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301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview
"Is there anything you'd like to ask us?" This question can paralyze even the most seasoned job applicants. But with 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your
Interview at your side, you’ll be ready with a response that demonstrates your confidence and ability to see the whole picture and think on your feet.
This second edition of the bestselling job seeker's resource delivers proven, up-to-the-minute tools for job hunters who want to shine in this most crucial part of the interview process. Written with the participation of hundreds of recruiters, job coaches, hiring managers, and Fortune 500 HR specialists, this book is the best
available source for the questions that can advance your candidacy and convince interviewers that you’re the best person for the job. Other features, including examples of the most powerful questions you can ask—and the
questions NEVER to ask—make 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview your go-to guide for get-noticed, get-hired tips and techniques and expert guidance to put you in the driver’s seat at your next interview.
John Kador is the author of several books, including The Manager's Book of Questions and How to Ace the Brain Teaser Interview . A professional business writer and consultant, he has produced numerous speeches, annual reports, scripts, case
histories, white papers, and news releases for Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Adecco, IBM, Sears, and other corporate clients. He lives in Winfield, Pennsylvania.
Interview at your side, you’ll be ready with a response that demonstrates your confidence and ability to see the whole picture and think on your feet.
This second edition of the bestselling job seeker's resource delivers proven, up-to-the-minute tools for job hunters who want to shine in this most crucial part of the interview process. Written with the participation of hundreds of recruiters, job coaches, hiring managers, and Fortune 500 HR specialists, this book is the best
available source for the questions that can advance your candidacy and convince interviewers that you’re the best person for the job. Other features, including examples of the most powerful questions you can ask—and the
questions NEVER to ask—make 301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview your go-to guide for get-noticed, get-hired tips and techniques and expert guidance to put you in the driver’s seat at your next interview.
John Kador is the author of several books, including The Manager's Book of Questions and How to Ace the Brain Teaser Interview . A professional business writer and consultant, he has produced numerous speeches, annual reports, scripts, case
histories, white papers, and news releases for Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Adecco, IBM, Sears, and other corporate clients. He lives in Winfield, Pennsylvania.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2002
46 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
John Kador
31 books3 followersJohn Kador is the author of 12 business books. His latest book is "Effective Apology: Mending Fences, Building Bridges, and Restoring Trust."
John Kador is an independent business writer whose best-selling books and insightful articles have been helping business leaders work smarter and more profitably for more than three decades. John has written more than ten books under his own name as well as an equal number for which he served as ghostwriter.
John’s most recent book is Effective Apology: Mending Fences, Building Bridges, and Restoring Trust.
John Kador is an independent business writer whose best-selling books and insightful articles have been helping business leaders work smarter and more profitably for more than three decades. John has written more than ten books under his own name as well as an equal number for which he served as ghostwriter.
John’s most recent book is Effective Apology: Mending Fences, Building Bridges, and Restoring Trust.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 19, 2023
Đọc cuốn sách nhanh hơn mình nghĩ, vì nội dung khá rõ ràng và thực tế. Sách đưa ra những chỉ dẫn cụ thể trong từng bước của 1 quá trình phỏng vấn, với mỗi vòng, chúng ta nên có những chiến thuật khác nhau và hiểu về vị trí và bối cảnh. Có nhiều câu hỏi mà có thể chúng ta đã từng mắc phải trong quá khứ, chính bản thân mình cũng vậy. Bạn cứ hình dung mỗi vòng phỏng vấn khoảng 60 phút, trong đó 15 phút cuối là người phỏng vấn sẽ hỏi ứng viên có câu hỏi gì không, vậy tính ra là 25% thười gian phỏng vấn là để chúng ta đặt câu hỏi, thường 3-4 câu là đẹp. Và phần mình đặt câu hỏi là mình có thể chủ động và lựa chọn câu hỏi được, vậy nên rõ ràng chúng ta nên đầu tư vào việc suy nghĩ câu hỏi dành cho người phỏng vấn, kết hợp với research về họ trên linkedin hoặc google!
Tuy nhiên, có 1 số câu hỏi nếu ra trong sách có vẻ …người bình thường sẽ không lặp lại, nên có thể tác giả không cần đề cập tới để làm nội dung sách được tập trung hơn thì tốt!
