15 Key Questions to Ask in an Interview at the End (2024)

Hello busy professional. Do you have an upcoming interview and in your preparation, were you googling "questions to ask in an interview at the end", "questions to ask in interview about culture", "questions to ask in director interview" or "questions to ask in interview for global leaders"? 

Having had countless international interviews (in English and in German) within the last decade and having helped brilliant professionals with interview preparations either as their colleague in the corporate world, mentor or as working as an executive coach, I believe asking questions is a great opportunity for every candidate to get to know their potential employer, team, and leader better. I have failed in many interviews, and also aced various interviews for the roles I am grateful to have had. First of all, wherever you are in your journey, good luck!

In 2023, when I write this, you have so many different options to prepare. You might choose to google it (PS: I hope this is where you find my page), to practice your interview with AI (e.g., you can copy - paste the job ad on Chat GPT and ask – prompt - artificial intelligence to be coached😊), practice with a colleague or with your coach.

If you choose to have tips not from AI, but from an expat coach and consultant with almost 20 years of experience in international business settings and who has interviewed and worked in diverse roles in start-ups, advertising companies, and Global Fortune 500 companies, this post is for you.

15 Insightful Questions to Ask in an Interview at the End

In the bottom, I will leave the links to references for further reading, and here is a list of 15 curated example questions to ask at the end of a job interview:

1. What’s the most important thing I should achieve within the first 90 days?
2. What metrics or goals will my or my team`s performance be evaluated against?
3. What are the key initiatives which I will be responsible for and where do they (and my team) fit in the strategic annual goals?
4. What types of skills will bring the most value to the team and business strategy with this position I am interviewing for?
5. What are the biggest challenges?
6. How do you expect my main responsibilities in this position to evolve within a year?
7. Can you tell me about the team and key stakeholders I’ll work with?
8. Which departments and teams will I mostly interact with?
9. What are 3 things different here than any other company you’ve worked for?
10. Can you tell me about my direct reports, their strengths, and their biggest challenges?
11. What’s your favourite part of working here?
12. What excites you most about the company’s vision and future?
13. Your company values x, y, z are .....How would you describe them?
14. What kind of growth and development opportunities are available internally?
15. How would your employees describe the company and its leaders?

Five Tips:

Here are five tips:

Tip 1: Don’t ask questions you can find on Google Search. (e.g., company vision, mission, how many offices they have, etc.)

Tip 2: Remember that your questions are a way of positioning yourself as an impact & value driven leader, too.

Tip 3: Asking about the company culture and leadership values will help you evaluate if this is a company you want to work for.

Tip 4: Please remember, less is more. Assuming that you already had or will have other interviews with them, I recommend focusing on 3, maximum 4 questions.

Tip 5: These are some of many examples to help you focus as there are billions of questions that you can ask. In the references section, please have a look at the links to explore more.

Thanks for reading until here to read the tips. This is a starting point for now, and I`ll be building on this topic soon.

As a believer in making practice sharing accessible, I hope this list of questions to ask in an interview as a candidate and the tips help you ace your next interview wherever and whoever you are. 

When you are ready, there are 3 ways I can help you with:

1. Explore free resources to learn: Resources to Learn for Free 
2. Work with me as a Career or Executive Coach: Coaching Offers 
3. Work with me as a Digital Strategy Consultant: Digital Marketing and Digital Transformation Consultant 

Resources:

• https://hbr.org/2022/05/38-smart-questions-to-ask-in-a-job-interview
• 50 Questions You Should Absolutely Ask an Interviewer in 2022 - Glassdoor UK