You should always ask intelligent, well thought-out questions during or before the conclusion of the interview. Recruiters will almost certainly interpret this as a sign that you are genuinely interested in the job.
Here are some examples of questions you could ask during an interview:
- Would you describe a typical work day and my responsibilities?
- How would I be trained or introduced to the job?
- What are the department’s goals for the year?
- Who are the people I would be working with and what do they do?
- Can someone in this job be promoted? If so, to what position?
- If hired, would I report directly to you, or to someone else?
- If you were to offer me this job, where could I expect to be in five years?
- Could you give me a brief tour of your office?
- In what major markets does this organization compete?
- If hired, would I be filling a newly created position, or replacing someone?
- How had your company / organization changed in the last several years?
- What do you see as the future for this industry looking ahead?
- What do you like most about working here?
- Does your company plan to move into any new markets or offer new services?
- When do you expect to make a final decision on hiring for this position?
- This is only a partial list, and you should give some serious thought to developing other questions that you might want to present during the interview. Hint: Researching the employer on the Web can help you think of many ideas for additional questions.
Never ask questions about:
- Salary
- Vacations
- Holidays with pay
- Sick days
Only discuss these topics if the interviewer brings them up first. You want to assure the employer that you are more concerned with ways you can be a valuable employee than in your immediate financial gain. These questions are best left to the second, or “follow-up,” interview.