Example questions to ask at interview

 13 Apr 2022

Interviews can feel stressful, but essentially they are just a conversation between two parties exchanging knowledge.

It is essential however to build the best rapport you can with your interviewer and part of that is having some questions to ask them, either at the end of the interview, or as you go along if it feels natural to do so. It shows that you are interested in the role and committed to making the right choices about your career. It’s also an opportunity to highlight that you have done your research on the company by asking related questions about things you might have read or heard.

So what sorts of questions can you ask? Here are a selection…

Can you walk me through what might be a typical day for me?

Here you can deep dive on things like who the clients are, how complex are their affairs, who you would be working with most on a daily basis, what the reporting lines are and establish the team structure if that hasn’t already been articulated.  

What do you expect from me?

Ask your interviewer what their expectations of you will be in the first 3 months, 6 months, and what they hope you will have accomplished after the first year. Ask about the appraisal process and how your performance will be measured.

All of this will give you a feel for the role and whether it might be a good match for you or not.

What types of training do you offer?

You will want to establish whether this company offers the right platform for your career aspirations. If you feel you need additional training to get you to where you want to be, would this firm support you with that?

This could be anything from professional qualifications, on the job learning and soft skills training, to management & leadership development and career coaching.

What does my career trajectory look like?

We’ve all heard the

Interviewer: “Where do you want to be in 5 years’ time?”

Interviewee: “In your job.” scenario.

But if career progression is what you are looking for, you will want to know what that looks like. How far can you go here? What tools / experience will you need to get there?

Next steps in the interview process?

Interviews are time consuming and usually require some juggling on your part. It’s helpful to know upfront what the process is so you can start to arrange your work and other commitments accordingly to accommodate the interviews.

You should establish the following:

• How many stages there are.
• Who else you will be meeting.
• Do you need to do any tests?
• Will they require a business case / presentation?
• Will you have the opportunity to meet the team?
• When might you receive feedback?

If the above questions have already been covered off during the course of the interview, keep that rapport going and ask the interviewer some things about themselves, or seek their opinions on matters of interest, for example:

How would you describe the company culture?

It’s great to seek the personal opinion and experience of your interviewer. You’ll likely get more practical insights from them than what you’ve read on the company website.

This is important as you will want to make sure you are joining a firm whose values are aligned with yours and it is a firm you would be proud to work for. We spend a lot of time at work and life is too short to be unhappy.

What aspects of your role do you particularly enjoy?

Ask the interviewer what is it about their role that gets them out of bed in the morning. How inspiring are they? Are they animated and enthusiastic? If they are, that probably bodes well for a good working environment.

Perhaps ask them how they themselves got into the profession. People are usually more than willing to share their own experiences.

This is not the time to discuss remuneration or benefits. If you have one, leave this to your recruiter and defer to them, as they will be best placed to advise you what is achievable in the market at any point in time. In any event, these are conversations that should wait until the company is wanting to make an offer.

The objective of any interview is to establish fit for both parties, both professionally and personally. By asking additional questions you will start to build a good picture of the opportunity that will then allow you make an informed decision when it gets to offer stage.