How to Answer: Do You Have Any Questions? 50+ Good Questions to Ask the Interviewers

By Susan P. Joyce

"Do you have any questions" is one of the top interview questions.

Be prepared with your questions to ask them. Employers typically view job candidates who don't ask questions as uninterested in them and the job. Not good!

As described below, some questions are better asked at the beginning of the interview while others are better for the end.

Also, different questions are appropriate for different people -- the hiring manager, the co-workers, and the recruiter and human resources.

View this as a great opportunity --

The best way to avoid taking a job you will hate (resulting in another job hunt too soon) is to learn as much as you can about the job, the employer, your boss, your coworkers, and the environment before you accept the job offer.

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Different Questions for Different Stages of the Interview Process

If the employer is not local for you, the first interview may be a phone interview, a Skype interview, or a one-way video interview.

The first interview may also be a phone interview which is often called a "phone screen" because that's what usually happens. They screen applicants to determine who may be a qualified candidate to be invited in for a face-to-face interview.

If you see the same people again in a 2nd or 3rd round, as part of the interview process for the same job, you probably should not repeat a question unless you want to follow up on something another interviewer said. Hopefully, by that point in the interview process, you hopefully will have learned enough about the person and the job to have developed new questions to ask.

Questions to Ask at the Start of the Interview

At the start of the interview, understanding the people who are interviewing you will help you provide answers appropriate to the person's role in your work life. You will also become a bit more comfortable talking with the interviewer(s), hopefully turning the interview into a discussion rather than a series of questions and answers.

Ask These Questions to Learn About the Interviewer(s)

These questions are most relevant when you are meeting an interviewer for the first time. You should be introduced to each person interviewing you before an interview begins. Make note of the person's name, and ask for their job title if it isn't provided.

Ideally, you should exchange business cards with each of the interviewers so you have all relevant information, including their job title and contact information.

If the person who is interviewing you is the hiring manager, ask these questions:

• Why are you successful here?
• How would you describe your management style?
• Who is your boss? Where is your boss located?
• What do you enjoy most about working here?

If the person is not a recruiter or the hiring manager, ask: Will we work together? How?

Particularly if the person will be a co-worker, understanding what motivates their questions and interest in you will give you more insight into both them and the job. You will also be able to ask the most relevant questions.

• How long have you worked here?
• How long have you been in this job?

Understanding more about the person will help you choose the next questions to ask, and also help you keep their responses in perspective.

Questions for the Main Part of the Interview

Once you understand who is interviewing you, you can move on to asking these questions as appropriate during the interview.

Learn What Pain This Job Should Resolve?

The most important question to ask in an interview is “What is the biggest challenge someone will face in this job in the first 6 months?”

This is a sales technique used to uncover their pain and allows you to hone in on the experience you have that will eliminate this issue.

For example, if they say that the biggest challenge is to rebuild customer confidence, then you can focus on how you’ve done that before.

“You know I faced that exact situation at Wells Fargo so I made a point to personally visit each customer just to hear their frustration and needs. Of course I made sure I provided timely follow-up and meaningful responses after that meeting. The result was that I retained 98% of the customers and even increased sales at 10 of them to record levels.”

Note the conversational, story-telling style.

Questions to See if This Is the Right Job For You

Once you know the players in the interview, ask the questions that will help you understand more about the job and whether or not it is a job you would like.

What is the biggest challenge someone will face in this job in the first 6 months?

Their answers to these questions also enable you to focus your answers to best position yourself as the "cure" for their "pain":

• What is the key to success in this job?
• What are the most important skills of the person who does this job?
• What is the toughest time of (day, week, month, or year) for a person in the job? Why?
• What is the key thing someone does to be successful in this job?
• How is success in this job measured by you? By the organization?
• What is the biggest challenge someone in this job faces on a daily (or weekly or monthly) basis?
• If anyone has failed at this job, why did they fail? What mistakes did they make?

The answers to these questions will increase your understanding of their problems (to fine tune your responses to their questions) and whether or not you want to work there.

Ask These Questions to Learn About the Job

Ask questions that will help you determine if you would actually like the job, and be able to do it well.

• Why is this position open? Is it a new position or a replacement for someone?
  
  
  • New position is usually good (sign that the organization is probably growing).
  • If the job is a replacement, ask if the employee transferred to another part of the company, was promoted, or left the employer.
    
    NOTE: Be wary of an employer with many employees leaving constantly. People leave for a reason, and the reason may be because this is not a good place to work.
• How long does someone typically stay in this job?
  
