What Not to Ask

When faced with an awkward silence during an interview, you may be tempted to keep the conversation going. Most interviewees resort to generic questions in order to fill the gaps—for example, “What are your hours like?” or “What kind of work do you do?” One candidate even asked why his interviewer decided to be a lawyer. Rather than fill awkward silences with random questions, you should have a list of good questions prepared in advance. Read Chapter 11 to help you come up with good questions for this occasion. If you must ask spontaneous questions, do your best to ensure that all your questions are genuine. Better yet, instead of asking new questions, follow up on something the interviewer said earlier.

Of course, you should always try to save a few good questions for the end. But if you already asked well-thought-out questions during your interview, the interviewer is not going to hold it against you if you run out of questions. To improve your chances of an offer, simply say, “I have researched your firm very carefully and, even though I had several questions when I came in, you told me everything I wanted to know. Based on my research and your feedback, I am confident that this is a place where I want to work. Do you have any questions for me?” It works like a magic.