“What would a really good first six months look like in this role?”
B1 · Intermediate9 minInterview
What they are really asking
Near the end of almost every interview, the roles switch and you get to ask the questions. "No, I think you've covered everything" is the weakest possible reply. It can sound like you're not curious, or not that interested in the job.
Good questions do two jobs. They help you decide whether you want this role, which matters: an interview goes both ways. And they show the interviewer how you think. Ask about the work, the team, what success looks like and what's hard. Don't ask things you could find on the company's website. Leave salary, vacation and benefits for later, unless the interviewer brings them up; in a first interview, those questions can sound like the only thing you care about.
A shape that works
Prepare four or five, ask two or three. Some will get answered during the interview, so bring spares. Choose open questions that start with what, how or who. Listen to the answer and follow up once if something interests you; that turns it into a conversation. Finish with a question about next steps, so you leave knowing what happens now.
Model answers
Listen to how each answer is built, then make it yours.
Answer 1: a customer success manager in BerlinAnswer 2: a lab scientist in ShenzhenAnswer 3: a junior designer in Delhi in a first interview
Check yourself
Practice · 3 min
Choose a job you'd like and write five questions for the interviewer: one about success, one about the team, one about challenges, one about learning and one about next steps. Record yourself asking three of them in a natural voice, in under forty-five seconds. Listen back and check that none of them could be answered from the company's website.
Your recording stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
Say it today
Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.