Ask This Question at the End of Every Interview

If you want to get a job and grow in your career

How many interviews have you been in where you leave feeling good about your performance, but ultimately you don’t get the job? It happens all the time. It makes sense. If we are in the interview in the first place, it is because we are at least a near match with the position description, and our resume resonated enough with the human resources team for them to want to have an in-person conversation with us. But what does it take to get from the interview to the offer?

After countless interviews, I’ve noticed that there is always a similar pattern to the conversation. First, the interviewer starts by introducing themself and thanking the interviewee for taking the time. They then outline how the meeting will go, and start by asking something like, “Can you tell me about yourself?” or “Can you summarize your work experience and why you are interested in this role?”

The questions then go a little deeper into the interviewee’s background to see if there is a match with the position. Sometimes there are hypothetical questions or “can you think of a time when…” questions. Eventually the interviewer will stop with their questions and ask the interviewee if they have questions.

As the interviewee, you should always have questions to ask about the role and the organization that show the interviewer that you are truly interested in the position and have thought about the work. Your questions should also highlight your understanding of the work and the organization at a deeper level than what is on the website.

Once you’ve asked the job-specific and organization-specific questions that you prepared in advance, there is one question that you should always finish with if you want to improve and grow through the interview process and through the process of job-hunting.This question will help you understand why you don’t ultimately get chosen or it will enable you to be chosen.

The magic question goes something like this.

“Are there any concerns or reservations you have with my application that I can address now?”

The power of this question is multifaceted. Perhaps most importantly, it gives you the opportunity to address any of the employer’s concerns with your background and any reservations they might have with moving forward with you as a candidate. This question also shows an awareness of the timing and the process. The question also shows maturity in younger candidates. The interviewer will respect that you understand that there is limited time to communicate and they will appreciate the candid nature of the question. There is also power to this question, because even if you get rejected, you could potentially get meaningful feedback during the interview process that allows you to grow in a way that gets you a different job offer down the road.

This question also could open up a conversation about the job opportunity that would otherwise not happen, and it could enable a conversation after the interview process is over. This is also a potential opportunity to solicit more advice and even in some cases adopt a mentor.