Seven Questions To Ask At The End Of The Interview

When you're interviewing for a new role, it's so easy to lose yourself in spending all your effort and energy towards preparing for the challenging questions that you know you'll receive, and making a good physical first impression, that often, your own questions to ask as the candidate are left as an after-thought, or something of little consequence.

In reality, asking the right questions strategically has a greater impact on your job interview success than you probably realize, and spending time tailoring the questions you will ask the interview benefits you in several ways.

For one, the interview is supposed to be a two-way conversation. This means that when it is reasonable and makes sense to throughout the dialogue, you can interject with a relevant question, and you don't need to wait until the end to ask all of your questions about the role or project you'll be working on.

You can decide to sprinkle a few questions in the middle of the interview (once you've responded to their question of course), as appropriate, and reserve more detailed questions or questions related to the company culture and vision for later, at the end. For example, you can ask question number three below, right after talking about your professional development goals when the interviewer asks you, "Where do you see yourself in three years?"

This way of interviewing allows you to feel more relaxed throughout the interview and humanizes the process so it doesn't feel as nerve-wracking and formal (although it is the interviewer's job to create a comfortable space for you as well).

Another important reason that it is essential to ask the right questions as a candidate in an interview is that it demonstrates your interest and preparedness for the role. Depending on the type of questions you ask, it shows the hiring manager that you fully understand the requirements and what is expected of you, have conducted extensive research, and are not treating the role as just another job.

The Best Interview Questions to Ask At The End Of The Interview

The best interview questions to ask at the end of your job interview are those that are well thought out and are tailored to the specific role. Generic questions like, What would a typical day in this role look like?" or "Who will I be reporting to?" or standard, but what if you took these questions a step further and demonstrated your in-depth expertise and understanding of the role by asking beyond the job description?

Ask the questions that have not been answered yet within the job posting, and most importantly, ask the questions that no one has even considered or would have imagined yet. This will likely surprise your interviewer (in a positive way of course) but it also demonstrates that you have strong critical thinking and leadership skills.

Here are some examples of questions that go beyond the conventional questions an interviewer would expect you to ask at the end of the interview:

1. Do you expect to hire more team members to work within this department over the course of this year?
2. Working cross-functionally is a skill that I have excelled in within my previous roles, and I am excited to bring that skill here. How does the leadership team support cross-collaboration between departments?
3. Would I be allowed to undertake stretch projects occasionally, to develop my career while working here?
4. How would you say your company culture and values have evolved over the past few years?
5. Can you tell me what key initiatives or projects (client-facing and internal) is the company prioritizing over the next six to 12 months?
6. What are the job functions of those who already work within my team, and how does my role fit into supporting the existing team dynamic?
7. What is the biggest challenge the team is currently facing? or, Industry reports say that [state the trend or future problem]. How do you expect to tackle this as an organization?

When you ask these questions, you show that you are keen to work in an environment that values unique perspectives, innovation, creativity, and a growth mindset, and that you also think holistically about your work—all green flags for employers. Create your own list of questions to ask for your upcoming interview, and use the principles above to ensure that they are meaningful and leave a positive impression.