31 questions I wish candidates asked me

In an interview process, both the interviewer and the interviewee play a crucial role. In this article, I will discuss about an important part of the interview - where the interviewer asks, do you have any questions for me? Many candidates will silently respond, "Awwww, no."

I am happy to answer the candidates' questions, and I usually save 10%-25% of the interview time for their questions. I encounter them to ask questions and if they don't have any, I pull out a couple of questions they might be interesting to know IMHO.

There are a lot of questions I hope interviewees will ask me, so I decided to write this article with a few examples.

NOTE - You must find the right balance when selecting the questions to ask. Not only are the questions you ask an opportunity for you to gain insights into the company/role, but they also give the interviewer an idea of how YOU think.

Let's get straight to the questions I'd like candidates to ask me:

1. Do you provide formal training to new employees?
2. Would you mind describing the technical sales methodology that your team uses?
3. What does an average day in your team look like?
4. What are some characteristics of your top performers?
5. When management considers internal candidates for vertical growth, what qualities do they look for?
6. Why do you like working at X company?
7. What attracted you to the company and role?
8. How does your product differ from the competition?
9. When customers choose your competitors, why do they do so?
10. How do you differentiate yourself in the sales process?
11. Can you tell me about my daily tasks and responsibilities?
12. What are the top 5 most important and common tasks every member of the team has?
13. How do you envision the team in 3 years? 5 years from now?
14. What makes you believe that your team will succeed and achieve its goals?
15. Could you describe your vision for the team?
16. Assuming you had unlimited amazing people, what tasks would you assign them?
17. Do you have KPIs and metrics for your team? If yes, can you share a few details about these?
18. Can you describe the goal-setting process?
19. Does your organization have a budget for courses, events, and trainings?
20. Which management style are you using?
21. How will performance be measured for this role?
22. Approximately how high is the turnover in your team?
23. Is your relationship with sales good?
24. What is the ratio of Solution Engineers/Solution Architects to Sales?
25. Do your people have Quotes?
26. What challenges does your team face?
27. Did you promote someone from within?
28. What tools and support are available to enable the technical sales process?
29. Can you describe the company's vision?
30. Do you have any concerns or questions regarding me for this role that I can address now?
31. What is the next step in the interview process?

It is important to keep in mind that interviews work both ways; the interviewer is trying to find out if you are a good match, but you are also determining if the company is right for you.

Good luck.

If you have an interview with me (Menachem), please mention you read this article. This will earn you extra points.

Until next time.

Menachem.