Questions to ask your interviewer

Questions to ask your interviewer

Questions you ask your interviewer

To complete the two way conversation, you must ask questions and take an active role in the process. This demonstrates the importance you place on your work and career. The questions you ask and the answers you gather will assist you in determining whether the role is the right one for you. The research you did earlier should form a basis for some of your questions.

You should ensure you have a list of questions about the role specifically – such as ‘what is the reporting structure’, ‘what would be the biggest challenge in this role right now‘.

These questions should be balanced out with some more general questions about the company which might assist you in understanding the culture of the company and will show your interviewer you’ve done some preparation – bonus points for you! These might be questions like ‘what is the company’s policy on diversity‘, ‘what are the company’s goals for growth and development” or ‘what kind of training and support to you offer staff’.

Keep it simple, not too personal.

It’s perfectly okay to close the interview and ask what the next steps would be, but just remember don’t ask about salary or how long it would take for a promotion in your first interview (it’s one thing to be focused on career success, but another to come across as greedy, pushy or power hungry).

As a guide, we’ve outlined some further examples below and if you want more information, feel free to drop us a line here

 

We’ve rounded up a couple of funny clips on what not to do in an interview! Check them out on YouTube, here and here

Job related questions – focus on the job, the company, clients, and its people. Ask about your potential peers, subordinates and superiors.

  • How does the team work together, how does ‘X person’ like to manage his/her lawyers.
  • What does the reporting structure look like?
  • What would a typical ‘day in the life’ of this role look like?
  • What projects would I be involved in now? Within the first 12 months?
  • What are the most challenging aspects of this position right now?
  • Why has this vacancy arisen?
  • What would you like done differently by the next person who fills this position?
  • What are some of the long term objectives you would like to see accomplished in this job
  • How would you describe the firm/company culture?
  • How would you differentiate yourself from your competitors? Who do you believe are your main competitors?
  • How are employees measured in terms of performance?
  • What training ans support do you offer staff?
  • What are the long term strategies for growth and development?
  • Where the company stand on diversity / corporate social responsibility / innovation & technology / pro-bono work etc