Try to Pin Down – The Precise Time of Interview

The "who" question by itself isn't likely to get you an appointment for a next interview. Your next goal is to get the answer to the "when" question. At this point you want to know what's the most likely date to meet the person whose name you've just discovered. The best way to ask this question is by making an assumption - that in fact you will be meeting with this person - and by saying something like this: "Will I be meeting with Mr. X during the next week or ten days?" No doubt you'll have to gird your loins to ask this because the question is based on a presumption - that you have sold yourself to your current interviewer and you are indeed one of the candidates who will be invited back. Some of the people I've coached shudder at this question and ask instead: "Would I be meeting with Mr. X during the next week if I'm considered further?" Asking the question this way may get them off the hook, but it's not quite as effective as assuming you are already among the finalists. That's because if your interviewer answers your "Will I be meeting Mr. X in the next few days?" question, he is actually committing himself (perhaps unconsciously) to arranging an appointment for you to meet with the next person up the line. You need no longer worry whether you're going to be considered for additional interviews. You're ready for the third step in getting your next interview. Now your goal is to pin down the precise time it will take place.

To get yourself in Mr. X's appointment book, you've got to ask a "what" question at this point. The best way to ask your "what" question is to ask it, and without stopping, offer several reasonable alternative answers, any one of which works to get you what you came for. Consider this example: "What's the best way to set up an interview with Mr. X? Could your secretary do it today so we can pin it down? Or do you think it's better if I call Mr. X's secretary directly?" Either way, you're going to get your next interview. If you've taken assertiveness training, chances are you'll see this line of questioning as most reasonable. But if you haven't, let me ask you to consider two facts that might persuade you how logical it is to ask the "who," "when," and "what" questions.

First, when you do this, you do what any professional sales person would do. You make it easy for your "customer" to buy. Instead of asking your interviewer if he wants someone else in your company to meet with you to discuss the position further, you ask much easier questions. Asking the interviewer to tell you whom you might be meeting with, and the time frame in which the meeting will take place, is a lot less difficult for your interviewer to answer than if you ask him point-blank if he wants such a meeting to take place at all! Ask any salesman and he'll tell that asking a customer if he wants to buy what he's selling is a lot tougher than asking the customer when he'd like it shipped, or how he'd like delivery made.



Second, you've achieved what you came for. You've got your next interview written down in your appointment book. You've put yourself closer to the job you seek. Keep in mind that your interviewer will probably meet a dozen candidates who are qualified enough to get in the door. It stands to reason that he won't be setting up additional interviews for all of them. You have put yourself closer to a job offer than the vast majority of your competition. And that's what it's all about.

When you've had three or four interviews with a company, setting up another interview is no longer enough - it's time your prospective employer made you a job offer. How can you direct your interviewer to do this? Again, control is the answer. Usually, by the time you've had two or three interviews, the cross-fire part of your meeting is pretty casual. The tough questions are behind you, or you wouldn't have been invited back again and again. Still, whoever interviews you may have some questions on his mind and you may feel yourself drawn into cross - examination in this interview, as well. If you are, control is again the answer. After you've finished answering any question, simply, directly, and in the fewest words possible, be prepared to ask a leading question of your own that will persuade your prospective boss to make you a job offer.

If you are in an enviable position of having another job offer in your pocket, a variation of the "when" question is in order. You might ask your interviewer, for example, when he thinks his firm will be able to make a decision concerning you since you do have a concrete offer from another firm and find yourself on the horns of a dilemma. There's nothing wrong with assuming control and saying, "I've got a problem," Mr. X. You see, I have an offer from the ABC company, and they're pressing for an answer from me. In all candor, I'm much more keen on the job with your company. That's why I was wondering if you might be able to reach your decision concerning me within the next two or three days. What do you think?" When you do this, you are putting pressure on your prospective boss, no doubt. But the competition should work in your favor. The fact that you are in demand should make you that much more desirable. If it turns out that you are not as well regarded by your interviewer as you thought, and if he lets you know that a decision won't be made for weeks or months, knowing this could help you make the right decision concerning the other company. On the other hand, you may just find that asking this when question speeds up the selection process and gets you the job you want sooner.