Questions to Ask During Recruitment
Questions for a job candidate to ask during recruitment, from the first call with a recruiter to the day an offer arrives. They are grouped by what you are trying to find out: the role, the team and manager, the culture and hours, pay and growth, the company, and the hiring process itself. Each one has a note on what a good or a poor answer tells you, who is best placed to answer it, or what to ask next.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The role
What does an ordinary week in this job look like?
Why ask it
Ask for last week in particular, with its standing meetings and its deadline, since an ideal week is easy to describe and nobody has ever worked one. A recurring Thursday report or a Monday planning session tells you more about the rhythm than any summary of duties.
Why is this role open?
Why ask it
Growth, a resignation, a reorganisation and a role that has been open twice all lead to different jobs. If the answer skips past a departure without explaining it, come back to that later in the process.
What would you want me to have achieved by the end of my first six months?
Why ask it
Ask for things you could point to afterwards: a project delivered, a backlog cleared, a client won back. If that list could not be done in six months, you have found the gap in expectations before signing instead of at your first review.
Which skills matter most in this job, and which could I learn once I am in it?
Why ask it
An advert lists a dozen requirements and the manager usually cares about two or three. Once you know which, spend the rest of the interview giving evidence on those, and say plainly where you would be learning.
What would I be doing in my first month?
Why ask it
A manager who has thought about the hire can name the first two pieces of work. A vague answer about settling in and meeting people can mean nothing is waiting for you, so ask what the last person to join spent their first weeks on.
What does the person in this role spend the most time on that isn't in the job description?
Why ask it
A job description leads with the appealing part of the work. What it leaves out is often reporting, coordination or looking after something old, and those are the hours you would really be signing up for.
How is work handed out on the team: do people choose it, or is it assigned?
Why ask it
This is really a question about how much say you would have over your own week. A team given a fixed list every Monday feels very different from one that sets its own priorities, whatever the job title suggests.
What problem do you most need this hire to solve, and what has already been tried?
Why ask it
The first half tells you why the budget for the job was approved. The second stops you from proposing the fix that was turned down last year, and shows whether the obstacle is the work itself or the people around it.
What is the hardest part of this job to get right?
Why ask it
A manager who knows the job names it at once: a demanding client, a system held together with workarounds, a deadline that lands every month end. Your follow-up is what help exists when that part goes wrong.
What tools and systems would I use every day, and is any of it due to be replaced?
Why ask it
The names tell you how much you would have to learn before you were useful. A replacement on the way means part of your first year is a changeover as well as the job, which suits some people and wears out others.
What training would I get in the first weeks, and who gives it?
Why ask it
A named person and a plan for week one mean someone has prepared for you. "You will pick it up as you go" can be fine in a senior role, but in a junior one it usually means learning from whoever is least busy.
Is there a handover from the person leaving, or would I be starting from their files?
Why ask it
Only relevant when you are replacing someone, so ask once you know why the role is open. Even a week of overlap saves months of working out why things were done a certain way. If there is none, ask who else knows the work.
Looking back a year from now, what would tell you this hire had not worked out?
Why ask it
The answer often describes the last person in the seat: too slow to ask for help, too quick to change things, never in the room. Check it against how you really work, not against how you interview.
Team and manager
Who would my manager be, and how would their team describe working for them?
Why ask it
Put to the manager directly, it shows how much they know about how they come across. Ask a peer the same thing in a later round and compare the two descriptions. If you have not met this person by the offer stage, ask to before you accept.
Who would I work with most closely, and what do they do?
Why ask it
You find out whether the job is done alone or through other people. Write down the three or four names you are given, because they are the people to ask to meet, or to ask about, in later rounds.
How often would I have one-to-one time with my manager?
Why ask it
Weekly, fortnightly and "my door is always open" are three different jobs. Find out what the time is used for as well: a status report for the manager's benefit is not the same as half an hour on your work and your problems.
How are decisions made when the team disagrees?
Why ask it
Listen for whether anyone can actually decide. Then ask how the last real disagreement ended and who made the call, because "we just talk it through" can mean the loudest person wins.
How much has this team's plan changed in the last year?
Why ask it
Ask what the team was working on twelve months ago and compare it with now. If the priorities have been rewritten two or three times, the role you accept may not be the one you hold by next year, and it is fair to ask which parts of it would survive another change.
Who has left this team in the past year, and what did they go on to do?
Why ask it
Where people went tells you more than the reason given for their leaving. A move to a bigger job elsewhere in the company reads very differently from several exits to competitors in the same few months.
How long have the people on this team been in their jobs?
Why ask it
A team where everyone joined this year is still forming, and you would be learning from people who are new themselves. One where nobody has moved in eight years may have little room above you. A mix of the two is the comfortable answer.
Which other teams does this one rely on, and how are things between them?
Why ask it
Much of the friction in a job comes from the department next door, which nobody on the interview panel is there to sell. A small sigh before the answer is common. Follow it with "what would fix it?"
Could I talk to someone who would be my peer, without a manager in the room?
Why ask it
The willingness matters as much as the conversation. A team that refuses, or only offers a hand-picked advocate with a manager present, is telling you how much candour to expect later.
Culture and hours
How would you describe the culture to a friend who was thinking of applying?
Why ask it
The friend is the useful part, because people warn friends about things they would never mention to a candidate. If you get a row of adjectives, pick one and ask what it looked like last month.
Who tends to do well here, and who tends to struggle?
Why ask it
The second half is the one to listen to. "People who need a lot of direction" or "people who dislike change" describes the place more honestly than a values statement does, and you can measure yourself against it.
What do you like about working here that you could not have guessed from the outside?
Why ask it
The plain version of this question gets "the people" almost every time. Asking for the part that came as a surprise makes the interviewer think, and a long pause followed by a thin answer is worth noticing too.
What do people here complain about?
Why ask it
Asked plainly, this often gets a frank answer about meetings, old software or a slow approval process, and those are things you can decide whether to live with. An interviewer who cannot name a single complaint is managing you instead of talking to you.
What are the usual hours, and how often does the job run into evenings, weekends or travel?
Why ask it
Ask about the last month instead of the policy: how many late finishes, how many nights away, whether anyone was called at the weekend. An average smooths over the one bad week a month that people end up leaving over.
Where do people on this team actually work from, and has that changed in the past year?
Why ask it
A written hybrid policy and a manager who expects faces in the office can sit side by side, so ask what happens in practice. If the arrangement matters to you, find out whether it would be written into your contract or is only the current custom.
What happens here when someone makes a mistake that costs time or money?
Why ask it
Ask for a real example and notice who the story is about. An account of what was changed in the process afterwards points to one kind of workplace. A story that ends with a person's name points to another.
When did someone on this team last take two weeks off in a row?
Why ask it
Leave on paper and leave in practice can be far apart, and this asks about practice without sounding as though you are planning a holiday. If nobody can remember, ask who covers the work when a person is away.
What flexibility is there when life gets in the way: a sick child, an appointment, a bad week?
Why ask it
You do not have to say why you are asking, and it is a fair question from anyone. The best answers describe the last time it happened to somebody on the team. Formal entitlements differ by country and employer, so ask HR for the written policy as well.
Pay and growth
What is the salary range for this role, and where in it would I be likely to start?
Why ask it
Put it to the recruiter on the first call, before either side has spent hours on the process. An offer near the top of the range leaves little room for rises without a promotion, so ask what moving up takes. Whether an employer must share the range depends on where you are, and if you get no figure you can ask what has been budgeted.
Apart from salary, what does the package include, and which parts are fixed?
Why ask it
Bonus, pension or retirement contributions, health cover, leave and equity can make up a large share of the total or almost none of it. "Discretionary" and "target" are the words to query: ask what was actually paid out last year.
How is performance reviewed, and when is the next cycle?
