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POV. You’re doing great at a job interview. As it comes to a close the interviewer asks you this question.

Do you have any questions for me?

If you say no, you’ve wasted your chance to learn more about the organization, the culture, the team, and whether this job will be a good fit for you and your needs. Instead, come prepared with these five questions to ask at the end of an interview.

What is the team culture like?

Here’s where you can find out whether the team gets together after work for drinks, eats lunch together, works collaboratively, or shares information across the team. Is this a formal business culture, like a bank, or more casual like a start-up? Use what you learn to decide whether you will feel comfortable in this environment.

What would my typical day look like?

First, you want to show that you are enthusiastic about seeing yourself in this role. This is an especially good question for new graduates or anyone entering a job that’s new to them. This is also where you find out what’s most important to the company and to your job description. Does the team kick off every day with a quick staff meeting, or are you mostly autonomous in your workflow and tasks? What are their priorities in this role?

🚩Red flag if they don’t have a clear answer.

How will you measure my success during the first few months?

This will be an ongoing question between you and your direct manager if you are hired, so start off by asking this right away. You want to know what success looks like to them, and how you can align your work with those goals.

🚩 Red flag if they expect a lot of growth and success right out of the gate. It’s going to take you a while to learn the job and to understand who has the knowledge you need to succeed.

Why do you like working for the company?

People love to talk about themselves, so here’s a chance to offer the hiring manager an opportunity to talk about their passion, or lack of it, for the organization, as well as give you specifics about their experiences. This question will also show your curiosity and create an immediate bond with the interviewer.

🚩 Red flag if they have trouble with this one.

How has your role changed since you’ve been with the company?

Here’s where you learn about potential career paths in the organization while gaining an understanding of the hiring manager’s history with the company. Often career paths aren’t a straight climb up the ladder, rather they can take multiple twists and turns, and you’ll learn a lot by hearing about their personal journey. Don’t worry if there aren’t any defined career paths, as that’s often the case in companies, rather listen carefully to how they’ve achieved their level of promotion and how long it took to get there.

Conclusion

There’s no set rule for how many questions to ask, but these five questions to ask at the end of a job interview are a great start! If you aren’t sure how much time you have for questions, check with the interviewer and let them know you have a few questions and are excited to learn more.

I have more tools for you in your job search. Check out my posts on Minimizing Gender Bias From Your Resume and The Complete Job Interview Preparation Guide so you can get in there and slay that interview. Good luck!

My TikTok video on this topic has almost 500k views, so if you read the whole blog you aren’t alone in needing this advice. Let me know if I can answer any other questions by leaving me a comment.