As your college career continues, interviewing for your dream job can become more and more intimidating. You must worry about how your resume looks, how you should dress, prepare for questions you are going to be asked and so much more. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there that deal with these types of things, but it is hard to find a good blog with a list of questions that YOU should be asking the interviewer. For that reason, I have created a list with the help of some friends and colleagues of interview questions that you should always ask, to help you prepare for your next big interview!

Keep in mind, these questions are meant to sound and be true to who you are. Adjust these based on the position that you are interviewing for and create a couple of your own based on what you want to know about the company. The main goal when asking interview questions should be to find out all the information that you need to know about this job to decide if it is right for you.

Interview questions you should always ask:

  • Is there anything about my resume that you would like me to further explain or address?
  • What is something that you look for in your new employees as they just start out in this position?
  • Why is this position newly open?
  • How would you describe the work environment here?
  • What have other people done in this position that really stood out to you?
  • Does this company typically promote from within?
  • When should I expect to hear from you next?
  • What are some examples of the projects that I would be working on?
  • Would you describe this role as independent or team dependent?
  • Why are you looking to add *position* to your staff?
  • What does a day in this position look like?
  • How did your company handle and adjust to the current COVID-19 pandemic?
  • What do you like about working at this company?
  • What motivates you to get out of bed and come to work in the morning?
  • What is the experience level of the other employees that surround this role?
  • What about my resume stood out to you?
  • What does the training program look like for this position?
  • Are there any periods of time that you do not allow your employees to take their vacation time? *this is a question that is good to ask if you intend to find a job in payroll or accounting or any job that is involved in tax season or retail*
  • How many hours a week does the average employee work?
  • What does the strategic vision look like over the next five years?
  • What attributes does someone need to have to be successful in this position?
  • How does the process proceed from here?
  • What are the biggest challenges that someone in this position would face?
  • What are the performance expectations of this position over the next 12 months?
  • How has this role changes since you have been here?
  • What is your favorite part about working here?
  • I have read about how this company started and admire the path that it took to get here, can you tell me more about it?
  • Can you tell me about that last team building event that you held?

There are so many questions to ask an interviewer, and this list barley scrapes the surface. Remember that the key to acing an interview is to be confident, ask questions and know the position. When talking about yourself and the things that you have accomplished, remember to take pride in yourself, because they asked you in for an interview for a reason!

If you feel like you would like some help with preparing for your next big interview, or even just want an extra set of eyes to go over our resume, visit the Career & Leadership Development website at https://www.uww.edu/career-and-leadership-development!