It’s a thoughtful question that the typical company doesn’t hear often, and it’ll make the employer think before answering. That’s always a good thing, especially since hiring managers are typically asked the same generic questions in the interview and don’t have to think much about answering. This question shows employers that you’re realistic and ready for a challenge and that you realize it’s not going to be comfortable at the beginning. It’s also a relatively uncommon question that most job seekers don’t ask the interviewer, so you’ll get bonus points for being different.
Best Interview Questions to Ask Candidates in 2024
The people you work with day in and day out can really make or break your work life. Understanding how your potential new manager will measure your success is key to understanding their managerial style as well as company or team priorities. That’s an example of a fantastic, creative question to ask an interviewer that shows a high level of thought, effort, and research. For instance, you don’t want to bring up parking or nearby restaurants that serve lunch.
‘For you, what is most important in this role?’
Your first and second job interviews with an employer should determine if your skills and personality are a good fit for the role. This interview structure ensures that the interviewer receives comprehensive answers that provide a more complete picture of applicant’s work styles. Though situations should ideally be from past jobs, entry-level applicants or candidates pursuing career changes may draw on from experiences best interview questions to ask employer from school, internships, volunteer work, or other industries. Additional questions should evaluate whether the candidate is a good skill and culture fit for the position. Feel free to tailor your top interview questions to suit your organization and industry. Not asking any questions could make you seem unprepared or disinterested, so take the time to have some questions of your own ready to ask the hiring manager.
What’s the first problem or challenge the person you hire will need to tackle?
Unfortunately, many people spend so much time preparing their own interview responses that they forget to prepare meaningful questions to ask the employer. Many good questions about your new role will come to mind before and during the interview. But to make sure you have enough time to receive the most valuable insights into your final decision, focus on yourself and the factors that might affect your decision to take the job. You’ll likely be happier with an employer that shares similar values to yours and is headed in a direction you’re on board with. Asking these questions shows that you’re interested in your interviewer as a person—and that’s a great way to build rapport with a future colleague.
- Most employers wait to ask about criminal conviction until the late stages of the interview process.
- Asking this question will allow you to learn more about the positive aspects of working for the company.
- It also shows that you’re making sure to look for a position that you’re well-equipped to handle.
- The right questions will bring clarity to an important decision and impress your interviewer — and maybe even get you a job offer.
‘If I succeed in getting this role, what do you think my three- and six-month goals would be?’
Always ask at least one question about how the company will help you grow long-term. This is a killer interview question to ask the employer because they’ll see that you’re planning on staying with the company for a long time and planning on being highly successful in the role. This also shows a lot of confidence in the interview, which is always good. It’s nice to ask at least one question to learn about the interviewer and their personal experience at the company. Everyone likes to talk about themselves, so most interviewers will be happy to share their experiences here. Also, since this is an opinion-based question, you can ask the same question to multiple people in the company.
When you ask this question, you’ll learn the organization’s approach to management. Some companies follow a typical leadership structure, where managers expect employees to handle tasks without asking questions. Other companies take a more flexible approach to leadership, where employees have more authority in their daily responsibilities. There’s no reason to discuss the company’s salary or benefits plan in an initial interview. Your purpose is to learn about the position, the hiring manager, and the organization, which will help you decide whether the job suits you. While you don’t have to ask every question on the list above, having a few good questions ready will help you look like an informed and prepared candidate for the job.
Take time to reflect on your green flags, job requirements, and long-term goals, and compare them to this list of unique interview questions to ask an employer. The right questions will bring clarity to an important decision and impress your interviewer — and maybe even get you a job offer. The interview process is a critical stage for any job seeker, and one of the most crucial moments is when the interviewer invites the candidate to ask any questions they may have. This not only gives the candidate a chance to learn more about the company and the job expectations, but it also helps the interviewer gauge the candidate’s interest and enthusiasm.
Interview questions are questions that employers ask to determine the best fit for a position among a pool of candidates. Because interviewers have a limited amount of time to evaluate candidates, recruiters select questions that elicit informative and comprehensive answers. Examples of the most common interview questions include “tell me about yourself,” and “what is your greatest accomplishment? ” but interviewers occasionally pose more strategic or unique questions to test applicants’ critical thinking skills and creativity. This is similar to the question above in that it shows the employer that you’re focused on finding success in their role. It demonstrates that you’re not just trying to find a paycheck and be an average performer; you’re aiming to be the best in your career.
You may need to take on additional projects or duties not included in the job description. When you ask this question, you’ll learn of any known changes to the company or department that may crop up over the next six to twelve months. This is another question that shows you’re a big-picture thinker, and that you like to be aware of what’s going on not just in your role and group, but also in the broader organization.
