5 Questions to ask during a Job interview

Here are the best questions to ask in a first round job interview. You’ll also see why you should ask them, and how you can use their answers to help you in future interviews!

What’s so important here to note is: the questions may sound simple but the way you utilize the information in their answers is strategic.

You’ve Got to Ask Questions

If there’s only one thing you get from this is: you must ask questions.

Asking questions in the interview process is one of the competencies that gets a company to extend an offer (even if you’re an unconventional candidate).

Candidates who don’t ask questions are seen as lacking critical thinking and interest in the role. I can’t tell you how many times a hiring manager has told me they were impressed with a candidate based on the questions they asked, and not their answers.

One thing to note about the first interview is that it is generally a screener. Sometimes it is with the hiring manager so your questions can go a bit deeper of exactly the type of work you’d be doing. But most likely it will be a recruiter and they probably don’t have detailed experience of what the role entails, so you’ll want to stick to higher level questions and dig deeper in later interviews.

1. Ask Specifics About the Role

What have been the biggest challenges for this role?

You want to know the top of mind biggest pain points so that you can focus your interview answers going forward on how you can address that pain.

Is this a new role or are you back filling?

Ask this because you want to get an understanding of the situation you’re walking into. Did someone leave this position, why? Maybe they left for another company, or maybe that person got promoted and is now the boss of this role.

If it’s a new role that could mean 1 of 2 things, 1 they have never had this role in the company so I would be on high alert to make sure the team knows how this role would fit in, it is likely not as well defined as you would hope.

Or 2 they already have people in this position and they want additional resources in this area, in which case you’ll want to figure out who your peers will be and they will be able to give you a lot of context as far as what this job is going to be like. All of this context will play into how you interact.

2. Ask About the Team

What does the structure of the team look like? Who would this role be reporting to?

We sometimes assume things about the way a team is structured. Instead, get a clear idea, because this team could be different from others.

3. Ask About the Company

What what traits and values do your happiest & most successful employees share?

Ask this for 3 reasons:

1. Asking about the culture shows that you are looking at this opportunity holistically, it leaves a good impression.

2. You can mirror these values in later interviews. If they say collaboration is the hallmark of their culture, get off the phone and come up with 2 stories from past jobs where you were a great collaborator and work those into future interview answers at that company.

3. This is important info to know to see if it sounds appealing to you. I once interviewed at a company that said they are all about working all day, partying all night. Uhm I am not built for all nighters, the fact that I pull all-dayers during the week is an accomplishment in my book.

4. Ask Personal Questions About the Interviewer

I did some research and saw that you’ve been at this company for X years. How has your role evolved? And how has the company evolved in your time here?

What makes you excited to come to work in the morning?

Either of these are gold. It will give you more context about the company, but in the end it’s about connecting with the interviewer and giving them a chance to talk about themselves.

5. Ask about the process

What does the interview process look like?

What are next steps?

When should I expect to hear back about next steps?

This lets you know when to follow-up .

If you're not following up then you’re losing out!

There is so much more to say about how to master the job interview and land the offer. Come to the Mock Interview Sessions to learn advanced, bleeding edge strategies on how to be an irresistible candidate (even if you’re changing careers).

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