Do You Have Any Questions for Me? Preparing a List for the Interviewer

The last question an interviewer typically asks is “do you have any questions for me?” You should NEVER reply “no.” However, this is exactly what many people say because they’re not prepared even though they may have been asked this question numerous times before. Prior to every interview, you should prepare 5-7 questions to ask the interviewer. You will only want to ask 2-3, but several of the questions may be asked over the course of the interview which is why you want to prepare additional ones.

Before we go over questions that you should ask, here’s what you should NOT do.

• Don’t ask questions that would put the interviewer on the defensive. Do not ask about their personal life or about things they don’t like about his/her organization.
• Don’t go on and on with questions. Keep the questions to 2-3.
• Don’t ask questions that have been answered already.
• Never ask about compensation or vacation.
• Don’t ask questions that you should already know the answer to. For example, do your research about the company and don’t ask questions that should have been discovered during the process.

Here’s what you should ask:

• What qualities does a successful intern/employee possess?
• What opportunities are there for training or additional education?
• What surprises does the typical intern/employee experience in the first few months?
• What are the immediate challenges of this position that need to be addressed in the first few months?
• How will I be evaluated and how often will I be reviewed?
• What are the next steps?
• You should ask a question that highlights your knowledge/research of the company

These are just a basic set of questions, but you want to prepare several to take with you and be ready to ask additional questions based on the interview itself.