You already know that a job interview isn’t simply an opportunity for the hiring manager to grill you with questions; it’s also your chance to determine whether the position is a good fit for you.
Which implies that it’s crucial to enter with some inquiries of your own. What specific information do you need about the job? The business? The division? The group?
You run the danger of the hiring manager believing you aren’t interested or haven’t prepared if you don’t prepare intelligent interview questions.
These questions are usually open for discussion at the conclusion of the interview. It’s an opportunity to discover more about the business culture, the possibilities and difficulties the firm is experiencing, and what working in this position is truly like.
Job Questions to Ask in an Interview
1. Why is this position available?
How to ask: The response to this question can provide a number of useful details, such as if this is a new role (which has its own issues), or whether a previous employee left the position due to a promotion, lateral transfer within the organization, resignation, or termination.
Whatever the response, you will get useful knowledge about the position and potential team you may join.
2. Can you elaborate on the day-to-day responsibilities this job entails?
It might be wise to ask the recruiting manager this. You should carefully analyze the response while deciding whether or not this position is a good fit for you.
3. What are the characteristics of someone who would succeed in this role?
Determine who you might work with if you take the job by asking the hiring manager or other members of the interview panel this question. You may easily determine from their responses what characteristics they are looking for in a new employee.
4. What’s the most important thing I could do to help within the first 90 days of employment?
By asking this question, you demonstrate your want and capacity to participate right now. It’s an excellent question to present to the recruiting manager.
5. What are some of the challenges you’ve seen people in this role or on this team encounter?
You want to gain a comprehensive understanding of the profession throughout your interviews, including why it’s challenging and satisfying all at once. You’ll get a complete picture by learning your interviewers’ thoughts on potential obstacles.
6. If I were in this job, how would my performance be measured?
Ask the hiring manager this question during your interview to provide more detail about your potential for success in the position. Even if you don’t obtain the job, knowing the answer to this question will still be beneficial to you since you might be able to utilize the information to discover new opportunities for professional growth.
7. What does the career path for someone in this role look like?
One more for the recruiter. This query might reveal your desire to advance inside this organization.
8. What other functions or departments does this teamwork with most often? What are the characteristics of a successful collaboration?
If the organization you’re interviewing with is a large or mid-sized corporation, this is a crucial question. Your ability to do the task will heavily depend on your ability to collaborate.
More questions to ask your interviewer about the job:
9. What would my first week at work look like?
10. How does this role contribute to your organization’s success?
11. Are there any job shadowing opportunities available for this role?
12. Can you tell me about the team I’d be working with?
Company Questions to Ask in an Interview
Why not gain some knowledge about the potential workplace? Because a job involves more than simply your daily to-do list.
1. What do you like best about working here?
With this question, you may casually interact with the interviewer and get important details about their past interactions with the organization. If relevant, be sure to address their response by giving specific instances of how you think this kind of atmosphere is a fantastic fit for your character and manner of functioning.
2. Who do you see as your biggest competitor and why?
This query might demonstrate your interest in the organization’s and industry’s larger context. By responding to the interviewer’s response with what you learned from your study before the interview, you can also use this as an opportunity to demonstrate that you did your homework on the firm.
3. What challenges has this company faced in the last few years? What challenges do you anticipate in the coming years?
If you’re interviewing with managers or senior leadership, this is an excellent question. It demonstrates your interest in the business’s success and can help you understand the challenges they face. If appropriate, you might respond to their statement by sharing any experience you have that can help with these problems or obstacles.
4. What changes or innovations in the industry are you most excited about?
You may gauge the interviewer’s level of enthusiasm for the organization and sector by their response to this question. Additionally, it allows you the chance to explore further what most piqued your interest in the sector through your research or via prior experience.
5. I noticed on your social media channels that you’ve opened several new offices lately. That kind of growth is exciting to me. It made me wonder what lines of the business are part of that expansion?
