Do you have any questions for me?
Yes, two or three, about things only this person can answer. Ask about their own work, what separates strong performers in their group, or a hard call they made, and follow up on what they say. Skip anything a website answers.
See this answer go from 50 to 90
Example answer
50/100
Yes, I have three. I'll ask them one at a time, and please stop me if we're short on time.
The first is about your own path. What do you like most about working here?
The second is about your team. What does a typical day look like for a new analyst?
The third is about what it takes to do well. What kind of training do new analysts get?
I'd also like to hear about the culture and the next steps.
What holds it back
Every question here could be put to any interviewer at any firm, and the firm's careers page answers most of them. Asking about culture and next steps tells the interviewer nothing about how you think.
Yes, I have three. I'll ask them one at a time, and please stop me if we're short on time. The first is about your own path. You said at the start that you spent your first two years on retail projects and then moved to the healthcare team. What made you move, and how much of that was your choice? The second is about your team. When a new analyst joins one of your projects, what do you give them to own in the first month? I'd like to know how you handle that. The third is about what it takes to do well. Think of the analysts you've worked with who did best in their first year. What did they do in the first few months that the others didn't? I'd also like to hear about the culture and the next steps.
Yes, I have three. I'll ask them one at a time, and please stop me if we're short on time. The first is about your own path. You said at the start that you spent your first two years on retail projects and then moved to the healthcare team. What made you move, and how much of that was your choice? I'm asking because I'm coming from civil engineering, and I don't yet know if I want to stay close to infrastructure work or get away from it. The second is about your team. When a new analyst joins one of your projects, what do you give them to own in the first month? In my internship I learned the most in the week my manager handed me one supplier analysis and left me alone with it, so I'd like to know how you handle that. The third is the one I most want your answer to. Think of the analysts you've worked with who did best in their first year. What did they do in the first few months that the others didn't? I've read the general advice. I'm asking what you saw yourself. If there's only time for one, I'd pick the third.
What the interviewer listens for
- Did you listen during the interview, or are these questions from a list?
- Could I only answer this from my own experience?
- Are you trying to work out if this job suits you?
- Can you tell which of your questions matters most?
Common mistakes
- Asking what the website already answers, like office locations or the training program.It spends your one chance to learn from this person on something you could have read, and it signals you didn't prepare.
- Saying "No, I think you've covered everything." The interviewer hears that you have no curiosity about the job or the people you'd work for.
- Opening with pay, hours or promotion timing.These are fair questions for a recruiter after an offer, and they crowd out what only this interviewer can tell you.
- Reading five questions from a notebook without reacting to the answers.Ask one, listen, and follow up before you ask the next. Two questions with a real follow-up beat a list.
More behavioral and fit
- Why do you want to go into consulting?
- Why do you want to work at this firm?
- Why do you want to go into investment banking?
- Why should we hire you?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
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