Is a job interview exactly like a sales call? No, there are clear differences. An interview is not an explicit demonstration of what you can do. Instead, you’ll be asked about your background and your accomplishments. You’ll talk about yourself and your work history. Through all of that, you’ll be selling. Your interviewer is, in essence, your customer, and qualifying that customer is just as important as any product sale, of course. You are the one who benefits most of all.

The meaning of qualification is the same even though you are the interviewee. You still must ask questions with the goal of learning as much as you can about the customer. It still means asking questions and getting to know your customer.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in The Wolf of Wall Street provides insights worth our consideration.

For a detailed discussion of the key ways to qualify your customer, see this article.