Coming prepared with power questions shows the employer that you are prepared, thoughtful, and eager to get the job. These power questions usually are about the company, its culture, the actual job, and the company’s future. These questions are similar to the most common interview questions and can also serve as icebreaker questions or team building questions. As your job interview comes to a close, one of the final questions you may be asked is, “What can I answer for you?” Your interviewer will expect you to have some questions.
Asking questions is a crucial part of impressing an employer in the interview. Ask creative, interesting questions and you’ll stick in an interviewer’s mind and boost your odds of getting the job. If you read everything above, you now know have a long list of unique questions to ask in your interviews.
The best interview questions to ask an employer address your top work priorities, which look different for everybody. While you may prefer a flexible schedule and strong work-life balance, another candidate may be more concerned with long-term growth opportunities and leadership development. This is a fair question, but it may offend the interviewer, especially if they’ve had recent issues with employee retention. Sometimes employees leave for better opportunities, but other times, the workplace is toxic. For instance, retail stores usually hire extra employees during the holiday season.
Usually, companies try to compensate their employees when they go above and beyond. When you ask this question, you’ll learn whether the employer will value your extra efforts. This question shows that you’re coming in focused and ready to contribute from day one. It also shows that you’re making sure to look for a position that you’re well-equipped to handle.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission warns against placing conviction questions on job application forms. Most employers wait to ask about criminal conviction until the late stages of the interview process. Some of the most interesting and unique questions to ask in an interview will be related to topics discussed earlier. These aren’t questions you can plan out in advance; instead, they’re questions that come to mind as the conversation with the company happens. This is an interesting question that will help you know how close the team is and whether they get together after work. If this type of thing doesn’t matter to you when selecting a position, then you don’t need to ask about it.
The first recruiting agency I joined ONLY promoted people from within the company. That meant that if you wanted to be a Manager, you HAD to start as an entry-level Recruiter. This gave me fantastic opportunities as an entry-level job seeker myself (and I did end up getting promoted to Project Manager eventually). So this is something I like to see in an organization and something you should ask questions to find out about. Most companies won’t only promote from within, but you should look for some balance at least.
It also shows that you’re looking for a long-term move for your career, not just a place to stay for a few months and work. If you’re interviewing for a full-time, permanent position (not contract, etc.) employers always want to see signs that you’re planning on staying a long time in this new position. This is because employers have to put a lot of time, energy, and resources into hiring someone for a role. So ask this question in every job interview to show you’re looking for a long-term career move, not just a new position that you can pay some bills with.
It’s important to know how often reviews (and pay raises) are given, who decides whether your performance is satisfactory, which specific aspects of your work are graded, and more. No matter how well the beginning of the interview goes, if the interview ends with an empty question, or worse, no questions at all, the employer will be left with an extremely bad taste in their mouth. Next, check out our list of tips for virtual interviews and this article on the best applicant tracking systems. There are some questions that you should avoid asking since they won’t present you in a positive light. Forbes Coaches Council offer firsthand insights on leadership development & careers. This is very similar to the question above – it shows a general interest in their company, industry, and how they fit with their competitors.
This can give employers and hiring managers the idea that the candidate is immature or self-centered. This article is focuses on questions to ask in a job interview with 10 real examples of job interview questions to ask employers. The legality of asking about criminal background during interviews is more complex. In most places, it is not illegal to ask candidates about criminal records, but employers may not deny applicants based solely on conviction history without conducting an individualized assessment.
You’ll know how long to wait after the interview, and you’ll be ready to follow up by email if you haven’t heard back in the timeframe provided. For these reasons, I recommend asking this question at the end of all your job interviews. In some cases, human resources is responsible for preparing job descriptions for open roles in the company. That department may be unfamiliar with the full responsibilities of the position, so the job description may lack a few critical tasks you’ll handle if the company hires you. Asking this question allows the hiring manager to describe any duties they’ll expect you to oversee that the job description doesn’t include.
Ask Questions That Could Be Answered by Doing Basic Research About the Company. Don’t waste the interviewer’s time by asking questions you can find in a simple Google search, such as how long the company has been in business or where their other office locations are. When you ask open-ended questions, your interviewer can add details to their answer, which will help you learn more. You can use their response to follow up with additional questions, giving the conversation a natural flow.
The purpose of a power question is to show the interviewer that you care about the company. Asking great questions also shows that you have spent time carefully preparing for the interview. To make sure you impress from beginning to end, we have collected the best questions to ask during a job interview to impress an employer.
This will help you make an informed decision if and when that job offer comes and avoid Shift Shock or a toxic workplace. To get you thinking, we’ve put together a list of the best questions to ask in an interview. We definitely don’t suggest asking all of them rapid-fire—some of this stuff will be covered during the course of your discussion, and you’ll have specific questions about any given job or workplace.
