How to Answer: “Do You Have Any Questions For Us?”

“Do you have any questions for us?” appears at first look to be a pretty innocuous question, but the opportunity to completely knock your interview out of the park or to destroy your prospects in this interview is held in the balance depending on your answer! You may think I’m being a little dramatic, but this is often the decider and anyone who doesn’t take it seriously runs the risk of being pipped to the post yet again!

Where I have seen this go against an interviewee:

• One example was in an interview for a highly strategic and commercial position, and when asked if they had any questions, they asked a highly operational question. This was a surprise due to the fact that this person was sitting in front of 2 members of the leadership team, they had the opportunity to ask anything! The interviewers had assumed it would be around strategy, scalability for the role or commercial challenges currently affecting them, but instead this person chose to ask about operational hours of work and hybrid options! Those questions are what we call “housekeeping,” you ask them to your agency representative or the person who calls to set up your interview if you are going directly through a HR Department. Do not waste an opportunity to ask a question that you are actually interested in or one that will impact on your day to day in the role.
• Another occasion was a more junior interviewee who at the end of the interview that had gone really well decided that when they were asked did they have any questions that they wouldn’t take up any more of the interviewer’s time and simply said they didn’t. The interviewer took this as a lack of interest in the role and the role was offered to a more enthusiastic candidate, in their view. It’s even more prevalent in a more junior interview where there really are a lot more options for companies so the competition is fiercer and often it can be something small that is the deciding factor on who to hire.

A few good options when you are less experienced can include:

• How would you measure my success in the role in the first 6 months?
• What would my first 30 days consist of?
• What would you feel would be a natural next step from this role if I was successful for the next 2 years?

These questions show you are interested in being successful for your employer (You’ve already done your research, and you know what you can expect from the company if you are successful). You have shown you are ambitious, but you understand the timeline to sustainable career growth.

Now the approach this more junior candidate took can work on occasion, where the interviewer has gone into a lot of detail and really all your questions have been answered. However, you must remember to reiterate your interest in the role and the company.

How I would suggest you answer it if the interviewer has already taken you through your first 6 months and told you what they would see as your natural next step with them, and you really don’t have a question, is to state that you don’t have any questions as you really appreciate how thorough the interview process has been and they have given you all the information you need, followed by: “I would just like to reiterate my interest in working for (Company name) and in particular, you. It is a position I can see myself thriving in, and I know if I work really hard the rewards will come. So, thank you for your time in this process.”

You can add in any specific points that make this role very interesting to you to make your response less generic.

I hope this helps in your next interview!