15 Smart Questions to Ask Your Interviewer
Bring more questions than you can use, match them to whoever is in the room, and leave knowing the work, the team and the timeline.
By Ananya Rao · Sep 29, 2026 · 9 min read
By the end of this guide you will have a short list of questions you can actually use in an interview, chosen for the person sitting across from you, plus a clear sense of which questions make you look prepared and which ones are better saved for later.
Interviewers usually hand you the floor near the end of the conversation (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). The fifteen questions below are grouped by topic so you can pick three or four that fit the role, the stage and the time you have left.
How to use these questions
Prepare at least three questions, each with a possible follow-up, so you can go a level deeper rather than reading a list (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). Choose questions relevant to your own interests and to this specific job, write them down on paper or your phone, and read them again just before you go in (Harvard Business Review, 2022).
Match the question to the person. A recruiter can explain the process and the shape of the team. A hiring manager can tell you what good looks like. A future teammate can tell you what the work actually feels like.
Bring a notebook and take notes as they answer (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). Watch the clock too: if only five minutes are left, pick the two or three questions that matter most to you (Harvard Business Review, 2022).
About the role
These are the questions that tell you what you would actually be doing. Ask at least one of them at every stage, because the answer often shifts between the recruiter screen and the hiring manager conversation — and that gap is useful information in itself.
1. What does a typical day or week look like for the person in this role? This is the version to ask instead of "what does the job entail", which employers expect you to have researched already (Indeed Career Guide, 2026); the answer shows you the real split between meetings, deep work and firefighting.
2. What would you want this person to have taken on by the end of their first three months? Tells you whether there is a plan for the hire or just a pile of work waiting, and gives you a concrete picture of the ramp-up you would be signing up for.
3. A year from now, what would make you say this hire went really well? Surfaces the standards you would be measured against, in the hiring manager's own words rather than the wording of the advert.
4. Which part of this job do people find hardest? A candid answer tells you where the friction sits — a difficult stakeholder, an ageing system, unpredictable volumes — and a vague answer tells you something too.
About the team and manager
Most people leave a job because of the people and the day-to-day working conditions rather than the tasks. These questions are best directed at the person who would manage you, or at a peer if you get one in the process.
5. Who would I work with most closely, and what do they do? Shows you the real shape of the team, including the people you depend on who sit in other departments.
6. How would you describe your management style, and how often would we meet one to one? Tells you whether you would get regular direction or be left to run, and lets you compare that honestly against how you work best.
7. How does the team handle it when people disagree about the right approach? The answer reveals how decisions really get made — by discussion, by seniority, or by whoever shouts loudest.
8. Is this a new role or a replacement, and what prompted the opening? A new role usually means you will be defining it; a backfill means there are expectations already in place, and possibly a reason the last person left.
9. What does the team do well that an outsider wouldn't notice? Gives the interviewer something positive and specific to talk about, and shows you what this team is quietly proud of.
About growth and training
Frame these around doing the job well rather than moving on from it quickly. Note that questions about promotions and raises belong after an offer, as a matter of common etiquette (Indeed Career Guide, 2026) — these are about learning and support.
10. What does support look like in the first few weeks — onboarding, a buddy, formal training? Tells you how much structure exists for new starters, which matters most if you are stepping up or changing sector.
11. How do people here build skills once they're up to speed? Shows whether development is planned and budgeted or left entirely to the individual; the phrasing varies a lot by employer and country.
12. How do feedback and reviews work on this team? Tells you whether you would find out you were off track in a week or in six months.
About the company
Ask these only after you have done your reading. Employers expect you to already know the company's mission and purpose, and "what does this company do?" will count against you (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). The aim is to test what you have read, not to be briefed from scratch.
13. What are the team's priorities for the next year, and how does this role feed into them? Connects the job to something larger, and tells you whether the role is central to the plan or a nice-to-have.
14. What's changed here in the last year that a new starter should know about? Picks up reorganisations, new systems or leadership changes that rarely appear in public material but shape your first months.
About next steps
Close with these. They are short, they are always appropriate, and they leave you with something practical. If the rest of your questions were already covered during the conversation, asking about the process is the reliable fallback (Indeed Career Guide, 2026).
15. What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear from you? Gives you a date to work to, tells you how many stages are left, and makes your follow-up email easy to time. This is the one question never to skip.
If there is time, add a closing line rather than a fifteenth topic: ask whether there is anything in your background they would like you to expand on. It gives you one last chance to fix a doubt before you leave the room.
Questions to avoid
None of these are forbidden forever. Most are simply the wrong question for this stage, and several have a stronger version you can ask instead.
| Don't ask this now | Ask this instead, or wait |
|---|---|
| "What does the job entail?" | "What does a typical day look like?" — employers expect you to have researched the duties already (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). |
| "What does this company do?" | Nothing. Know the mission and purpose before you walk in (Indeed Career Guide, 2026); ask instead how the team's priorities have shifted this year. |
| "Who are your main competitors?" | Only worth asking if you have already searched and genuinely could not find an answer (Indeed Career Guide, 2026) — otherwise it reads as unprepared. |
| "What's the salary, and when do raises happen?" | Wait. Unless the employer raises pay and benefits first, asking can make you look less committed to the work; save it for after an offer (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). |
| "How much holiday and sick leave do I get?" | Wait. Asking now can look like you assume the job is yours; raise it once an offer is on the table (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). |
| "Will you check references or run a background check?" | Don't. It invites doubt about your background and qualifications (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). |
| "Are there any other jobs open?" | Keep your questions on the role you applied for — employers want someone who intends to stay and grow in it (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). |
| "Can I work from home?" | Only if the role is advertised as remote; otherwise it can read as reluctance to work with the team (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). Ask how the team works together across locations. |
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should I actually ask?
Prepare at least three, each with a follow-up you could ask if the answer is interesting (Indeed Career Guide, 2026), and bring a couple of spares in case some get covered. In the room, ask two or three well rather than working through a list. If time is short, pick the two or three that matter most to you (Harvard Business Review, 2022) — including the one about next steps.
What if they answered all my questions during the interview?
Say so, briefly and specifically: mention which point they covered, so it is clear you were listening rather than unprepared. Then ask about the next steps in the process, which is the standard fallback when your prepared questions have already been addressed (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). You can also turn a covered topic into a deeper follow-up, such as asking how a priority they mentioned earlier is likely to change over the next year.
When can I ask about pay and benefits?
Unless the employer brings pay or benefits up first, save these topics for after a job offer; raising them early can affect how your dedication and interest come across (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). The same applies to promotions, raises and time off. You will have more time to ask everything once you have the offer in hand (Harvard Business Review, 2022). Recruiters in many places do state a range at the screening stage, and disclosure rules differ by country and region — check the advert and your local rules before you assume.
Is it rude to read my questions from notes?
No. Writing your questions down beforehand, on paper or your phone, and reviewing them right before the interview is sensible preparation (Harvard Business Review, 2022). Bringing a notebook and taking notes while they answer is recommended rather than frowned upon (Indeed Career Guide, 2026). Just look up while you ask, and write briefly — you are having a conversation, not taking dictation.
Sources
- Indeed Career Guide — Career Coach Tips: 36 Questions To Ask an Interviewer (2026-06-15)
- Indeed Career Guide — 12 Questions Not To Ask an Interviewer (And 10 You Can) (2026-06-15)
- Harvard Business Review — 38 Smart Questions to Ask in a Job Interview (2022-05)
