Your questions for them
Ask two or three genuine questions about the work, the team and how success is judged. It is also your chance to find out whether the job suits you.
Practise this questionWhy your questions matter
“Do you have any questions for us?” usually comes at the end, but it is still part of the interview. Thoughtful questions show that you have listened and that you are thinking about doing the job, not only getting it.
They are useful to you too. The answers can tell you what the first months would really involve and whether the team works in a way that suits you.
Match the question to the person
The same question gets a better answer from the right person. Your future manager knows the priorities, a future colleague knows what the week is really like, and a recruiter knows the process. Choose from the group that fits who is in front of you.
For your future manager: what would make you say, six months from now, that this hire worked out?
Gets you the real priorities rather than the job advert’s list, and shows you are thinking about delivering.
For your future manager: what is the team finding hardest at the moment?
Tells you about the work behind the description, and gives you something to connect your experience to (see below).
For a future colleague: what does a normal week look like, and what surprised you when you started?
Colleagues tend to answer this candidly, and it tells you about meetings, pace and independence in a way adverts never do.
For a future colleague: how do you get feedback on your work?
Reveals whether reviews are regular and useful, which matters most early in your career.
For a recruiter or HR: how do people in this role usually develop over the first couple of years?
Shows ambition without asking about promotion directly, and the answer tells you whether development is planned or left to chance.
For anyone: is there anything in my background you’d like me to expand on?
Gives you a chance to address a concern before you leave. Ask it calmly and have a short answer ready for the obvious gap in your CV.
Do something with the answer
Most candidates ask, nod and move on. When an answer touches your experience, connect it in a sentence or two and hand the conversation back. It turns the end of the interview into one more piece of evidence.
Interviewer: “Honestly, keeping documentation up to date while we ship quickly.”
Candidate: “That’s interesting. We had the same problem on my placement, and what helped was making a short documentation check part of each release, so it never piled up. Is that something the team has tried, or is the difficulty more about time?”
The candidate links a relevant experience in two sentences, does not lecture, and ends with a follow-up question so the interviewer keeps talking. Prepare one or two experiences that might fit likely answers, but only use them if they genuinely do.
How to ask them well
- Prepare four or five, because some will be answered during the interview.
- Make at least one about something you heard that day: “You mentioned the team is moving to a new system. How is that going?”
- Ask one question at a time and let the answer finish before you respond.
Questions to save for later
- Anything answered clearly in the job advert or on the employer’s website.
- Leading with salary, holidays or benefits in an early round. They matter, and the usual time to discuss them is when the recruiter raises them or an offer is being made.
- Questions that suggest you are already looking past the role, such as how soon you could move to another team.
- Saying you have no questions. If everything has been covered, say so and mention one thing you found especially useful.
Practise the ending
The end of an interview is easy to neglect when you prepare. Rehearse your questions aloud so they sound like curiosity rather than a list you are reading, and practise the bridge from their answer to your experience: it is the part most likely to come out rushed or rambling.
Finish with a short closing line: thank them and say plainly that you are interested in the role.
Common questions
How many questions should I ask?
Two or three is usually enough. Watch the time, and follow the interviewer’s lead if they say there is only time for one.
Can I bring my questions written down?
Usually, yes. A short list in front of you is normal, especially in video interviews. Glance at it rather than reading from it.
What if they answer all my questions during the interview?
Say that they have covered what you wanted to ask and mention which part was helpful. You can also ask a follow-up about something they said.
Now say it out loud.
Use your own example. Record a first take, listen back and choose one thing to make clearer.