25 Smart Questions to Ask at the End of an Interview

A candidate for a teaching post once ended his interview by asking the head teacher, “Why should I work for you?” The careers blog of the University of Warwick in England retells the story: the head did not answer and told him he would not be working for him. The blog’s point is that a badly worded closing question can plant doubt, while a good one can help convince the employer you fit.¹

The best questions to ask at the end of an interview are the ones you need answered to decide whether you want the job, worded so they also show you understand it. Four steps take you from a long list to the two or three you will ask:

1. Prepare four or five questions from the groups that matter most to you
2. Match two or three to the person interviewing you
3. Leave out what the website answers and what belongs to the offer
4. Follow up on vague answers, then close with next steps

These few minutes are one small part of planning a whole job search, and research, rehearsal and travel plans belong to what to do in the days before an interview.

Why the end of the interview is your turn to ask

Employers are advised to invite your questions at the end. Acas, Britain’s workplace advice service, tells employers in its 2026 guidance to close every interview by asking the applicant whether they have any questions, then explaining how and when the decision will reach them, how to raise any later questions and what feedback to expect.²

The order has a logic in interview research too. A structured interviewstructured interview: A job interview in which every candidate is asked the same questions, drawn from an analysis of the job, and each answer is rated against a scale written in advance. It predicts job performance better than an unstructured conversation.Full entry in the glossary fixes its rules in advance: what is asked and how each answer is judged.

The study

Moderate evidence

Fifteen rules for a structured interview, from a 2014 review

Julia Levashina, Michael Campion and colleagues reviewed two decades of research on structured interviews. They describe the most comprehensive framework, with 15 components, which starts with basing questions on a job analysis and asking every applicant the same ones, and ends its content rules with not allowing questions from the applicant until after the interview. They conclude that structure links the decision to job-related factors and limits the influence of extraneous information.³

So when your turn comes, a well-run interviewer has just spent the hour on what the job requires. A question about the work carries that conversation on: after forty minutes on handovers and staffing, a nurse who asks how the ward judges a good first six months fits the moment, and “What are the holiday rules?” lands oddly. That link is our inference. Research on candidates’ own questions is thin (we read abstracts only). A 1985 study by US researchers of 48 videotaped campus screening interviews found that applicants who got a second interview tended to ask fewer questions about the interview process.⁴ In a 2016 US doctoral study, 353 working students rated a filmed candidate, and the abstract reports that asking questions could change their judgments, though the rest of the interview counted for more.⁵ Neither compares the questions below, so they rest on careers advisers’ and recruiters’ experience, not tested method.

Research on realistic job previews offers a parallel. These previews tell applicants about a job’s downsides as well as its upsides. A 2011 meta-analysismeta-analysis: A study that combines the results of earlier studies on the same question into one overall estimate. Pooling makes the estimate more precise, but it cannot repair the studies it pools: a meta-analysis of surveys is still survey evidence.Full entry in the glossary by David Earnest and colleagues pooled 52 studies of such previews; its abstract, the one part we could open, names the employer’s perceived honesty as the primary mechanism through which previews influence voluntary turnover.⁶ A frank answer to a hard question is a small preview of the same kind, and an evasive one tells you something too.

25 questions to ask at the end of an interview, by what they help you learn

The questions below come from the Open University in Britain,⁷ St. John’s University’s career services in the US,⁸ the careers center at Munich University of Applied Sciences in Germany,⁹ the recruitment firm Michael Page,¹⁰ Warwick’s careers blog,¹ university HR directors interviewed by Times Higher Education¹¹ and Acas.² Each question names its source in brackets, with the wording lightly adapted in places; the grouping and the skip notes are ours.

The role and how success is measured

1. “What would success look like in the first six months?” You learn the real targets and can link your experience to them. Skip it if the goals came up earlier. (Open University)
2. “What are the biggest challenges facing this position?” It shows where the job is hard, which advertisements rarely say. Skip it with a recruiter who may not know. (Open University)
3. “What does a typical day or week look like in this position?” It tells you how the hours are spent. Skip it if you know the role well. (St. John’s)
4. “What are the top priorities for this role in the first three to six months?” It tells you what to deliver first. Skip it if you asked question 1. (St. John’s)
5. “How do you measure success in this role?” It names the measures you would be judged on. Skip it with a recruiter outside the team. (St. John’s)

The team and the manager

6. “Can you tell me about the team I would be working with?” These are the people you would spend most days with. Skip it with a team member; ask question 10. (St. John’s)
7. “Is this a new post, or is it being filled, and why?” A growing team and a revolving door look the same in an advertisement. Skip it only if they already explained. (Munich)
8. “What challenges did the previous person in the role face?” It clarifies expectations, and how openly they answer is telling. Skip it if the post is new. (Michael Page)
9. “What skills do you hope the next person brings that were missing before?” It can show why the last person struggled or left. Skip it if it would sound like asking for gossip. (Michael Page)
10. “How does the team collaborate on projects?” It shows whether the work is mostly solo or shared. Skip it with a recruiter outside the team. (St. John’s)

The company’s direction

11. “What challenges do you expect the organization to face in the future?” If you have done your research, you can add an informed view. Skip it if you could not. (Warwick)
12. “How does this role contribute to the company’s overall goals?” It links your work to what the business is trying to do. Skip it if the advertisement makes the link plain. (St. John’s)
13. “How would you describe the work culture here?” Culture is hard to read from outside and shapes daily life. Skip it if you plan to ask question 14. (Warwick)
14. “Can I ask why you like working here?” The interviewer answers from experience, not the brochure. Skip it with a senior panel short of time. (Warwick)
15. “What distinguishes working here from other companies you have worked for?” It draws out what insiders value most. Skip it if they have only ever worked there. (Michael Page)