The degree of your interest in the firm is demonstrated by asking follow-up questions about anything that is related to what you read about it in the news or on social media.
More questions to ask your interviewer about the company:
6. What is your company’s biggest problem?
7. How frequently do staff members make themselves accessible after hours?
8. How are employees recognized for a job well done?
9. Do you have a mentor system in place?
Team Questions to Ask in an Interview
Your working life may genuinely be made or broken by the individuals you spend your days with. To determine if this is the correct team for you, ask some questions.
1. Who will I be working most closely with?
You may better understand the dynamics of your partners by asking this question. Write down names and request titles. It’s critical to assess the role’s cross-functionality.
2. How are criticism and feedback handled within the team?
The ability to handle criticism and difficult conversations in a way that encourages personal growth and change in everyone varies greatly amongst managers and teams.
The response to this query will inform you of what to anticipate and whether the atmosphere is one in which you would benefit.
More questions to ask your interviewer about the team:
3. Who will I report to directly?
4. Tell me about my direct reports, please. What are the team’s main problems as well as its strengths?
5. In the upcoming six months, do you anticipate adding to this department’s staff?
6. Which other departments work most closely with this one?
7. What are the common career paths in this department?
Culture Questions to Ask in an Interview
Is the office a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants environment or is it conservatively buttoned-up? Learn the subtle yet crucial facets of corporate culture.
1. How would you describe the company culture?
This is an excellent, simple question to find out how the interviewer would characterize the corporate culture.
To acquire a comprehensive understanding of the culture, it’s important to ask this topic to several interviewees throughout the interview process. Interviewers will frequently discuss what they appreciate most about the culture.
2. What elements of the culture here do you like best?
It’s an excellent method to show that you genuinely care about the business and the position. This inquiry also demonstrates that you are interested in learning whether the company’s culture and you mesh well together.
3. What are the most important values of your company?
Companies frequently have missions or values that guide their choices, dispositions, and objectives. Knowing and comprehending these principles might help you have a clear grasp of the culture that has been established.
4. What are examples of company events?
The response to this question will help you determine whether the business encourages teamwork among its personnel and what kinds of occasions they mark.
5. How would you describe the office environment?
Knowing how workers would characterize the working environment might help you better grasp the culture of a firm. For instance, a more relaxed mood is promoted by having an open seating layout with sofas or other gathering spaces.
6. Do you have any employee resource groups?
If you’re searching for a firm that encourages diversity and inclusion, this is a fantastic question to put to them. A corporation may value diversity and inclusion if it has resource groups or councils for minority communities.
What impact do the resource groups have on corporate decision-making would be a nice follow-up query. This may aid in your comprehension of the company’s value placement on the suggestions and opinions made by the resource groups.
More questions to ask your interviewer about the company culture:
7. What is your telecommuting policy?
8. How can you help your staff balance their professional and personal lives?
9. What benefits and perks does the company offer?
10. What here leads to the biggest friction amongst coworkers?
Next Steps Questions to Ask in an Interview
Asking these questions will help you confirm that the interviewer has all the information they want and that you are aware of the following steps before you depart.
1. Do you have an ideal start date in mind?
Another approach to learn about their schedule and when you might anticipate hearing from them is through here.
2. Are there any further details I can provide that will be helpful?
If there is anything about your experience or CV that worries you, you may bring it up again with this inquiry rather than asking, “Is there anything about my suitability for this position that bothers you?”
Although you don’t want them to consider reasons not to employ you, you do want to have the chance to defend yourself if the interviewer has any questions about your credentials.
3. Do you have any further questions to ask me?
This alternate question to the one above may be less specific. It allows room for the interviewer to clarify something else before wrapping up the conversation.
More questions to ask your interviewer about the next steps:
4. Do you have any reservations regarding the suitability of my background for this position?
5. What is the interviewing process’ next step?
6. Can I answer any final questions for you?