The Single Best Question to Ask In a Job Interview

Career advice typically falls into two buckets: tips for managers trying to find the perfect person to hire and tips for people trying to be exactly that. This column is for both, because it identifies what, for me, has been the single best question for the former to ask, and the latter to answer well. "What did you do to prepare for this interview?" I myself have used this query for years, and oh, the answers I've heard — the good, the bad and the ugly — and always so revealing.