50 Questions You Should Absolutely Ask an Interviewer (2022)

A job interview should feel like a negotiation, not an interrogation - and if you feel like the interviewer is holding all the power, that could be a red flag about the way they perceive candidates.

If you are a good match for the role, the interviewer should be interested in what you have to say, including any questions you might have. So it's a good idea to have plenty of potential questions in mind, depending on how the interview proceeds.

This in-depth guide looks at 50 questions you should ask an interviewer. Obviously, you won't ask all of these in every interview, and they're no substitute for researching the role and the company beforehand.

But keeping this list of questions to ask in interviews in your toolkit can help you to stand out as a candidate, as well as to fill in any remaining gaps in your knowledge about the company or the specific role you are applying for.

Related: 50 Most Common Interview Questions & How to Answer

Our Top 50 Questions to Ask an Interviewer

1. Can you offer specific details about the position's day-to-day responsibilities?

What do the day-to-day responsibilities of the role look like? Writer Annie Dillard said: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Success and happiness in a job boils down to contentment with the nitty-gritty of the everyday.

2. What would my first week at work look like?

This question shows you are already thinking ahead to after you get the job, as well as displaying an eagerness to hit the ground running so that you know exactly how to start contributing from your first day on the job.

3. How does this position contribute to the organisation's success?

Knowing your own contribution to the overall organisation can help you to deliver what your employer needs from you, and can also help to maintain motivation in a challenging role.

4. What do you hope I will accomplish in this position?

This is a subtly different question than the one above, and is about how your employer or line manager perceives the role. It can help you to discover if the expectations differ from the core job description in any way.

5. How does the company culture affect this role?

Few jobs exist in isolation. As part of the wider company, your role will be influenced in ways you might not expect, but this question can help you to anticipate where your individual piece fits into that overall puzzle.

6. What characteristics do you look for in employees?

This question is about understanding the company's values and how they expect individuals to represent those values. It's a good way to gain insight into the company's priorities, both commercial and ethical.

7. What job shadowing opportunities are available for an applicant?

In particular, would you be allowed to shadow an employee before accepting a job offer? Many companies operate recruitment days where you can witness employees at work, so this is not an unreasonable thing to ask so you know exactly what you are accepting.

8. What do you enjoy most about working here?

What's the interviewer's favourite part about working at the company? It's important to get a sense of your interviewer's opinions about working there. If enthusiasm flows easily, that's a great sign. If it doesn't, that is worth noting too.

9. Why are you working in this industry?

This slightly more personal version of the question above gently probes the interviewer to open up. If they are willing to talk about their own career, this can build rapport. If they are not willing, that might be a red flag for working with them in the future.

10. Can you walk me through your typical work day?

It's likely the interviewer is a direct line manager to your future role with the company, so learning more about what their workday is like can offer valuable insight and wider context.

11. What is your greatest accomplishment with the company?

Again, if you are with the company long-term, you may be looking for promotion into the role the interviewer currently holds. Learning about their personal achievements in that role can be extremely useful for the future.

12. What is your team's greatest accomplishment?

This broader version of the previous question opens up the context to include the interviewer's team, which likely includes one or more people working in a role similar or identical to the one you are interviewing for.

13. What goals do you have for the next five years?

These may be individual, team or organisation goals. This question is one interviewers often ask candidates, but it's reasonable for a candidate to ask it too, to understand the direction of travel in the immediate future.

14. What hobbies do you have outside of the office?

Learning about the interviewer's hobbies can help to find some common interests outside of the core job description. It's also a subtle way to find out if they have time for activities outside of work, or if their role eats into their personal freedoms with unpaid overtime.

Related: What hobbies and interests should you list on your CV?

15. How do leaders encourage employees to ask questions?

A strong leadership culture can help employees to participate in a meaningful and rewarding way. Welcoming constructive questions is a small but significant part of that.

16. How do leaders set employees up for success?

This again is about understanding the support employees get from their line managers and senior leaders - or identifying any cause for concern if that support is not ingrained into the company culture.

17. How is employee feedback incorporated into day-to-day operations?

Many companies are 'open to feedback' but fail to act on it. A positive response to this question is a good sign of an agile and responsive organisation that is willing to change to get the best out of its workforce.

18. How does management deliver negative feedback to employees?

Equally important as all of the above is the way company leaders provide negative feedback when necessary. This is crucial for personal professional development but feedback should be constructive and not just critical.

19. What is your work culture like?

How does the interviewer perceive the culture in their team or department? This is likely to be a more personal response than for the company culture as a whole, and can be useful if you are applying for a role within a small team.

20. How would you describe the work environment here?

The 'work environment' is more than just the company culture. It includes the physical - the workplace itself, equipment and furnishings - and even the location of the job, access to local amenities and so on.

21. What benefits and perks does the company offer?

You can research company benefits and perks on the Glassdoor website, allowing you to ask for more details about the specific benefits that interest you most.

22. What benefits are focused on work-life balance?

Work-life balance goes beyond paid overtime and flexible working. It's about the company recognising that your free time is your own and encouraging you to make the most of that time with a package of benefits that puts your welfare first.

Related: Burning out? Here's the UK's top 20 companies for work life balance

23. What is the outline of your telecommuting policy?

Telecommuting, flexible working and working from home: since 2020 these have become more commonplace than ever. Don't be afraid to ask about this upfront, especially if it's an important element in whether you accept the job or not.

