77 Questions To Ask the Interviewer During an Interview

Here are reasons to ask questions during an interview:

Demonstrate you have a strong interest in the position

Asking the interviewer questions shows you are truly interested in the company’s role. It shows you took the time to find out specific details about the role and the company and now need more information to decide about the job. This small exercise can separate you from other candidates who just attended the interview and left after answering the hiring manager’s questions.

Demonstrate your level of intelligence

If you came to the interview with well-researched questions that help you get more insightful information you can’t find elsewhere, you appear as an intelligent person. The quality of your questions can show the interviewer you are capable of original thought and can take initiative, which are vital personality traits employers desire in their people.

Show you researched the employer

Asking the interviewer quality questions shows you researched the company and the position before coming. Quality interview questions will apply to the position you are applying for, and won’t ask for obvious information you could easily find yourself.

Help you qualify the job and the employer

The most important reason to ask questions during an interview is to help you decide whether to accept or reject the company’s offer. This is your opportunity to ask for clarifications about the company culture, performance expectations, and any other question that will inform your decision to work for the employer.

Here is a list of potential questions you can ask about the job during an interview to learn about the day-to-day duties of the position:

1. What are the core skills and competencies you want in the ideal candidate for this role?
2. Tell me about a typical workday in this role.
3. What is missing in your current team you are looking to fill with this position?
4. Is this role newly created or you are filling an existing position?
5. What are the most important personal attributes a candidate must possess to succeed in this role?
6. Do you have any pressing projects that need to be handled as soon as possible?
7. What are the experiences and professional achievements you are looking for in an ideal candidate?
8. Will this role require collaboration with other people, or the new hire can work independently?
9. What is the biggest challenge you had with the last person who held this position?
10. Does this role require coming to the office every day or there are opportunities for telecommuting?

Here are questions you can ask about the interviewer:

1. How long have you been working at this company?
2. What interests you most about the company?
3. What do you like most about this company’s organizational culture?
4. Did the company meet your career expectations?
5. How far have you moved up the ladder since you started working here?
6. Why did you choose to work in this company?
7. Where did you work before joining this organization?
8. Have you changed roles since you started working here?
9. Do you have any regrets about working for this company?
10. What are your suggestions for succeeding at this organization?

Here are questions you can ask the interviewer about the company’s expectations on employee performance:

1. What are the performance goals for this role for the first, second, and third months on the job?
2. What are the key metrics that used to measure employee performance?
3. What does the company expect me to achieve performance wise in the first 12 months on the job?
4. What type of performance review process does the company use?
5. How many times would my performance be reviewed every year?
6. Are employees also allowed to evaluate the performance of their managers?
7. Are there penalties for a poor performance review?
8. What steps does the company take to help employees improve on their performance?
9. Does the company reward employees with excellent performance reviews? How does it reward them?
10. Have you ever had to sack an employee because of poor performance?

You can ask the following questions about professional development opportunities the employer provides:

1. Does the company provide in-house training or would I seek my own training?
2. What is the duration of the training and orientation program, and what does it cover?
3. What training and professional development programs are available to employees?
4. I love attending conferences and professional workshops. Will the company sponsor my attendance to these events?
5. Does the company provide career advancement opportunities?
6. Does this position offer upward mobility in the company?
7. Can you tell me about any former employee in this position who has moved on to more senior roles?
8. What role did the person who held this position last move to?

Here are questions to ask the interviewer about the company:

1. What inspired the company’s mission and vision?
2. What is the organizational structure of the company?
3. What are the company’s plans for the future?
4. How is the company dealing with competition considering the huge disruptions in the industry?
5. Do you have any plans to expand into new markets?
6. Where do you see this organization in the next five years?
7. How do you ensure that the company’s goals align with the efforts of the different departments and teams?
8. What goals is the company focused on at the moment?
9. How does the company give back to the community?
10. What challenges is the company facing at the moment?

Here are examples of questions to ask about the company culture:

1. What is the organizational culture like?
2. I’ve tried to find the mission and vision statement of the company without success. Does the company have one?
3. Is the work environment here more independent or requires more collaboration and teamwork?
4. I have read a lot about the office tradition. What is the origin of the tradition?
5. What do you like most about the culture of this place?
6. Does the company organize industry events that people from other companies attend?
7. Tell me about the best team event you organized?
8. I noticed people are a bit relaxed and laid back. Does the company have a specific dress code?
9. What makes this company unique?
10. What would you change about this company’s culture?

Here are examples of questions to ask the interviewer about the team or department:

1. Which department will I work with if hired?
2. What projects does the team I will work with typically handle?
3. Who do I report to when hired?
4. Who will be my teammates if I am hired?
5. Which departments will I have to collaborate with?
6. What is the largest budget ever handled by this team?
7. When was this team created?
8. What is the project completion rate of this team?
9. What is the biggest strength of this department?
10. How important is this department to the organization’s goals?
11. What are the biggest challenges facing the department right now?
12. What skills and experience do you expect me to add to the team/department?

Here are examples of questions to ask the interviewer about the hiring process:

1. What other details do you need me to provide to help with the hiring decision?
2. What should I expect next in the recruitment process?
3. Do you have other questions for me?
4. When should I expect an email from you?
5. Can I send you a thank you note?
6. Could you please help me check whether I got your details correctly so I can reach out to you after the interview?
7. When can I expect you to decide on my application?

Here are tips for asking the interviewer questions during an interview:

• The purpose of your questions should be to find more information about the company and the position which you can’t find independently.
• Ask open-ended questions that allow the interviewer to elaborate and go into more detail.
• Keep your questions short and relevant to the role and the employer.
• Avoid questions that focus on the benefits you can derive from the job or the company.