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What questions do you recommend I ask in an interview?

I'm trying to prepare for an interview I have in a couple weeks for an internship at a tech company so i'm hoping to get some ideas of questions I should ask the interviewer. What are the best questions you've gotten from an interviewee? What are questions you've asked in an interview that went over really well? I want to impress the person, but also get the information I need to be able to do well if I get the job. Thank you!! #technology #human-resources #interviews

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Jaclyn’s Answer

Be sure to research the company for which you are interviewing. It is important to understand their products, who their competitors are, which markets they compete in, and their priorities. I always find it interesting to hear what their current challenges and obstacles are as it provides great context for any problems you may be helping them to solve. As an intern, it is also important to understand what your opportunities are for a full-time position once the internship has ended. Good luck!

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Kelly’s Answer

Do your research about the company to which you are applying - understand their business, their priorities, the market they're in, who their competitors are, etc. Ask questions about the business challenges they face and how they plan to to tackle them, ask questions about their priorities and how those align with where the industry is headed, and ask them what key problems you as a new hire can help them solve. Then let them know you can assure them you won't let them down!

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Mario’s Answer

Focus questions on understanding the deliverable associated with the internship. I would probe on expectations, time frames, resources available, and reporting structure. Beyond that, you may want to find out how the company is planning to use the work you deliver and how you might use it to build your resume.

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Penny’s Answer

Hi!


Do your research on the company so you can align some questions around their business model and products. My best interviews were the ones where I was prepared with knowledge about the company. Tell them why you chose to apply for the position and what excites you about the company and the role. Have a positive attitude, show confidence in your abilities, eagerness to learn and be honest.

I like to ask the interviewer how they got to where they are at the company.
Some good questions I saw on Linked in recently:
1. What skills will I gain to prepare me for a full time position with the company after graduation?
2. What more can I tell you about myself to help you make the decision that I am the right person for this position?
Good Luck!

Thank you comment icon My one advice would be when they ask whether you have any questions for them, i would ask them something along the lines of "what are your concerns/reservation about me or my application" which should hopefully give you a chance to address any unspoken issues. Shirley Wong
Thank you comment icon To highlight your willingness to be an engaged employee, you might want to ask what are some programs/ways that you can help contribute to team events or activities to foster teamwork. Ron Hosseini
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Prerna’s Answer

Hi ,

When you ask an interviewer a question, it also reflects on how much you are interested in the job and company. Most likely , you are going to work with your interviewer or report to them if you get selected.

Some questions that I have asked or have been asked from me :

-- What has your experience been like at this company?

-- What is one thing you don't like at all about your job or company?

-- Where do you see this company 5 years from now?

-- What is the company's plan for my career growth?

-- How can I convert this internship role to a permanent position once I finish my degree.

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Andrew’s Answer

Hi Sarah,

The questions I ask in interviews depends on who my interviewer is. If it's with a recruiter, the questions might be more focused on the company and their experience at the company. If it's with a hiring manager, the questions might be more focused on the role and expectations, how they measure success in the role, if you're able to convert from an internship to full time, etc.

I use The Muse as my main source for job searching (resume/cover letter tips and interview practice) and I found these articles really helpful in preparing for interviews:

https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-4-types-of-questions-you-should-ask-at-the-end-of-every-interview
https://www.themuse.com/advice/51-interview-questions-you-should-be-asking
https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-best-interview-questions-to-ask-in-every-round

Good luck!
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Dan’s Answer

What will my day to day activities include? What other departments will I be interacting with?

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Mary’s Answer

The question I like the best is at the end of the interview when the candidate asks me - "Is there anything else you'd like to know about me or anything else I can answer. I think a candidate asking a lot of questions about the role and doing as much homework before the interview to be prepared is key but closing it out the way I mention above I really like.

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Faez’s Answer

Hi,

Asking questions in an interview is very important. It demonstrates your interest in the company and role but also that you're taking the interview seriously.

With that in mind, ask questions around topics that are important to you. Do you care about career development? Ask what does the company and role offer in terms of learning and development with growth opportunities. Is autonomy important to you? Ask the hiring manager what their managing style is like.

Make a list of things that are important to you in a job and company. Then, rewrite them as questions that you would ask the interviewer.

Some general questions I like to ask are:

-What are some of the challenges being faced by the company?
-What is the team dynamic like?
-What is your favorite thing about your job and about the company?

Hope this helps.
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Cori’s Answer

Aside from doing your homework to learn as much as you can about the company, I always like it when candidates ask me to describe a typical day in the role. This will give you a good idea of what is expected. Also research the core competencies for the role. What distinguishes you from everyone else that makes you the perfect hire! Wishing you the best!
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Bianca’s Answer

Hi Sarah,

It really depends on the interview and the interviewer, but I really good question to ask towards the end of the interview would be around the lines of "Anything that I said during the interview or that you saw in my CV that I could change/improve in order to become a better applicant?"

A very good approach to have going into the interview is to view it as a two-way street: you are interviewing, but also the company is interviewing to see if it would be a good match on both sides.

Remember to always to a bit of research on the company before your call, maybe read a blog post that was written by one of the employees, that will show you the tone of the company.

A few other useful questions:
1. What would the first 3 months in the role look like ?
2. The management style of your future lead
3. Company values and how the company is trying to promote them internally

Hope this helps, please reach out to anybody in the people team at Snyk for questions!
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James’s Answer

Make sure you have plenty relevant questions it's key to a successful interview.....make them feel like you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. This creates an air of confidence and suggests you have plenty options and are trying to make the best choice for you. I like when people ask lots of questions about how to be really successful in the role. How do they best prepare, how to they get up to speed quickly? What traits do the top performers in this role exhibit. Do not recap on area's that have already been covered. Also work towards a natural close....making sure you get confirmation from the recruiter that they feel you are suitable for the role and get the discussing the next steps in the process with you.

