38 Smart Questions to Ask in a Job Interview: The Harvard Business Review Guide

Summary

This video script offers a comprehensive guide on how to effectively use the 'do you have any questions for me?' opportunity in job interviews. It suggests 38 smart questions to ask, focusing on understanding the job, team, company culture, and career development. The advice includes making questions personal, building on the conversation, and avoiding generic inquiries. It also emphasizes the importance of not asking about salary or benefits too early in the process, and instead, focusing on showcasing one's fit for the role and gathering crucial information about the position and company.

Takeaways

• 😀 Prepare for the interview by having a list of smart questions to ask, demonstrating your interest and suitability for the job.
• 🔍 The purpose of asking questions in an interview is twofold: to assess whether the job is right for you and to show that you are the right candidate.
• 📈 Personalize your questions to make them relevant to the role and show how you fit into the position.
• 📚 Ask about the job's responsibilities, projects, performance review process, and immediate tasks to understand the role better.
• 👥 Inquire about the team dynamics, skills needed, challenges, and potential changes in responsibilities to gauge your fit within the team.
• 👨‍🏫 If the interviewer is your potential boss, ask about their experience and what they enjoy about working at the company.
• 🏢 Understand the company's goals, values, and growth plans to see if they align with your own aspirations and values.
• 🌐 Be cautious not to ask questions that can be easily answered with a quick Google search, showing that you've done your homework.
• 🌟 Explore company culture by asking about onboarding, employee experiences, and traditions to get a feel for the work environment.
• 💼 Focus on career development opportunities, learning prospects, and potential career paths within the company to see your future growth.
• 🔚 Conclude the interview by asking about the next steps in the hiring process, rather than jumping to salary or benefits discussions.

Q & A

What are the two main goals of asking questions during a job interview?

The two main goals are to assess whether the job is one you want and to demonstrate that you are the right person for the job.

Why is it important to make your interview questions personal?

Making questions personal helps the interviewer visualize you in the role, which can be a psychological trick to make them more likely to consider you for the position.

What is a good strategy for building off the conversation during an interview?

Asking about a project mentioned or a responsibility not listed in the job description can help make the interview feel like a continuation of the conversation.

Why should you avoid asking questions that can be easily answered with a quick Google search?

Asking such questions can give the impression that you haven't done your research, which may negatively impact your credibility.

What are some key questions to ask about the job itself to understand the role better?

Questions like 'What are your expectations for me in this role?', 'What's the most important thing I should accomplish in the first 90 days?', and 'What metrics or goals will my performance be evaluated against?' can help clarify the role's responsibilities and expectations.

How can you determine if you will fit well within the team during the interview?

Asking about the team's needs, challenges, and how you will interact with other departments can provide insights into how you might fit into the team.

What are some insightful questions to ask your potential boss during the interview?

Questions like 'How long have you been at the company?', 'What's your favorite part of working here?', and 'How do you typically onboard employees?' can help you understand their management style and expectations.

Why is it important to ask about company culture during the interview?

Understanding the company culture can help you determine if the work environment aligns with your values and if you can see yourself thriving in that environment.

What are some questions to ask about career growth and development in the role?

Questions such as 'What learning and development opportunities will I have in this role?', 'Are there examples of a career path beginning with this position?', and 'How are promotions typically handled?' can help you understand the potential for growth within the company.

Why should you avoid asking about salary or benefits too early in the interview process?

It's too early to negotiate these details as it can give the impression that you are more interested in the compensation than in the job itself. It's better to focus on demonstrating your value first.

What are some questions to ask at the end of the interview to show you are interested and proactive?

Questions like 'What am I not asking you that I should?', 'Is there anything else I can provide you with that would be helpful?', and 'What are the next steps in the hiring process?' can show your enthusiasm and initiative.

Outlines

00:00

🤝 Preparing Smart Questions for a Job Interview

Amy Gallo provides guidance on how to effectively use the opportunity to ask questions during a job interview. She emphasizes the importance of being prepared to not only show interest in the job but also to gather essential information. Gallo suggests 38 smart questions to ask, which are designed to help assess the fit of the job and demonstrate suitability for the role. She advises tailoring questions to be personal and specific to the role, and building off the existing conversation. The goal is to make the interview feel like a natural continuation of the discussion, with the interviewer visualizing the candidate in the role.

05:01

📈 Understanding Job Role and Company Culture

The second paragraph delves into the types of questions a candidate should ask to gain clarity about the job role and the company's culture. It includes inquiries about the company's current goals, team dynamics, potential challenges, and growth opportunities. Gallo also touches on the importance of not asking questions that can be easily answered with a simple online search, to show thorough research. Additionally, she provides insight into understanding remote work integration and the subtleties of company culture through indirect questions. The paragraph concludes with advice on questions related to career development and the hiring process, cautioning against asking about salary or benefits too early in the process.

Keywords

💡Job Interview

A job interview is a formal meeting between a potential employer and a job applicant, where the employer assesses the applicant's suitability for a job. In the video, job interviews are the central theme, with the focus on how to handle the 'do you have any questions for me?' part effectively to demonstrate the applicant's interest and suitability for the position.

