Questions to Ask About a Company
For a candidate trying to work out whether a company is sound and worth joining, before the interviews and during them. The list opens with the questions that fit almost any interview, then runs from the business itself through its direction, its people and its stability, and ends with a group to answer from your own research. Each note says who to ask, where to look it up or what a good answer sounds like.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Start here
How would you describe the company culture?
Why ask it
Put it to every person you meet, in the same words, and compare the answers afterwards. Answers that match and carry a concrete detail, such as how disagreements are aired or when people log off, point to something real. If all you get is 'fast-paced' or 'like a family', ask what someone did last month that showed it.
What are the company's main goals for the coming year?
Why ask it
A good answer names two or three things with a number or a date attached, and the interviewer can say which one their own team answers for. A long list in no order means nothing has been chosen yet. Follow up with what the company has decided not to do this year, which is often the clearer half.
What are the biggest challenges facing the company right now?
Why ask it
Any business has a few, so 'nothing major' is the answer to worry about. Notice whether the challenge named sits outside the building, such as a rival or a rising cost, or inside it, such as hiring or old systems, and ask what is being done. The role you are interviewing for is often part of the fix, which is good to know before you start.
What do you like most about working here?
Why ask it
The speed of the answer says as much as the content. Someone who names a person, a project or a habit of the place straight away means it, while a pause followed by something true of any employer is politeness. Ask a future peer as well as the manager, since the two enjoy different things.
Where do you see the company in five years?
Why ask it
Senior interviewers will give you the plan: bigger, public, in new markets, or much the same. People further from the top give you their belief in it, which is the more useful half, so ask both if you can. Nobody can promise the outcome, and what you are checking is whether the picture has room for the team you would join.
What are the company's core values, and where do they show in an ordinary week?
Why ask it
The list itself is on the website, so spend the interview on the second half of the question. A person who works by the values can point to a meeting, a hiring decision or a rule that follows from one. If the interviewer has to stop and recall what they are, they are not steering much.
What opportunities are there to grow and move up at the company?
Why ask it
Ask for the path of a real person: someone who started in this role, where they are now and how long it took. Growth can also mean a wider job at the same level or a move to another team, so say which kind you mean. At a small company the honest answer may be that you grow only if the company does.
What is different about working here compared with other places you have worked?
Why ask it
A comparison is harder to answer in generalities than a plain 'what is it like'. You will hear about pace, how much is written down, how much say people have, or how mistakes are treated. It works best on someone who joined in the past couple of years and still remembers the contrast.
The business
In plain words, what does the company sell, and who buys it?
Why ask it
Answer this yourself before the interview, from the product and pricing pages more than the About page. If you still cannot say it in one sentence, ask the interviewer to, and notice whether they can.
What is the company's mission, and how would you put it in your own words?
Why ask it
The official wording is on the About page, and what you are after is the interviewer's own version. If theirs and the website's describe the same company, the mission has reached the staff. If they recite it or laugh, ask what the company would turn down even though it would make money, which gets at the same thing.
Why do customers choose this company over the alternatives?
Why ask it
A real answer names one thing: price, service, a feature, a contract that is hard to leave. Put it to whoever interviews you, then ask whether that advantage is getting stronger or weaker.
What do outsiders usually get wrong about this business?
Why ask it
One for an interviewer who has been there a few years. The answer often explains where the profit really comes from, such as servicing over sales or financing over the product. It also tells you whether your own reading of the company was right.
Is the customer base a few large accounts, many small ones, or the general public?
Why ask it
You can often tell from the customer logos and case studies on the website, then confirm it in the interview. A handful of large accounts means steady work that can vanish with one lost contract. Thousands of small ones spread the risk but usually mean more volume and more support work.
How much of the revenue repeats each year, and how much has to be won again from scratch?
Why ask it
Subscriptions, retainers and long contracts make next year easier to predict. A business that starts every January at zero lives by its sales pipeline, and the mood in the building follows it. Anyone on the commercial side can tell you, and most hiring managers can too.
Does the team I would join bring in revenue, or is it a cost the business carries?
