Everyone has experienced going on an interview, talking over your relevant skills and work experience and finally it comes to the moment where the interviewer asks if you have any questions.

This final part of an interview is typically seen as a formality to interviewees, however, this final moment is an apt opportunity to make a memorable impression to your potential future employer.

Understandably many interviewees get to this question and politely indicate that all of their questions have been answered. This is a rather bland and unmemorable way of ending an interview. It is highly recommended that you prepare at least one question for your interviewer.  

Asking the question, “What has been your favorite moment so far working at {Organization Name}?”

This question will help you garner important insights about the employer. Such insights may include what the interviewer thinks of the organization as well as the employee culture. The answer from the interviewer will help you determine your respective fit within the organization.

If the interviewer struggles to come up with a favorite memory, it's definitely a red flag to keep in mind if you receive a job offer.

The next time you're wrapping up a job interview, go ahead and ask your prepared question. You may be surprised by the amount of information you reap, and further, how this information molds your future employment decision.

In life, people tend to choose the easiest course of action for pretty much everything. Unfortunately, when we choose the easy path, some traits that we rely on, such as communications can burden us in our professional careers. Not only can it keep you from being a standout employee, it may further stunt your odds of demonstrating to your supervisor that you're a leader who has the skills and traits to move up in your respective organization.

Fortunately, it is never to late to refine your communications habits. Below are 3 communications mistakes that you should be aware of.

You Only Use One Type of Communication

You read and reply to every email. You are always on your phone responding to emails while out of the office and you know when to draft a formal or non-formal email. This is all great; however, if you rely to heavily on communicating over email, you might be lacking in other communications skills that you will need as you advance your career.

For example, if you are an entry-level employee working in a political office, you will quickly learn that communicating via email might be the most effective and efficient way of communicating a message to another employee. As you advance in the office however, you will need to develop interpersonal communications skills in order to better communicate with other staff members and constituents.

Be cognizant of the communications skills that you use the most and force yourself to practice other types of communicating with employees in your office. If you are heavily reliant on email, find some time to walk over to a colleague and ask them a question face to face or call them by phone if they cannot be reached in person.

Whether it is sending an email, talking face to face, phone, or speaking up in meetings, it is important to practice all forms of communications and not be reliant on just one type. The more you practice, the better you will get.

Your Colleagues Continually Request Clarification on What You are Communicating

At the point when a colleague says, "Simply need to ensure we're in agreement," that is a key sign your words aren't as perfectly clear as you think. Possibly you hear that clarification while discussing a project you are working on, and regardless of your stated goals, you wind up restating precisely what you thought you had just stated, and afterward having to answer multiple follow up questions.

If you constantly have to clarify yourself, you are not effectively communicating. It can be frustrating, but use this as an opportunity to examine yourself and how you communicate. Take the questions that they ask you to clarify and see why you failed to effectively communicate them when you first presented it.

To help manage the message you're trying to communicate, take a stab at scribbling down the key points of an important discussion before starting it.

Once your main points are thought up, simply go ahead and have that exchange and make sure to leave space for questions and listen intently to what is being asked. By being available and responsive to criticism and clarification, you'll begin to comprehend when you're clear, and when you should be more particular or include a key detail.

You Do Not Speak Up at Meetings

This one may come as a surprise to you because you probably have more than one reason why you don’t speak up during a meeting with multiple people. Some reasons may include a fear of public speaking to a colleague who will be critical to any remarks you may make during the meeting.

When you do not speak up at meetings, you are missing out on an important time to communicate to your colleagues and show how your ideas and thoughts can contribute to the group. While you may have some great ideas working in private, it will not help your colleagues during work meetings where your colleagues can help you flesh out your ideas and improve upon them.

You don’t have to speak at every meeting, but if you want to advance your career and impress your superiors, you should consider participating more in work meetings and show that you can communicate ideas that show you can be a leader.

Nobody is a perfect communicator, and there is no expectation that you should be perfect. Becoming aware of and practicing your communications shortfalls will help you become a better communicator at work and in life. Regardless of whether you are sending out an important email, speaking up at a team meeting, or being able to communicate with colleagues with little clarification, your communications skills will improve with practice and experience.

When networking, it is important to be upfront and honest about why you would like to network with them. For example, you might ask for help in seeking a new job or inquiring about job opportunities in other cities or fields.

Being upfront will help solve some of the biggest issues when it comes to reaching out and asking to network. You want to make sure you are clear with what you are seeking but do not make to big of a request in the opening email.  

Too many people start a networking email with a subject line with “Introduction” or even “Remember me?”. Here are some tips to craft and write a networking email that will get a response.

1. If You Met Someone Once:

If you had a brief conversation at a conference and connected with each other on LinkedIn, you should think closely about how much you know about the person before starting the networking email.

If you have met the person before, even just briefly, start by saying where you met to remind them of how you are connected. This will help the conversation flow more naturally and they will be more likely to help you network.

Example:

Hi Mark,

Last year we met at the engineering conference in San Francisco, where we briefly talked about coding on a new app that I am working on. I wanted to reach out because I see that you work for (Company) and they have a job opportunity that I am interested in. Would you mind if I can ask you a couple questions about the work culture at (Company)?

Best,

Thomas

2. Somebody Who You Have Not Seen or Spoken to in Years:

For someone who you used to be close with, but stopped talking to each other for a multitude of reasons, opening an email with “Remember me?” is not the right way to start an email. Since they were once an acquaintance, they will know more about you than someone who you met briefly at a conference or connected with on LinkedIn. Before writing the email, do some searching on the internet to see what they are currently doing.

Example:

Hi John,

I saw on LinkedIn that you are currently working in [Job Field]. That’s great! I have actually been thinking about a move into this field and would like to hear how you like working in it. Do you have time coffee, or to answer a couple questions by email?

Best,

Jennifer

3. Contacting an Executive

Reaching out to a CEO or an executive of a company can feel overwhelming. You are likely thinking that since they are an important person in a company, they will not have any time for someone reaching out to network.

These people likely get networking emails very often, you want to make sure that your email stands out to improve the odds that they will reply back to you.

Example:

Hi Teresa,

It was a pleasure to introduce myself after your speech at (event). I loved how you were able to motivate all the attendees in encouraging them to pursue their goals. I hope to see you at more events over the next year.

Best,

Eric

If you do not talk to someone often, it is important to be thoughtful and brief which will be more likely to lead to a response.