The Importance of Asking the Right Question in a Reference Interview
A woman stopped me on Harvard’s campus. “Excuse me. Can you tell me where the library is?”
“Which library?” I inquired.
“There’s more than one?” She responded.
“Yes, there are about 90 libraries.”
“Oh! I thought there was only one!” She exclaimed.
I learned through further questions she wasn’t even looking for one of Harvard’s libraries.
My instinct to ask her to be more specific, which some of my clients gripe about, was spot on.
