When you prepare for a job interview, you know that you will be asked a lot of questions, and obviously much of your planning will involve trying to come up with rehearsed answers that don’t sound rehearsed. But you should also think about what you’re going to ask in the job interview.
After all, if you have no questions for your employer or hiring manager, you may come off as uninterested in the job. Which is fine, if you truly aren’t interested.
But assuming you do want this position, you’re going to want to ask at least a few questions.
“Not only can great questions make you stand out as a memorable candidate, asking the right questions will give the candidate the insight they need to determine if the organization is a fit for them,” says Ayanna Jackson, a career coach and leadership consultant in Washington, D.C.
But what should you ask?
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Jackson suggests you check out your prospective company’s social media pages — and not just the website — when trying to think of questions to ask.
“I always encourage my clients seeking new opportunities to really engage in the companies social media pages, not just their static websites. Their social media pages are going to have the most updated info on announcements, employee engagement activities, community service, mergers, partnerships and more. All info you can use to ask better questions,” Jackson says.
Still, if you’re at a loss for what queries you should pose, check out our list of questions you could ask at a job interview.
Questions to Ask a Potential Employer
Here are 12 questions to consider asking in an interview below, and be prepared to follow up on the answers you hear.
While you could ask these questions throughout the interview, generally, at the end of an interview, you’ll be asked if you have anything you’d like to ask the interviewer, and that’s when you’ll want to start tossing some questions their way.
Unless you truly want to know the answers to all of these questions, it’s best to aim to ask one to three questions. No need to drag out the interview until the end of time.
1. What Have Past Employees Done to Succeed in This Position?
This question can help give you that insider information that may help you do your job better down the road — but you’re also showing your potential employer that you’re trying to understand what the job entails. If the hiring manager really speaks freely, you also may end up learning what some employees didn’t do well, which also may be valuable information.
2. If This Job Goes Well, What Other Positions Could This Lead to Within the Company?
You want to be a little careful here. You haven’t been hired, and you’re already thinking about your future beyond this job? But most employers want to hire people who are ambitious and are hoping to move up the corporate ladder within a company. If you ask about other opportunities at the company, it should send the signal that you plan on sticking around.
3. Have There Been Layoffs in the Last Two or Three Years? I’m Looking for Stability and While I Know There Are No Guarantees, What’s the Organization Looking Like Financially?
This is a question Jackson suggests, and it’s pretty brilliant. Like the previous question, you’ve just suggested that you want to work here long term (no company wants to invest a lot of time hiring somebody, only to have them turn around and leave), and you’re also showing an interest in the company’s inner workings.
4. How Does Leadership View Remote Work or Hybrid Work?
This is another question that Jackson suggests asking, and it’s certainly a good question to ask in these post-pandemic, still-often-working-remotely times. But you’ll want to remember to not look concerned if the answer you get (i.e., they want everybody to come into the workplace every day) isn’t what you were hoping for.
5. What Are Your Favorite Parts About Working Here? What Areas Could Improve?
For a hiring manager or anyone who isn’t the CEO, this could be a good question. First of all, people enjoy talking about themselves, and when you can get somebody talking about themselves, it’ll make you seem empathetic and interested in their lives — which is a good look for a future hire.
Secondly, you may get some interesting answers. After all, unless you absolutely know this is the job for you, you probably would like to come away with whatever insights you can about working at this company.
6. What Are Some of the Job’s Challenges?
You’ve almost certainly already been told this if you’ve reached the end of the interview, where you’re now asking your questions, but if you have no sense of the job’s challenges, you should probably ask. Maybe this job has some real downsides. Maybe your employer is hoping you’ll rescue them, or you’re being hired for a thankless job. You’d want to know that going in.
And if the challenges are pretty much what you expected, and you think you have some potential solutions off the bat, you could share them now and really impress your hiring manager or employer.
[SEE: Best Jobs That Allow You to Travel.]
