities for a conversation and a much richer exchange of information. All RT students should know the difference between closed- and open-ended from instruction in therapeutic communication.
2. Keep it short Be brief with your questions. Restrict every question to one point.
3. Don’t interrupt Wait for the interviewer to finish the question before asking for clarification or interrupting with a question of your own such as “You want to know what I know about relaxation techniques?” Let the interviewer be in control of the interview.
4. Getting to yes Your goal in the interview is to end the interview on an affirmation. In fact, the more yeses and statements of agreement you can generate, the better off you will be. Why? People, including interviewers, really prefer being agreeable. Few people enjoy saying no. Who needs arguments? The best way to avoid arguments is to say yes.
5. Use inclusive language A good technique is for the candidate to subtly shift from “you” to “we.” Words such as “we” and “our” subtly give the impression that the candidate is already a member of the team. The more comfortable the interviewer is with the concept of the candidate already being on the team, the better the candidate’s chances. It’s so much easier extending an offer to someone who the interviewer on some level already perceives as part of “us” instead of “them.”
posted by Hoosier RT | 9:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home