Tuy nhiên, có 1 số câu hỏi nếu ra trong sách có vẻ …người bình thường sẽ không lặp lại, nên có thể tác giả không cần đề cập tới để làm nội dung sách được tập trung hơn thì tốt!
November 15, 2022
This book was published in 2002 so a bit outdated. I thought the book was ok. The author splits the questions into questions for recruiters, HR, and the hiring manager. Pretty much all the questions or variation of them, I've seen in other books or in online articles. None of the questions were particularly unique.
On page 6, author references the 2 questions a career coach always gives her clients and they are "Now that we have talked about my qualifications, do you have concerns about me fulfilling the responsibilities of this position?" and "As my direct report in this position, what are the 3 top priorities you would first like to see accomplished?"
On page 7, the author references the favourite question of a recruiter. They were "In what area could your team use a little polishing?" and "Why did you come to XZY company?"
On pages 49-50, author talks about taking notes during the interview and asking for consent. The reasons against taking notes are:
• In regular conversations, you typically do not take notes so it's considered rude as you should be paying full attention to the person
• Taking notes may make the interviewer defensive as if you are collecting evidence for a potential lawsuit
• Suggests that the candidate may have a problem with short-term memory or with thinking on his or her feet
One general manager the author references says the following, "I'm interested in people with good memories and I find it distracting watching applicants take notes." The manager also says that those in technical positions should be taking notes as these positions tend to be detail-oriented. I'm really surprised to have seen this written as for me, it was always seen as standard to bring and take notes with you. The fact that people view it so negatively seems nutty to me and I hope that this attitude isn't still held today.
The author does go into the arguments for taking notes such as it being a sign of a well-organized professional. He thinks it's important to ask for permission since we are the interviewer's guest. We can say, "Do you mind if I take notes? I want to keep the details of this discussion very clear in my mind because the more I learn about this opportunity, the more confident I am that I can make an important contribution."
On page 156 he talks about getting honest feedback from HR is impossible, unless you have a personal relationship with the hiring manager. They tend to give generic answers such as, "another candidate simply had a little more experience in the areas most important to us." People don't like giving bad news. They can be honest about objective standards such the job post requiring 5 years of experience in C++ when you have only 2 years. My response to that is that companies shouldn't even bring you in for an interview if that is their deal breaker criteria.
He does go into how to get feedback if you really want it but that it doesn't always work, although he says it worked for him before. You can say to the interviewer, "Thanks for taking my call. I got your letter telling me that you won't be making me an offer and I accept the decision. I need to improve my interviewing skills and I'm asking for your help. I am asking you to be brutally honest about my performance and what I could have done better. I can make you three promises. I promise I will not interrupt you. I promise I will not defend myself. And I promise I will not contact you or your company for a year. Will you help me?"
My main issue in this book is with Chapter 12 - Bid-for-Action Questions: Questions That Clinch The Offer. He basically gives questions to ask that directly ask for the job. I am in Canada and have asked others about this and this strategy just would not work here. It may work in a few cases but asking directly for the job doesn't fly. Maybe it depends on the industry. He does reference a Canadian resource manager on page 131 who likes the direct approach but I just don't think most people like being pushy. I'm showing up, answering questions with interest, and ask questions to better understand the role. Of course I'm interested. He does reference someone from the software industry who wouldn't be comfortable with someone coming on so strong so the author at least addresses that this may not be a useful strategy.
In the end, he groups all of the questions from the previous chapters on questions to ask recruiters, HR, or the hiring manager for quick reference. Overall this book didn't have much new information and it was an ok read.
On page 6, author references the 2 questions a career coach always gives her clients and they are "Now that we have talked about my qualifications, do you have concerns about me fulfilling the responsibilities of this position?" and "As my direct report in this position, what are the 3 top priorities you would first like to see accomplished?"
On page 7, the author references the favourite question of a recruiter. They were "In what area could your team use a little polishing?" and "Why did you come to XZY company?"
On pages 49-50, author talks about taking notes during the interview and asking for consent. The reasons against taking notes are:
• In regular conversations, you typically do not take notes so it's considered rude as you should be paying full attention to the person
• Taking notes may make the interviewer defensive as if you are collecting evidence for a potential lawsuit
• Suggests that the candidate may have a problem with short-term memory or with thinking on his or her feet
One general manager the author references says the following, "I'm interested in people with good memories and I find it distracting watching applicants take notes." The manager also says that those in technical positions should be taking notes as these positions tend to be detail-oriented. I'm really surprised to have seen this written as for me, it was always seen as standard to bring and take notes with you. The fact that people view it so negatively seems nutty to me and I hope that this attitude isn't still held today.
