Your questions, your terms and your close are not formalities. For many panels, they are where the decision is made.
Ten items. Work through the activities and say your answer out loud before you reveal it.
Three terms: counteroffer · leverage · deal-breaker. Say the right one, then reveal.
A composite scene, built for teaching: the people and figures are invented, but the pattern is one that candidates and panels describe again and again.
At the end of the final interview for a senior advisory role, the panel asks each of two finalists the same closing question: “Do you have any questions for us?”
The first finalist says: “No, I think you’ve covered everything. When will I hear, and how much holiday is there?” The questions are reasonable; the panel notes that they are all about her, and that none shows curiosity about the firm.
The second finalist has prepared. She asks: “What does the leadership team see as the biggest opportunity for this practice over the next three years?” and then: “What would distinguish an outstanding hire from a good one in the first year?” The panel talks for ten minutes. At the end, one panel member says it was the most useful part of the interview — for them.
1. What did the first finalist ask, and what did the panel notice?
2. What was different about the second finalist’s two questions?
1. When she would hear and how much holiday there was; the questions were all about her and showed no curiosity about the firm.
2. They were strategic: the biggest opportunity over three years, and what distinguishes an outstanding hire from a good one; they made the panel think and talk.
Three days later the second finalist receives a call. The firm offers her the role, with a base salary about 12% below the range she expected. She says: “Thank you — I’m very enthusiastic about the role. May I have a few days to consider it?” They agree on Friday.
Over the weekend she does three things. She lists what she would need to accept, and separates the preferences from the one deal-breaker (a defined budget to build her team). She checks the market range for comparable roles, and works out a figure at which she would say yes. She prepares a sentence she can say without apologising: “The base is a little below what I was expecting, given the scope. Is there flexibility, or could we look at the variable component?”
On Friday she makes the call. She does not give an ultimatum. She asks, listens, and keeps the tone warm.
1. What did she say when she received the offer?
2. What did she do over the weekend?
1. She thanked them, said she was very enthusiastic, and asked for a few days to consider it.
2. She listed her deal-breaker and preferences, checked the market range, worked out her acceptance figure, and prepared one sentence to say without apologising.
The firm raises the base by 8%, adds a development budget for the team she will build, and agrees a start date that respects her notice period. She accepts the next morning, and sends a short, warm note to the managing partner.
A colleague asks later whether pushing for terms had left a trace: did the firm now see her as difficult? She is not sure. The managing partner says, afterwards, that he would have been concerned if she had accepted the first offer without a question.
But there is a harder version of the story. Not every firm responds like that, and the evidence about whether negotiating helps or hurts a candidate depends heavily on how it is done and who does it. Nobody can say whether she would have been better off with a lower figure and a quieter start.
1. What did the firm change after her call?
2. What did the managing partner say about her negotiating?
1. It raised the base by 8%, added a development budget for her team, and agreed a start date that respected her notice period.
2. That he would have been concerned if she had accepted the first offer without asking a question.
Negotiation language works through indirectness: questions that do not sound like demands, conditions that make your position clear without an ultimatum.
Complete each sentence with one or two words.
“Could you tell me the variable element is calculated?”
“I was whether there is some flexibility on the base.”
“ you be open to discussing the structure of the package?”
“I’d like to understand success looks like in the first year.”
how · wondering · Would · what
After “could you tell me”, the question word is followed by statement word order (how the element is calculated).
Put the verb in brackets into the correct form, or add the missing word.
“If we agree a base of €190,000, I would be happy to accept.”
“If the team budget confirmed, I’d be able to start in September.”
“I would be more at a higher figure, given the scope of the role.”
could · were · comfortable
The past forms in the “if” clause make the condition polite and tentative.
A recruiter offers a package below your expectation. Complete your response.
“Thank you — I’m very about the role. The base is a little below what I was expecting, the scope. said, I appreciate the variable element. If we look at the base, I’d be able to confirm quickly.”
enthusiastic · given · That · could
Notice the order: thanks → concern → concession → condition. The tone stays warm throughout.
Take these into the Speak tab: you will use exactly this language under time pressure.
This is a composite scene, so there is no real offer letter to check. Negotiating norms differ between organisations and countries, so treat what follows as a way of thinking, not a rule.
Most senior panels score on the same five things, whatever the question. You will use this scorecard to mark your own mock interview in the Speak tab.
| Criterion | What the panel is listening for |
|---|---|
| Structure | The listener can follow the shape of the answer (headline, steps, result). |
| Evidence | A specific example, with a number, instead of a general claim. |
| Ownership | It is clear what I personally decided or did, and what the team did. |
| Relevance | It connects to the role and the organisation I am talking to. |
| Delivery | Calm pace, no long fillers, finished within the time. |
Closing questions are scored, usually informally. Good questions are about strategy, success and the people you would work with, show that you have prepared, and give the panel something to say. Weak ones concern only your benefits, or ask what the panel has just told you.
Before a negotiation, list what you would like, what you would trade and the one thing you will not give up. Most candidates ask for too many things and lose track of what matters. The discipline of one deal-breaker also makes your tone calmer.
The positive reading: a polite, specific ask shows the judgement the firm is hiring for. The cautious reading: it is a risk, because the same behaviour is judged differently depending on who does it and the culture of the firm. A senior candidate prepares, asks once, and listens.
All of it out loud, against the clock. These are the moments at the end of a senior process: your questions, the number, the plan and the close.
Decide before you click, and say why.
A first-ninety-days plan has three stages. Write your own plan in your own words, then compare with a model.
“What would you do in your first ninety days?”
Listen: “In the first thirty days, I’d focus on listening. I’d meet the leadership team, the key clients and my own team, and understand what is working and what is not.”
Align: “By day sixty, I’d have mapped the key relationships and agreed three priorities with my manager.”
Deliver: “By day ninety, I’d aim to deliver one visible early win, for example advancing a client opportunity, and have a plan for the following year.”
Notice: listen before acting, involve others, and commit to one visible result.
Close your notes and give the answer aloud in about ninety seconds. Then give it again with one improvement.
Fill in your own details, then answer whatever the cards give you. Draw a question, answer it, then draw a follow-up.
Run the end of an interview as four short scenes, one minute each.
Prefer a different role? Take one of these instead:
A panel member says: “What would make you turn down our offer?”
Answer properly: be honest about your priorities, name your one deal-breaker without an ultimatum, and show that you want the role. Then do it again in ninety seconds.
Six questions in a random order, as in a real interview. Use the timer for each answer, give each one two minutes at most, and do not stop to correct yourself. Score yourself at the end.
Choose the three you find hardest. Prepare a structure for each, then answer them aloud.