Why ask it
The timing matters as much as the method. If you join just after a cycle, or just before one you are too new to be included in, your first real pay conversation can be more than a year away, so ask when it would be.
How are pay rises decided once someone is in the job?
Why ask it
Some employers raise everyone by a set amount each year, some tie it to a rating, and some have no regular process at all. If rises after joining are small and slow here, the figure you agree now carries more weight, which is worth knowing before you negotiate.
What is the promotion path, and who was promoted most recently?
Why ask it
Ask about the most recent example: how long that person had been in the job and what they did to earn it. If nobody can think of one, the ladder in the handbook may not be in use on this team.
What would the company pay for me to learn, and is there time set aside for it?
Why ask it
A training budget with no hours attached rarely gets spent. Ask what the last person on the team used theirs for: a course, a qualification, a conference, or nothing.
Is there a probation period, and what do I need to have done to pass it?
Why ask it
Its length, the notice either side must give and what you are entitled to during it vary by country and employer, so ask how it works here and get it in writing. The criteria matter more than the length. If nobody can say what passing looks like, ask who decides and when you would hear.
The company
How does this team's work make or save the company money?
Why ask it
A team that can show its link to income or to costs is easier to defend when budgets tighten. If the manager cannot explain the connection in a sentence or two, ask how the team's budget was justified this year.
What is the company's financial position, and how long is the current funding or budget secured for?
Why ask it
Fair to ask at offer stage, most of all at a small or young company, and the reaction is informative in itself. Look for something specific about profit, funding or an approved budget, not reassurance about momentum. Where accounts are published, read them first and ask about what you found.
Where is the company trying to be in three years, and what does this team have to do with it?
Why ask it
Best put to the most senior person you meet. A plan that names this team's work is a reason to believe the role will last. One that never mentions it deserves a second question about where the team fits.
What is the biggest problem the company is working on this year?
Why ask it
People inside usually know the answer, so a long hesitation is about how much to tell you. Whatever they name is likely to shape budgets and priorities during your first year, and it gives you something real to talk about in later rounds.
Who do you lose customers to, and why do those customers choose them?
Why ask it
An interviewer who can explain a competitor's appeal without sneering works somewhere that sees itself clearly. "We don't really have competitors" is rarely true, and where it is, ask why nobody else wants the market.
Has the company cut jobs or frozen hiring in the past two years?
Why ask it
With a large employer you can often check the news first, and then the question becomes how it was handled. Listen for whether people were told early and treated decently, since that is how it would go for you.
Process and offer
How many rounds are there, and what is each one meant to test?
Why ask it
One for the recruiter at the very start, before you book any time off. Knowing that the second round is a technical exercise and the third a conversation with a director lets you prepare for each instead of preparing for everything.
How long has this job been open, and how many people are you interviewing for it?
Why ask it
A job advertised last week and one that has sat open for five months are different conversations. A long search can mean a hard-to-please manager, pay below the market or an offer that fell through, so ask which. You may not get a number for the other candidates, but you will usually learn whether you are early or late in the field.
Is there a task, test or presentation, and how long should it take?
Why ask it
Get the expected hours in writing, because a "short exercise" can swallow a weekend. You can reasonably ask how it will be marked and whether you will get comments back. A task that looks like real unpaid work for the business is worth querying politely.
Can the interview be adjusted if I need extra time, a break or the questions in advance?
Why ask it
Say what you need as soon as you know the format, since little can be arranged on the morning itself. What an employer has to offer differs from country to country, so ask how they handle it. The way the request is received is a preview of how the same request is treated once you work there.
Who makes the final decision, and who else has a say?
Why ask it
The person you have spent three rounds impressing is sometimes not the person who decides. If a director or a panel signs off, ask whether you will meet them, so that you are not reduced to a paragraph in someone else's notes.
Are there internal candidates for this role?
Why ask it
Recruiters will often tell you, and it changes how you read everything else. An internal favourite does not make the process a sham, but you will need to show something the insider cannot.
