Opinions on something I said during interview!

[fedfan100]

So I had a relatively smooth interview, and even got a nice conversation going at some point. At the end of the interview I was asked “Do you have any questions for us?” to which I replied “I would like to get each of your opinions on what the strongest aspect of this school is.” I immediately followed that up with “So sell me the school.”

I don’t know what possessed me to say this last part but I guess in the moment I thought it would make me seem like a more confident candidate. I feel like really it just made me seem like an ungrateful d*****bag.

Opinions? Someone tell me it’s not that bad!

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[Styrene]

How did they react? For similar future "do you have any questions" scenarios, choose one question that is easy to answer and the answer to which is mostly objective -- i.e. do students generally enjoy the XYZ research program? Or, how many students participate in the free clinic, and how can we get involved?

 

[fedfan100]

@Styrene
thanks for the tip, will keep that in mind.

the interviewers didn't seem to react in any negative way, they just went ahead and answered the question right after i stopped talking, doesn't mean that they couldn't have thought something negative while doing so however.

 

[Catalystik]

I was asked “Do you have any questions for us?” to which I replied “I would like to get each of your opinions on what the strongest aspect of this school is.” I immediately followed that up with “So sell me the school.”

If I were asked the latter question at my school, I'd assume you weren't paying attention to the general presentation given to the applicant group. I certainly wouldn't have the time to reiterate the entire talk. I do like the first question you asked, though.

 

[Styrene]

@Styrene
thanks for the tip, will keep that in mind.

the interviewers didn't seem to react in any negative way, they just went ahead and answered the question right after i stopped talking, doesn't mean that they couldn't have thought something negative while doing so however.

If I was in that situation, I would just make sure to email/mail the interviewers directly to thank them for the opportunity while simultaneously mentioning how I particularly enjoyed hearing about all the great things the school has to offer -- one or two sentences. I'm no expert, though.

 

[fedfan100]

Appreciate the replies.

Any more perspectives?

 

[WedgeDawg]

It's probably fine.

In the future, rather than asking about the strongest aspect though, I have found that you can get more information (especially when talking to current students) by asking what they think the weakest aspect of their school is or what they like least about it.

 

[Jdp00921]

So I had a relatively smooth interview, and even got a nice conversation going at some point. At the end of the interview I was asked “Do you have any questions for us?” to which I replied “I would like to get each of your opinions on what the strongest aspect of this school is.” I immediately followed that up with “So sell me the school.”

I don’t know what possessed me to say this last part but I guess in the moment I thought it would make me seem like a more confident candidate. I feel like really it just made me seem like an ungrateful d*****bag.

Opinions? Someone tell me it’s not that bad!

I had a really similar situation happen to me at an interview last month! When it was my turn to ask any questions, I asked "why do you believe students should come to X school" - not verbatim, as I don't remember exactly what I said but it was something to that extent. One of the interviewers responded "well I would never say anything to force someone to come to this school (and so on...)" - again, not verbatim. When he was done stressing that point he did answer my question and explained the things he felt the school excelled it. Overall, I felt a little uncomfortable following the interview as I in no way meant to say anything that may be looked at as distasteful. Lo-and-behold I was accepted!

Moral of the story - don't worry about it too much. You really don't know how they interpreted your request and it isn't worth making assumptions!

Good Luck!