What to ask and what not to ask in an interview

So picture the scene. You’ve applied for your dream job. You’ve got to interview stage and things are going quite well when the interviewer suddenly says “I think that’s all the questions from me, what questions do you want to ask?”

If your response is to say “I don’t have any at this point” or “None, I think you’ve covered everything”, then bang, you probably just blew it.

For the interviewer, letting an interviewee take the lead is very revealing. This section of the interview is as important in helping them evaluate you as what came before. The hiring manager is specifically looking for someone they can build a rapport and relationship with, who is a good conversationalist and influencer.

But in any job interview, the candidate who asks nothing is at the least missing an opportunity and at worst, deciding “no questions, thank you” could be terminal. So now we’ve established you have to ask questions, which should you ask and which should you definitely not?

Keep an eye on the time. If it feels like there’s only time for one question (you’ll always be able to tell), fine, but ask it. If there’s time for more, ask more, but three or four max.

It’s best not to have your questions pre-written on a page in front of you. If you must, then don’t just read them out, it looks and sounds robotic and it’s like a physical, tangible, disconnect with what’s just been going on in the interview.

Show spontaneity; ask a question that relates to something the interviewer told you, something that you’re genuinely interested to hear the answer to. These will demonstrate you’ve been listening:

Don’t ask about things you should already know, that could be answered later or where the answer is obvious. Such questions are pointless, a missed opportunity to ask something better and could irritate the interviewer:

Question:

What skills are you looking for?

Answer:

All the things that I just tested in this interview, didn’t you notice?

Question:

What hours will I have to work?

Answer:

By the sounds of it, more than you’ll be happy to do!

Question:

Do you offer training and development?

Answer:

You already know the answer to this question!

Ask a question that relates to the interviewer themselves, as a person – engage with them on a personal level:

Ask a question that gives you a final chance to sell yourself. The most punchy but diplomatic would be “Have I done enough to convince you to hire me?” – the directness of that frightens a lot of people (on both sides of the table), so it’s risky, but it could be A-OK if you say it with a smile on your face, if you have a good rapport with the interviewer and particularly if you’re interviewing for a sales job.

The point to questions like this is to give you a chance to try and give a (short) final attempt to reassure/convince the interviewer. They may of course dodge it, but no matter, it is good to try and close the deal and it shows you want it.

If after all that, you think you would like to get this job – tell the interviewer that: I’m excited by this opportunity, I think my understanding of what you’re looking for is x, y and z and I believe I have those skills and experience in abundance and I really hope your decision goes in my favour.

That should nail it!