7. What Learning or Professional Development Opportunities Are Offered?
This is another question that you might want to be a little delicate with. You want to emphasize that you’re going to be giving plenty to the company rather than emitting a “What are you giving me for working here?” vibe. Still, a question like this should suggest that you’re somebody who is always trying to improve themselves, and employers tend to like that. Nobody wants to hire a slacker.
8. What Does a Typical Day Look Like in This Position?
You shouldn’t need to ask this. Surely the hiring manager has given you a sense of what a typical day will look like. But if you don’t really know what a typical day would look like, be sure to ask this. The answer could solidify your decision, either way, on whether this is the job for you.
9. What Is the Company’s Culture Like?
Again, you should have a good sense of this from the interview, and the research you’ve done, but it’s a shrewd question to ask. You’ll sound smart and really interested in the business, and maybe you’ll learn something new about the company. If you think about it, a company’s culture is likely the reason you’ll thrive here or not. If the firm is all about promoting from within and pushes a healthy work-life balance, for instance, you may enjoy that far more than a company where people are expected to compete for jobs and in-fighting and office politics are tolerated.
Granted, the hiring manager isn’t likely to say, “Hey, glad you asked. We have a toxic company culture,” if that’s the case, but a question about the company culture still may end up giving you some interesting insight into the company.
10. What Type of Training or Onboarding Is Typical for This Position?
Not every position will require training or onboarding, of course, but if you know or think it will, this is a good question to ask, says Jaune’ Little, director of recruiting services with Insperity, a human resources provider headquartered in Kingwood, Texas, a suburb of Houston.
She adds that you might also want to ask a more targeted, specific question.
“To ask the right technical and industry-related questions, candidates may need to research the role and industry more deeply,” Little says. “They can then ask informed questions about what type of software the company uses, how often the company updates or changes its technology and whether the company covers the cost of professional certifications for its employees.”
11. How Quickly Are You Looking to Fill This Position?
Excellent question to ask. You’re going to want to know if you’re likely to get this position soon, and if so, plan accordingly. But it also makes it sound like you’re interested in taking on the job.
12. What Are the Next Steps in This Interview Process?
Again, it suggests you’re interested — and if the next step isn’t coming for another couple weeks, well, you would want to know that, too.
[See: 25 Best Jobs That Pay $100K.]
Questions Not to Ask During the Interview
Just because you should ask some questions during a job interview, it doesn’t mean every question imaginable should be on the table. There are some reasonable questions that you still should avoid asking.
1. How Much Does This Position Pay?
Even though it’s an extremely valid question, don’t ask this.
“Compensation is an important factor and companies recognize that. However, if candidates bring up money too soon, that could suggest to interviewers that compensation is their most important or only consideration,” Little says. “When candidates wait to ask about compensation until other concerns have been addressed, that reflects a genuine interest in the role.”
That said, this question can be something of a judgmental call. If you truly have no idea what the position pays, and if you’re worried you’re about to do a bunch of interviews for a low paying job, you’re probably on safe ground (especially if this is a conversation before a formal interview) by saying something like, “I realize that benefits and pay are generally discussed near the end of the interview process, but I have absolutely no idea what the salary is, and I don’t want to waste anybody’s time. Can you give me a ballpark range of what this position pays?”
But as a general rule, Little is right. Generally if you’re doing an interview, you’ll want to hold off on asking about the pay until later in the process.
2. How Many Vacation Days Do We Get?
Wait to ask this after you’ve received the job offer, and chances are, your employer or hiring manager will mention this at some point. But if you ask the question too early, it can come off as though you’re already planning your paid vacation before you’ve collected your first paycheck.
3. Can My Kids Wait in the Lobby?
You’re going to invite a lot of questions from your employer if you ask something like that. Your employer or hiring manager may wonder: “If you can’t find somebody to watch your kids now, are you going to have problems finding child care for your kids when you work for me?”
It’s best to leave your kids with a babysitter — and not bring along anybody else who may want to tag along to your interview. You’ll look for more professional if you show up to your interview without an entourage or chaperone.
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Questions to Ask During a Job Interview originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/18/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
