Questions to Ask the Interviewer

Your turn to interview them

Most interviews end with 'Do you have any questions for me?'. Thoughtful questions show curiosity and help you decide whether the role suits you. Tailor them to the interviewer: engineers can describe daily work, code review and on-call; managers can talk about team goals, growth and how success is measured; senior leaders can discuss strategy. Avoid questions answered on the first page of the website, and keep questions about compensation details for the recruiter unless the interviewer raises them. Prepare more questions than you need, since some get answered during the conversation.

Question bank

Pick two or three per interviewer.

For engineers
  - What does a typical week look like for you?
  - How are technical decisions made and recorded?
  - What is on-call like, and how are incidents reviewed?

For the hiring manager
  - What would success look like in the first six months?
  - What are the team's biggest challenges this year?
  - How do engineers grow here; how is feedback given?

For senior leaders
  - Where do you see this product area going in the next year or two?
  - How does engineering work with product and design here?

About culture
  - Can you tell me about a recent disagreement and how it was resolved?
  - What do you personally enjoy about working here?

Listen to the answer

A brief follow-up on their answer is often more valuable than racing to your next prepared question.

Quick check: Which is a better question for an engineer interviewer?

• Can I skip on-call?
• What does your company do?
• How many holidays will I get exactly?
• How are technical decisions made and recorded on your team?