  You don't want a job that is filled every few months, particularly if the people who have had it in the past left the organization.
• How many hours a week does someone in this job typically work? Is overtime (technically more than 40 hours/week) accepted or expected? Do employees sometimes work from home?
  
  This question helps you understand if you will be expected to put in long hours. Unless you are paid on an hourly basis, the more hours you work, the lower your actual hourly pay. So, getting an increase in pay may be offset by working more hours.
  
• Who does the person in this job report to? What is the boss's job title, and where are they located?
  
  If the manager and the person in this job don't work in the same location, ask where the manager is located.
  
  Of course, skip this question if you are being interviewed by the hiring manager.
• What is the salary grade for this job? Where does this job salary grade rank in your salary grades?
  
  Do NOT ask the salary yet! Ask about the "salary grade" which is where the job ranks in the organization. Is it at the bottom, the middle, or the top? These answers give you an idea of how much you can grow in this job.
• What can you tell me about this job that isn't in the description?
• What are your future plans for this job?
• What are the prospects for growth for the person in this job?
• How do people grow in this job?
  
  Do they have OJT (on the job training), pay for training, or are you responsible for your own training?
• How often is this job open?
• What is a typical (day, week, month, or year) for a person in this job?
  
• Who does the person in this job report to?
  
  (If this job reports to more than one person, ask who writes the performance report.)
• Is there travel associated with this job? Where and how often?
• Where is this job located?
  
  Ask this question if it isn't clear where the person will be working. You might be able to work from home, or the job might be at a different location than where the interview is happening.

Understanding more about the job will help you decide if the job feels like a good fit for you. The questions above will also give you an idea about the kind of working environment you would be joining -- the corporate culture. That culture may expect people to work 50 hours a week (or more) and in the office.

Ask These Questions to Learn About the Organization

Visit the employer's website and do some quick Google research before the interview. Search for reviews of the employer's products or services, the executives, and other news. Also search for reviews of the products or services.

• What can you tell me about this organization that isn't widely known?
• What is the key to success in this organization?
• How many people work in this group (department, office, and/or company)?
• How many have joined in the last year?
  
  In a fast growing company, several people could have been added. In a tough place to work, several people could have left.
• How many people have left in the last year?
• Where do people usually go when they leave this group (another company or another part of this company)?
• How long do people usually stay in this organization?
• How do you define (or measure) "success" here?
• How would an employee know if they were considered a success or not?
• How does someone get promoted in this organization?
• How does senior management view this group?
• Where do you see this group in five years?
• When and how is feedback given to employees?
• If regular performance reviews are done:
  
  
  • What is the time between reports?
  • Who writes them?
  • Who contributes to them?

Ask about anything else in your preparation that raised questions for you. Read Smart Google Research for Successful Job Interviews for leveraging Google before the interview.

Ask These Questions at the End of the Interview

As the interview winds down, or when the interviewer has indicated that the interview is ending, you need to ask these end-of-the-interview questions.

Tell the interviewer that you are very interested in the job and enthusiastic about joining the organization. Then, finish by asking these questions.

Ask Questions to "Close the Sale" or Uncover Objections

Use your judgement about the interviewer and the situation. Some interviewers will like this approach and the confidence you are demonstrating by asking these questions, but others will not. Do what feels comfortable and appropriate to you.

If you are in sales, this is a must, but everyone should do this as an interviewing technique.

Just ask:

These can be tough questions to ask, but hearing their responses allows you to respond and overcome any objections they might have. If you do not do this, and they do have objections, then you will be one of those who gets the rejection letter.

If they answer these questions (and they might not!), those answers will give you an indication of how well you did in the interview and perhaps an opportunity to clarify a question they might have about your qualifications to do the job.

Ask the "Housekeeping" Questions So You Know What Happens Next

Then, be sure to ask the 5 essential MUST-ASK "housekeeping" questions so that you will understand how the employer's hiring process works -- what comes next and who will be your contact. If you don't ask these questions, you will have no idea when you will hear from them next or where they are in their process which will be very stressful (and discouraging) for you.

Or, you will be in contact with the wrong person at the wrong time, and look either desperate or annoying.

Bottom Line

Gather as much information as you can in the job interview. Decide if you really want this job in this organization working with these people. Then, be prepared for the whole process to take too much time. NEVER stop your job search and wait for a job offer to come. You are probably one of at least three other candidates for any job, and they may well choose someone else -- or not fill this job.