10 important questions to ask in a job interview

Why should you ask questions in a job interview?

An interview is the perfect opportunity for you to learn whether the job is right for you.

While the hiring manager is asking you questions, you should always be prepared to ask a few of your own to help you paint a clear picture of what the company is like to work for.

This list of 10 important questions to ask helps you learn more about the role you’re applying for and gives you a smart way to impress your potential employer.

Top questions to ask in an interview include:

• Will I have opportunities to progress within the company?
• Who will train me for this position?
• What goals should I meet on this job?
• Do you have a performance review process?
• What are the team’s biggest strengths and challenges?
• What are the biggest challenges of the project I’ll be working on?
• How has the team already dealt with the project?
• How do you define success in this role?
• What are the long-term goals for this project?
• What happens next after this interview?

These questions help you understand the role, the company culture, and your growth opportunities while making a strong impression. We explain each one further below.

Will I have opportunities to progress within the company?

Asking about future opportunities lets the employer know that you are serious about a long-term career with the company. If you don't want to be working at the same level for the rest of your career, then you need to know what paths are open to someone in this position.

2. Who will train me for this position?

This is a good question to ask to find out who you will be working with closely at the very beginning, and what experience they have.

This question may reveal that training programs exist within the company. It may also provide insight that you are replacing someone who left suddenly, and you are expected to fill in right where they left off. Either way, it’s a good chance to help you prepare for the role if you’re successful in getting the job.

3. What goals should I meet on this job?

You may have already discussed the objectives of your role earlier in the interview or seen them in the job description, but it's always good to know more about the expectations of your employer or manager. Plus, it shows how eager you are to meet those expectations.

4. Do you have a performance review process? How often would I be reviewed?

It's useful to know how your performance will be measured. The answer to this question should help you understand how the company manages its employees, and whether your personal success is important to them.

5. What are the team's biggest strengths and challenges?

Get to know more about the people you'll be working closely with. An open-ended question like this one could produce many answers, from specific goals they are trying to reach to the way people interact within the team.

Asking this question can also provide a good idea of how your skills and experience will be a good fit for those you’ll be working with.

6. What are some of the biggest challenges of the project I'll be working on?

If you are being contracted to a project, you’ll already understand that it's going to have some level of difficulty and numerous pain points.

Getting an honest answer to this question, alongside finding out what your typical day-to-day responsibilities will be, helps you understand aspects of the job you wouldn't normally talk about in the interview, such as methods that don't work well, and people who don't work well together.

7. How has the team already dealt with the project I'm going to be working on?

If you're being interviewed for a contract job, you'll need to know as much as possible about the current state of the project you're going to be working on.

Asking this question shows your interest in the position and changes the interview so it's less about you and more about the project you'll be doing.

8. How do you define success in this role?

This question goes beyond the goals you will be expected to meet. The answer will hopefully provide you with a more complete picture of the prospective job, which in turn will give you a head start on being successful within the role.

9. What are the long-term goals for this project?

Asking about the future of the project you potentially will be working on shows your foresight and dedication to the job.

It also gives you a different viewpoint of what you will be trying to accomplish, and any time frames that will be included in achieving each goal.

10. What happens after this interview is finished?

Asking about the next steps and when you can expect to hear from the company shows that you’re keen to move forward, and helps you prepare for the next stage of the interview process.

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