So you have all your answers prepared for the questions the interviewer will be asking you but you know the ‘do you have any questions for me?’ question is coming and you still don’t know what you should be asking them. What do you need to know? What if the interviewer has already answered most questions about the role that you would want answers to and you can’t think of anything? This article will go through a few ideas on questions to ask the interviewer if you’re stuck.
Why has the role become available?
Who was the previous employee for this role and how did they fit into the team? Was there a reason they left/it didn’t work out? This question will put the interviewer on the back foot; they now have to explain why the previous employee no longer works there, which puts them on the spot and forces them to choose their words carefully so that they can still make the role sound attractive.
What can I expect in terms of support through this role and my development?
How will you train me? What can I expect from my manager during the first few months of the role? Will there be support on hand in the first few months if I need it? Here, you are asking the interviewer what they are going to do for you to help you grow within the role. What they can offer you in terms of helping you fit in to the company and integrate yourself into the team easily.
Can you describe a typical day in this role/Do you have any examples of projects?
You want to question what it is you will be doing on a day to day basis in this job. This will firstly give an air of confidence, as you are acting as though your hiring is a foregone conclusion, but you are also forcing the interviewer to again display the role as attractively to you as possible; putting the ball in your court to decide if you want the job.
Ask about the company/what their achievements are.
You want to ask the interviewer what he personally is proud of within the company. Why does he think it is a good environment to work in? What kind of team would you be working in and what makes them a great team? What is their proudest achievement? You want an answer personally from the interviewer that is going to make them give their own opinion.
What are your performance expectations?
What will they expect from you within the first year? How will they measure these expectations? Ask about what they expect from you. Again, this gives an air of confidence as though you expect them to offer you the role and shows you are thinking ahead in terms of the bigger picture. They will be impressed by your ability to look forward through the next year and your desire to maintain a standard of work that they are happy with in this timeframe.
Where do you see this company in 5 years’ time?
This flips the ‘where do you see yourself’ question on its head and asks what the company expects to be doing. How do they expect to grow? How will your role fit in to this growth and is there room for you to grow with the company? What are their plans for growth and what is it about these future plans that gets them excited for the future of the company?
What else can I do to show you I am a perfect fit for this role?
Is there anything additional you can provide to the interviewer that might help them make a decision? This question will not only show your strong desire to work for them but also show you are willing to complete tasks for them before you even work for them. You are putting the interviewer in the mind-set that you are already their employee.
What happens next?
What is their procedure for the interviewing process now? How long will it be before you hear from them about whether you are successful? Asking about the next steps is a way to not only show the interviewer that you are invested in their response but also helps calm your nerves and give you an idea of what to expect.
These are just a few ideas of questions you can ask the interviewer to hopefully help you create your own questions more specific to the role. You also might want to try and improvise one question at the end of the interview based on things discussed throughout as it will show you have been paying close attention and are interested in the topics you have discussed throughout your interview. Good luck!
