In an interview, you have much more power than your think. But still, during the course of the typical job interview, either on the telephone or face-to-face, you can expect to be asked a series of standard questions and it is critical that you answer them in the best possible way.

Here are just a few examples of those certain types of questions that you have to get right:

• “Tell me about yourself.”
• “What do you know about our company?”
• “Tell me about a time when….”
• “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
• “Why would you want to work for our company?”

And, of course, you should always anticipate the dreaded Gotcha! questions, such as…

• “Tell me about your current (or former) boss.”
• “What is your current salary?”
• “What salary would it take to hire you?”
• “What salary are expecting?”
• “Why are you considering leaving your current employer?”

As important as all of these different types of questions are, though, there is one key question that is going to trump them all, and it is a question that you absolutely, positively must answer correctly if you are wanting to brand yourself as the perfect candidate of choice in today’s brutally competitive economic environment. Here is the dreaded question:

”What questions do you have?”

It sounds like a rather harmless question. But make no mistake about it, this is the key question. It is usually asked at the interview is coming to a close, and you have to get this question right.

All too often, the job candidate perceives this awful question as just a ”softball” question, and all too often they are going to give the interviewer and answer like this:

“I honestly don’t have any questions. You’ve been very thorough in providing me with information about the job and the company.”

Or…

“Actually, all of my questions have been answered up to this point.”

The hiring manager understands that answers like this are meant to flatter and imply that he or she has done an amazing job during the interview. Philosophically, such a reasoning can be sound, but such answers work against the candidate. They are going to brand you as a candidate who is lacking in:

1. Intellectual curiosity
2. Strategic thinking ability

While there is never a ”right” way to answer this question, here is an example of how you should:

“Mr./Ms. Hiring Manager, let’s say for a moment that I am your candidate of choice. It is one year from today and you are conducting my performance review. What is it that I would have had to have done and accomplished in order for you to say, ‘I made a good hire?”

So when you are asked the dreamed ”What questions do you have for me?” question, make sure that you answer it right. Your answer can, and will, spell the difference between a successful candidacy and a failed one.