270: Should You Ask About Hiring Objections in Your Job Interview?

Should you ever ask a hiring manager if they have any objections to hiring you? This episode of the Mid-Career GPS Podcast tackles this job interview conundrum head-on. Learn to navigate the nuances of this controversial question and discover how it might impact your chances of landing the job. We explore the boldness and potential pitfalls of posing such a query, and whether it showcases confidence or betrays insecurity. Drawing from my own hiring experience, I share insights into how this question is likely perceived by those across the interview table.

Join me as I break down the strategic thinking behind this approach and whether it truly benefits your candidacy. Rather than fishing for feedback, I emphasize the importance of demonstrating assurance in your qualifications. You'll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to better prepare for interviews and craft your unique mid-career GPS. Whether navigating your current career path or venturing into new opportunities, this episode offers practical guidance to help you make a lasting impression for all the right reasons.

Transcript

John Neral: 0:01

I get asked this job interview question a lot and I want to take some time with you this week to address it, because when people reach out, one of the main questions they will ask me is John, what do you think about me asking the interviewer or hiring manager if they have any objections or hesitations about hiring me for this job? I get it. There's a strategy here and if you follow social media, especially YouTube, you will hear hiring managers and coaches talk about the importance of asking this question to help you in the interview. Yeah, I got some thoughts on that and my thoughts may surprise you. So stick around because I'm going to help you use this question to build your mid-career GPS a little more strategically. Let's get started.

John Neral: 1:04

Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm your host, John Neral. I help mid-career professionals like you find a job they love, or love the job they have, using my proven four-step formula as you prepare for your next job interview. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to make a great impression and build the relationship with the hiring manager. Just a few weeks ago, I hosted a masterclass a free masterclass on helping people build a relationship during the interview. Now, one of the best ways to hear about these type of special events is to be a member of my email community. Now you can do that by going to my website at https://johnneral. com. You can also find it on the featured section in my LinkedIn profile, and I'd love to have you be a part of my email community. I email everybody twice a week with relevant career and leadership information, and you'll be the first to find out when I get to host little pop-up events like this. So come on in, check that out on the website at https://johnneral. com and I'll see you there.

John Neral: 2:13

But here's the thing this question about whether or not you should ask the hiring manager if they have any objections about hiring you. What I want you to really think about here is why would you ask it? Like literally, like, why would you ask that question? Because if you're seeking feedback, more than likely you're not going to get it. Companies that follow a structured interview protocol where they're asking everybody the same question and they're not providing feedback in the interview, they're not going to give that to you. In fact, a really astute hiring manager will know you are fishing for that kind of feedback and more than likely will shut it down. Here's the thing. You're literally asking the hiring manager what concerns they have because you feel like you didn't do very well in the job interview. Why would you come from a place where you are coming across as lacking confidence or assurance in why you believe you are the best candidate?

John Neral: 3:30

The other thing to consider here is that some hiring managers may take that question as you being direct, bold or confident, and they may like that. They still may not answer it, but they may like that. Some may feel like you're coming across as being aggressive because it's not your job or your role in that relationship to ask that kind of question, because they'll provide that to you when they tell you whether you get offered the job or not. The other thing to consider is that you may come across as being insecure or uncertain and, as a job candidate, if you are even giving an ounce of doubt or uncertainty as why you believe you are not the best person for the job, you are limiting or hurting your chances of getting that job offer. Here's where the question could go wrong, right? So asking that question, I really want you to get clear on your thoughts as to whether or not you believe you should be asking that question. When I was hiring talent and somebody would ask that question, the first thing I would think of was yeah, that's pretty direct, good for them for asking it, but it's not my place to give them feedback, especially if I'm serving as part of a panel or team where we would be debriefing about their interview and making a decision after the fact.

John Neral: 5:13

The bigger question here for you to think about is that, if you are considering asking that question in the interview, you missed something. You either missed answering a question, you felt as if you didn't answer a particular question well enough, particular question well enough and you just want to smooth that over by coming across as someone who's like yeah, so what reservations do you have? Because, deep down inside, what I'm really asking you is I'd love a chance to clear up what I messed up. If that's the case, you take time at some point in the interview and you bring it back to that answer and clean up that response. Hey, earlier I know you asked me this question and there was something else that came up, and I just want to come back to that for a moment, if that's okay, and go into your response.

John Neral: 6:22

Your role as the job candidate is to address any objections you believe the hiring manager may have about you, and you do that by telling a very compelling, value and evidence-based response that gets ahead of any potential objections the hiring manager may have. If you've been paying attention during the interview and you've been listening to the questions they've asked and have heard their responses in terms of any follow-up conversations you may have after you've given your response, you're building that relationship and you should be doing that throughout the interview. So if you're effectively managing the relationship in the interview, you don't need to ask that question. I coach my clients on a very specific skill that I call the 51-49 dynamic in a job interview 51-49 dynamic in a job interview and real quickly. What I mean by that is we will give the company and the hiring manager 51% of that relationship because they have the ability and the power to offer you the job.