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Farshad’s Answer

A question I always is ask is understand a time when a data organization/team presented an insight and or analysis that violated the intuition of what management and senior leadership wanted to hear. Most often, management love to "listen to the data" only when it rewards their intuition but not when it violates their intuition...

understanding how management reacts in these situations tells you a lot about the culture!
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Gunjan’s Answer

Whenever you want a certain role in a company, you want the interviewer to imagine you in that role. So ask questions which help with that. You can also ask questions to find out if there are any gaps in your current skills which will make you a more suitable candidate.
For example:
What kind of skills can I work on gaining before the internship starts so that I can quickly become productive and start helping the team achieve its goals and solve pain-points?

If the interviewer tells you about something that you don't know, (for example, if they mention a certain technology) you can ask if they know about any books or online courses that they recommend. That way, they can see that you are eager to gain that skill.
And if the interviewer mentions some skill that you already have, you can tell them that you already have some knowledge and experience with that skill and will work on getting better at it.
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Brittany’s Answer

Hi Sarah,

It's important to know that your final questions are crucial to show the employer your interest while learning about the role and ensuring it is a good fit for you as you mentioned. Here are some sample questions:
1. “What are common challenges in the role?”
2. “If I were in this position, how would my performance be measured? How often?”
3. “How would you describe the characteristics of someone who would succeed in this role?”
4. “How would you describe a typical day on this team?”
5. "Have I said anything in this interview or given you any other reason to doubt that I am a good fit for the role?"

You can also kick off your questions with research that you've done on the company or the interviewer's LinkedIn. For example: "After reading the job description, the second bullet point really stood out to me [read point] because I have prior experience at X company. Does this account for the majority of the role and how are you measured for success on this?"
Example 2: "I saw based on your LinkedIn you worked at X company as [role] before this company, and I had similar work experience working at X company. How has that set you up for success in your current role today?"
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Kate’s Answer

Hi,

Believe it or not, interviews are often as stressful for the interviewer as they are for the interviewee. If you keep this in mind, it may help you to feel less nervous and create more of an interactive conversation with your interviewer rather than a question/answer session. Being conversational will help your interviewer to feel more comfortable and also feel more positively about their experience talking with you which is ultimately what you want-- to make the best first impression!

To be more conversational, sit up tall and slightly forward in your chair (this helps you to pay attention and focus on the other person), listen to what they are telling you and look for opportunities to ask related questions such as "Can you tell me more about...?" or to build on what they have said by highlighting something about you or your experience that is related.

Great questions directly stem from the information shared by the other person. Some additional ideas are "What issues are you currently facing that I could begin to alleviate on day 1?" "What will be the best way for me to get up to speed and begin contributing quickly?" "What benefit(s) do you hope we each get out of this internship opportunity?" and if the interviewer said anything that is especially interesting or there is something you find particularly appealing about the role, let them know what it is! Good luck!

Kate recommends the following next steps:

Practice "Active Listening" (https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-active-listening-3024343) with friends/family/etc. so that you are ready to listen to what your interviewer is saying and can practice asking questions related to what was said.
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Dan’s Answer

In my career I have interviewed hundreds of candidates and I always respected the candidates that had questions for me at the end of the interview. I have two questions I always ask the person interviewing me and I will share the reason for the questions as well.

1. "Mr/ Ms Smith would you mind telling me about your own career and the journey you have taken in this company?" This gets the person doing the interview to talk about them-self. When people talk about them-self it lifts their mood since most people enjoy speaking about their own success. Since their mood is elevated this will subconsciously give them a good felling when they reflect back on their conversation with you.

2. "Mr/ Ms Smith I like to give and receive feedback in the moment both good and constructive. Would you please share with me what you thunk I did well in this interview and something I should work on?" They will always find something good and most people will over value and give more positive feedback than needed on what went well. If they can find something they think you should work on they will soften the feedback and almost justify it for you which will in turn round out the edges of what they did not like about your interview.

At the end of the interview you have now made them feel good about themselves ( talking about them-self). You would have had them elevate your biggest strength, and soften your weakness in their own words and more important their mind.
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Brooke’s Answer

As others have mentioned - it's important to do your research on the company/role so that you can ask relevant questions. I try to ask questions both about the larger company as a whole and then the team/role that I'm applying for. Higher level company questions could be about their mission/values/philanthropy/awards to name a few. More targeted questions about the team/role could be about the most important qualities they're looking for, what a day in the life looks like, or an example of someone that excelled & stood out in the role before. In addition to those questions that are company/role specific, I like to ask very direct questions at the end of the interview - I ask if there's anything about my skills and experience that makes them think I may not be a good fit for the role. This is similar to "asking for the sale" at the end of a sales pitch - it gives you an opportunity to address any concerns they have. It could be that some gaps they saw just weren't properly touched on or explained by you initially.
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由恵’s Answer

What was the most difficult situation in your career and how did you manage it?

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TAC’s Answer

Ask questions related to the job. Ask questions based on what's on the interview criteria list.

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James’s Answer

I agree with the comments above, particularly with respect to doing research. I would suggest re-framing your thinking slightly. Instead of considering which questions to ask, think about what you will share with and describe to your interviewer in terms of how you will contribute to the long-term success of the company. In other words, demonstrate your competence of the company and industry and paint a picture of how you will succeed. I have even seen some people whiteboard proposals on the spot. You will demonstrate both a bias towards action and your competence.

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Will’s Answer

Understand what current strategies the company is pursuing going in, and then ask what this role can do to further those strategies. The best question I've received is from someone asking where I saw this role going in two or three years after accomplishing all the immediate objectives. It showed they were in it for the long haul and forced me to think career path right away.

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