No, it's strategic. You should stop trying to be liked and start demanding to be respected. Polite candidates are forgettable because they ask permission to be smart. When you use the "Expert Diagnosis," you aren't telling them how to manage; you are proving you have relevant experience. If a manager gets upset because you pointed out a common industry issue, that's a major warning sign. It means they are insecure or protecting something sensitive. You want to work for a leader who is relieved that someone finally understands the situation. To understand what cultural questions complement this approach, read our guide on questions to ask about company culture and team dynamics.

Even a wrong guess is a success. When you suggest they are having Problem X, the manager will immediately correct you and say, "We fixed X last year; our real trouble right now is Problem Z." You just skipped twenty minutes of polished, fake answers and got them to reveal the real issue. By offering a specific guess, you proved you know the type of problems they deal with. You shifted the talk from "Tell me about your job" to "Let's fix this financial loss."

Recruiters usually follow a script and don't focus on the team's actual money problems. If you bring up a deep issue and they look confused, don't get upset. Use it to move forward. Say something like: "I understand these specifics are for the hiring manager. I'm focusing on Problem X because in my past roles, solving that early leads to the best money results. I plan to discuss the exact solution with the team lead." This tells the recruiter two things: you are a high-level candidate who thinks about business results, and you know who the real decision-maker is.

Yes, but adapt your approach by interview stage. In phone screens, ask general questions about company priorities. In first-round interviews, ask about team-level challenges. In final interviews, ask about the specific problems the hiring manager is personally trying to solve. The "Expert Pivot" works at every stage, but the level of detail should increase as you move through the process.

Ask questions that connect team challenges to money, time, or strategic goals. Examples: "What's the cost of this problem continuing for another quarter?", "How does this challenge affect your Q4 targets?", "If you could solve one problem tomorrow, which would free up the most budget or time?". These questions force the manager to think like a business partner, not just a job interviewer, and they position you as someone who thinks in terms of ROI, not just tasks.

Ask 1-2 strategic questions about challenges, then pivot to how you can solve them. Don't interrogate the manager with five questions in a row about problems. The goal is to diagnose the issue quickly, then shift to demonstrating your solution. A good pattern: ask one broad question to identify the challenge, ask one follow-up to understand the impact, then share a relevant example of how you solved a similar problem. This takes 5-7 minutes and leaves the manager thinking, "This person gets it." For equally important context, see our guide on what not to ask in a first interview.