24. How frequently do employees make themselves available outside of normal working hours?

This could mean paid and unpaid overtime, travel and overnight stays, training sessions and out-of-hours correspondence - it all adds up to the additional burden of a job.

25. What's your mission statement?

In many cases a company's mission statement will be on their website or some other public place, but if your research failed to find it, there's nothing wrong with asking the interviewer.

26. How often is a new hire the result of a previous employee quitting?

Employee churn is an indicator of poor job satisfaction. If the role you are applying for has a history of employees quitting after less than two years, it could be a sign that their expectations were not met.

27. Why do most employees leave the company?

This is a broader version of the question above but opens the door to more positive answers, for example if most employees go on to leadership roles elsewhere or are headhunted by executive recruiters.

28. How would employees describe the company and its leaders?

Asking about the employees' perception of the company, rather than the leaders' own perception, is a good way to subtly find out any potential negatives, especially if you are applying for a relatively entry-level role.

29. What are the company's biggest problems?

Look for evidence that the company recognises its problems - all organisations face challenges both externally and from within - and that positive action is being taken to improve operations in response to those challenges.

30. What do you see as the most challenging aspect of this job?

Having a good idea of the obstacles you will face in your role allows you to prepare more thoroughly to overcome them. "Forewarned is forearmed," as the saying goes.

31. What do you want the company to be known for among employees - past, present, and future?

A good company cares about its reputation among present and former employees, and this not only factors into the level of care you will receive in the role, but also the reputation you will carry forward into future job interviews.

32. What does success look like in this position, and how do you measure it?

This will help you to understand how the company measures individual success. Will you have to meet key performance indicators (KPIs) and if so, how (and how often) will those be assessed?

33. How are employees recognised for their hard work?

Salary and benefits are at the core of the remuneration you receive for your role, but does the company go beyond this to recognise hard work or employees who go 'ABCD' (above and beyond the call of duty)?

34. How involved are employees in the structuring of their own goals and tasks?

It's not always appropriate for employees to have a say in the tasks allocated to them, but where possible this degree of autonomy can have a big impact on morale and productivity.

35. What are your views on goals, timelines, and measuring success?

This again is about measuring performance but also how duties are assigned. Is the company realistic about productivity and workloads, and especially about timelines and deadlines?

36. How often are employees expected to provide status updates on a project?

Again, trust and autonomy can make individuals feel more valued. Does the company allow you to work unimpeded, or will you be subjected to continual monitoring and/or expected to provide frequent status updates that distract you from your core duties?

37. How often do you evaluate employee performance?

Knowing how often you will be assessed can again affect the stress levels of working under constant supervision. If you know you will not thrive under such circumstances, it's important to find out upfront.

38. Can you tell me about the team I'll be working with?

The people around you will inevitably impact on your day-to-day work. By asking this, you may get a general overview of the team structure, or may even get specific names you can write down and research later, when deciding whether or not to accept a job offer.

39. How competitive are your employees?

Do you thrive in a more cut-throat competitive environment, or one built on mutual support and non-competitive collaboration? This question can help you to judge what kind of 'competition culture' you are walking into.

40. How do you develop teamwork skills among employees?

Does the company run any specific training or development focused on teamwork? If you encounter a colleague who is unsupportive and even combative, will the organisation do anything to improve this situation?

41. Are there opportunities for professional development?

When asking this question, you're looking into whether there are opportunities for growth and whether the company has a Learning & Development programme. Stagnation is a big red flag, so be alert to this.

42. What type of mentor system do you have in place?

Mentoring is ongoing, highly relevant and one-to-one, making it a hugely valuable source of professional development. Find out if the company offers any such opportunities.

43. What type of educational/training opportunities does the company offer?  

More generally, is training built into the schedule for this role? Will you be expected to attend training externally in your own time? If you want to study towards a relevant third-party qualification, will the company support or sponsor you?

44. What advancement opportunities are available?

If you stay with the company long-term, it's important to know whether there will be promotion opportunities, or alternative advancement (e.g. performance-related pay or lateral moves between roles/departments).

45. How do leaders promote employee growth and success?

A clear promotion hierarchy makes it easier for leaders to encourage personal and professional growth among employees. Look out for red flags, for example if management are reluctant to train employees up to a standard where they could become rivals for a more senior role.

46. What does it take to be a top performer at this company?

Ultimately, what is the company looking for? This question helps you to understand not just how to excel within your role, but how to become one of the best employees in the organisation as a whole.

47. What's the next step of this process, and when can I expect to hear from you?

Towards the end of the interview, there are a few useful admin questions to ask. This one is purely practical but shows you are positive about proceeding with the application.

48. Is there any other information I can provide you with?

This is a good general admin question to ask, giving the interviewer a broad opportunity to ask for anything they would like to know about you that has not already been covered by your CV, cover letter or interview responses.

49. Would you like to see more examples of my work?

If you are applying for a job where a portfolio or case studies are relevant, for example, a creative role in marketing or architecture, this is the interviewer's chance to see more of your past successes.

50. Is there anything about my background or CV that makes you question whether I am a good fit for this role?

Finally, give the interviewer one more chance to raise any concerns they still have about you. This shows you are open to constructive criticism and are realistic and pragmatic about your prospects. It's also one last opportunity for you to turn around any lingering negatives and end the interview with a positive impression.