"Do you have any questions for us" is the last question, and it is a question. The answer is three, written down before the interview, that only this company can answer and that you want the answer to. A question that proves you read the posting. A question about the team you would join. A question about what happens next. The questions you ask tell the interviewer what you care about, and they are also the only chance you get to find out whether you want this job, which is a thing people forget to check.
Key points
- Three questions, written down, because the mind is empty by the end.
- Each one only this company can answer. "What is the culture like" fails.
- One about the work, one about the team, one about what happens next.
- Ask the hiring manager about the work. Ask the recruiter about the process. Ask a peer about the days.
- Salary and holidays are for the recruiter or the offer, not the hiring manager's last five minutes.
Twenty questions
About the work
- The posting mentions [the specific thing]. Where is it now, and what would the first month on it look like?
- What is the one thing you most need this hire to get done in the first six months?
- What does the last person in this role do now? (If it is a new role: why now?)
- What is the hardest part of this job that the posting does not say?
- How does work reach this role, and who decides what it does next?
About the team
- Who would I work with day to day, and how long have they been here?
- How does the team make decisions when people disagree?
- What does a normal week look like: meetings, focus time, on-call, travel?
- How has the team changed in the last year?
- What do people who do well here do that others do not?
About the manager
- How do you give feedback, and how often?
- What would make you say, a year in, that this hire worked out?
- What is the last thing you changed because of something your team told you?
About the company
- What did the last funding round or the last quarter change about what this team builds? (Check the funded page on this site first.)
- The company cut staff in [month]. How did that reach this team? (Only if it did. Check the layoffs page.)
- What is the thing the company is worst at right now, in your view?
About what happens next
- What are the next steps, and when will I hear?
- Is there anything in my background you would want more on before deciding?
- Who else is on the loop, and what does each interview cover?
- What does the start date look like if this goes well?
Three questions. One about the work, one about the people, one about what happens next.
Which three
Pick one from the work group that names something in the posting. That one proves you read it. Pick one from the team or manager group that fits who is in the room: a hiring manager gets 11 or 12, a peer gets 8 or 10. Pick 17 or 18 last, because 18 gives you a chance to fix a doubt before you leave, and the answer to it is the most useful thing you will hear all day.
The ones that cost you the room
| Question | Why |
|---|---|
| "What does the company do?" | You did not read |
| "What is the salary?" to the hiring manager in the last five minutes | Wrong person, wrong time. The guide on salary expectations has when. |
| "How much holiday do I get?" as the first question | It can be a question. It cannot be the one you lead with. |
| "Can I work from home?" when the posting said on-site | Reads as not having read the posting. Ask the recruiter instead. |
| "Do you have any concerns about me?" with no follow-up | Fine, if you then answer the concern. Fatal if you nod and leave. |
| Nothing | The dodge. It reads as not wanting the job. |
Listening to the answers
The answers are data for the decision the guide on evaluating an offer covers. A manager who cannot name the one thing they need done in six months does not know what the role is. A team that changed completely in a year has a reason. A "normal week" that is forty hours of meetings is the job. Write the answers down in the tracker the same day, because by the offer they will have blurred.
Prepare, on this site
Prepare reads the posting and the company and writes the questions that the posting implies, with the specific thing named: the migration, the launch, the tool. It pulls the round and the cuts from the market pages, so question 14 or 15 has its date. Pick three from its list and write them in the notebook.
Questions
Is three too few?
Three is what fits in the five minutes. Have five written down and ask three. If the conversation runs long, ask a fourth.
What if they answered all my questions already?
Say so, and ask 18. "You covered most of what I had. Is there anything in my background you would want more on?" It is never already answered.
Can I ask about the salary?
Ask the recruiter, at the first call, and the guide on salary expectations has how. Not the hiring manager at the end of a technical interview.
Do I ask every interviewer the same questions?
The same question to three people is a good way to find out whether the team agrees with itself. Ask 2 or 7 to everyone and compare.
What if I think of a question after?
Put it in the thank-you email, in one line. The guide on thank-you emails has where it goes.