Questions to ask during an interview

Reframe your mind from making excuses, to?

To answering with solutions

Why is it important to be on time?

To respect your time and the company's time

Questions about the job

What is the key to succeeding in this role? Do you see the role expanding in the future? What is turnover like in this role? What can you tell me about the job apart from what was in the description? What sort of budget would I be working with? If I were hired for the position, what would be the ideal starting date?

Questions about training and development

What is the onboarding process like for new hires? How will I be trained? Do you have any on the job training? How well do entry level people adjust to working here? Are there opportunities for professional development? If so, what do those look like? Where have successful employees previously in this position progressed to? What is the training process like for someone in this position? Will you expect me to participate in workshops or other professional development activities at conferences in the future? Is there any reading on my own time to prepare for training? How long does your recruitment process usually take? What kind of professional development opportunities are available? What training programs are available to your employees?

Questions about the team and work interaction

What kind of processes and technology do you use to work collaboratively? Can you tell me what the team is like? How does the position fit in relation to the rest of the organization? What types of skills is the team missing that you're looking to fill with a new hire?

Questions about performance

What types of people are the most successful here? What are the most important things you'd like to see someone accomplish in the first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job? What are the performance expectations of this position over the first 12 months? What is the performance review process like here? How often would I be formally reviewed? What metrics or goals will my performance be evaluated against? What would I be expected to accomplish in my first month/year on the job?

Questions about company culture

What's the company and team culture like? How would you describe the company and team culture? What kind of person tends to be happiest here? What (other) recent challenges have the company faced, and how has it handled them? How has the company changed during your time with it? What do you see as the company's trajectory in the next few years? What does the company do or offer to help employees achieve a work-life balance? What kind of social outlets does the company offer for recent hires? How would you say this company's culture differs from those of other companies you've worked for? How would you describe the work environment here—is the work typically collaborative or more independent? Is there a formal mission statement or company values? (Note: Make sure this isn't Google-able!) Do you ever do joint events with other companies or departments? What's different about working here than anywhere else you've worked? How has the company changed since you joined?

Questions about next steps

What's the timeline for the next step(s) in the interview process? What is the next step in the process? What does the onboarding process look like? Is there any information about myself I haven't already volunteered that you would like me to share? What's the next step in the interview/hiring process?

Questions about the department

What's the typical career trajectory for someone in this position/department? Which other departments work most closely with this one? What are the common career paths in this department? What other departments does this role interact with regularly? Do you expect to hire more people in this department in the next six months?

Questions about management

Who would I be directly reporting to in this role? How does senior management view/interact with the person in this position? What kind of leadership/management style do you promote in the company? Who will I report to directly? How would you describe the overall style of management at the company? Could you tell me a little bit about the person I would report to directly?

Questions about promotions

Why is this job available? Is this a new position? If not, what did the previous employee go on to do? What are the prospects for growth and advancement? How does one advance in the company? Are there any examples of a career path beginning with this position? Do you provide professional development opportunities? What type of things would I need to achieve to advance within the position/company?

Questions about company challenges

You mentioned that the team was struggling a bit to work together. How would my role help improve teamwork? May I ask why the last person left the job? What mistakes have people made in this position? Which competitors/products/targets are you most worried about? How many people have left the company in the last year? What's the biggest change/challenge the department/company/industry has had to face recently? What are the current focus areas for the company as a whole? What are the pain points you have to deal with day-to-day that the person in this role should remedy? What are the most immediate projects that need to be addressed? What are the biggest challenges that someone in this position would face? What are the biggest challenges associated with this position?

Questions about commuting

Are there work-from-home opportunities for this role? Would I need to travel for this position? How much travel is expected? Is relocation a possibility?

Questions about projects/type of work

Can you show me examples of projects I'd be working on? Are there any special projects that I would work on soon? How is information documented and shared across projects and departments? What would you say is the time spent on creating new products/projects?

Questions to ask about the team

Can you tell me about the team I'll be working with? Who will I work with most closely? Can you tell me about my direct reports? What are their strengths and the team's biggest challenges? How many people will I be working with?

Questions about feedback

Could you tell me what it looks like to get a performance review? How is feedback given to employees? How do you measure performance and success in this role? How often do performance reviews take place?

Ask questions about job expectations

Do you expect the main responsibilities for this position to change in the next six months to a year? What does a typical day on the job look like? Can you tell me more about (specific job duty from the job posting)? How often does it come up? Do you expect the responsibilities for this role to change in the near future? Are there any skill gaps on the team you're hoping to fill with this position?

Questions to ask the interviewer

Has your role changed since you've been here? How long have you been with the company? What's motivated you to stay? What's your favorite thing about working for this company? What's the hardest thing about working at this company for you? What's the most interesting/important skill working this job has taught you? Why did you come to this company? What does it look like during the busiest and toughest times for this role? Is there anything else I could tell you about myself that would help you with your decision? What are the skills and experiences you're looking for in an ideal candidate?

2 Questions to Always Ask?

How is your interview process? How is your training process?

Questions about the company's future aspirations

How transparent is the company about operations/revenue/future plans? Where you would like the company to be in five years? What can you tell me about your new products or plans for growth? What gets you most excited about the company's future? What are the company's goals for the future?

Questions about job responsibilities

How would you describe the responsibilities of the position? What are you looking for in a candidate? What are the biggest challenges of this job? How would you describe a typical day in this position? What is the typical work week? Is overtime expected? What's the most important thing I should accomplish in the first ninety days?

Mission and Vision Questions

How would you describe this company's values? How has the company changed over the last few years? What are the company's plans for growth and development? What are the current goals that the company is focused on, and how does this team work to support hitting those goals? Would I be able to represent the company at industry conferences?

Questions to ask about the company

I've read about the company's founding, but can you tell me more about...? Could you go into more detail about the company's culture? What could you tell me about the company that isn't widely known? How does the company take an idea from inception to completion? What do you/employees like most about working here? What's your favorite part about working here? What brought you to the company? What were you doing before? What is the innovation process here like?

Questions about work hours

Is overtime expected and/or allowed? What kind of hours are expected for me to perform the role at maximum capacity?