You will be able to ask questions that show interest and help you decide whether to accept an offer.
At the end of almost every interview, the interviewer leans back and says, "Do you have any questions for us?" Many candidates, relieved the hard part is over, say "No, I think you've covered everything." Others ask about leave entitlement or whether there is a hybrid arrangement, which are fair things to know but tell the interviewer little about how seriously you take the job.
Your questions do two jobs. They show that you have thought about the role, and they help you decide whether to accept if an offer comes. The second job is easy to forget when you are focused on getting the offer, and it matters just as much. This lesson gives you questions that do both.
One of the best questions you can ask is: "What would success look like in the first six months?"
It shows that you are already thinking about doing the job well, not just getting it. And the answer tells you a lot. A hiring manager who can describe clear goals, such as "you'd own the weekly delivery dashboard and have rebuilt the reporting for two depots", has thought about the role. One who struggles to answer, or says something vague like "just settle in and learn", may not have a clear picture of what they need, which can make the job frustrating.
The answer also gives you something to work with. If you get the job, you know what you are being measured against. If you do not, you have learned what employers in this field expect at this level.
If you are interviewing with your future manager, ask about how they work with their team. Two questions are especially useful: "How do you give feedback?" and "How often do you meet with the team, and with each person one-to-one?"
These questions reveal a great deal about what day-to-day life will be like. A manager who says they give feedback as it comes up and meet each person every week or two is describing a working relationship you can picture. One who says "I'm quite hands-off, my door is always open" may be telling you that you will get little guidance. Neither answer is wrong in itself, but one may suit you better.
Your manager will shape your experience of the job more than almost anything else. Lesson 3.1 of Communicate at work: writing, speaking and meetings, What your manager actually wants from an update, describes how much easier work becomes when you and your manager have agreed how you will communicate. These questions let you find out before you sign.
"Why is this role open?" is a fair question, and a useful one. The answer will usually be one of a few things. The team is growing, which is a good sign. Someone was promoted or moved internally, which suggests people can progress. Or someone left.
If someone left, it is reasonable to ask, gently, what happened to the last person in the role. Phrase it with curiosity rather than suspicion: "Was the previous person in the role for long, and where did they move on to?" If they moved to a bigger job, that is encouraging. If the role has turned over several times in two years, that is worth noticing, and worth asking about elsewhere, perhaps through someone in your network who knows the company.
Wei Ling asked this at a logistics firm and learned the role was new, created after the company won a large regional contract. That told her the team had budget and a clear reason to hire, and it gave her something to ask about next: what the contract required from the analyst.
Different interviewers can answer different questions. HR or the recruiter in the first round can best answer questions about the process, the team structure, benefits, working arrangements and the timeline for a decision. The hiring manager can best answer questions about the work itself, success in the role, how they manage and why the role is open.
Asking the hiring manager about leave policy wastes your time with the person who knows most about the job. Asking HR how the manager gives feedback gets you a general answer at best. Save each question for the person who can really answer it.
Write down five questions before every interview. You will rarely ask all five. Some will already have been answered during the conversation, and time is usually short at the end. Expect to use two or three.
Having five ready means you will always have at least two good ones left, whatever was covered. If a question was answered earlier, you can say so and build on it: "You mentioned the regional contract earlier. What would the analyst's role be in delivering it?" That shows you were listening, which is its own small point in your favour.
For the activity, write your five for your next interview and decide which you would put to the hiring manager and which to HR.
Write five questions for your next interview and mark which ones you would ask the hiring manager and which HR.
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