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Questions to Ask the Interviewer — Free Generator

Pick who is interviewing you and what you want to learn. Get five good questions to ask at the end of the interview — matched to a recruiter, a hiring manager, an engineer or a director — with why each one works and the questions to avoid.

Who is interviewing you?
Your role
What do you want to learn?

5 questions to ask

  1. When the team disagrees on a technical decision, how does it usually get resolved?Reveals how decisions are really made, which is hard to learn any other way.
  2. What would a great first 90 days look like in this role?Shows you are already thinking about delivering, and tells you what they actually expect.
  3. What does growth to the next level look like for someone in this role?Shows ambition without asking about promotion on day one.
  4. A year from now, how will you know you hired the right person?Gets the real success metric, not the job ad version.
  5. What are the next steps in the process, and when should I expect to hear back?Always ask it. It gives you the date to use in a polite follow-up email.

Questions to avoid

  • “What does your company do?” Signals no preparation. Instead: “I read about the launch of X. How has that changed the team’s priorities?”
  • “How much holiday do I get? / Can I work from home every day?” Fine to ask, but in the offer stage and with the recruiter, not a technical interviewer. Instead: Ask the recruiter after an offer, or: “How does the team usually work — office, hybrid or remote?”
  • “Did I pass? / How did I do?” Puts the interviewer in an awkward position; most cannot answer. Instead: “What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?”
  • “No, I don’t have any questions.” Reads as low interest, even when you are just tired. Instead: Always keep two questions ready. “What do you enjoy most about working here?” works with anyone.

How it works

  1. 1.Pick the interviewer

    Recruiter, hiring manager, engineer, or senior leader. A good question for a VP is a strange question for a recruiter.

  2. 2.Pick what you want to learn

    Success, team, growth, tech, culture, or next steps. Add your role track for engineering, data, or product questions.

  3. 3.Say two of them out loud

    Pick two, practise the wording, keep one spare. Take a note of the answers — they are the detail for your thank-you email.

How many questions should you ask at the end of an interview?

Prepare five and ask two or three. Some of your questions will be answered during the interview, so you need spares. Always have at least one — “No, I don’t have any questions” reads as low interest, even when you are just tired.

Match the question to the person. Ask recruiters about the process, hiring managers about success in the role, engineers about the day-to-day work, and senior leaders about direction.

The best questions to ask an interviewer, by interviewer

These work in almost any tech interview. The generator above adds role-specific questions for engineering, data and product.

  • Recruiter: “What are the next steps in the process, and when should I expect to hear back?”
  • Hiring manager: “What would a great first 90 days look like in this role?”
  • Engineer: “What is the hardest problem the team is working on right now?”
  • Director / VP: “Where do you see the company in two to three years, and how does this team fit into that?”
  • Anyone: “What do you enjoy most about working here?”

How to ask questions in natural English

Soft openers make direct questions sound polite: “Could you tell me a bit about…”, “I’m curious about…”, “Can I ask how…”. Keep the question itself short, then stop talking and listen. A short follow-up like “That’s interesting — how did the team handle that?” shows you were listening.

FAQ

Questions

For a hiring manager: “What would a great first 90 days look like in this role?” It shows you are thinking about delivering, and the answer tells you what they really expect.

Two or three. Prepare five, because some will be answered during the interview. Never say you have no questions.

Avoid “What does your company do?”, “Did I pass?”, and salary or holiday questions with technical interviewers. Ask about pay and benefits with the recruiter, usually at the offer stage.

With a recruiter, yes, especially early in the process: “What is the salary range for this role?” is normal in many countries. With engineers or hiring managers, keep the focus on the work.

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More questions? Email us at contact@mocklyenglish.com.

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