By Jeremy Tiers, Director of Admissions Services
1 minute read
Last week, as part of a virtual staff training I led for a university in Louisiana, I was asked to discuss some of the differences between an average recruiter/admissions counselor and those who really excel.
So many of the most successful recruiters and counselors I know are able to get prospective students (and their parents/family) to communicate more with them throughout the college search process than they do with their counterparts at other schools.
A big reason for that is their ability to consistently lead the conversation and ask direct and intentional questions like these twenty I shared with you last month.
Those kinds of questions will get a student to reveal how they’re feeling about something, or share a want, need, fear, concern, like, or dislike. You can ask them in-person, via email, in a letter, on the phone, or on video chat.
Besides knowing what kinds of questions to ask at various stages of the college search process, it’s just as important to understand how to build on the engagement you receive.
One of the best ways to do that is by asking personalized follow up questions. The goal with follow up questions should be to dig a little deeper and get the why, when, or how behind something.
Interestingly enough, a lot of counselors and recruiters tell me they don’t typically ask follow up questions because they don’t want to come across as pushy. Remember, it’s only pushy if you’re not making the conversation about the other person.
Here are four great follow up questions that continue to work well in a number of different situations:
- Why is that important to you?
- What does that mean?
- Help me understand why you feel that way.
- Talk to me more about that.
Asking the right kinds of questions and follow up questions is an important skill that the best recruiters and counselors consistently practice.
Plus, doing it well can help you keep the process moving forward and/or get the next step completed faster.
Want more things that the best of the best do daily? Last summer I created a one-page PDF with 20 important daily reminders. I’m happy to send it to you now, just shoot me a quick email asking for it.
And if you found this article helpful, forward it to someone else in your campus community who could also benefit from reading it.