What questions should I ask at the end of a job interview in English?
Have three kinds of question ready. About the role: "What would a typical day in this role look like?" About the team: "How would you describe the team culture?" About the next steps: "Could you tell me what the next steps are?" Watch two forms: German "Wie sieht … aus?" is "What does … look like?", not "How does … look like?", and after "Could you tell me" the subject comes before the verb.
- The three kinds of question: about the role, the team and the next steps.
- "What does a typical day look like?", not "How does a typical day look like?".
- Indirect question: "Could you tell me what the next steps are?" The subject comes before the verb.
B2 · Job Interviews · 10 minQuestions to ask the interviewer, taught brick by brick.
A structured ten-slide lesson for B2 learners. Hear a typical question for the interviewer in context, learn the three kinds of question from a tutor — about the role, the team and the next steps — then practise them in the interactive drills before a final quiz. The whole arc is under ten minutes and nothing requires a signup.
- CEFR levelB2 · Upper intermediate
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- SkillsSpeaking, Grammar, Listening, Business English
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
Why your questions matter
At the end of a job interview in English, you will very often hear this question: "Do you have any questions for us?" At this point many candidates are relieved that the hard part is over and answer: "No, I think you've covered everything." That is polite, but it is a missed opportunity. Good questions show that you have prepared for the conversation, that you can already picture yourself in the role and that you are checking for yourself whether it suits you. At the same time, you learn more about what the day-to-day work is really like, how the team works and what happens after the interview. This lesson sorts your questions into three groups. The first group asks about the role itself, for example "What would a typical day in this role look like?". The second asks about the team and the company, such as "How would you describe the team culture?". The third asks about the next steps in the application process: "Could you tell me what the next steps are?" On top of that come two grammar points where German-speaking learners often stumble: the question word in "What does … look like?" and the word order in indirect questions. You practise both here until they feel natural.
02 / 06
Group 1: questions about the role
Questions about the role show that you are already thinking about the work itself, not just the contract. Two classics are "What would a typical day in this role look like?" and "What would success look like in the first six months?". The first tells you what you would actually spend your time on. The second shows how your performance would be measured, and it signals that you care about results. Other good questions are "What would my main responsibilities be?", "What are the biggest challenges for the team at the moment?" and "Why is this position open?". Notice the "would" in many of these questions. You do not have the job yet, so you are talking about a possible future: "What would my main responsibilities be?" That sounds careful and polite. "What will my main responsibilities be?" is just as correct and sounds a little more confident, as if you already expect to get the job. Both forms are fine; what matters is that you choose one and finish the sentence cleanly. And avoid questions that the job advert or the interview has already answered. If the company's activities have already been clearly explained, "What does the company do?" can make you seem unprepared. Ask a more specific question about a business area or project instead.
03 / 06
Group 2: questions about the team and the company
Questions about the team show that you care about the people you would be working with. "How would you describe the team culture?" is an open question: it cannot be answered with yes or no, and it invites the other person to talk. Watch the verb. "Describe" takes the thing directly as its object: "describe the team culture", with no "about". If you would rather use "tell", you need a person and usually "about": "Could you tell me about the team?" A second useful question is "Who would I be working with most closely?". Here "with" stays after "working" rather than coming before the question word, which is completely normal in spoken English and sounds more natural than the formal "With whom would I be working?". If you want to ask about training, say "Are there opportunities for professional development?" or "What training opportunities are there?". Before a noun you use "opportunities for", before a verb "opportunities to": "opportunities to learn new tools". Questions about the company fit into this group too, for example "Where do you see the company in the next few years?" or "How has the team changed recently?". Questions like these show that you are thinking beyond your first day.
04 / 06
Group 3: questions about the next steps
Finally, you ask about the rest of the process, so that you leave the interview with a clear picture. The direct question is "What are the next steps?" or, in full, "What are the next steps in the process?" — perfectly correct and polite enough. Many people put it into an indirect question to sound even softer: "Could you tell me what the next steps are?" This is where an important rule comes in. After openers such as "Could you tell me …", "Do you know …" or "I was wondering …", the standard form puts the subject before the verb, just as in a statement. So it is "Could you tell me what the next steps are?", not "Could you tell me what are the next steps?". In the same way: "Could you tell me when I can expect to hear from you?", not "… when can I expect …". "Do" and "does" disappear too: "Do you know when the team starts the project?", not "… when does the team start …". The question word order is already in the opener ("Could you", "Do you"), so the second part does not need it again. When you ask about the timeline, "When can I expect to hear from you?" is the usual phrase.
05 / 06
The German traps: Wie sieht … aus, rechnen mit, Weiterbildung
Three places where German gets in the way. First, "Wie sieht … aus?": because German asks with "Wie", many learners say "How does a typical day look like?". In standard English that is wrong. "Look like" needs an object, as in "It looks like a busy day", and in the question "What" replaces that object: "What does a typical day look like?" If you really want to start with "How", drop "like" and ask something slightly different: "How does the day usually go?" Second, "rechnen mit": "Wann kann ich mit einer Antwort rechnen?" easily turns into "When can I reckon with an answer?". "Reckon with" does exist, but it means "take into account" or "have to deal with". For an answer you are waiting for, say "When can I expect to hear from you?" or "When can I expect a decision?". Third, "Weiterbildung": in British English, "further education" usually means courses at a college after leaving school, not training on the job. For learning at work, "professional development" and "training" are the usual words: "Are there opportunities for professional development?" That way your question sounds exactly the way you mean it.
06 / 06
Tone and timing: how many questions, and which last
Two or three well-chosen questions are usually enough. Prepare five, though, because some may already be answered during the interview. Then you can say honestly: "You've already answered most of my questions, but I'd like to ask one more thing." It is also perfectly fine to bring your questions on a notepad and glance at it; that shows preparation, not nerves. Think about the order. Start with the role or the team and save the question about the next steps for the end, so that the conversation closes with a clear outlook. Questions about salary and holiday are not forbidden, but if they are your only questions in a first interview, they leave a weaker final impression. The topic of salary often comes up later in the process anyway. Listen carefully when the other person answers, too, and respond briefly: "That sounds like a great team to work in." A question for the interviewer is not a box to tick but a short conversation. Finally, thank them: "Thank you, that's very helpful. I'm looking forward to hearing from you." That way the interview ends on a friendly, interested and clear note.