Why ask it
The hiring manager will know which side of the ledger the team sits on. Teams close to revenue tend to be heard first when budgets are set. A support function can be a fine place to work, but ask how its budget and headcount have moved over the past two years.
What is the oldest product the company still sells, and what is the newest?
Why ask it
If everything that earns money was built a decade ago, the company is living on an inheritance, which can be comfortable and can also end. A recent launch that is selling says it still knows how to make something people want. The product pages give you the list, and an interviewer can say which ones pay the bills.
Is the company the cheap option in its market, the premium one, or somewhere in the middle?
Why ask it
Check the pricing pages yourself where they are public, then ask how the company thinks about it. Competing on being cheapest usually means tight control of every cost, and you will feel that in budgets, tools and headcount. A premium price needs a reason customers believe.
What does the company depend on that it does not control?
Why ask it
Nearly every business has one: a supplier, a platform, a license, a government budget, a single distributor. Count it in their favor if the interviewer names it without flinching. Listed companies usually set these out under risks in the annual report, so you can check the answer.
Is the business seasonal or tied to a cycle, and where in that cycle is it now?
Why ask it
Retail, construction, advertising and recruiting all swing with the calendar or the economy. A company hiring at the top of its cycle may be staffing for a workload that does not last, so ask the interviewer what the quiet months look like and read the trade press for the industry's own view.
Is the company regulated, and how much of what it can do is decided by a regulator?
Why ask it
Banks, insurers, healthcare providers and utilities usually need a license to operate. Look up the regulator before the interview, then ask how much of the working day its rules shape. Heavy regulation tends to slow change, and it also tends to keep new competitors out.
How many people work at the company, and is that more or fewer than two years ago?
Why ask it
The employee count on the company's LinkedIn page, press coverage and archived copies of its About page give a rough picture before you ask. Fast growth, slow growth and shrinking each make for a different job, even under the same title. In the interview, ask which teams the change came from.
Where does the company operate, and how does the site I would join fit into that?
Why ask it
Find out whether your location is the head office, a regional hub or an outpost, and whether any senior leaders are based there. A small site far from the decisions hears about them late. The recruiter can tell you how long it has been open and whether it is growing.
Direction and strategy
What new products, services or projects is the company working on?
Why ask it
Check the press page and recent job postings first, since both tend to give away what is being built. In the interview, ask which of them has people and budget assigned this year and which is still an idea. Expect a guarded answer on anything unannounced, and do not read that as evasion.
What excites you most about where the company is heading?
Why ask it
This asks for the interviewer's own view, so it cannot be answered from a slide. If what they pick matches the goals you were given earlier, the direction is believed as well as stated. If they struggle to find anything, set that against the official optimism.
What has the company achieved in the past year that it is proudest of?
Why ask it
What gets named shows what the place prizes: a sales record, a product shipped, a customer won back, a year in which nobody left. Ask who did the work and what happened to them afterwards. It also suits a first round, when questions about money would be early.
Is the company growing by selling more of what it has, by launching new things, or by buying other companies?
Why ask it
Each route makes a different workplace: steady execution, experiments that may be canceled, or integration work and duplicated roles. The press page shows any acquisitions. In the interview, ask which of the three your team is part of.
What did the company set out to do last year, and how much of it happened?
Why ask it
You are listening for a record of finishing things and an honest account of what slipped, so ask someone senior enough to have seen the plan. For a listed company you can compare last year's annual report with this year's results yourself.
Has the company changed its main product, its target customer or its strategy in the past two years?
Why ask it
Compare today's home page with an archived copy from two years ago on the Wayback Machine, then ask what prompted the change. One well-explained shift is normal. A new direction every year means your projects may not live long enough to finish.
What has changed most about the company since you joined?
Why ask it
Put it to each person you meet and note how long they have been there. Someone with six years and someone with six months will describe different companies, and the gap between the two accounts shows which way things are moving. Listen for whether they sound glad about the change.
What is the company doing about the biggest change facing its industry?
Why ask it
Name the change yourself, from your reading: a new regulation, a technology shift, a cheaper rival. That shows you did the work and stops the answer drifting into generalities. Listen for a plan with an owner and a budget, not a statement that the company is watching closely.
