Two questions can change every job interview outcome

two questions – Career coach Dominic Imwalle says mid-career professionals often get stuck in an “application loop.” His advice: ask two specific questions at the end of every interview—about next steps and experience gaps—to clarify timelines, expose whether a role is truly

A lot of mid-career professionals don’t realize they’re stuck until they’ve spent weeks doing the same thing: sending applications into a black hole and waiting for a response that may never come. Dominic Imwalle, founder of DxConsulting and a career coach focused on professionals pursuing $100K+ roles, calls it the “application loop.”.

Imwalle’s solution isn’t a bigger application count. It’s a different kind of effort—purposeful conversation instead of just submission. He runs the newsletter “Conversations > Applications,” which centers on how to build real dialogue that can lead to opportunities. He also brings an experience background that includes serving as a senior consultant at Deloitte.

For candidates who feel they “stumbled” during an interview, Imwalle argues there’s still a way to leave a strong impression: how you finish.

In his view, too many people end interviews with vague questions about culture—or they don’t ask anything at all. But the questions a candidate asks at the end can shift the outcome, even when the interview itself didn’t go perfectly.

Imwalle encourages job seekers to use two questions every time, because they do more than sound polished. They force clarity.

The first is straightforward: Ask about the next steps.

Imwalle says asking about the next step in the recruitment process is “one of the most useful questions” candidates can ask. He notes that some of this information may already be covered by a recruiter. but he still pushes candidates to get more specific—asking when the company is hoping to make a decision and what business need is driving the hire.

There’s a real practical payoff to it. He points out that many candidates leave interviews and spend days or weeks waiting for an update. If they understand the timeline, they can take action rather than sitting in uncertainty. And if the interviewer doesn’t have all the answers. Imwalle says they can still offer useful context about where the process stands and what the team is trying to accomplish.

The second question is more uncomfortable—and that’s the point: Ask about experience gaps.

Imwalle calls this question valuable because it forces an honest conversation. He tells candidates to acknowledge that the company is likely talking to other people, then ask: “What’s the biggest gap between the experience you’re seeing and what you actually need for this role?”

That framing, he says, gives candidates information they can use immediately. It also helps reveal whether the company truly understands what it’s looking for.

If an interviewer struggles to answer. Imwalle says that can be a sign the role hasn’t been clearly defined—and candidates then have a decision to make about whether that structure works for them. When interviewers do answer, he says the gap becomes visible: what the company is prioritizing and where the candidate stands.

Imwalle also describes the way most interviews tilt conversations too heavily toward the candidate. “Very few candidates zoom back out and ask employers what they really need,” he says. His second question is designed to shift that balance.

The advice doesn’t stop at interviewing. Imwalle warns job seekers not to fixate on Big Tech as the only acceptable target.

He’s seeing the same pattern repeatedly in today’s market: candidates who want to work only at a small group of companies—Google, Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, Palantir, Stripe, or Snowflake. Imwalle says those are excellent organizations, but they are also incredibly competitive.

He encourages a different strategy: building a second-tier target list. He says there are thousands of companies outside the biggest names where people can gain valuable experience and eventually position themselves for top-tier roles later.

Imwalle describes two types of job seekers he meets. Some have submitted thousands of applications “without a clear strategy.” Others will only consider a handful of elite companies. He says the best approach is usually somewhere in the middle.

To make that real, he recommends job seekers open Google Maps and look at what companies are already around them. Practice your interview skills. ask the right questions. and—he argues—you may find better opportunities. along with a better quality of life. at companies that aren’t dominating headlines every day.

job interview questions career coaching application loop Dominic Imwalle DxConsulting Conversations > Applications recruitment process experience gaps $100K+ roles Deloitte