https://unsplash.com/@vantaymedia (Photo of people’s hands on a table with papers in an interview)
Thinking of good questions to ask of your interviewers is almost as important as preparing your answers for their questions. It irks me when a candidate doesn’t have any questions. So, I’ve come up with a few questions that I have both a) asked as a candidate and they led to nice conversation, and b) been asked as an interviewer and enjoyed answering. These are generic enough that they apply to most jobs but they aren’t your standard—Is there room to grow? Blah, blah blah—that no hiring manager likes answering.
1. What’s it like to work here?
I love this question. It gets at a company’s organizational culture in very simple terms. While it’s general, you may find out interesting information about the supervision style of the department head, or the work-life balance of the agency, or the level of experimentation employees get to have in their work. Interviewers answer this question in lots of different ways. It’s this kind of unstructured question that will help you get a good sense of the interviewers and what they value about the company.
2. Can you tell me more about the team this position works with?
This one is great because you’ll gather information about the personalities and existing relationships of your potential new team. You’ll also probably start to notice where some of the pain points are on a team—like if an interviewer talks about wanting to strengthen a relationship between roles. Since most candidates only get to meet their manager or other higher up before accepting a job, this question helps you get a sense of what the rest of your team will be like.
Remember, you are interviewing them too. More information will help you get the clearest picture about what to expect if you are offered the job. So use this opportunity to gather information that isn’t documented in the job description.