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Academic & Career Center
Good Questions to Ask During an Interview

At the end of an interview, an employer typically asks if the candidate has any questions. This does not mark the end of the interview. On the contrary, the insights provided by the questions you ask are sometimes even more indicative of your suitability for the open position than are any of your preceding responses. Evaluate these questions carefully, and consider what they communicate about the impression you want to create.

• What do you consider to be your employer's strengths?
• What do you do better than other comparable organizations?
  
  
• What impresses you most about this organization?
• What really excites you about this career?
  
  
• How does the employer motivate staff?
• Do you promote from within?
• What is a typical career path beginning with this open position?
  
  
• Why is this position open?
• What happened to the previous incumbent?
• What is the turnover rate among personnel in this department?
  
  
• Why do you say that (after a response you would like to have expanded)?
• The role of technology in this position
  
  
• What are the real challenges of this position?
• What are the top priorities of the position?
• To what extent may I develop my own area of responsibility?
  
  
• Do you provide professional development options to enhance job performance?
• What contribution do you expect from me?
• Where does this job fit into the organization's goals?
  
  
• Is there team support….or friction?
• How does it "feel" to work here?
• How would you characterize interpersonal staff relationships?
  
  
• How did you get into this field?
• What has your career path been within this organization….this profession?
  
  
• What skills/strengths would you say are most important in the successful applicant?
• What type of person excels/advances in this position/organization?
  
  
• How have recent events in the profession [or on the national/international scene] affected what's happening here, and potentially - the position which I am pursuing?