Questions to ask at the end of your interview

“Do you have any questions for us?” comes up in almost every interview, usually right at the end. What you say then is a large part of the impression the recruiter keeps after you leave. Your questions are also your best chance to find out whether the job suits you. Below are questions to ask in an interview, sorted by topic, along with advice on what to hold back. Salary gets its own section, because Swedish unions give fairly specific advice about when to raise it.

Why your questions matter

An interview goes both ways. The employer wants to know if you fit, and you want to know if the job, the manager and the workplace are right for you. A candidate with no questions at all can easily seem to have given the job little thought.

Ask about things you can’t read anywhere. If the answer is in the job ad or on the company website, asking mostly shows that you didn’t read it. Read both carefully beforehand, build your questions on what you find and bring them on a note.

Questions about the job

These give you a picture of what the work is really like day to day:

• What does a normal week look like in this role?
• Which tasks or projects have the highest priority right now?
• What are the biggest challenges in the role?
• What would you like me to have achieved after the first three months?
• How do you set goals and follow up, and how will I know I’m doing a good job?
• Why is the position open? Is it new, or am I replacing someone?
• How do you see the use of AI in this role?

The question about the first three months is especially useful. The answer tells you a lot about what is expected, and it gives you a chance to show how you would approach the work.

Questions about the team and your manager

You will see your colleagues and your manager every day, so these are worth asking:

• What does the team look like, and how many of you are there?
• How does the team work with other parts of the organization?
• How would you describe your leadership style?
• How would you describe the company culture?
• What do you like best about working here?
• What is your view on working from home or remotely?

Asking the interviewer what they personally like best tends to get a more honest answer than a general question about culture. Notice how quickly and concretely they answer.

Questions about development and the collective agreement

Here you show that you are thinking long term:

• What are the opportunities to grow, both in the role and further in the organization?
• How do you work with training and skills development?
• What have earlier people in this role moved on to?
• What are the company’s plans for the future, and how do they affect this position?
• Do you have a collective agreement?

The last question can feel awkward, but it is worth asking a Swedish employer. A collective agreement (kollektivavtal) is an agreement between the employer side and a union. Among other things, it affects how your salary is reviewed, and if there is no agreement, more of your terms need to be written into your employment contract.

Questions about next steps

End by asking about the process, so you know what happens next and when to expect an answer:

• What are the next steps in the process?
• When do you expect to make a decision?
• Will there be tests, a work sample or a second interview?
• When do you check references, and how many would you like?
• Is there anything in my background you would like me to clarify?

The last one takes a little courage, but it lets you clear up a doubt while you are still in the room. If the process includes tests, our guide to psychometric tests explains the common types, and you can practice on a free logic test. If they ask for references, the page on job references shows how to prepare them.

Salary and benefits: wait, but prepare

There is nothing wrong with asking about salary, vacation and benefits, but timing matters. The advice from Swedish unions is to wait with salary as long as you can. The more you know about the job, and the more the employer has settled on you, the stronger your position.

If you are asked for your salary expectations early, you can postpone the answer. You might say that you would like to know more about the role before you name a figure, or that you are happy to discuss salary once you have an offer. If you have to answer right away, you can say that you expect a market-rate salary and are open to discussion.

Prepare anyway. Find out what people with similar tasks in the same industry usually earn, so you have a realistic level in mind. Avoid naming an exact figure before you know which terms and benefits come with the job, since they affect what the salary is worth.

When the time comes, these are good to ask:

• Which benefits are included, and what terms of employment apply?
• How does the salary review work, and when is my salary reviewed next?
• Is the salary set for this year, or already for next year?

The last question is easy to miss. If you start late in the year and your salary is already set at next year’s level, it can be a long time before it is reviewed again.

How to pick your questions

Prepare six to eight questions and expect to ask two to four. Several will be answered during the conversation, and asking about something the interviewer just explained looks careless. Cross questions off as you go, and add new ones if something makes you curious.

A few things to avoid:

• Questions only about yourself. Opening with vacation, flexible hours and benefits before you have asked anything about the job can make the terms sound more interesting to you than the work.
• Yes or no questions. “How does the team work together?” gets you more than “Does the team work together a lot?”
• Questions that sound like criticism. If you have read something negative about the company, ask with curiosity about how they see the future.

To prepare the rest of the conversation, go through the common interview questions and read how a competency-based interview works.