Rule of 3: Basic Interview Question - What questions do you have?

I have mentioned similar concepts in a like-minded blog in the past, but this is worth repeating given its importance and simple interview mistakes we have witnessed. So, when in doubt, consider adopting The Rule of 3 approach when preparing for job interview questions.

The biggest reason for thinking this through has to do with you honestly evaluating the role and whether you genuinely want it because it is a good fit for you and your career development.

Naturally, you will want to be able to clearly identify exactly why you are interested in the role and be able to produce questions around the role which require clear and direct responses before allowing you to move forward with a decision around taking the role if it is offered.

You should be very clear with respect questions around a role before ever moving on to an interview with a hiring manager where you will be asked this basic follow-through question for certain.

Hiring Personnel Perceptions

Hiring authorities will be evaluating you in your response to this seemingly benign question much more than you may think. And they will be doing so based upon a simple thought process, which is essentially assessing how much time and energy you put into thinking through questions prior to the interview.

They will likely evaluate your response more or less in accordance with the basic parameters outlined below. Not necessarily the Rule of 3 per se, but they will be evaluating how much effort you put forth relative to your thinking around the open position.

Thought Exercise – Rule of 3

You should at least be able to come up with three reasons on why you are interested in a role and a minimum of three questions related to the role. If you cannot hit these basic thresholds, something is wrong, and this should be a red flag for you because it will be for hiring managers.

The thinking is simple: If you cannot clearly arrive at three good reasons why you think this role is a good fit, then do not waste your time or the company’s time with an interview. Likewise, if you are not able to muster the energy to develop three legitimate and penetrating questions around fleshing out the role’s scope in greater detail, then this should also act as a sort of flag that perhaps you are not genuinely interested in the role or curious enough about it.

Takeaway

We have stressed this before, but it is worth repeating. The most precious resource we all possess is time. Be true to yourself and hiring authorities by giving these basic questions some sound thought before moving forward with the hiring process.