Only talk 80% of the time in interviews. In other words, if you’re talking for 48 minutes out of an hour interview, you’re on the right track. This includes being prepared with questions to ask the interviewer. Do yourself a favor and don’t ask questions that you should already know. There are such things as “dumb” questions at an interview.
A dumb question is one that the employer feels its obvious you should know. Here are are a few examples of "dumb" questions:
- What's the mission/purpose of your organization?
- What are the responsibilities or duties of the job?
- Why is your organization important?
- What job and I interviewing for?
All of those questions are dumb! When preparing for an interview, you should always review the job annoucement or description. At a minimum, you will also want to review the organizations website. If you really want to impress them, review their social media sites and find out as much as you can about the actual office or department within the organization you're interviewing with. You can take brief notes or create bullet points with a few tidbits you've found. Bring them to the interview so you can refer to them as needed. It's normal for a interviewee to take notes or review their notes during an interview, so don't worry.
Doing your research can help you come up with intelligent questions to ask that will reflect well on you. Listening will also increase your ability to ask relevant and meaningful questions in the heat of the moment. This gives them a chance to experience your interpersonal and communication skills in action. Soft skills are in high demand with employers for many reasons, one being that soft skills are harder to learn than technical skills. Show them what you've got!
Best of luck as you move forward!
