How to Ask Meaningful Interview Questions

Are you currently interviewing? Searching for your next role? It’s highly likely you are focusing on the wrong thing. Interviews aren’t just about preparing to answer questions—you also need to bring thoughtful, strategic questions. Honestly, I like to kick off interviews by asking candidates if they have any questions for me. Why? It’s a quick way to gauge whether they’ve done their homework on the role and company, offering insight into their strategic thinking. In my newsletter, I've outlined six must-ask questions about emotional intelligence, growth acumen, and personal development. Let's start with emotional intelligence today. Emotional intelligence is key to understanding a company’s culture and determining how you (potentially) fit. It's also the foundation for building a positive relationship with your manager and team. The right questions can help you gauge how the company approaches communication, conflict resolution, and feedback, offering a clear sense of working there. Here are a couple of examples: How do you handle conflict or disagreement? 🟥 They downplay the importance of conflict or insist it rarely happens without providing a clear example. This is an excellent example of avoidance and not constructive to your career (trust me). 🟩 They give a concrete example of addressing conflict and encouraging open communication. This will give you insight into how disagreements are managed within the company and if the environment supports respectful dialogue. Tell me about when you (or the leadership team) had to navigate difficult decisions. 🟥 They provide vague answers or blame someone else, suggesting a lack of transparency or lack of desire to confront challenges directly. No way. 🟩 They share a specific example where the decision-making process involved clear communication, stakeholder input, and a thoughtful evaluation of options, highlighting their leadership under pressure. Next time you get ready for an interview, don’t just practice your answers. Think about what you want to know. Great questions can help you learn if this is where you’ll feel happy, supported, and able to do your best work.

The last 5 min of your interviews are usually reserved for questions. Don’t underestimate this portion of the interview. Here is what I’ve learned about the fine art of preparing questions for technical/behavioral interviews: Missed part 1 of this series? Read here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/enHUeexr Each question you ask should have a purpose. Those purposes can be organized into 3 main buckets. Your questions can: 1️⃣ show you know your sh*t about the company & industry 2️⃣ show you are a well-prepared & thoughtful person 3️⃣ show that you would make a great intern One question can fall into multiple buckets. Type 1 & Type 3 questions are generally great. Type 2 questions are optimal when you are given information about your interviewer / the team you’re interviewing for ahead of time. In the span of an interview, you can usually get to multiple questions, so mix and match from these buckets as needed. How to do research for Type 1 questions: 1️⃣ Search “[company name] tech news” or “[company name] tech blog” or find the company’s YouTube channel. 2️⃣ Skim the most recent posts till you find something interesting. 3️⃣ Pick one post and skim it in its entirety. What questions are you left with after reading it? Note them down (and phrase them so that any engineer at the company could respond to the question). 4️⃣ Ask these questions during the interview, and mention that you were consuming the company’s media 🙋🏾♀️ Here’s an example of a Type 1 Question I asked when interviewing with Adobe (for a team that worked on Adobe Lightroom): I saw Lightroom just added a lens blur tool on desktop and mobile and that this tool is AI-powered. I’d love to know more about how the AI models were trained? Was it just foreground/background detection or were there other components? 🙋🏾♀️ Here’s an example of a Type 2 Question I prepared when interviewing with Google for the APM internship: How do you structure your thoughts when writing a Product Requirements Document (PRD)? What are the signs of a well- or poorly- written PRD? 🙋🏾♀️ Here’s an example of a Type 3 Question I asked when interviewing with Apple (my interviewer had interned on the team in a previous summer): What actions/traits allowed you to thrive in your internship on this team and ultimately get a return offer? That’s all for now— ~aminah. —— If you got value from this post, consider following and republishing! 🫶🏾

This is the one thing interviewees often miss the mark on during interviews: (based on my years of experience interviewing and hiring at major tech companies and now my own company!) They don’t ask the right questions at the end! The questions you ask can be one of the biggest differentiators between you and another candidate. Here are 7 questions that I’ve found to be particularly effective: ✅ “Can you describe a typical day in this role?” → Gives you a sense of the role’s variety ✅ “How is success measured for this position?” → This shows you’re already putting yourself in the shoes of this role — and wanting to do well. ✅ “Can you share a time where your teammate gave you feedback and how you implemented it?” → Having your hiring manager be open to feedback is MAJOR! ✅ “What does a typical career progression look like in this role?” → This allows you to see how thought our career ladders are and how you might grow there. ✅ “How does this role contribute to the company’s overall goals?” → Always be thinking about company goals. It shows you’re strategic. ✅ “What are the biggest challenges facing the team/department right now?” → You can use this information for future interview projects and prepare ahead of starting, too. ✅ “What opportunities for professional development does the company offer?” → Shows your dedication to self-improvement. Remember, interviews are a two-way street. The questions you ask can reveal as much about you as your answers do. So, prepare thoughtfully and use this opportunity to assess if the role is the right fit for you. 💬 What are some questions you’ve used during interviews? Share them in the comments!

Your interviews will always feel hard Even after 150 interviews and 300+ mock interviews. Yes, I have done more than 450 interviews in my career. Early in my career, I spent hours preparing for interviews. Practicing SQL, studying machine learning, and rehearsing my answers. I’d walk out feeling confident, only to be hit with a generic rejection email. Why? Because I treated interviews like a test to answer questions, not a chance to engage in a conversation. I’d fumble the “Do you have any questions for us?” moment. Either saying “No, I’m good” or asking something generic. That missed opportunity held me back. Here’s what I’ve learned: - Interviews aren’t just about what you answer. - A-players ask great questions throughout the conversation, not just at the end. - You need to take control and leave a lasting impression. When you ask insightful questions, you: • Show that you’re proactive about solving their challenges. • Demonstrate critical thinking and genuine curiosity. • Gain clarity on whether the company and role align with your goals. For example, here are 3 questions I wish I’d asked sooner: 1,  What are the biggest challenges this team is facing right now? 2,  What would success look like in the first 90 days? 3,  What makes someone thrive in this role? Stop treating interviews like an interrogation. Start treating them like a consultation where you bridge your skills to their needs. PS: What are your go-to questions to ask?

This is the interview prep doc that helped me land a Public Relations Internship at Ulta Beauty in 2021, as a graduating senior with a Maternal and Child Health degree. This is the same template that has landed me interviews and offers at TikTok, Twitter, and Penguin Random House. I have my interview prep down to a science. Here's how I organize my notes to set me up for success: Recently, I shared my go-to interview prep research strategies: https://lnkd.in/g7z8YaHf but here's how I organize that information: 1. Notes on the role and company 2. Notes on my interviewer 3. What past work experiences of mine are relevant to the role and what are 1-3 stories from each of these roles that could potentially be an answer to a behavioral question that may be asked? (Link to 30 common behavioral questions in the comments) 4. What are things I MUST bring up? Whether it's experiences I want to elaborate on, or important clarifying questions about the role, I make sure to note it so I don't forget. 5. What are the questions I want to ask? A lot of people aren't asking questions during their interviews, make sure you're not one of them. I usually gather a list of 3-5 questions to ask, categorizing them by questions related to the role, the interviewer, and company culture. Some of my favorite interview questions to ask are ⭐ "What brought you to this particular company and what has kept you here?" ⭐ "What does success look like in this position, and how do you measure it?" ⭐ "What are the most important things you'd like to see someone accomplish in the first 30/60/days on the job" ⭐ Curating specific questions I may have after reading the job description Want more #earlycareer content on your TL? Follow Jade Walters on here and IG/Tik Tok (@theninthsemester) #theninthsemester #interviewprep #interviewtips #interviewing #interview