Is the company moving into new countries, new regions or new kinds of customer, and who is leading that?
Why ask it
Expansion with a named leader and a team is a plan. Expansion that exists only on a slide is a wish, and you do not want to be the one person hired to make it real. Job postings in new locations are the outside evidence, and the interviewer can tell you who owns it.
Has the company bought another business recently, and how did that go for the people who came with it?
Why ask it
Acquisitions are announced in press releases, so look first. Then ask how many of the acquired staff are still there a year on. It is good evidence of how the company behaves when it holds all the cards.
Is any part of the company being wound down, sold or merged into another?
Why ask it
Check the news for announced closures or sales, then ask it plainly in a later round. You want to know whether the team you would join is on the growing side or the shrinking side. If it is the shrinking side, ask what happens to its people.
Is the company planning to go public, raise money or sell itself, and what would that mean for staff?
Why ask it
A question for a later round at a private company, and you may get only a general answer, which is fair. Each of those events changes who is in charge and what they want. If equity is part of the offer, ask what happened to employee shares the last time.
How far ahead does the company plan: the quarter, the year, or several years?
Why ask it
Ask the hiring manager what the longest-running project on the team is. A company that plans in quarters will reshuffle your priorities often. One with multi-year projects moves slower but lets you finish what you start.
How does the role I am interviewing for connect to what the company most wants to get done this year?
Why ask it
If the hiring manager can draw the line in a sentence, the role has a sponsor and a reason to survive a budget review. If the link is vague, ask what would happen to the work if the role stayed empty.
What does the company say publicly about its goals, and do the people interviewing me say the same thing?
Why ask it
Read the latest press releases, the chief executive's interviews or the shareholder letter, then ask two interviewers what the priorities are. If three sources give three answers, the strategy has not reached the people who would be directing your work.
People and culture
How would you describe the way the company is led?
Why ask it
You are asking how much the top decides and how much it leaves to teams. Ask for the last big decision and how far down the consultation went before it was made. A future peer will describe leadership as it is felt and a senior manager as it is meant, so the question is worth asking twice.
How does the company approach work-life balance in practice?
Why ask it
Ask what hours the team kept last week, how often evenings or weekends are needed, and whether people use all their leave. The policy is on the careers page, and the practice is in those three answers. If it feels too soon for a first interview, save it for a conversation with a peer or for the offer stage.
What is the company's policy on remote and hybrid work?
Why ask it
Get the rule for your role and site, in writing if it decides whether you can take the job: which days, who sets them, and whether it is in the contract or left to the manager. Company-wide policies often leave the detail to each team, so ask the hiring manager what this team does.
How does the company measure success, and how is individual performance reviewed?
Why ask it
The first half tells you which number the leadership watches: revenue, margin, customers kept, growth in users. The second tells you how that reaches you, through targets, ratings or a manager's judgment. Ask how often reviews happen and whether pay is tied to them, since practice varies a great deal between employers.
How is good work recognized here?
Why ask it
Answers range from a bonus or a promotion to a mention in a meeting, and each shows what the company thinks recognition is. Ask for the last time someone on the team was recognized and what for. If the examples are all about long hours, long hours are what gets rewarded.
How does the leadership share news with staff, including bad news?
Why ask it
Look for a regular channel, such as an all-staff meeting with open questions or a written update, and ask whether results are shared with everyone. Then ask how people learned about the last piece of bad news. Reading it in the press before hearing it from a manager is a poor sign.
Is the work here mostly done in teams, or mostly on your own?
Why ask it
Neither is better, but one will suit you more, and job postings call almost everything collaborative. Ask how many people touch a typical piece of work before it is finished and who you would talk to on an ordinary day. The answer also shows how far your results would depend on other teams.
What is staff turnover like, and what are the usual reasons people leave?
Why ask it
An interviewer who knows the rough figure and gives ordinary reasons, such as a bigger job elsewhere, a move or pay, is being straight with you. Check a vague answer against the tenures you can see on public profiles. Ask whether the leaving is spread across the company or concentrated in one team, especially the one you would join.
What is the company doing about diversity and inclusion, and what has changed because of it?
Why ask it
The second half separates a program from a statement. Look at who is on the leadership page and who interviews you, then ask what the company measures and what it changed after seeing the numbers. Laws and norms on this differ by country, so ask how it works where you would be employed.
What does onboarding look like for someone joining the company?
Why ask it
A company that has thought about new hires can describe the first week: who meets you, what you are given, when you are expected to be useful. 'You'll pick it up' usually means finding things out alone. The newest person on the team can tell you how their first month really went.
How does the company take part in its community or give back?
Why ask it
If this matters to you, ask what staff themselves do: paid volunteering days, matched donations, work for local causes. A page of pledges with no employee involvement is closer to marketing. It is a gentle question, well suited to a first round or a conversation with HR.
What does the company do to bring people together outside the work itself?
Why ask it
Offsites, team lunches, clubs and traditions show how much the company puts into people knowing each other, which counts for more where teams are remote. Ask who turns up and whether it is truly optional. Events held only in the evening suit some people and shut out anyone with family or other commitments.
When people leave the company, where do they tend to go?
Why ask it
Former employees' profiles on LinkedIn show this before you ask anyone. People leaving for bigger jobs elsewhere suggests the company is a good name to have on your record. People leaving the field altogether, or leaving within a year, says something else, and is worth raising in the interview.
Do people who leave ever come back?
Why ask it
Returning employees have seen the alternatives and chose this place twice, and a company that takes them back parted with them on decent terms. Anyone you meet can answer it. A firm 'we don't rehire' tells you how leaving is viewed there.
How many of the company's managers were promoted from inside, and how many were hired in?
Why ask it
A sample of managers' profiles on LinkedIn will show the pattern, and HR can confirm it. Mostly internal promotion means there is a way up, and also that outsiders can take a while to be accepted. Mostly external hires means the reverse on both counts.
How many layers are there between the role I would hold and the person who runs the company?
Why ask it
The recruiter can tell you, or you can work it out from job titles on LinkedIn. Few layers means decisions are close and so is scrutiny. Many layers means more process and more rungs to be promoted through, and which you prefer is a matter of temperament.
Which function carries the most weight here: sales, engineering, finance, operations, or something else?
Why ask it
Put this to someone outside the function you would join. Many companies have one department whose view usually wins. If it is not yours, expect to argue for your work more often, and ask for a recent example of your team getting its way.
Is the workforce mostly permanent employees, or does the company lean on contractors, agencies and temporary staff?
Why ask it
Heavy use of contractors keeps costs flexible for the company, and it shows you which roles are treated as core. The recruiter will know the rough split. If you are being offered a contract role, ask how many contractors became permanent in the past year.
Is any part of the workforce unionized, and how does the company get along with the union?
Why ask it
Research it in the news first, then ask how it works there, since the rules differ by country and industry. A long, steady relationship and a history of strikes describe two different managements. It matters even if your own role would sit outside the union.
Can you give me an example of the company's values costing it money or a customer?
Why ask it
Read the values on the careers page first, then ask this in the interview. Values only count when they cost something: a deal turned down, a high performer let go over how they treated people. If no example comes to mind, treat the values page as decoration.
What happens here when an employee raises a complaint about a manager?
Why ask it
Best asked of HR, or of a future peer in a later round. Listen for a route that does not run through the manager in question, and for signs it has been used. 'That doesn't really come up here' is not reassuring at a company of any size.
Has the company changed its rules on remote work or office days in the past two years, and how did it tell people?
Why ask it
How the change was made matters as much as the rule: with notice and reasons, or by an abrupt memo. Get the history from the recruiter as well as the current policy. The next unpopular decision will probably be handled the same way.
Do the benefits and flexibility on offer apply to everyone, or do they depend on level, location or contract type?
Why ask it
Some companies advertise benefits that only head office staff or senior grades receive. If the answer matters to your decision, ask HR for the policy document itself and check how it reads for your level and your site.
Does the company pay for courses, certifications or conferences, and who on the team used that last year?
Why ask it
A training budget on paper is common, and the second half of the question finds out whether anyone has the time and approval to spend it. One named example from the hiring manager is worth more than the policy.
