You should always ask questions at the end of an interview, but don’t ask just any question. You don’t want to ask a question that could make you look like you have no clue what the company does or that will make you just look dumb. Here are 10 general questions to ask during an interview.
What to Ask
Typical 9-5 job
- What are typical work day hours?
- What will I specifically be doing on a day to day basis? (maybe even ask for a typed job description)
- Is this a new position at the company? If the company is just expanding or someone retired, that’s good. If someone just left, that might be a sign that it isn’t a great place to work.
- What is your overtime policy here? You could even ask how much overtime is expected. You do not want to be working 70+ hour weeks and not getting paid any overtime.
- When will I hear back from you? or What is the next step in the hiring process? You want to be able to know when they will be contacting you regarding a decision and what the decision is. Sometimes it’ll be a second interview and sometimes it’ll be an offer.
- Will I be expected to travel? If so, roughly how much?
- What are the possibilities for advancement? You want to know if the job has a dead end and if you are close to it!
- What is the best/worst parts about working here?
- Will I be working as part of a team? If so how big?
- Who can I reach out to about questions? (If you get a business card, that also helps so you can send a thank you email for the interview).
Do NOT Ask
Try not to mention pay or benefits on the first interview, unless they bring it up. If they do bring it up, do not undervalue yourself and be honest with what you would like. Sometimes, depending on experience, you can even negotiate a little.
Do not ask questions like “what do you guys do” or anything to make you seem like you don’t know much about the company.
Try not to ask questions they already explained. The worse thing to do would be to ask the interviewer things to which they have already went into depth explaining.
Conclusion
When asking questions at the end of an interview, try to bring up some information from research or from the interview. This will show them you are interested and paying attention and retaining the information. Maybe even form it into a question. I always try to ask at least 2-3 questions after an interview.
Examples
I saw on your website that you guys are the leading company for (blank). Who is your biggest competitors?
Earlier you mentioned travel was 10% of this job, can you go into a little more detail where you are expected to travel?
I saw your business hours online were 9-5, is that a typical workday here?
I noticed you guys have 10 locations, are you guys still expanding? How do you think the company will be doing 5 years?
These are just some examples that might put you above other interviewees if they are interviewing tons of people for a position. It shows that you are interested in the job opening or company.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please comment below.