The author does go into the arguments for taking notes such as it being a sign of a well-organized professional. He thinks it's important to ask for permission since we are the interviewer's guest. We can say, "Do you mind if I take notes? I want to keep the details of this discussion very clear in my mind because the more I learn about this opportunity, the more confident I am that I can make an important contribution."
On page 156 he talks about getting honest feedback from HR is impossible, unless you have a personal relationship with the hiring manager. They tend to give generic answers such as, "another candidate simply had a little more experience in the areas most important to us." People don't like giving bad news. They can be honest about objective standards such the job post requiring 5 years of experience in C++ when you have only 2 years. My response to that is that companies shouldn't even bring you in for an interview if that is their deal breaker criteria.
He does go into how to get feedback if you really want it but that it doesn't always work, although he says it worked for him before. You can say to the interviewer, "Thanks for taking my call. I got your letter telling me that you won't be making me an offer and I accept the decision. I need to improve my interviewing skills and I'm asking for your help. I am asking you to be brutally honest about my performance and what I could have done better. I can make you three promises. I promise I will not interrupt you. I promise I will not defend myself. And I promise I will not contact you or your company for a year. Will you help me?"
My main issue in this book is with Chapter 12 - Bid-for-Action Questions: Questions That Clinch The Offer. He basically gives questions to ask that directly ask for the job. I am in Canada and have asked others about this and this strategy just would not work here. It may work in a few cases but asking directly for the job doesn't fly. Maybe it depends on the industry. He does reference a Canadian resource manager on page 131 who likes the direct approach but I just don't think most people like being pushy. I'm showing up, answering questions with interest, and ask questions to better understand the role. Of course I'm interested. He does reference someone from the software industry who wouldn't be comfortable with someone coming on so strong so the author at least addresses that this may not be a useful strategy.
In the end, he groups all of the questions from the previous chapters on questions to ask recruiters, HR, or the hiring manager for quick reference. Overall this book didn't have much new information and it was an ok read.
September 2, 2019
I read this from the perspective of an interviewer but it is intended and has great content for job seekers.
I love the suggestions in Chapter 15 - “You Blew the Interview. Now What?” which give a way to actually get feedback from your interviewer.
I wrote down about 25 of these questions just so I could pass them on to anyone I know who is job hunting, especially those who are just starting their careers.
I love the suggestions in Chapter 15 - “You Blew the Interview. Now What?” which give a way to actually get feedback from your interviewer.
I wrote down about 25 of these questions just so I could pass them on to anyone I know who is job hunting, especially those who are just starting their careers.
May 24, 2025
Interesting book and a good read! As a job seeker you need to convey that you are interested and qualified for the job or profession you are applying for work. At the interview it is also where you can sense or find out discretely, if the work and job is for you.
February 20, 2019
As someone preparing to interview for legal internships, this book was only semi-helpful.
Definitely geared more for someone looking to work in sales.
Definitely geared more for someone looking to work in sales.
April 6, 2023
Useful interview resource
May 6, 2012
3 1/2 stars. I liked this book. I have no problem admitting that I'm extremely uncomfortable in job interviews, and I'm sure it shows. This book had great questions to ask in order to learn about the company, the job, and to see if it's a good fit. I feel much more confident now than I did before reading it.
March 2, 2011
Great book to have around as a reference or fodder for inspiration on those days when anxiety is choking your professional creativity. I'm sure this book helped me succeed through multiple interviews.
July 17, 2015
Great book to read to prepare for interview. I would say pick a few questions out to be prepared to ask during the interview. Be careful to not take over the interview a mistake I have done because I was too excited to 'show' interest in the opportunity.
March 14, 2016
Your questions at the interview is really a beginning of the conversation. I totally underestimated the importance of it in my past job hunt... We learn from mistakes and next time I plan to be much better at questioning my interviewer!
Read
April 30, 2011good interview questions
July 14, 2013
Need to read
March 30, 2017
This was actually super useful. I used to be the one who never had any questions at the end of an interview -- never again! I've got a few power-questions in my pocket and I know my interviews will go all the better for it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews