Questions to Ask in an Interview Internship
For an internship at a startup, a charity or any small team taking someone on without a formal programme. The risks there are different: the role may be defined as you go, your supervisor may be the busiest person in the building, and nothing is guaranteed at the end. These questions test all three. For a large company with a cohort and a conversion process, the programme questions cover that ground instead.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Have you had an intern before, and how did it go?
Why ask it
First-time hosts are not a problem, but they need to have thought about it. If you would be the first, ask what prompted them to try it now.
Who would actually supervise me, and how much of their week is already committed?
Why ask it
In a small team the obvious supervisor is usually the busiest person there. A realistic answer about their capacity matters more than an enthusiastic one.
How long is the placement, and are the dates flexible around my term?
Why ask it
Fixed corporate start dates often clash with exams or term dates by a week or two. Employers who run internships regularly usually have a way to accommodate that, but only if you ask before accepting.
Who would I report to, and would I have a named mentor?
Why ask it
A named mentor is the biggest single difference between a useful internship and a quiet one. If no name comes up, ask who is responsible for you when your manager is travelling.
Is the role written down anywhere, or would we work it out as we go?
Why ask it
Both happen at small companies and neither is wrong, but knowing which tells you how much shaping you will have to do yourself. Ask who decides when it changes.
What did your last intern work on, and where are they now?
Why ask it
Where former interns ended up describes the pipeline more honestly than any brochure. If nobody remembers what the last one did, your work is unlikely to matter much either.
What would I do in a week when everyone is firefighting?
Why ask it
Small teams have those weeks and interns are often forgotten in them. A team with an answer has thought about the placement properly.
How often would I get feedback, and from whom?
Why ask it
Feedback slips when the person owing it is busy and you are temporary. A stated rhythm, even a fortnightly half hour, beats a promise of an open door.
What does a typical week look like, in terms of meetings versus independent work?
Why ask it
This tells you whether you would be learning by watching or by doing. Too few meetings can be as much of a warning sign as too many.
What should I brush up on before I start?
Why ask it
Their answer is a free head start, and how specific it is reveals how much thought has gone into your ramp-up. Vagueness here usually predicts vagueness later.
Would I be able to use this work in a portfolio or talk about it in interviews?
Why ask it
Small companies are often more relaxed about this than large ones, but you need it agreed rather than assumed. Ask what would need to be left out.
How much of my work would still be used after I leave?
Why ask it
Whether your work survives is what makes the placement worth talking about afterwards. Asking also signals that you are interested in outcomes rather than a line on a CV.
Would you be able to give me a written reference and stay a contact afterwards?
Why ask it
Where there is no conversion process, the reference and the contact are the durable outcome. Agreeing it before you start is far easier than asking later.
Is there any chance of paid work afterwards, or is this a fixed placement?
Why ask it
Small companies rarely have a graduate scheme but often have work if money allows. An honest answer about the odds is more useful than a vague promise.
What separates an intern you'd want to hire from one you wouldn't?
Why ask it
This gets you the real assessment criteria, usually stated more plainly than any competency framework. Listen for behaviours you can start on your first day.
What do interns here usually find hardest in the first two weeks?
Why ask it
The answer previews the friction ahead: an unfamiliar codebase, internal jargon, unclear approval routes. Knowing in advance turns a rough fortnight into an ordinary one.
How secure is the funding for this position?
Why ask it
Placements at small organisations are sometimes paid from a grant or one client's budget. It is a fair question and the answer affects your other applications.
If I spotted something worth doing, would I be able to take it on?
Why ask it
The genuine advantage of a small team is room to move. The answer tells you whether that room is real or just part of the pitch.
What would a genuinely useful outcome from my time here look like to you?
Why ask it
Framing it around what is useful to them invites a concrete deliverable, and gives you something to measure progress against halfway through.
What are the next steps, and when do you expect to decide?
Why ask it
Internship processes run in fixed cycles and then go quiet for weeks. A date lets you plan around your other applications instead of refreshing your inbox.
Getting the most out of an internship interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
It is still a two-way conversation
- You are choosing between a summer that builds something and a summer of watching other people work. Questions about mentorship, live projects, and feedback are what separate the two.
- Interviewers expect fewer questions from students than from experienced candidates, so two or three specific ones make a disproportionate impression.
- Asking about pay, hours, and dates is not presumptuous. It is a job, and clarity now prevents an awkward conversation in July.
Settle these before you accept
- Exact start and end dates, and whether either can move around your term.
- The rate of pay, and how and when it reaches you.
- Whether equipment is provided or you are expected to bring your own.
- Which days you are expected on site, and whether travel or accommodation is supported.
- The name of the person who will meet you on the first morning.
Signs of a well-run placement
- Someone can describe your first week in specifics rather than in principles.
- They can name what previous interns built and what happened to it.
- One person is clearly responsible for you, and you have their name.
- The work has a recipient: somebody who will use it after you have gone.
Signs to treat with caution
- The role is described mainly as helping out wherever needed.
- The team has never hosted an intern and has no plan for one.
- Nobody can say who your day-to-day manager would be.
- The question about graduate offers gets deflected rather than answered either way.