Ask the interviewer good questions

Nearly every interview ends with “What questions do you have for me?” It is part of the evaluation - good questions show curiosity and seriousness - and it is your chance to find out whether you actually want the job.

• The work: “What would success look like in the first six months?” “What’s the biggest technical challenge the team faces?”
• The team: “How does the team make technical decisions?” “How are on-call and incidents handled?”
• Growth: “How do engineers here grow into senior roles?” “What does mentoring look like?”
• The interviewer’s experience: “What has surprised you most since you joined?”

Tailor questions to the person: ask an engineer about code review and tooling, a manager about team goals and growth, and a senior leader about strategy.

Prepare more questions than you need - some will be answered during the conversation. Listen to the answers and ask a natural follow-up; a real conversation leaves a better impression than a list read aloud. Save compensation details for the recruiter.