John Neral: 7:30

But if you, as the job candidate, are not showing up at 49%, are not showing up at 49% almost an equal partner in this relationship you're not showing up at your best. You're holding back or hesitating in some way because you're not looking at the interview as a proactive conversation. You're looking at it as a very reactionary relationship where they ask you a question, you respond, you wait for the next question and you come across as being passive. What I want to offer you today is to take a more active role in the relationship. Be an equal party. Be as curious about them as they are about you. If anything, be more curious about them. You're both trying to assess fit, but because the company has the ability to offer that job to you, we give them that 51% Throughout the interview.

John Neral: 8:34

Your job is to manage the objections. If you believe you're not as proficient in a certain skill, you lack a certain managerial experience. Maybe you haven't had experience managing as big of a budget this job may have, but you have skills that you know you could transfer. That is you getting ahead of the objection and addressing it in your responses throughout the interview. Granted, you don't want to come across as being desperate or needy or convincing, but you do it in a very confident and competent type way. At the end of the day, what I want to offer you here is this way. At the end of the day, what I want to offer you here is this you will show up and interview for that job as best as you believe and if you want to try it out and ask that question, go for it, okay.

John Neral: 9:33

Personally, I think it's a bad move. I think it shows you are uncertain or lack confidence in yourself and, as I shared earlier, if the company is following a structured interview protocol, they're not going to answer it. So now, when it comes time for you to ask your questions at the end of the interview and you say to them I'm just kind of curious, what hesitations or objections do you have about offering me the job? And they're not going to answer it, you've now wasted a question. And not only have you wasted a question, you've made yourself memorable in a way that may not be to your advantage. Use the questions at the end of the interview to make yourself memorable and to stand out from all of the other candidates. Right, if you're building the relationship effectively throughout the interview, you don't have to ask that objection question. You don't. Now, if you're going through that interview and you're a little concerned about, oh gosh, I don't want to be ghosted after the interview, I felt like I interviewed really well and I like them and I think they like me, and I just want to know I've got a very specific strategy to help you to avoid being ghosted in the interview.

John Neral: 10:56

Interestingly enough, it's one of the bonus modules I included in a brand new interview preparation course that I have called A Simple Five-Step Strategy for Crushing your Next Job Interview. Now you can learn more about the course. The course is on my website at johnnerrellcom forward slash courses, or you just click on the courses tab at the top. You'll learn everything about the course, including the modules that are in there. It's about 90 minutes worth of video content that's broken down into three to six minute videos, so it's short and easily digestible to help you prepare for that interview. So it's another great way for me to help you and to help you prepare for this interview in a way that's going to help you save time, eliminate a lot of wasted preparation, help you calm your nerves and, most importantly, be more confident as you tell that story from that place of value and service you in service.

John Neral: 12:06

All right, my friends, like I say to all of my clients who I work with and I work with them on their interview preparation, I hope you get to choose. I never tell them. I hope they get the job offer, because at that point they have a decision to make and that decision is whether or not they want the job. So I never say to them oh, I hope you get the job. I say to them I hope you get to choose, because once they get the job offer, that 51-49 dynamic now becomes 50-50. And you now have leverage to help you negotiate that job offer and there's a few negotiating tips in that interview course as well. So I hope you get to choose and I hope, after listening to this episode, if you have any thoughts or experiences or things that you wanna share with me, connect with me on LinkedIn, drop me a message there.

John Neral: 12:54

You can also drop me an email at john, at johnnerrellcom. I'm gonna ask you one quick favor as I wrap up this episode. This episode's helpful. If you got something from this episode that is relevant or useful or pertinent to where you are in your job search, would you be so kind as to take the link of this episode and text it to a colleague or friend of yours and say, hey, this was a great episode. I'd love for you to take a yours and say, hey, this was a great episode. I'd love for you to take a listen and follow or subscribe to this podcast. That would mean a lot. I'd really appreciate it.

John Neral: 13:29

So until next time, my friends, remember this you will build your mid-career GPS one mile or one step at a time, and how you show up matters. Make it a great rest of your day. Thank you for listening to the Mid-Career GPS Podcast. Make sure to follow on your favorite listening platform and, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your comments on Apple Podcasts. Visit https://johnneral. com for more information about how I can help you build your mid-career GPS, or how I can help you build your mid-career GPS, or how I can help you and your organization with your next workshop or public speaking event. Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on social at John Neral Coaching. I look forward to being back with you next week. Until then, take care and remember how we show up matters. Thank you.