The Candidate Super Series: The Importance of Asking Questions at the End of an Interview

Welcome to Part 11 of the Candidate Super Series. Before you leave an interview, asking ‘wrap up’ questions can heighten your chances of getting hired. Find out the best questions to ask, from the team behind our interview coaching services.

Most interviews finish with the same question. However, numerous applicants let themselves down by failing to answer end-of-interview questions. But, what’s this frequently inappropriately-answered query?

“Would you like to ask me anything?”

This is arguably the most significant interview query you answer – you’d be astounded at the number of candidates that reply, “No, I don’t think so.”

Not answering this question is a massively missed opportunity. On no occasion should you merely answer “no” to this, as it’s your final chance to leave a great impression on the interviewer. It’s the employer’s way of ascertaining how interested you are in the position.

If you don’t have any good questions to ask at the end of an interview, you demonstrate an absence of engagement and curiosity.

Ultimately, how can you possibly know all there is to know about the new organisation and finance role after just one interview?

Instead, if you do have a couple of well-considered end-of-interview questions up your sleeve, you’ll impress the interviewer. It tells them you’ve done your homework. What’s more, the interviewer discovers more about you because of the kind of questions you ask.

It’s time to get the ball rolling! Let’s take a look at some cracking closing interview questions so that you don’t disappoint them.

Killer questions to ask at the end of an interview

Asking good end of interview questions do two things:

• Enable you to identify whether the role is right for you. Good questions allow you to understand whether you’ll be content in the new position, at this organisation.
• Give you your last chance to demonstrate you’re the perfect fit by proving to the employer that you researched the company well and considered the questions carefully.

Avoid asking questions that anyone could answer with a fleeting glance at the organisation’s website. We recommend doing your homework and being as calculated as possible when you think about the company.

Even better? Avoid asking questions that have already been answered during the interview. So, listen carefully!

What questions to ask at the end of an interview?

To kick things off, we’ve pulled together some of the best end-of-interview questions – we’ve split them into queries about the position itself and questions about the organisation.

We advise asking about both of these. However, you can choose which questions to ask based on how the interview goes.

End of interview questions about the company

Rather than presuming you know everything about the organisation, do your research on the company’s history. Investigate its financial data. Check out its press releases concerning new products, management changes, community services, and lawsuits. The more info you know, the more well-informed questions you can ask.

Below, we’ve put together a few examples end-of-interview questions. Don’t forget – there’ll always be plusses and minuses to each organisation. It’s your responsibility to decide if the plusses outweigh the minuses.

• Can you tell me whether the department has any long-standing ambitions?
• Can you tell me what happens during the onboarding and training process?
• Does the company offer any learning and development opportunities? If so, what are they?
• Have you encountered any large challenges in the department/organisation?
• What do you enjoy the most about working at [company]?
• Where does the firm see itself in five years?

End of interview questions about the job position

Most importantly, avoid asking anything that was already covered in the initial phone calls and job advert.

Although, the role description can assist you in coming up with more in-depth questions for the interview. 

We suggest asking hiring managers, recruiters, team member(s), and supervisors the below:

• Can you tell me some of the biggest challenges I’m likely to experience in this position?
• What will you expect me to achieve in the initial six months? And within 12 months?
• What would a typical day look like?
• Can you tell me more about your/the director’s management style?
• How will this position help your/the director’s particular role?
• Which members of the team will I communicate with frequently?
• Based on the existing team, what do you think the most vital traits and skills will be so that I can succeed in my new position?

End of interview questions to avoid

Out of the thousands of questions you can ask an employer, there are also a few you should steer clear of, including:

Company benefits

Sure, an interview is a perfect chance to decide whether the job role is right for you. However, it’s mainly about how you can meet the organisation’s requirements – not the other way around.

Once you receive a job offer, the employer can tell you about the company perks. If they don’t, then you’re more than within your rights to ask about the benefits then.

The salary

Before heading to the interview, we advise researching salary ranges based on where you live.

Have a clear understanding of the offer before progressing with the interview process. That said, you shouldn’t ever be the person to raise this. While salary may be your main priority, don’t ever let the organisation know this. Begin with your experience and interest. Then, talk about (and settle on) pay later.

Promotions

Granted, you want to show you’re motivated. But don’t ask about promotions. There are other ways to gauge whether the company has the scope to develop talent internally. You could ask if there are any mentorships, development opportunities, and training programs. After all, no employer wants to recruit anyone who’s merely interested in using the position as a stepping stone. 

Holiday

Too many applicants come equipped with a list of holiday dates they need to ask to take off. All this will do is cause the employer to question how dedicated and interested you are. The right time to mention any time off is after you’ve been offered the job and wish to talk about your start date.

Questions to ask the employer at the end of the interview

When preparing for your big day, you’ll need to know what questions to ask. Firstly, evaluate the role description, then read over it for any missing info. The employer will be impressed at how involved you are. Next, spend some time doing a little homework on the organisation. Begin by swatting up on its social media, website, and public info.

Then, check your interviewer’s LinkedIn profile. If you’re unsure about who’s interviewing you, find out. It’s better to know more about the interviewer than not a lot, as you’ll be able to ask more in-depth questions. What’s more, it demonstrates you spent time doing your homework.

We advise writing down a minimum of 10 questions per interviewer. While you won’t be able to ask them all, you’ll have plenty of buffers. But, you’ll most likely discover that most of your pre-planned questions will be answered before you get around to asking them yourself.

You can ask new questions if you’re meeting with an interviewer more than once.

Top tip: Take a professional notepad into the interview with you and write down all your questions inside. When the interview finishes, take a look at your list of questions and make notes. But make sure you make eye contact with the interviewer and smile.

And last but not least, avoid asking each interviewer similar interview questions. Later on, they’ll compare notes, so the last thing you want is to be the applicant who asked the same interviewer the same question.

Just to clarify, it’s okay to ask questions that generate a distinctive reply from every individual, such as “Why did you decide to join the firm?” However, steer clear of firing off the same handful of questions to each individual.

The key is to ask standout, unique end-of-interview questions – this shows you’re eager and engaged. Demonstrate you did your homework. And we can never say this enough – don’t, on any account, state you have no questions at all!