Marco & Associates: Chicago’s leading accounting and finance recruiting firm

When individuals prepare for an interview, they review the job description, do preliminary research on the company, rehearse their answers to tough interview questions, and strike a few power poses to pump themselves up.

These are all great ways to ensure that you make a great impression throughout the majority of the interview.  But what about the moment when you interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for me?”  If you haven’t prepared what you will say in this moment, then the only alternatives are to wing it or simply say “no.”  In either case, we highly advise you avoid both of those options and prepare questions beforehand.

This is a valuable time to not only show that you’re engaged and prepared, but also to see if the company is a good fit for you.

Before you walk into an interview, you should have these questions listed when it’s time for you to turn from interviewee to interviewer:

1. What’s the next step in the interview/hiring process?
2. What can you tell me about the job apart from what was in the description?
3. What would I be expected to accomplish in my first month/year on the job?
4. Could you tell me a little bit about the person I would report to directly?
5. Do you expect the responsibilities for this role to change in the near future?
6. What is the work culture like here?
7. How does the position fit in relation to the rest of the organization?
8. Is there a career path that someone in this position would be expected to follow?
9. How does the company take an idea from inception to completion?
10. How do you measure performance and success in this role?
11. Are there any special projects that I would work on soon?
12. Is there anything else I could tell you about myself that would help you with your decision?
13. What are the current focus areas for the company as a whole?
14. What are the pain points you have to deal with day-to-day that the person in this role should remedy?
15. Do you see the role expanding in the future?

After asking these essential questions, you should be able to walk out of the interview with more insight into whether or not this is an advantageous opportunity.