Questions to ask at the end of an interview (and 3 to skip)

Ask two or three questions, never zero, and pick them for the person in front of you. If you only remember two, use these. First, "What would someone in this role need to get done in the first 90 days for you to call the hire a success?" Second, "What's the hardest part of this job that the posting doesn't mention?"

Then close in under a minute. Say why you want the job in one line, and ask about next steps.

You know the moment. The interviewer glances at the clock and says, "So, any questions for us?" It feels like the cool-down after the real test, but the test is still running.

Often the decision hasn't been made yet. Frieder, Van Iddekinge and Raymark studied 691 real campus-recruiting interviews for a 2016 paper in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. Interviewers decided in the first minute only about 5% of the time. Most decided between minutes 5 and 15.

And over 20% still hadn't made up their minds after the interview was over. So for about one interviewer in five, your last few minutes can tip it.

How many questions should you ask at the end of an interview?#

Two or three. Write down five, because they'll often answer one or two before you ask.

One feels thin. Six feels like you're interviewing them. If you're meeting four people in a row, ask each one something different. They compare notes afterwards in the debrief (the meeting where interviewers decide together). Dave Anderson, a former Amazon GM who writes Scarlet Ink, points out that split votes get settled in exactly that meeting.

"No, I think you covered everything" is the worst thing you can say here. It sounds like you don't care much, even when it's true.

What are good questions to ask, by who you're talking to?#

Ask each person about the part of the job they know. A recruiter can't tell you what slows the team down. A VP probably doesn't know who's on call this weekend.

The round matters too. In a first screen, ask about the process and the role. In a final round, use the 90-day question and the one for leaders.

Want to look around first? See how UnchartedCareer works.

Which questions make you look bad?#

Skip these three.

1. "So what does your company do?" If Google can answer it in ten seconds, asking it tells them you didn't look. Anderson's line is blunt: "You should already know that, right?"
2. "How soon can I get promoted?" or "Can I transfer teams after a year?" You're asking how to leave the job before they've even offered it. Both are on Anderson's avoid list.
3. "What's the salary?" to a peer or panel interviewer. Most interviewers can't answer it, and you've used up your last question. Save it for the recruiter, at the right stage. (When you get there, negotiating is worth it.)

A softer fourth: "Do you have any concerns about my candidacy?" We'd skip it, because most interviewers say "no, none" to your face and raise the concern later anyway.

How do you use your questions to fix a weak spot?#

Don't ask them to name your weakness. Name it yourself, keep it short, and finish with a question.

Say an earlier answer, maybe the one about a difficult colleague, came out weak. Try:

"Earlier I gave a thin answer on handling a pushy stakeholder. The better example is the vendor rollout last spring, where I got the finance lead to drop a requirement in one meeting. How much of this role is that kind of negotiation?"

That takes about 20 seconds. You swap the weak answer for a strong one, and the question hands the conversation back. Do it once, for your biggest gap. Twice sounds defensive.

How do you close the interview in the last 60 seconds?#

Most people trail off with "Okay, cool, thanks so much." Plan the last minute the way you'd plan your first answer.

• About 10 seconds: thank them for something specific they said, not for "your time."
• About 20 seconds: one sentence on why you want this job, tied to something you learned in the interview. "Hearing that the first 90 days are about cleaning up the reporting makes me want this more. That's the exact mess I fixed at my last job."
• About 10 seconds: "What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?"
• Then stop talking. Shake hands, or say goodbye before you reach for the mouse.

That specific detail is what they'll remember when they write up their notes. Say it out loud once beforehand, because reading it silently five times still comes out stiff.

In a panel, speak your close to the whole table (more in how to handle a panel interview). Short on time? The interview-tomorrow checklist covers the rest.

FAQ#

What is a good ending question for an interview?#

"What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?" It gives you a timeline and ends the conversation cleanly.

What are the top 5 questions to ask an interviewer at the end?#

Ask about 90-day success, the hardest part the posting skips, what slows the team down, what must go right this year, and next steps. Pick two or three that fit the person, and keep next steps for the close.

Is it bad to say you have no questions at the end of an interview?#

Yes, it sounds like low interest. If they really covered everything, ask about one thing they said ("You mentioned the reporting cleanup. What's caused it to pile up?").

Should you ask about salary at the end of an interview?#

Ask the recruiter or HR contact, not a peer or panel. Other interviewers usually can't answer it, so you waste your question.

Tonight, write your two questions and your 20-second "why this job" line on one card. Then say them out loud once, with a timer running.