I’ve been in over a dozen job interviews and I will ask these questions in each one of them. My internship search as a sophomore has been a rocky road (when they give feedback it’s always that they want someone older they can hire post-internship), but I have always been complimented on the quality of the questions I ask during the interview.
The questions that you, the job candidate, ask are equally as important as your interview answers. Based on the questions you ask, your interviewer can determine how involved you are in the hiring process, how much research you did about the company, and how well you keep a conversation flowing.
A good source of information to reference to during interviews is the company’s blog or social media, if they have one. Following the company on LinkedIn also shows that you are interested in more than just the position itself.
Here are some fail-safe questions that should flow in interview conversation nicely and will impress your interviewer!
1. What are your team’s goals for (insert the financial quarter, season, year, etc.) and do you foresee any challenges in meeting those goals?
2. I saw on your website that part of what you do here is (insert segment of company research that you read about). Can you provide me a specific example of where you implanted that?
3. What is your company doing to contribute to building a more sustainable environment?
4. Do you have a favorite memory of when you first started working at (insert company name)?
5. If you could go back to your first day on the job and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
6. What sets (name of company) apart from its competition?
7. I saw on the blog that (name of company) recently (insert bit of current events). What was that like? Did your team work directly on making that happen?
8. What are some of the teams that you work with cross-functionally?
9. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about working in this industry?
10. Based on my job application and interview here today, do you have any concerns or feedback on my ability to do this job?
Make sure to always thank the interviewer for their time and send a thank you note afterwards!