I was recently leading a search for two critical roles at my organization. 

In both cases, the candidates I thought were in LAST place early on, ended up getting the job!

They went from LAST place to FIRST place by asking just two key questions.

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

For both jobs, the winning candidates had great resumes, of course. 

On paper; however, they were competing against stronger candidates who had many more years of experience at more prestigious companies. 

During the first round interviews, they said all the right things but I still thought the other candidates had a slight edge.

What they did next though, made all the difference. 

When I debriefed each of the successful candidates, they asked me the same two questions:

• In your opinion, where am I a little lighter compared to your other candidates?

And…

• What does the next interviewer care about most? 

Each of these questions unlocked new insights they could carry into the next round of interviews. 

WHY THESE QUESTIONS MATTER

Candidates often ask lots of questions after the first round of interviews but, they’re mostly about benefits and next steps.

To gain an edge, the best candidates use the debrief to gather intel. 

For example, the first question above allowed both candidates to understand exactly what we’re looking for AND how they stacked up against the other candidates.  

The way the question was phrased was meaningful. 

They didn’t say “How did I do?”

They asked “Where am I a little lighter…”

That’s an easier question for a recruiter to answer and gave them context that would help improve their positioning in the next round.

The second question is great because it allowed them to focus their answers in the next round on topics important to the interviewer.  

This question can backfire if a recruiter doesn’t know the answer, so an alternate way of asking could be…

What can you tell me about the next interviewer?

With this question you might get some insights on their personality, background, or tenure but it’s all good  information you can use to improve in the next round. 

GETTING STRONGER

While each step of the interview is important, it’s always great to see a candidate start strong but get stronger with each successive interview. 

The way you do that is by asking great questions during each debrief.

If you’re on the market for a Recruiting Leadership or Recruiting Operations role, consider signing up for this free “Daily Open Jobs” email. 

And if you happen to land an interview…use the questions in this article! They work!