Growth and development

16. “What does career progression look like for someone in this position?” It shows you plan to stay and grow. Skip it for a short fixed-term contract. (Michael Page)
17. “Are there opportunities for training and career advancement?” It signals that you want to keep learning. Skip it if the website describes the program in detail. (Michael Page)
18. “How is induction carried out, and who is responsible for it?” It tells you how much support the first weeks bring. Skip it if a later round with HR will cover it. (Munich)
19. “Can I expect changes to my main responsibilities in the next six months to a year?” It shows how settled the role is. Skip it if the role is plainly stable. (Michael Page)
20. “What qualities make someone successful in this company?” It shows what the culture rewards beyond the job description. Skip it if you asked question 1 or 5. (St. John’s)

Next steps and closing

21. “What should I expect in the rest of the interview process?” Recruiters run the stages and can help you prepare. Skip it if you have been walked through them. (St. John’s)
22. “Is there anything about my experience that would make you hesitate?” It lets you answer a doubt before you leave. Skip it if you could not answer one calmly. (Open University)
23. “Do you want me to clarify any of the answers I have given?” It offers a last chance to fix a misunderstanding. Skip it if the panel is running late. (Times Higher Education)
24. “What are the next stages, and when might I hear?” It tells you when to follow up and makes a clean last question. Skip it if they have told you. (Open University)
25. “If I have questions later, who should I ask?” It fills the gap if the employer did not say. Skip it if you already have a contact. (Acas)

Mark the four or five whose answers you need.

Choosing your questions in four steps

1. Prepare four or five questions from the groups that matter most to you

Prepare four or five and expect to ask two or three. Virginia Tech’s careers team suggests four or five so you have spares if one or two are answered earlier.¹² The Open University advises whittling your list down to the one or two most fitting.⁷ Senior university staff quoted in Times Higher Education go further: an HR director called reading out a list of questions one by one the number one mistake, and a head of school advised asking just one.¹¹

Choose by what would change your decision. If none of its possible answers would move you, the question is filler.

If the interview answers everything you prepared, say so: the University of Strathclyde’s HR director told Times Higher Education it is fine to have no questions left, as long as you explain that the interview already answered the ones you came with.¹¹

Myth

Saying you have no questions always counts against you.

Fact

A university HR director says it is fine if you explain that the interview already answered the questions you brought.

2. Match two or three to the person interviewing you

St. John’s University’s career services in the US points out that an HR recruiter screens candidates and runs the process but is not a specialist in your field, while the hiring manager makes the final decision and judges your skills. It suggests asking a recruiter about the process, culture and development, and a hiring manager about a typical week, early priorities, the team and how success is measured.⁸

1. Recruiter: the rest of the process, culture and development
2. Hiring manager: a typical week, early priorities, the team and how success is measured
3. Future colleague: what they enjoy about working there and how the team really works
4. Senior leader or panel: the organization's strategic challenges and the role's priorities

With a peer, who may well become your colleague, Warwick’s blog notes that asking why they like working there makes a good impression and may reveal something the website does not.¹ For a university interview panel, the Strathclyde HR director suggests questions on the key strategic challenges and the role’s priorities, and warns to have your own answer ready in case someone turns the question back on you.¹¹ The pairings in the drawing follow that advice; the line between them is ours.

3. Leave out what the website answers and what belongs to the offer

Two kinds of question tend to backfire: anything the organization’s own materials answer, and pay and conditions before an offer. The Open University advises against both, listing salary, benefits, annual leave and sickness policy as subjects for the offer unless the employer raises them first.⁷ Virginia Tech gives the same advice on pay and conditions for the early stages of a process.¹²

Is it okay to ask about salary at the end of an interview? In a first interview, the British and US advice we read says wait. Michael Page, on its India site, advises raising salary later, typically after an offer or when the employer starts the conversation, since asking too early can suggest you care more about pay than about the work.¹⁰ Norms differ by country, though: the Munich careers center lists questions on working hours, holiday entitlement, starting salary and whether the contract is fixed-term as optional ones to prepare.⁹ If you are unsure what is usual where you are applying, ask a local careers service or the recruiter which stage covers pay.

4. Follow up on vague answers, then close with next steps

The most useful question is often the follow-up, because it shows you listened. The Open University’s examples start from something the interviewer said earlier, such as asking which tasks would be priorities after they mentioned wanting someone to “hit the ground running”. It also calls the next stages the last question you should ask.⁷

Follow-ups also surface warning signs. Michael Page says a direct, positive answer about the previous person’s challenges is a promising sign, while a hesitant reaction and a vague explanation are red flags.¹⁰ If you hear that the last two people moved on quickly (an invented example), a calm “What did they find hardest about the role?” gives the interviewer room to explain. One awkward answer proves little; weigh it with everything else you heard.

The best last question is usually about the next steps. Yusra Mouzughi of Muscat University in Oman told Times Higher Education that asking when you will hear the outcome does not count as a real question, so leave it until after the others.¹¹ If the interviewer has already explained the timeline, as Acas advises, thank them and stop.

Before the interview ends

• Four or five questions prepared, from the groups that matter most to me
• Two or three marked for this interviewer
• None answered by the website or the advertisement
• Pay, holidays and benefits saved for the right stage
• One follow-up ready that builds on something said earlier
• The next steps kept for last

The bottom line

Two or three questions whose answers would change your decision, chosen for whoever sits across the table, beat a long list read aloud. Follow up when an answer is vague, leave pay and conditions to the stage your country and sector expect, and finish by asking what happens next.