A part of being an engaged and memorable candidate is preparing questions to ask in an interview. Because according to recruiters, the worst response to “Do you have any questions for me?” is “No.”
In this guide, you’ll find ideas of questions to ask in your next job interview, why to ask them, and which questions can hinder your performance.
Questions about the role you’re applying for
Job seekers often forget that interviews are a two-way street. It’s not all about answering common interview questions. Asking questions about the role can help you decide whether it could be something you’d enjoy doing.
Ask questions that will provide information beyond the job description, like:
- What does a typical day look like in this role?
- What are the most important projects I would take on?
- What are the biggest challenges someone in this position would face?
- How does this position contribute to the organization overall?
Questions about performance metrics
Understanding the measures of success in the role lets you know expectations before you accept a job. You can use the interviewer’s answers to determine whether the expectations are manageable and if it would be a good fit.
Some questions that can shed light on performance expectations include:
- What metrics or goals will my performance be evaluated against?
- What are the most important things I should accomplish in the first 30, 60, and 90 days in the role?
- What is the performance review process like? How often will I be formally evaluated?
Questions about the team
You can use the interview to learn more about the team and its dynamics before you start the job. You’ll better understand how your position will fit into the organization and who you’ll interact with most.
Get to know your team in the interview with questions like:
- Can you tell me about the team I’d be working with?
- Who will I work with most closely?
- Can you tell me about my direct reports?
- Who will I report to directly?
- Which other teams work closely with this one?
Questions for your boss
If you’re interviewing with your potential boss, you have the unique opportunity to hear more about what working closely with them would be like.
Gain insight into your would-be manager’s experience by asking:
- What’s your management style like?
- How long have you been a manager?
- Has your role changed since you’ve been here?
- Why did you come to this company?
- What’s your favorite part about working here?
Questions about company culture
Your pre-interview research will tell you about the company’s values and mission statement. But you can only learn about how they apply to the company culture by speaking to current team members.
Learn about the company culture from the perspective of your future colleagues and ask:
- How would you describe the work environment for the team?
- How does the team form and maintain bonds?
- Can you tell me about the last company event?
- What do new employees find surprising after they start?
- What’s different about working here than anywhere else you worked?
Questions about growth in the role
Asking about professional development opportunities shows the interviewer that you’re serious about your career. It’s also important that there are opportunities for growth and a trajectory within the company. Feeling stagnant in a role could start your job search all over again.
Some questions you can ask the interviewer about career development include:
- Are there any training programs available to employees?
- What professional development opportunities are available?
- Have employees previously in this role advanced in the company? What kinds of roles do they have now?
- Are there opportunities for stretch assignments where I can learn a lot and build new skills?
Questions to ask about next steps in a job interview
Asking about the next steps can feel presumptuous, but knowing what comes next benefits you and the interviewer. You won’t spend the following days on pins and needles worrying about not hearing back. Meanwhile, the interviewer knows you’re serious and proactive about the role.
Ask about next steps with questions like:
- Is there anything else I can answer for you that will be helpful?
- Do you have any hesitations I can address here?
- Can I answer any final questions for you?
- What are the next steps in the interview process?
Questions to avoid in a job interview
Some questions are a professional faux pas. Leaving a positive impression is more than just what you do ask—it’s what you don’t ask.
Avoid questions like:
- What’s the starting salary?
- What benefits do you offer?
- When does my PTO kick in?
- Can I make my own hours?
- Do you have a 4-day workweek?
- What does your company do?
If the interviewer offers up this information at the start—great! But hold off on these questions until the last stage of the interview or upon the job offer.
Tips for asking the employer questions in a job interview
Don’t go blank when the interviewer asks if you have questions. Use these tips to come up with valuable questions to discover if the role is a right fit for you.
- Don’t say you have no questions. Saying “No, I’m good” doesn’t show further interest in the position.
- Build off your conversation. Naturally follow the flow of conversation and reference things you talked about that need further clarification.
- Personalize your questions by placing yourself in the role. Instead of saying, “what does a typical day look like in this role,” ask “what would a typical day look like for me in this role.”
Track your job search with Job Tracker
When you’re sending out dozens of resumes, keeping track of every job posting saves you time and energy. Job Tracker helps you visualize your entire job search in a single dashboard. See your saved job opportunities, your applications, interviews, and offers.
Each opportunity card houses the job description, your optimized resume, your generated cover letter, interview details, and a section for notes.
You can even write an impactful “thank you” email by using Jobscan’s Job Tracker tool that has a built-in feature that generates one in seconds. After an interview, you can use it to send a personalized thank you note to maintain a positive connection with the interviewer.
After entering a few details, like interview type, contact details, and a few interview specific notes, you just click the blue “Thank You Note” button. This step is shown in the image below.
In the image below, you can see the “thank you” email that was created in an instant. You can now use it to stand out after an interview. It will include the specific details you included, and you’ll be able to edit it as well.
Your notes section can hold any questions you want to ask the interviewer or note-worthy details from your company research. Having these notes on hand for your interview can help you form strong answers to your interview questions and impress your interviewer.
FAQs
Interviewers love getting questions at the end of an interview. It shows you’re engaged, enthusiastic, and dedicated to securing the role. Scroll up to see what questions will impress the hiring manager.
Questions you should ask at a job interview could revolve around:
• The responsibilities of the role
• Your team and department
• The company culture
• The interviewer’s personal experiences
One of the final questions you should ask at the end of your interview is about the next steps. The interviewer can provide a timeline of the interview process and detail what to expect going forward.
There are a few key ingredients to having a successful interview. In your interview:
• Be honest.
• Actively listen to the interviewer.
• Never speak negatively about a past employer or colleague.
• Be positive and enthusiastic.
• Know the person’s name (and how to pronounce it).
• Build rapport with the interviewer.
• Follow up with a thank you note.