What kind of person tends to struggle here, even when they are good at the job?
Why ask it
A future peer will answer this more freely than a manager. The answer describes the culture from its edges: people who need quiet, people who dislike selling their own work, people who want clear instructions. If the description sounds like you, believe it.
Stability
Is the company profitable, and if it is not, what is covering the gap?
Why ask it
For a listed company, read the income statement in the annual report yourself. At a private one, ask in a later round: you may not get figures, but 'yes, for six years running' and a change of subject are different answers. Losses covered by investors or a parent company last only as long as their patience.
What was the hardest stretch the company has been through, and how did it get out of it?
Why ask it
Most companies more than a few years old have one: a lost customer, a failed launch, a downturn. Listen for who bore the cost, whether staff were told the truth at the time, and what the company does differently now. A young company with no such story has not been tested yet.
Did revenue rise or fall last year, and how does the company explain it?
Why ask it
Look it up where results are public, and ask where they are not. The explanation matters as much as the direction. A fall blamed entirely on the market, with nothing the company would do differently, suggests the same result next year.
Is the company's industry growing or shrinking as a whole?
Why ask it
Research this in the trade press and in competitors' results, since nobody inside can give you a neutral answer. A well-run company in a shrinking industry can still offer a good job. Know which you are choosing, and ask where it expects its growth to come from.
How much debt does the company carry, and when does it come due?
Why ask it
A research question for listed companies, where the balance sheet and its notes show it. In the UK, the free Companies House register shows loans secured against a company's assets. It matters most after a private equity buyout, when the purchase is often financed with debt the company itself has to repay.
When did the company last raise money, and at a higher or lower valuation than the round before?
Why ask it
For venture-backed companies, funding announcements and databases such as Crunchbase show the dates and sometimes the valuation. A long gap since the last round, or a round at a lower valuation, often means pressure to cut costs. Ask how it affected hiring plans and option grants.
Is the share price well below where it was, and what has that done to staff equity?
Why ask it
For a listed company, look up the price history yourself. A steep fall can leave earlier option grants worth nothing, which changes who stays and who is looking. Ask how the company has handled that, and when you weigh any equity in your own offer, use today's price.
Has the company changed hands in the past few years: a sale, a merger or a private equity buyout?
Why ask it
Search the news and the company's own press page before you ask. New owners usually arrive with a plan for costs and a timetable. Ask in the interview what has changed since, and what the owners have said about how long they intend to hold the business.
Has the company had layoffs, a hiring freeze or pay cuts in the past three years?
Why ask it
Check the news first. In the US, larger employers generally have to file notice of mass layoffs, and many states post those notices online. Then ask about it directly: a company that explains what it cut and why is easier to trust than one that acts as if it never happened.
Who has left the leadership team in the past year, and did the company say why?
Why ask it
Press releases and LinkedIn will show it, and a US-listed company has to disclose the departure of its top officers in a public filing. One exit is ordinary. A finance chief leaving with no successor named, or several exits close together, is worth asking about in the interview.
Is my role paid for from the company's core budget, or from a particular client contract or grant?
Why ask it
This matters most at agencies, outsourcers, government contractors and nonprofits, where a role tied to one contract usually ends when the contract does. The hiring manager will know when it comes up for renewal. Ask too what happened to the people on contracts that were not renewed.
If the founder or owner stepped away tomorrow, who would run the company?
Why ask it
A question for small, family-owned or founder-led businesses, asked with tact in a later round. If every decision and every key customer relationship runs through one person, the company's future depends on that person's health and mood. A named deputy with real authority is the reassuring answer.
Has payroll ever been late, or have suppliers had trouble getting paid?
Why ask it
Fair to ask at a small or young company, and best asked of a future peer. Reviews from former staff are where late pay tends to surface, and in some countries court judgments for unpaid debts are public. One late payroll can be a banking error, but more than one usually means cash ran short enough to reach wages.
Is the company facing a lawsuit, an investigation or a fine large enough to change its plans?
