Prepare Your Questions for Interviewers
The questions you ask reveal as much about you as the answers you give. For career changers thoughtful and specific questions do additional work because they demonstrate that your knowledge of and interest in the new field is genuine and current rather than surface level. They also give you the chance to demonstrate the perspective that your previous background provides.
The questions you ask reveal as much about you as the answers you give. For career changers thoughtful and specific questions do additional work because they demonstrate that your knowledge of and interest in the new field is genuine and current rather than surface level. They also give you the chance to demonstrate the perspective that your previous background provides.
Step by Step
Prepare at least 5 questions for each company you are actively interviewing with. Use your company research as the foundation.
Strong question categories:
About the role: "What does success look like in this role in the first 90 days?" "What are the biggest challenges the person in this role will face?" "How has this role evolved recently and where do you see it going?"
About the team and culture: "How does this team typically incorporate perspectives from people who come from different professional backgrounds?" "What do the strongest performers on this team have in common?" "How does this team handle disagreement or competing approaches?"
About the company: "Where do you see the company in three years and how does this role contribute to that direction?" "What is the biggest challenge the organization is working through right now?"
About the interviewer personally: "What do you enjoy most about working here?" "What made you stay with this company?"
Prepare 2 to 3 questions specific to each company based on your research. These are the questions that make the strongest impression.
Consider preparing one question that draws on your unique perspective from your previous field. A thoughtful question that connects something you observed in your previous industry to something happening in the new one signals that your background is an asset rather than a liability.
Practice asking your questions out loud so they sound natural.
Tips Never ask about salary, benefits, or vacation in a first interview unless the interviewer raises it. Questions that show you have thought about the company's challenges from a strategic perspective are particularly valuable for career changers because they demonstrate the kind of thinking that makes your background worth considering.