Questions You Can Ask in Interview
25 November 2020
Letting an interview fizzle out by not having clear, insightful, intelligent questions to ask your interviewers is a mistake too many people make.
Candidates who ask questions are liked more and assert greater positive influence on the interviewer - influence that helps tip the scales in their favour.
But what questions to ask? Here are some starters. The important elements of these questions are that they are future focused and ask the panel to think - and surprisingly, them thinking reflects well on you.
Besides the person in the role (obviously), who else brings real energy and commitment to this position?
What surprising challenges do you think could emerge in the first six months of this role?
What will need immediate attention in this role?
I want to follow up on something you mentioned earlier. Could you tell me more about about .........?
What avenues of support will the person in this role be able to call upon?
What three words would you use to describe the culture of the team, and what other elements would I need to know in order to know what it is like to work here?
How valuable is this role? For example if this role vanished next week, what impact would it have?
Beyond meeting the must haves for this role, what skill would be a real bonus to have in this role?
How would you like me to develop in this role?
If you were looking for a job, what would attract you to this role?
What additional information do you need to know about me that hasn't yet emerged?
On a final note, don't ask questions you genuinely don't want to know the answer to. Asking just for asking sake is something that the panel will see through very quickly. When you have genuine interest in the role questions such as those above will be ones you really want answers to.
The interview should always be a two way street. They have questions for you and you have questions for them. They are deciding upon you, but equally, you are deciding upon them.
Here is another article with ideas for finishing an interview well.
As always, wishing you a flourishing career.
Katherine