Questions to ask the interviewer

Questions about the work

A job ad describes the role on paper, and it rarely covers the week-to-week detail. These questions fill in what the ad leaves out.

• "What does a typical week look like in this role?" This shows how the time is actually split, for example how much is meetings, customer contact or work done on your own.
• "What would you want the person in this job to have done by the end of the first three months?" The answer tells you what the priorities are and how quickly you'd be expected to get up to speed.
• "Is this a new position, or is someone moving on from it?" A new role may still be taking shape. A replacement usually means there's a clear picture of the job, and sometimes a handover.
• "What's the most challenging part of the role that might not be obvious from the ad?" Interviewers often answer this one candidly, and it can bring up something you'd want to know before accepting.
• "How will you know the person in this role is doing well?" Some jobs are measured by clear targets and others by feedback from a manager or clients, and the difference affects what your days feel like.

If the interviewer has already covered one of these, you can build on what they said. Something like "You mentioned the team is taking on a new system next year. How much would this role be involved in that?" shows you were listening and usually leads to a more useful answer than a question from your list.

Questions about the team and the manager

The person you'd report to has a large effect on how a job works out, so it's worth using some of your time on them, particularly if they're the one interviewing you.

• "Who would I be working with most closely?" This tells you whether the role sits within a close team, works across several groups or spends much of the time working alone.
• "How do you usually work with the people who report to you?" Listen for how often you'd meet, how feedback is given and how much independence people have.
• "How long have people on the team been in their roles?" A mix of long-serving and newer staff is common. If everyone is new, it's reasonable to ask what has changed.

Questions about workplace culture are easier to answer usefully when they ask for an example. "How would you describe the culture?" tends to produce a general description that most employers would give. "Can you tell me about a time the team had to change how it worked?" or "What does the team do when workloads get heavy?" gives the interviewer something concrete to talk about, and you get a better sense of what the place is like day to day.

Questions about hours, flexibility and location

If the hours or place of work matter to you, the interview is a sensible time to find out how the arrangement works in practice. A job advertised as hybrid or flexible can still involve set office days, fixed meeting times or rosters that change at short notice.

You could ask, "How do people on the team usually split their time between home and the office?" or "Which hours does the team need everyone to be available?" These questions ask about how the team works now, which is easier for an interviewer to answer honestly than a question about what you personally would be allowed to do.

It's worth getting this clear before you accept, because the formal right to request a flexible working arrangement doesn't start on your first day. Under the Fair Work Act, it generally applies once you've worked for the same employer for at least 12 months. It also only applies in certain circumstances, such as caring for a child of school age or younger, having a disability or being 55 or older. The Fair Work Ombudsman's guide to flexible working arrangements sets out who qualifies. An employer can agree to flexibility from your first day, but if an arrangement is important to you, it helps to settle it before you start and ask for it to be included in the written offer.

Asking about pay

If the job ad didn't include a salary range, it's reasonable to ask about pay, although the first interview isn't always the best moment. A recruiter or HR contact is often the easiest person to ask, and many are expecting the question. You could say, "Could you tell me the salary range for this role, so I can make sure we're aligned?"

Later in the process, you might also ask how pay is reviewed, for example whether there's an annual review or whether increases are tied to performance. For roles covered by an award or enterprise agreement, asking which one applies lets you check the minimum pay and conditions yourself using the Fair Work Ombudsman's awards information.

If you're told that pay at the organisation is kept confidential, that doesn't limit what you can say about your own pay. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains that employees and future employees have a workplace right to share, or not share, information about their pay, and pay secrecy terms in workplace instruments have no effect.

Questions about what happens next

Finishing with a question about the process tells you when to expect news, so a quiet week afterwards is easier to read.

If the date they gave you passes without a reply, following up on a job application covers when it's reasonable to check in and what to say.

• "What are the next steps, and when do you expect to make a decision?"
• "Will there be another interview or any kind of task or assessment?"
• "Is there a probation period for this role, and how long is it?" Probation is set by the employer, so the length varies. How probation periods work explains what it means for your rights while it runs.

Questions to hold back or rethink

Some questions can work against you, usually because of their timing or because the answer is already available. Asking what the organisation does, or anything clearly answered in the job ad, can suggest you haven't read it. A quick look at the website and the ad before the interview will cover most of this.

Questions about leave, finishing times or how soon you could work from home are fair things to want to know. Leading with them in a first interview, though, can give the impression that they're your main interest in the role. They sit more comfortably later in the process, or phrased as questions about how the team works, as in the section on flexibility above.

You'll sometimes see advice to ask, "Is there anything about my application that makes you hesitate?" Some interviewers welcome it and some find it awkward. It can give you a chance to respond to a concern, but it also asks the interviewer to give feedback on the spot, which they may not be able or allowed to do. If you use it, keep it to a later interview where you've already built some rapport.

The questions an interviewer shouldn't ask you are a separate issue, covered in how to prepare for a job interview.

Adjusting your questions to the interview

A first phone call with a recruiter is a good place for practical questions about pay, hours, location and the process. An interview with the hiring manager suits questions about the work and the team. If you're meeting a panel, you could direct a question to a particular person, such as asking someone from a team you'd work alongside how the two teams usually cooperate.

If a later interview includes people you haven't met, it's fine to repeat a question you asked earlier, since different people may describe the same role or team quite differently.

Write your questions down and take them in with you. It's normal to glance at your notes when the interviewer asks what you'd like to know, and if the conversation has already answered everything, you can say so and ask about the next steps.