by: Nerelly Checo ’18
Interviewer: “Do You Have Any Questions?”
First and foremost, when an interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions?”, you most likely feel like
And your interviewer is just looking at you like:
However, the best thing to do (and probably the last thing you actually want to do) is to ask a question. If you don’t, the interviewer might think that you are disinterested in the position.
The best thing to do is prepare by coming to the interview with a list of questions. Make sure you have more than one question as some might get answered during the interview.
Do not ask about:
- Salary and benefits → This is something you should hold off to until after, especially if this is your first interview with the company.
- Personal life and gossip → Don’t ask about the interviewer’s family or home. In addition, don’t ask about any mutual connections you may have at the company.
- Complicated and multi-part questions → Keep your questions straightforward and quick. You want to make sure the interviewer doesn’t get overwhelmed or bored. Don’t ask questions that are separated into different parts- you can always follow up with an email if you are left with any questions.
- Things you can answer on your own → It is essential to do your research before going to the job interview. It looks bad if you ask the interviewer something that you could have easily looked up on the company’s website or Google.
According to The Balance, Forbes and The Cut, here are a few questions you should ask:
-
- What is a typical day and week like?
- What are the biggest challenges of this role?
- Thinking back to people you’ve seen do this work previously, what differentiated the ones who were good from the ones who were really great at it?
- What are you hoping for your new hire to accomplish in the first three months on the job?
- What is the history of this role? Is it a new position, or was there someone in the job before?
Make sure to take a deep breath and just relax.
As long as you follow these tips about what NOT to do or ask any of our example questions, you shall be okay. And remember, this is only one part of the interview. You can demonstrate your skills in the other questions- this is not the determining factor of your job (unless you really ask something bad).
