“Do you have any questions for us?” 

While many interviewees often focus all their interview preparation on answering job-specific questions (e.g. “tell me about a time…”), coming prepared to answer “do you have any questions for us?”, typically asked at the end of an interview, is integral to your interview’s success! 

But why is asking questions at the end of a job interview so important? Most notably, this is a valuable opportunity to create a good impression with the interviewer and to get more information about the job. Specifically, your questions at the end of an interview help: 

1. Show your interest in the role. 
2. Demonstrate your preparedness and attention during the interview. 
3. Gather more information about the position to decide if it is a good fit for you. 

While there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach for which questions to ask, the following 5 categories of questions are widely transferable for most job interviews. This makes them an important tool in your job-hunting toolbox. 

The top 5 questions to ask 

1. Typical day 

While a job description outlines a role’s duties, this does not always translate to how the position actually functions. Therefore, hearing what a position is like in someone’s own words (e.g., what tasks you’ll be doing, how, with who, by when etc.) is invaluable to better understanding if the position interests you.  

Here are some examples: 

• “Can you elaborate more on what a typical day looks like for this role?” 
• “What are some short and long-term projects this role would be tasked with?” 

2. Workweek and workday expectations 

This question is especially essential when a role is advertised as a contract, auxiliary, or part-time. Even if the role has advertised working hours, understanding how much flexibility and/or responsiveness is expected for a role is an often-overlooked question. 

Here are some examples: 

• “From the job posting I see that this role is advertised as working [times the role is expected to work, “Auxiliary”, etc.]. I was wondering if you can elaborate on this and confirm what shifts you are hoping the successful candidate will fill?” 
• “Are there any expectations for the person in this role to be accessible outside of normal working hours? For example, because this role involves scheduling others, is there an expectation to be a contact on weekends or evenings if a shift needs to be covered?” 

3. Challenges and opportunities 

All jobs come with challenges and opportunities. However, knowing what they are prior to accepting a role will help you determine if you feel that the role is a good fit for you based on your preferred work style. 

Here are some examples: 

• “What are some of the main challenges and opportunities that [organization name] is currently facing, and how can this role help to address those issues.” 
• “How much of this role are you hoping will involve maintaining projects and processes, and how much of the role are you intending to involve creating new projects and processes, and can you elaborate?” 

4. Workplace culture and values 

As the saying goes, people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses. So, use this question as an opportunity to examine your (potential) new leader’s and organization’s values and reflect on whether this aligns with your workplace aptitudes and style. 

Here are some examples: 

• “Can you tell me about an employee you recently promoted? What about them and their performance did you really value and appreciate?” 
• “What is your supervision style among your employees?” 

5. Final touch base 

At the end of the interview, touching base in some regard is a great final step to make a lasting impression while also seeing if there is anything on your end you can do to assist the hiring managers in making their final decision(s). 

Here are some examples: 

• “Do you have any remaining questions or concerns regarding my experience in regard to my suitability for this role that I can help to address now?” 
• “I would love to give you my portfolio and work samples after this interview to help give the hiring team a better understanding of my background and expertise. Is there anything specific you would find advantageous for me to include in that email?” 

Final thoughts 

Be sure to come ready to your interview with your selected questions prewritten and take notes when the interviewers are answering. Once you have your answers, critically examine if the role, organization, and manager seem to be a good fit for you.  

Best of luck with your interview! 

Julia Halabourda is an experienced Burnaby art and recreation programmer, educator (focus in the fine arts and theatre), and nonprofit writer. She has her Bachelor of General Studies from SFU’s Faculty of Education with Minors in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Psychology, and Social Justice in Education. She also has her Nonprofit Management Associate’s Certificate from BCIT. Julia has been writing with Charity Village since August 2020 and her past articles can be accessed here. Julia can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-halabourda/.