💡Smart Questions

Smart questions are well-thought-out inquiries that show an applicant's engagement and understanding of the job and the company. The script emphasizes the importance of asking smart questions during a job interview to not only assess the job but also to demonstrate the applicant's fit for the role.

💡Assess

To assess means to evaluate or judge something carefully. In the context of the video, the term is used to describe the process of determining whether the job is suitable for the applicant and vice versa, through the questions asked during the interview.

💡Psychological Trick

A psychological trick refers to a strategy or technique that influences a person's thinking or behavior. The script mentions a psychological trick where asking specific questions can lead the interviewer to visualize the applicant in the role, potentially increasing the chances of a positive outcome.

💡Performance Review

A performance review is a method by which an employer evaluates an employee's job performance. The video script includes questions about the performance review process to help the applicant understand how their work will be evaluated in the potential new role.

💡Team Dynamics

Team dynamics refer to the way team members interact and work together within a group. The script suggests asking questions about the team to understand the group's needs, composition, and how the applicant might fit into the existing structure.

💡Company Culture

Company culture encompasses the values, social structures, and norms within an organization. The video encourages asking questions about company culture to gauge whether it aligns with the applicant's own values and work style, using indirect questions to uncover potential issues.

💡Career Development

Career development refers to the process by which individuals grow and advance in their professional lives. The script includes questions about learning opportunities and career paths to help applicants understand their potential for growth within the company.

💡Onboarding

Onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee into an organization. The video script highlights the importance of asking about onboarding procedures, especially in remote work situations, to understand how new employees are integrated into the company culture.

💡Hiring Process

The hiring process involves a series of steps that an organization takes to attract, screen, and hire new employees. The video script advises applicants to inquire about the next steps in the hiring process to understand what to expect following the interview.

💡Negotiation

Negotiation is a discussion aimed at reaching an agreement. The script warns against asking about salary or benefits too early in the interview process, suggesting that it's better to wait until after the employer has shown interest in the applicant before entering into negotiations.

Highlights

Preparing smart questions for a job interview can help you assess the job and demonstrate your suitability for the role.

Personalizing questions to relate to the specific job and your role can make interviewers visualize you in the position.

Building questions off the ongoing conversation can make the interview feel like a natural continuation.

Having a set of relevant questions ready can help you be nimble during the interview, adjusting as needed.

Questions about the job itself can clarify responsibilities, projects, and performance assessment.

Understanding the team dynamics and challenges can provide insight into how you might fit within the group.

Asking about the potential boss can give you a sense of who you'll be working for and their relationship with the organization.

Inquiring about company goals, values, and growth plans can help align your interests with the organization's.

Avoid asking questions that can be easily found through a quick online search to show you've done your research.

Understanding company culture through indirect questions can provide a more genuine insight than direct ones.

For remote positions, asking about onboarding and integration into company culture is crucial.

Questions about growth and development opportunities can help you see your future within the organization.

Concluding with questions about the next steps in the hiring process can show your interest and initiative.

Avoid asking about salary or benefits too early in the interview process as it may hinder your negotiation position later.

Examples of questions to avoid asking include those about health insurance, paid leave, or premature job confirmation.

Selecting the most important questions to ask within the time constraints of the interview is key.

The transcript provides a comprehensive list of 38 smart questions to ask in a job interview, along with some to avoid.

Transcripts

AMY GALLO: All right.

You're in a job interview.

It's going great.

You've answered all their questions quite well you think.

And then comes that question that turns the tables--

you know the one.

So, do you have any questions for me?

When the interviewer opens up the floor to you,

you don't want to be caught off guard.

And you don't want to miss an opportunity

to prove your right for the job and gather crucial information.

So it's a good idea to be prepared.

Luckily, I'm here to help.

I've got 38 really smart questions

you can ask to show that you're right for the job.

Ready?

Here they are.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Oh, still there?

I guess I owe you some more context.

Obviously, you're not going to ask all those questions.

So let's break them down.

And I'll walk you through what you're actually

going to do in that moment in the interview.

Keep watching.

First, let's talk broadly about what

you want to accomplish with this portion of the interview.

You have two goals here.

One, asking smart questions will help

you assess whether the job is indeed one you want.

And second, those questions will help further

demonstrate that you're the right person for the job.

To achieve those goals, you'll want

to pay attention to how you phrase your questions.

First, make them personal.

Instead of asking generic questions, make them specific,

how they pertain to you.

For example, instead of asking what would a typical day look

like, try asking, what would a typical day for me in this role

look like?

According to John Lees, author of How to Get a Job You

Love, this is a great psychological trick

that gets them to picture you in the role.

He says, "As soon as they visualize you doing the job,

it's hard to let go of that image."

Second, you want to build off the conversation adding

to what's happened so far.

For example, you might ask about a project that they mentioned

or a responsibility that didn't show up in the job description.

The key is to make this portion of the interview feel

like a continuation of the conversation.

This requires that you be nimble in the actual interview

and that you adjust your questions accordingly.

But it's helpful to have a sense of the questions you'll ask

and to have a few in your back pocket.

