Woman asking interview questions.

If you want to ace any interview, it’s important to go into it with questions prepared. In most cases, it is expected of the candidate. The truly great questions are ones that are specific, and address the needs of the company, or the intricacies of the position. Although we would like to provide some here, doing so would require specific insight into your opportunity. Despite this, there are a few general questions that we can absolutely recommend. Read on to find out what they are.

1. “Is there anything I can clarify about my resume or qualifications?”

Unfortunately it doesn’t take much for a candidate to get removed from the hiring process. One small mistake, or something that doesn’t quite add up is usually enough to kill their chances. Maybe the timeline on their resume doesn’t line up, or maybe there is just something the recruiter isn’t happy with on their resume. Either way, it doesn’t take much to ruin your chances.

Thankfully, this question allows you to address any hang ups a recruiter or hiring manager may have about your qualifications. If there was something they were worried or unsure about, this gives them an out to bring it up. Many times recruiters will notice something, but not want to bring it up. However, if you approach it this way, discussing it will be much more comfortable. It’s entirely possible that doing so will keep you from being eliminated!

2. “What do you like most about working for this company?”

No matter the position, culture is always a big piece of an opportunity. Not everyone thinks about it when they are searching, but it can change the dynamics of a job. Even if the job and it’s responsibilities are everything you might want, a toxic culture can ruin all of that. If you don’t fit in with the culture, it may mean that you can’t stand to stay in the job too long. So usually it’s in your best interests to find out about the culture beforehand.

This question is an organic way to find out about the culture, without getting a canned answer. Putting the interviewer on the spot forces them to give you an answer that isn’t premeditated. It’s not as easy to give a cookie cutter response when you’re asking them about their own specific opinion. Also, if it takes them a while to respond, that is a sign that they may not enjoy their job. Take it with a grain of salt, but realize it could indicate a not-so-great company culture.

3. “What are the next steps in the process?”

This question is one that will be mostly beneficial for your own peace of mind. One of the worst feelings during a job search is not knowing where you stand. This is especially true following a job interview. You should always be hopeful, but it can be hard to know how to feel when you have no idea where you are at with an opportunity. Unfortunately most companies aren’t communicative about the timeline of their hiring process.

Bringing up a directed question about it works on two levels. For starters, it will hopefully give you a better idea of the timeline. This way you have a better sense of when that position may come through, or when you can expect to hear back. It’s much nicer even knowing you can expect a call in a week, than knowing nothing at all. On a different level, asking about the timeline shows that you are seriously interested in the position. Asking about the timeline means you want the job, and you want to know when you will find out if you are moving forward or not. This is usually a great question to end on.

That’s it! We believe these three questions are worth asking in almost any job interview. They all have different purposes, but are each equally important. We hope these questions come in handy in your next job interview! There are always more questions that are worth asking, and if you have any favorites you always like to ask, let us know in the comments!