For most, moving jobs is a big step in our lives and you need to be as informed as possible before you make the jump. This is the primary reason you will want to be prepared with questions for interview; bare in mind that you are interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. We are in a candidate-led market and so not only should companies be aware of this, they should be encouraging an open dialogue to ensure the best match all round.

There is also a secondary factor at play. Questions at the end of an interview aren’t just for the sole purpose of gaining information about the company, they also act as a point of assessment about you. For your interviewers, it demonstrates your interest in the role and company – and that can be a huge deciding factor. Companies want people who want to work for them!

One of the biggest pieces of advice I give to candidates is to take a list of 10-15 questions on a notepad with them to interview. I recommend writing them down, as your interviewer will inevitably answer many of them through the course of your interview, so you need lots in your arsenal! Add to this a pressured situation (which many find interviewing to be) and possibly a memory as bad as mine, the end of your interview will sound like this:

“Have you got any questions?”

“Errr no, I think you’ve covered everything”

And that doesn’t leave the best lasting impression.

We have assembled below a selection of questions which may help. Obviously, different questions will mean more to you than others, some will/won’t be applicable to the role you are interviewing for, or you may wish to tailor your questions depending on who in the organisation you’re speaking with (e.g HR, Technical or Operational Managers), but we hope they give you a starting point to think around.

Questions about the company

• What is the company culture like?
• What are a few things that really drive results for the company?
• Where do you see the company progressing to in the next X amount of time?
• How do you plan to deal with... insert relevant thing here (e.g. Brexit)?
• Who are your biggest competitors? Why are you better and how are you improving to beat them? (NB – if interviewing for a sales role you should already know who their competitors are!!)

Questions about the role

• What would my first week / month / year look like?
• What training will I be given? What additional training is available?
• What should I expect on a typical day?
• How would this position evolve?
• How big is the team I will be working with?

Questions for the interviewer

• Why did you choose to join this company?
• What's the most interesting projects that you've worked on?
• What do you like best and what do you like least about working here?
• What has allowed you to be successful here?
• How did you develop your career in this organisation?

Questions for you:

• Where can I expect to be in 5 years’ time?
• What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?
• What is the typical work week? Is overtime expected?
• Are there chances for professional growth?
• What are the next steps in the interview process? When can I expect to hear back?