It’s relatively easy for employers to find someone with the basic skills to do a job, and they can determine that on your resume, but in the job interview, they’re looking for more. And ideally, they would like to find someone who is coming in with a positive attitude and thinking ahead about how to be successful for the company; someone who’s going to be working hard from day one. So, asking this question in your interview is going to make the hiring team a lot less worried about you failing in the role, taking a long time to get “up to speed,” etc. And those are some of the biggest concerns that employers typically have about new employees.
While you shouldn’t show up to an interview with a long list of questions, curating some potential queries is a smart way to make the most of the process. You’ll show genuine interest and gather all the information you need to make an informed decision. A study from the journal Mathematics shows that collaboration at work greatly affects team productivity and efficiency. With that impact in mind, good interview questions to ask an employer dig into team dynamics and communication styles. Make sure you have a handle on exactly what the day-to-day responsibilities of the job will be—both now and in the future.
People may work longer hours during certain times of the month or according to the seasons. This question will tell you whether the role involves overtime and when you’ll likely work longer hours. If working overtime is a problem, you’ll need to specify during the interview any limitations you have. You’ll want to demonstrate your genuine interest in the position, and there’s no better way to do so than by asking questions relevant to the role. When asked if you have questions for the employer, focus on power questions like the examples above. Don’t be afraid to come into a job interview with your questions written down ahead of time.
Asking this question will tell you whether your role will involve any interactions with senior management, like meetings or projects you might work on. Remember that your position may evolve as your manager learns your capabilities. If the role doesn’t involve any initial interactions with senior management, your manager may give you future projects that allow you to display your strengths to the leadership team. So an employer’s answer to this question will provide you with valuable info to help with that.
You could follow this question up by asking how the interviewer recommends overcoming the challenge to succeed in this position, too. Asking creative questions is a valuable way to stand out as a job candidate and learn more about the position. It shows that you’re engaged in the hiring process and eager to do your due diligence to ensure a mutual fit. And being forthright about expectations shows valuable soft skills like courage, honesty, and transparency. While not as creative as some of the questions above… this is a strong question to ask an interviewer because it shows that you’re organized and interested in the role. This question will also give you insight into what to expect after the interview ends, so you’ll be less anxious while waiting for feedback.
Preparing a list of unique interview questions to ask an employer in advance can help you stay concise and intentional, giving you the information you need while respecting the interviewer’s time. If you aren’t sure what questions to ask your interviewer, here’s a list of 110 to choose from. However, not all end-of-interview questions asked by candidates are created equal; some will make a stronger impression on potential employers than others. Below, 20 Forbes Coaches Council members explore great questions to ask during this important stage of the interview process and highlight why they are so effective. While you shouldn’t expect a big reward for performing the primary duties of your job, occasionally, you may need to go the extra mile. Perhaps your manager will ask you to take on a unique project or require you to work overtime during a busy period.
As you prepare for your interviews, I recommend picking three or four of the above questions and then asking each company the same questions. This will help you remember your questions and also compare answers between employers, all while making a great impression so you hear back from more employers. In your job search, it’s a good idea to ask whether people have struggled in a role you’re considering. The company’s answer can give you valuable information about how to succeed if hired, but can also warn about a position with some potential red flags.
With this question, you’re asking the interviewer to explain the primary duties and tasks you’ll encounter if they hire you for the role. Their answer should go beyond the responsibilities listed in the job description. They’ll likely describe any major projects they’ll want you to take over in the early months of the position and the people you’ll work with. An in-depth response will help to clarify any duties you’re unsure of, and you can follow up with additional questions as you learn more about the role. Ask this question to your potential next boss (not HR or a recruiter) to find out whether you’ll enjoy working in this type of environment and under this type of management style.
Asking this question will quickly show the hiring manager or recruiter that you’re smart, proactive, and different than the other candidates they’ve seen. Most jobs have essential responsibilities that remain static over time, but sometimes companies introduce significant changes that could impact the tasks you’ll be responsible for. For example, if the company plans to expand the department, the role you’re interviewing for may change drastically.
Here are some other things to keep in mind when preparing your own list of questions. You may not know where you see yourself in five years, but an employer at least wants to see that you’re planning to stay with the company for a year or more. So this question will help you know how this employer treats their employees beyond the initial training period and into future years.
It’s not just a chance for your prospective employer to size you up and evaluate your candidacy. You’ll also have a conversation and get to know one another, so it’s your opportunity to decide if the role is right for you. While you want to make sure you have all the info you’d need before taking a job, some questions are better asked after you’ve gotten an offer, once you’ve started working, or never. So make sure you ask about what’s important to you when it comes to company culture. You have made it through rounds of questions about your experience and behavior and the interview is coming to a close.
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