Why ask it
Search the news for the company name with 'lawsuit' and 'investigation', and read the legal proceedings section of the annual report if there is one. Most large companies have some litigation running at any time. What matters is anything aimed at the core product, the accounts or the leaders.
What to check yourself
What does the company's latest annual report or public filing say about its results and its risks?
Why ask it
For US-listed companies the annual report is the 10-K, free on the SEC's EDGAR site and on the investor relations page. Read the business description, the risk factors and management's discussion of the year. Private companies file far less, but many countries keep a public register with basic accounts.
What has the news said about the company in the past year?
Why ask it
Search the company name in a news tab, then again alongside 'layoffs', 'acquired' and 'chief executive'. Trade publications and the local business paper often cover what national outlets miss. Note the date of anything you plan to raise so you can ask about it accurately.
What has the company been announcing lately, and what has it gone quiet about?
Why ask it
Read a year of its press releases, blog and social posts in date order. Notice the product that was everywhere last spring and has not been mentioned since. Quiet does not always mean failure, so ask in the interview what became of it.
What do current and former employees say in reviews, and which complaints keep recurring?
Why ask it
Read Glassdoor, Indeed and, for tech companies, Blind, sorted by newest. Set aside the single angriest and happiest reviews and look for the same point made by different people over several years. Then check whether it comes from your department or one far from it.
What do customers say about the company in places it cannot edit?
Why ask it
Look at independent review sites, app store ratings, forums and the complaint bodies for the industry. Unhappy customers become the daily work of whoever joins support, sales or product. A gap between the marketing and the reviews is a good thing to ask about in the interview.
What is it like to be this company's customer?
Why ask it
Find out directly where you can: start a free trial, visit a branch, call the support line, read the onboarding emails. You will learn what the company is good at and what it has neglected. One specific thing you noticed also lands better in an interview than general praise.
Which three competitors would a customer compare this company with, and how does each one say it is different?
Why ask it
Work this out from comparison pages, review sites and the competitors' own marketing. Knowing the field lets you ask a sharper interview question than 'who are your competitors'. It also gives you a shortlist of other employers if this one does not work out.
Who are the senior leaders, and where did they work before?
Why ask it
The leadership page and LinkedIn will tell you in ten minutes. Look for whether they have run a business of this kind and size before, and how their previous companies turned out. Leaders tend to rebuild what they know, so their last workplace is a rough preview of this one.
How long have people in the role I want stayed, going by their public profiles?
Why ask it
Search LinkedIn for the job title at the company and include past employees. What counts as a normal stay differs by field, so compare it with similar roles at other employers. If the last three holders each lasted under a year, ask in the interview what happened, and say that is what you saw.
What do the company's open job postings say about where it is spending?
Why ask it
Read the whole careers page, not only your own posting. Thirty sales openings and no engineering ones, or the reverse, shows the priority more plainly than a mission statement. A careers page that has not changed in months may mean hiring is paused.
Has the job I am applying for been advertised before, and how recently?
Why ask it
Check the posting date, search for older copies on job boards, and look at archived versions of the careers page. A role reposted every few months is either hard to fill or hard to keep filled. Ask which in the interview, because both answers are useful.
Does the company publish anything about who works there and what they are paid?
Why ask it
Look for a diversity report, pay ranges in job postings, or a pay gap report where the law requires one, as it does for larger employers in the UK. Publishing more than the minimum suggests confidence in the numbers. If nothing is public, ask how pay bands are set.
Does the company appear in public enforcement records for pay, safety or labor disputes?
Why ask it
In the US, the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, OSHA and the National Labor Relations Board each keep searchable public records of cases and inspections. Some other countries publish similar records, so look up the equivalent where you live. One old citation means little, but repeated findings on the same issue are a pattern.
Is the company what it says it is: legally registered, at a real address, with staff you can find?
Why ask it
Worth five minutes for any small or unfamiliar employer. Check the business register for the state or country, confirm the email domain matches the website, and look for employees with real work histories. Be wary of any employer that asks you to pay up front for equipment or training, which is a common mark of a job scam.
If it is a nonprofit or charity, where does its income come from, and what do its filings show?