Of course, as I said earlier, you're

not going to ask all 38 questions that I'm

about to share with you.

So choose a few that are relevant to you,

your interests, and the specific job.

And write those down.

Have a glance at them before you go into the interview

so they're fresh in your mind.

All right, let's get to those questions, all 38 of them.

First up, questions about the job itself.

These will help you zero in on whether this

is a role you really want.

These are pretty basic questions about the responsibilities

you'll have, the projects you might work on,

how your performance might be assessed.

Here they are.

Number one, what are your expectations

for me in this role?

Number two, what's the most important thing

I should accomplish in the first 90 days?

Three, what's the performance review process like here?

And how often would I be formally reviewed?

Four, what metrics or goals will my performance

be evaluated against?

Five, what are the most immediate projects

that I would take on?

Six, how long before I will be, and fill in the blank

here, meeting with clients, have responsibility

for my own accounts, interacting with other departments,

et cetera?

Next, here are some questions that will get you clarity

on the team.

You'll be working with.

These get into the nitty gritty of how they see you

fitting into the larger group.

What the team's needs are, who else is on it, whether you'll

be managing people, and what other departments

you'll be working with.

Let's look at those questions.

Number seven, what types of skills

is the team missing that you're looking

to fill with a new hire?

Eight, what are the biggest challenges that I

might face in this position?

Nine, do you expect my main responsibilities

in this position to change in the next six months or a year?

10, can you tell me about the team I'll be working with?

11, who will I work with most closely?

What other departments or units will I interact with?

12, can you tell me about my direct reports?

What are their strengths and the team's biggest challenges?

A lot of times the person interviewing you

will be your potential boss.

If that's the case, here are some questions for them.

These will give you a sense of who you'll be working for,

their relationship to the larger organization,

and whether you want to be working for them.

Here are the questions.

Number 13, how long have you been at the company?

14, how long have you been a manager?

15, what's your favorite part of working here?

And here are some smart questions

to ask about the company itself.

You want to get a good sense of whether the organization's

goals and values align with your own.

Here they are.

Number 16, what are the current goals

that the company is focused on?

And how does this team work to support hitting those goals?

17, what gets you most excited about the company's future?

18, how would you describe the company's values?

19, how has the company changed over the last few years?

20, what are the company's plans for growth and development?

One important note here.

Don't ask things you can find in a quick Google search.

You don't want them to think you haven't done your research.

Of course, understanding the company culture is crucial.

So here are some questions that get at that.

Number 21, how do you typically onboard employees?

22, what do new employees typically

find surprising after they start?

23, is there anything that I should

read before starting that would help

me have a shared understanding with my colleagues?

24, what's your favorite office tradition?

25.

what do you and the team usually do for lunch?

26, do you ever do joint events with other departments

or teams?

27, what's different about working here than anywhere

else you've worked?

28, how has the company changed since you joined?

John Lees warns that you should take answers

to these questions about culture with a grain of salt.

It's highly unlikely that an interviewer

is going to come out and say this is an unwelcoming place

to work or that it's even a toxic environment.

That's why slightly indirect questions like number 22,

what do new employees find surprising, can be helpful.

They get at company culture without explicitly

asking about it.

One tip related to remote work from Art Markman, the author

of Bring Your Brain to Work.

If the job you're interviewing for

is going to be fully remote, be sure to ask specifically

about how remote employees are onboarded and integrated

into the company culture.

Another critical element of the job that you want to understand

is what your growth and career development will look like.

You need to be sure you can see yourself in the role

that you're currently applying for,

but also that you can see a future for yourself

in the organization.

Here are some questions that get at career paths and development

opportunities.

Number 29, what learning and development opportunities

will I have in this role?

30, how does the team I'll be part of continue

to grow professionally?

31, are there examples of a career path beginning

with this position?

32, what are the common career paths in this department?

33, how are promotions typically handled?

34, where have successful employees moved on to?

OK.

These last four are good questions

to conclude with, though, make sure that you've

covered all your bases.

And that what's happening next in the hiring process.

Here they are.

Number 35, what am I not asking you that I should?

36, is there anything else I can provide you

with that would be helpful?

37, is there anything I can clarify for you

about my qualifications?

38, what are the next steps in the hiring process?

When wrapping up, you may be tempted

to ask about salary or start date.

But that's probably not a good idea.

It's too early to ask about those things,

because you're not yet in a position to negotiate.

Let them fall in love with you first.

Then negotiate.

Here are some examples of other questions you shouldn't ask.

Can you tell me about your health insurance?

What are your paid leave policies?

So, do I have the job?

So there you go, 38 smart questions to ask

and a few bonus ones not to ask.

As a reminder, you're not going to ask all of them.

Be mindful of the interviewer's time.

And if you have just a few minutes left,

choose two or three that are most important to you.

You will always have time to ask more questions once you

have the offer in hand.

Good luck.

Thanks for watching.

All of these questions are from my HBR article,

which is linked in the description below.

Do you have a piece of advice about interviewing for jobs

or is there a topic you'd like us to cover in the future?

Comment below.

Bye for now.