Do You Have Any Questions?
This is a common question that employers ask at the end of the interview. They want to see if you’ve been paying attention during the interview process, but more so, they are trying to help you understand the full extent and scope of the role.
You don’t want to come off as a “know it all”. Be prepared to ask two to three questions. I’ll encourage you to write down 5 questions ahead of time in the notebook that you will have with you in the interview.
You can let the interviewers know that you have written down a few questions to ask and would like to reference them in your notebook. Never in my 10+ years of being interviewed and conducting interviews have I ever heard an employer say, “Absolutely not, put that notebook away!” If anything, it shows the interviewer that you took the time to prepare ahead of time and it speaks to your work ethic and personality.
Here is a list of my top 5 favorite questions to ask at the conclusion of the interview:
- Janice (Name of Interviewer), you’ve been a member of the BuzzFeed team (Company Name) for 3 years. What has kept you with the company during those 3 years and what motivates you to spend the next 3 years with BuzzFeed? *
- In the past, what qualities have you noticed that differentiated a top performing business development associate (Position Title) from an unsuccessful new hire at Tesla? *
- Could you walk me through a regular day in the life of a successful business development associate (Position Title)?
- Based on what you learned about me here today, is there anything about my candidacy that would inhibit me from moving on to the next steps of the interview? *
- What are the next steps and when can I expect to hear back from your team?
The three questions I would recommend asking are marked with an *
The reasons I recommend asking these questions in the order they are written are because:
- You show the human being(s) sitting in front of you that you acknowledge them as unique individuals with an interesting past, aspirations, and goals for the future, much like yourself. The whole interview has been about you, don’t forget to show interest in your interviewer.
- You are fishing for what necessary skills each interviewer feels would make a candidate ideal for the role. You will write down these attributes they mention and use the same language they used to communicate how you exemplify these skills in your follow up e-mail(s).
- You are asking them to be candid with you about any concerns they have about your profile. By understanding what is going through your interviewers head, you will be able to either ease their concerns on the spot or take the time after the interview to craft a meaningful influencing note that will change your interviewers perspective of your capabilities.