Why ask it
In the US, larger nonprofits file a Form 990 that anyone can read on sites such as ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, showing income, spending and the pay of top staff. England and Wales have the Charity Commission register. Heavy reliance on one funder is the nonprofit version of one big customer.
Who do I know, even at one remove, who has worked there or done business with the company?
Why ask it
Former employees who left a year or two ago are a strong source: recent enough to be accurate, distant enough to be frank. Ask what they wish they had known before joining. Recruiters and suppliers in the industry hear about a company's reputation too.
Where does what I found disagree with what I was told?
Why ask it
Put your interview notes beside your research and mark the gaps. Take the largest one to the next conversation as a plain question, with the source and the date. How the company handles a well-informed question tells you a good deal about working there.
How to research a company and ask about it
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
An hour of research before the interview
Start with the company's own words
Read the home page, the product and pricing pages, the careers page and the last few press releases. Then write one sentence saying what the company sells and to whom. If you cannot, that is your first interview question.
Then read what others say
Employee reviews, customer reviews and a year of news coverage, in that order. Look for the same point made by different people at different times, and write down the date of anything you might raise. A single review is one person's bad month.
Check the people as well as the company
Look up the leaders, the person who would manage you and the people who held the role before. Where they came from and how long they stayed tells you things no company page will. Ten minutes on this is usually enough.
List what you could not find out
Research always leaves holes: whether the business makes a profit, why the last finance chief left, what happened to a product that went quiet. Write down three or four. Those are the questions worth spending interview time on, because nobody else can answer them.
Where to look, by type of company
A listed company
The annual report and the investor relations page hold most of what you need: revenue, profit, debt, risks and legal disputes, in the company's own words, with audited financial statements. Read the newest report and skim the one before it to see what changed.
A private company
Less is public, so the interview has to do more of the work. Check the company register for the country, which in some places includes basic accounts, and the news for any change of owner. Then ask about profit and ownership in a later round and judge how plainly you are answered.
A startup
Funding announcements tell you when money last came in and from whom. The careers page and employee profiles show whether headcount is rising or falling. Ask how long the current funding lasts, and treat any equity as worth what today's facts support.
A small local business
There may be no filings at all. Use the business register, customer reviews, the local paper and anyone you know who has worked there or bought from it. Visit as a customer if you can. Ask directly about the owner's plans and how long the current staff have been there.
A nonprofit or public body
Look for published accounts, the main funders and how much of the income is tied to grants that expire. Budgets for public bodies are usually public documents. Ask how the role is funded and for how long.
Bringing your research into the interview
Lead with what you found
'I read that you bought a competitor last year. How has that gone for this team?' gets a better answer than 'tell me about the company'. It shows the homework and makes a vague reply harder to give.
Raise bad news as a question
If you found layoffs, a lawsuit or a run of poor reviews, say what you read and where, and ask how things stand now. Keep your tone curious. You are giving them the chance to explain, and the quality of the explanation is what you are there to hear.
Hold the hardest ones for a later round
Questions about profit, ownership and job security are fair, and they land better once the company has shown it wants you. In a first screen, stick to the opening group, the business and its direction. Before you accept an offer, nothing in this list is off limits.
Choose three or four, not the whole list
Most interviews leave only a few minutes for your questions. Pick the ones your research could not answer and the one whose answer could change your mind. The rest can go to the recruiter by email or wait for the next round.
Weighing what you learn
Taking reviews as the whole truth
People tend to write reviews when they are angry or when they have been asked to. Both kinds are real and neither is the full picture. Use reviews to decide what to ask about, and let the interview answers and the public record settle it.
Trusting a famous name
A well-known brand tells you the company is large. It does not tell you that the division, site or team you would join is healthy. Ask the same questions about the unit you are joining that you would ask about a company you had never heard of.
Treating one bad sign as a verdict
Almost every company has a lawsuit, a failed product or a rough year somewhere in its record. Look for patterns, and for how the company talks about its problems. Then decide which risks you can live with, since no employer will come back clean on every question.
Hearing adjectives as answers
'We're growing fast' and 'people love it here' are not facts. Names, numbers and dates are. When an answer has none, ask for one example, and if it still does not come, write that down beside the question.