The interview is drawing to a close and the interviewer asks "do you have any questions you'd like to ask?", but you want to get out of there so fast you blurt out "no thanks you've answered all of my questions" and off you run. Did you know responding in this way can make the difference between securing the job and missing out? From the interviewer's perspective - they've spent the entire interview asking you all about yourself and can be left feeling a little insulted if you can't be bothered to find out more about them. No matter that you may have been a great candidate - you've left the impression that you're not all that interested in either the position or the organisation. Of course it can be difficult to come up with appropriate questions especially when you're feeling stressed or under pressure! But there are ways and means and mean ways...

Tactic 1:

A simple way to generate interview questions is to imagine that the company has telephoned you late on a Friday night and left a message that they'd like you to start the following Monday!! Panic - what basic information would you require? Well, you'd need to know the working hours; whom would you report to? What immediate work priorities need to be tackled first? Where would you be located? Is there parking for employees/canteen available etc etc. It's a good idea to write these questions down before you go to your interview as it's easy for your mind to go blank when you're under pressure. Other strategies you could employ might be in the next tactic!

Tactic 2:

Here it's helpful to think of common interview questions and turn them around to the interviewee's perspective. For example "where do you see yourself in 3 years time?" becomes "where does this company see itself in 3 years time?" You may want to ask about the organisation's strengths, values etc, why did the last person leave the position? What is your management style? There are so many questions you could potentially ask by using this tactic. Failing that...

Tactic 3:

If all else fails and you really must cut and run, at the very least you'll need to give the impression that you've given the job and organisation some thought. Write up some questions prior to the interview and when asked if you've any questions take out your list and politely say "I prepared a list of questions to ask but I think you may have answered most of them, can I have a moment to quickly check my list?" This tactic demonstrates that you've given the position some thought and spent time preparing for the interview which is all good PR for you.

Some final tips:

At the end of the interview, when asked if you've any questions make sure you don't ask questions that have already been answered during the interview. For example if the first question on your list is "tell me about the organisation" and the interviewer has spent quite some time briefing you on the organisation - by asking this question you've just demonstrated that you've not listened very well. So use your discretion!

Finally it's very important never to leave an interview without knowing what the next steps will be e.g. will there be a second interview, when will a decision be made, have you got a start date in mind etc so at the very least these should be included on your list of questions to ask!!