38 Smart Questions to Ask in a Job Interview 24/1/24, 20:19

Job Interviews

38 Smart Questions to Ask in a

Job Interview
by Amy Gallo

May 19, 2022

Jorg Greuel/Getty Images

Summary. The opportunity to ask questions at the end of a job interview is one
you don’t want to waste. It’s both a chance to continue to prove yourself and to find
out whether a position is the right fit for you. In this piece, the author lists sample
questions recommended by... more

“So, do you have any questions for me?”

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When you reach this point in a job interview — where the

interviewer is done with their questions and opens up the floor —
you don’t want to be caught off guard. It’s important to have a
plan for how you’ll respond, and a list of questions specific to that
opportunity.

But what types of questions should you actually ask? And are
there certain ones to avoid? I turned to two job interview experts
for advice: Art Markman, a professor at the University of Texas at
Austin and author of Bring Your Brain to Work, and John Lees, a
UK-based career strategist and author of How to Get a Job You
Love. Here are their recommendations for how to approach this
part of the interview and sample questions they’ve seen work in
practice.

38 Smart Questions to Ask in a Job Interview: The Harvard Busi…

How to Approach This Part of the Interview

Focus on two goals.

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You might think of this portion of the interview as your chance to

assess the organization and whether you really want to work
there, and that’s true. One of your goals is to use these questions
to help you determine if this opportunity is right for you, says
Markman.

However, the interview isn’t over yet, and you still want to
demonstrate that you are the best person for the job, says Lees. So,
your other goal is to continue to prove you’re a fit for the specific
opportunity. Lees suggests saying something like, “I do have a few
questions but before I ask, can I say one thing?” That will give you
an opportunity to drive home any key messages about your
suitability for the job. In fact, before the interview, you should
“decide in advance on two or three messages that you want to get
across,” says Lees, and if you haven’t been able to convey those
points in response to the questions you’ve been asked so far, you
should do so now. Then, you can move on to your questions.

Personalize your questions.

How you phrase your questions is important. Rather than using

generic language, you want to ask the questions as if they pertain
specifically to you. For example, instead of “What does a typical
day look like?” you want to ask “What would a typical day for me
in this role look like?” That will allow the hiring manager to begin
seeing you in the role. According to Lees, this is a “great
psychological trick” because “as soon as they visualize you doing
the job, it’s hard to let go of that image.”

Build off of your conversation.

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You also want to pick up on what’s happened in the interview so

far. Ask questions that build off of what you and the interviewer
have discussed. You might want to follow up on a project they
mentioned you’d be working on, or a responsibility that you
didn’t see in the job description. The key is to make this portion of
the interview feel like a continuation of the conversation.

Sample Questions to Ask at the End of a Job Interview

Here are categories of questions you’ll want to consider in an
organized list, along with samples of each that you can
personalize.

Questions about the specific job

1. What are your expectations for me in this role?

2. What’s the most important thing I should accomplish in the

first 90 days?

3. What’s the performance review process like here? How

often would I be formally reviewed?

4. What metrics or goals will my performance be evaluated

against?

5. What are the most immediate projects that I would take on?

6. How long before I will be… [meeting with clients, have

responsibility for my own accounts, interacting with other
departments, etc.]?

Questions about the team

7. What types of skills is the team missing that you’re looking

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to fill with a new hire?

8. What are the biggest challenges that I might face in this

position?

9. Do you expect my main responsibilities in this position to

change in the next six months to a year?

10. Can you tell me about the team I’ll be working with?

11. Who will I work with most closely? What other departments
or units will I interact with?

12. Can you tell me about my direct reports? What are their
strengths and the team’s biggest challenges?

Questions for your potential boss

If the interviewer is your boss, you want to ask questions along

these lines as well.

13. How long have you been at the company?

14. How long have you been a manager?

15. What’s your favorite part of working here?

Questions about the company

One important note here: Don’t ask things that you can easily find
with a quick Google search (more on this in the “Questions to
Avoid” section).

16. What are the current goals that the company is focused on,
and how does this team work to support hitting those goals?

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17. What gets you most excited about the company’s future?

18. How would you describe the company’s values?

19. How has the company changed over the last few years?

20. What are the company’s plans for growth and

development?

Questions about the culture

Lees warns that you should take answers to questions about the
company culture with a grain of salt. It’s highly unlikely that the
interviewer is going to come out and tell you that the culture is
unwelcoming, or even toxic. That’s why questions like #22 below
can be helpful. They get at company culture without explicitly
asking about it and can “help you uncover any unexpected
elements about your potential new workplace,” Markman says.

21. How do you typically onboard employees?

If the position will be remote, ask specifically about how
remote employees are integrated into the company
culture, Markman advises.

22. What do new employees typically find surprising after they

start?

23. Is there anything that I should read before starting that

would help me have a shared understanding with my
colleagues?
Asking this question not only signals your interest in the
position but also shows that you’re eager to have “shared
cultural references with the people you’ll be working

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with,” Markman says.

24. What’s your favorite office tradition?

25. What do you and the team usually do for lunch?

26. Do you ever do joint events with other departments or

teams?

27. What’s different about working here than anywhere else

you’ve worked?

28. How has the company changed since you joined?

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Questions about professional development, career paths, and

future opportunities

Markman says it’s critical to understand what growth and career

development will look like in the job. You want to be sure that you
can see yourself not just in the role you’re currently applying for
but that there is a career path at the organization that you’re
excited about.

29. What learning and development opportunities will I have

in this role?

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30. How does the team I’ll be part of continue to grow

professionally?

31. Are there examples of a career path beginning with this

position?

32. What are the common career paths in this department?

33. How are promotions typically handled?

34. Where have successful employees moved on to?

Closing questions

35. What am I not asking you that I should?

36. Is there anything else I can provide you with that would be
helpful?

37. Is there anything I clarify for you about my qualifications?

38. What are the next steps in the hiring process?

Questions to Avoid
Here are a few examples of what not to ask at the end of your
interview:

What’s the starting salary?

Can you tell me about your health insurance?

What are your paid leave policies?

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You want to avoid asking about salary and benefits too early in
the process, Lees advises. “You’re not in a position to negotiate
well because you’re still in unknown territory. The time to discuss
salary is after they’ve fallen in love with you,” he explains. But
what if the interviewer asks you about your salary requirements?
This video offers helpful tips for how to navigate that complicated
question:

How to Succeed in Your Next Job Interview (Includes Tips and S…

You should also avoid asking questions that try to close the deal.
(“So, do I have the job?”) You don’t want to sound presumptuous
or like you don’t respect the company’s interview process.

Also refrain from asking something that you could’ve found out in
your research ahead of time — and you should definitely do
research about the job and the company ahead of time!

...

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This opportunity to ask questions is one you don’t want to waste.

It’s both a chance to continue to prove yourself and to find out
whether this job is the right fit for you. Of course, you aren’t going
to ask all 38 of these questions. Choose the ones that are more
relevant to you, your interests, and the specific job ahead of time.
Then write them down — either on a piece of paper or on your
phone — and glance at them ahead of time so that they’re fresh in
your mind. And, of course, be mindful of the interviewer’s time. If
you were scheduled to talk for an hour and they turn to you with
five minutes left, choose two or three questions that are most
important to you. You will always have more time to ask
questions once you have the job offer in hand.

Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard

Business Review, cohost of the Women at Work
podcast, and the author of two books: Getting
Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult
People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with
Conflict. She writes and speaks about workplace
dynamics. Watch her TEDx talk on conflict and
follow her on LinkedIn.

 @amyegallo

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