The job interview process is almost always stressful, and that’s only after you’ve sent in enough resumés and applications to get someone to offer you an interview in the first place.
Knowing what to ask your interviewer when they ask you “Do you have any questions for us?” is often the most nerve-wracking part of the interview itself.
But below, you’ll find some great questions to ask your potential employer during your next interview.
Reddit user fmgame asked:
“What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?”
Ask About Your Predecessor
“One that has always gone over well for me: ‘What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?’”
“Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this.” –uneasyandcheesy
Ask For Your Interviewer’s Expertise
“When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?” –BeBackInASchmeck
“This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained.”
“She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job.” –slowbreaths
“This sounds like it allows too much room for them to promote themselves or the company. It’s not a bad question, I just think it will be hard to get an honest answer.” –Dukeronomy
“But are we looking for an honest answer, or just trying to get hired?” –DungeonsAndDragonsD*ldos
What Do They Want From You?
“Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to ‘don’t think of a purple hippo,’ this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position.” –stack_cats
“I asked this question in the interview for my current job. The answer I got was great:”
“‘Nothing. Just settle in, find your feet, concentrate on doing the basics right. We’ll sort out some challenges for you next year’.”
“It meant that I felt really relaxed and at ease when I started, knowing that I didn’t have to make any grand statements early on in my career here.” –SamwiseTheOppressed
This One Can Help You Weed Out Places That Aren’t A Good Fit
“What do you like best about working here?” –SJExit4
“This question has helped a lot to get an accurate view on the employer” –HurricaneHugo
“‘Good work-life balance, open and transparent communication, and a healthy work environment,’ even if none of those things are true.” –reallydarnconfused
“In February I asked this question in a job interview and the immediate response of the guy interviewing me is to look down and laugh a bit.”
“He then told me the likes the ‘balance’ and the ‘comradeship’ and that it feels like ‘family’.”
“That didn’t satisfy me but they proceeded to hire me a week later and I accepted. That comradeship he was talking about was true.”
“It was a group of 15 people and they were all 45+ and older and we’re highly racist towards everyone not German enough.”
“I quit after 2 months after listening to daily right wing conspiracies and whining about foreigners.” –Shaawny
Are They A Good Manager?
“A question that landed me a job once was: ‘If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they’d tell me?’ Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but I got the job.”
“In my current interviews I’m asking ‘what did your company do for its employees during COVID to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.’ and I ask ‘Is there anything your company adopted during COVID that they plan to keep post COVID?’”
“These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well.”
“Other questions that I’ve been complemented on are:”
“‘If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?’”
“‘If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?’” –Ophelia_AO
“When I’m interviewing, if it’s not offered proactively, I ask to meet some of the team I would be working with – and have a meeting where the hiring manager was not present.”
“When I’m talking with my potential coworkers I can them ask them about daily tasks/projects, any challenges, and what it’s like to work with the hiring manager. Not being able to meet with them separate from the hiring manager would be a red flag.”
“But then a couple of years ago I was interviewing and was offered a job where I would be the first employee at a company. The owner had previously done a lot of his business with contractors, and wanted to bring on an employee.”
“Obviously there were no coworkers for me to interview, since I would be the first one hired.”
“I did a couple of interviews with the owner, and he said he definitely wants to offer me the position, and he asked me to email him my references.”
“I said I would, and then I noted that normally I would want to speak with coworkers, but since that was not really possible I asked him for references of his own – specifically some who could speak to his management style.”
“He apparently loved that I did that. Said he had never been asked that before, and I could see he was surprised and hadn’t even thought about it.”
“But he agreed to send me an email later that night.”
“What I really appreciated was that he didn’t just give me people who were his direct reports in past jobs. He gave me a couple of levels of people to speak to.”
“One reference was someone who he directly managed previously. This one could speak about his long term experience with my prospective boss, and management style, and whether or not he was a micromanager (was not one, yay).”
“One reference was someone who was currently a managing partner at a pretty big Australian company. They had been VPs at the same time, managing different divisions at a previous company.”
“This one could speak to the leadership style, how my prospective boss approached business problems, and about his vision for the company. They had a long history, and it was really valuable to understand that my boss had a 5 year and 10 year plan for the business that was well thought out.”
“And I think the third reference was a current contractor at the company I was thinking about joining. This one was able to speak about current management style, and current projects I would work on.”
“Got valuable info from all of those references, and I accepted the job”
“Absolutely all of them were accurate about him as a manager.”
“A year or so later told me that me making the request for his references stood out – he took it as a sign that I was a good choice.”
“I don’t work for him anymore, but he’s still one of the best managers I have ever had.”
“The only manager I ever had who when he was trying to hire more people, came to me and said that in trying to hire he had come to realize that he was underpaying me, and gave me a $10k raise on the spot.” –LadyCiani
This One’s Important
“Why is this position open?” –TXJOEMAMA
“The position was ALWAYS hiring (call centre) so I asked them what their turnover rate was… 20% per month.”
“I lasted a good while. I had the highest call ratings in the company, and several customers spoke to or sent letters to my manager about how much they appreciated my help.”
“But I also had the lowest amount of calls taken per shift. Because of that, they never gave me my monthly award in front of the other staff.”
“They didn’t want anyone else to think they could get away with it.”
“Quantity, not quality.” –blameitonmyouth
Not Everyone Wants To Move Up
“Perhaps not the best but very interesting. A candidate asked me if it is possible in our company to get a significant raise without climbing up the career ladder in our company.”
“This guy never wanted to be a manager, he wanted to do what he applied for but wanted to know it will be well paid.”
“We hired him. He’s introvert, working alone in his ‘basement’ but he’s great at what he does.” –Nathaniel66
Job interviews are often stressful, but hopefully these suggestions about what to ask your interviewer make at least part of the process easier.
Happy job hunting!