Boost Your Job Search Success: The Power of Direct Questions
Have you ever asked a question in an interview and gotten a response that was not helpful?
I notice job seekers experience this in interviews all the time.
It may be because you are asking indirect, poorly timed, or vague questions in interviews and in written communication.
This typically causes you to elicit information that is not helpful.
It reminds me of a powerful little mantra from my NLP days which is "The meaning of your communication is the response you get."
In other words, your communication might be clear to you, but it is the other person's interpretation and response that determines your effectiveness.
Aka - the message you send might not be the message they receive...and if they don't get it you gotta adjust.
Get better at asking direct questions. Let's get into it.
I recently wrote a LinkedIn post on this topic and it resonated with a lot of folks.
What prompted me to write the post is remembering a past client who told me she followed up with a recruiter via email and said "Let me know if you need anything else from me," instead of asking "Could we schedule next steps this week?"
The latter is what this client wanted to ask, but she feared being so direct.
So the response she got was "No we don't need anything else from you at this point," which was a useless answer for her because it's not really what she wanted to know.
In both interviewing and email/written communication, practicing the art of asking direct questions is invaluable.
It not only demonstrates your confidence, clarity, and professionalism, it also helps you get the info you need to determine if the company is a good fit.
Indirect or vague questions not only waste time but also hinder effective communication.
Instead, ask direct questions that illicit helpful responses and get you the information you need to make your next move.
Here are some examples of direct questions to use in your job search:
"Do you have time tomorrow or Friday to chat more about this open role?"
"Do you have any hesitations about moving me to the next steps?"
"Reaching back to see if we could schedule next steps this week?"
"Could you introduce me to X person?"
"Is there room to increase the base salary to X?"
"How frequently is an employee's performance evaluated?"
"Are bonuses given outside of the yearly schedule?"
Ask the actual question you are wondering about and be direct and clear.
You can still be warm in the rest of your communication whether in person or via email, but don't be afraid to get to the core of what you want to know.
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Pro Tip: Want a list of 46 strong questions you can ask in interviews? Check out module 4 of the Be Your Own Recruiter workbook.
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Your communication can make or break your job search, so be mindful.
And as with all communication it takes practice to get better, so try it out next time you are interviewing or emailing a recruiter.
Get to the heart of what you want to know and make it easy for people to respond.
Stay ready.
Tired of getting rejected in your job search? Learn a more effective job search process in this workbook 👇🏾
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