Is there anything about my experience that leaves you in doubt?
Why ask it
Keep it for the end of a later round, once there is some warmth in the room. You get one chance to answer the doubt in person, so answer it briefly and stop. Arguing the point makes it bigger.
If I am not successful, will you tell me why?
Why ask it
Asking before the result makes yes the easy answer. Plenty of employers give little or nothing, and some have a rule against it, so a promise of even two sentences is worth having.
When do you need someone to start, and is there any flexibility on that?
Why ask it
A team that needs someone in three weeks and a candidate who cannot leave for three months have a problem best found early. Say plainly when you could really start. If they cannot wait, you have learned how urgent the gap is and how stretched the team would be on the day you arrive.
What checks happen after an offer: references, background, right to work?
Why ask it
What is checked and how long it takes depend on the country, the industry and the employer, so ask how it works here and whether the offer is conditional on the results. Many people wait until the checks have cleared and the contract is signed before handing in their notice.
Can I see the full contract before I give you an answer, and how long do I have?
Why ask it
An offer letter and a contract are not always the same document, and the detail sits in the second: notice, hours, place of work, restrictions after you leave. A few days to read it is a normal request and pressure to answer the same day is a reason to slow down. If a clause worries you, take it to someone qualified before you sign.
What are the next steps, and when will you decide?
Why ask it
Ending with this gives you a date to work to and a name to chase if it passes. It also lets you tell another employer honestly when you can answer them. A timeline that slips twice with no explanation says something about how the place is run.
Working a hiring process from the candidate side
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Match the question to the interviewer
Recruiter
Salary range, level, process, timeline, hard requirements. Most of Process and offer belongs here: the number of rounds, how long the job has been open, any task, internal candidates, checks and start dates. A recruiter can also tell you what the hiring manager asked for when the search began.
Hiring manager
First month, the skills that matter, how decisions get made, how work is handed out, what the last person struggled with. This is the person best placed to describe the job as it will actually run.
Future peers
What the week really looks like, what the tools are like, what people complain about. Ask them what surprised them in their own first month.
Senior leader or skip level
Where the team sits in the plan, whether the budget is secure, what they expect this function to look like in two years. The questions under The company are written for this conversation.
What to ask at each stage
A rough order
- 1First call: the salary range, how many rounds, any task, where the work is done, the start date. Anything that could rule the job out goes here.
- 2Hiring manager round: The role, plus the manager and one-to-one questions from Team and manager.
- 3Peer or panel round: Culture and hours, and the questions about who has left and what people complain about.
- 4Final or senior round: The company, and who makes the final decision.
- 5Offer: the package, pay rises, probation, checks and the contract, all before you give an answer.
Three or four per conversation
The list is a pool to choose from. Most interviews leave only a few minutes at the end for your questions, so pick the few whose answers could change your mind and put the one that matters most first.
Reading the answers you get
Ask for last month, not policy
Policies describe intent, recent history describes practice. Convert every question you can into "what happened in the last four weeks".
Compare answers across rounds
Ask two or three people the same question about priorities or the first month. Divergent answers mean the role is not settled, which is worth knowing before you negotiate.
Write down the exact wording
At offer stage you will want the specifics you were told about scope, remote working and review timing. Vague memories are hard to raise later without sounding accusatory.
What tends to go wrong
Saving every hard question for the offer
By then you have put many hours into the process and want to hear good news. Ask about hours, travel and scope while you are still comfortable walking away.
Accepting adjectives
Fast-paced, collaborative and flat are descriptions of nothing. Follow each one with a request for an example from the past month and see whether it arrives.
Skipping the peer conversation
Managers describe the job as designed, peers describe it as lived. If the process does not include a peer, ask for one.
Resigning on a verbal offer
An offer made on the phone can still change, or depend on checks that have not been run. Ask what is outstanding, ask for the contract, and read it before you tell your current employer anything.