6 Questions To Ask At The End Of Any Job Interview

6 Questions To Ask At The End Of Any Job Interview Weve all been there; the interviews going well, youve prepared your answers (after reading the Interview Advice section on our Blog of course!) and you think youve clinched it but then it all starts to go wrong. It happens  right at the end when  the tables are turned and the employer asks you if youve got any questions for them. Caught off guard, you  literally dont know what to say and panic and ask the first thing you can think of which happens to be some random question about holiday allowance and its all over. Now, despite us blogging about this interview question before, this one still catches people out. Why? Because it can be hard to know exactly what questions you should and shouldnt ask at this point after all, you havent got the job yet! To help you out, weve come up with a list of six questions (or even seven!) we feel are OK to ask at the end of any interview, regardless of what role youre being interviewed for. 1. Why Is This Role Now Available? This is a great question to ask because it shows that youve got an interest in the structure of the company and it also shows that youre keen to find out whose shoes (if anyones!) youre going to be filling. There are a number of reasons why a role has been created it could be that someone has  been promoted, someone has quit, someone has shifted departments or someone has gone on maternity/paternity leave or taken a sabbatical or it could be that the role is brand new. Either way its good to know what the reason is because this might affect whether you choose to take the job eg. if the previous candidate quit because they found it too stressful. 2. What Do You Think The Biggest Challenges Are In This Role? Asking a question like this shows the interviewer that youre serious about the role and shows them that youre keen to find out what difficulties you might encounter should you be offered the role. OK, so a couple of challenges might have been mentioned in the job ad but its still worth asking the interviewer for their personal opinion. Being aware of possible challenges at this stage should help you to plan how to overcome them should you be offered the role, which should in turn make your life much easier in the long run. 3. What Are The Business Plans For The Future How Would This Affect This Role? This is another question thats definitely worth asking at the end of any job interview. Why? Because it shows that youre keen to learn about the business future which suggests to the employer that you plan on staying at the company for an extended period of time if you were to be offered the role something every employer wants to hear from a prospective candidate. Similarly, the fact that youre asking how the business future plans might affect the role shows that youre keen to find out about how your role might change in the future and again, suggests that you see a future with their company. 4. What Is Your Companys Policy On Training Progression? Finding about any training and progression policies and opportunities is definitely worthwhile at this point for a couple of reasons. Firstly, if the company has limited training and progression opportunities and youre looking for one which has lots, you might want to reconsider if this is the right company/role for you. And secondly, if youre asking about progression opportunities, it indicates again to an employer that youd be keen to stick with the company and progress throughout their business. 5. Do You Have Any Doubts About My Suitability For This Role? This question is a bit of a cheeky one because youre asking for a bit of an insight into how the employer feels about you as a prospective candidate but its definitely worth asking. Why? Because you might be able to address some of these doubts there and then and make yourself into a much more appealing candidate. 6. Why Did You Choose To Work For This Company? If youre having doubts about whether this particular company is the right option for you regards culture-fit, its definitely worth asking your interviewer why they chose to work to work for the company because they might help to alleviate some of these doubts and they might name some reasons or aspects of the company which you werent even aware of. 7. When Might I Expect To Hear From You Regarding This Role? Its always worth asking when you might expect to hear back from the employer at the end of the interview for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it shows that youre still keen on the role. And secondly, being given a timeframe on when you might hear should help to put your mind at rest and should stop you from staring at your phone and refreshing your inbox every two seconds from the moment you leave the room until the moment you hear from them.