This guide is about applying for jobs in the UK.

Near the end of almost every interview comes the same line: "Do you have any questions for us?" Many candidates treat it as the polite wind-down and say no. That is the single most common own goal in a UK interview, because the question is not a formality. It is the last thing the interviewer will remember, and it is your one chance to interview them back.

Good questions do three jobs at once. They show you have thought seriously about the role, they surface whether the job is actually right for you, and they keep you in the room as a peer rather than a candidate. The best questions to ask in an interview are the ones you genuinely want answered, so this guide groups more than forty of them by theme and shows which ones to leave out. Treat it as the natural companion to the wider set of interview questions and answers you have already prepared.

Why your questions matter as much as your answers

For an hour you have been answering. The moment the direction flips, the interviewer learns something your answers could not tell them: what you actually care about. Someone who asks how success is measured in the first six months is picturing themselves doing the job. Someone who asks nothing is picturing the exit.

There is a practical reason to prepare more questions than you will use. The strongest ones tend to come up naturally during the conversation, so if you walked in with only two, both may already be answered by the time it is your turn. Arrive with five or six across different themes, ask the two or three still unanswered, and you never run dry. The remaining purpose of your questions is just as important as the impression they make: this is your interview of the employer, and the answers decide whether you would accept an offer.

The best questions to ask in an interview

The examples below are grouped by what they reveal. You do not need all of them. Pick two or three themes that matter most for this specific role, and choose the questions inside them that you genuinely want answered. Each group opens with a reveal so you can scan the themes first and read the examples only where they are useful.

Questions about the role itself

These are the safest opening questions and the ones interviewers most expect. They show you are focused on doing the job well, not just getting it.

Example questions about the role

What would success look like in this role after the first six months?
What does a typical week look like for the person in this position?
Which part of this role is the hardest to get right?
How will my performance be measured, and how often?
Is this a new position, or am I replacing someone, and what happened there?
What are the immediate priorities you would want me to focus on first?
How does this role connect to the wider goals of the team?

The first six months question is the strongest of the set. It reframes you from applicant to colleague, and the answer tells you whether the expectations are realistic.

Questions about the team and your manager

Who you work with shapes a job more than the job description does. These questions read the culture without asking the bland "what is the culture like" that interviewers have heard a thousand times.

Example questions about the team and manager

How is the team structured, and who would I work with most closely?
What is your management style, and how do you like to give feedback?
What do you personally enjoy about working here?
How does the team handle disagreement when people see a problem differently?
What has someone done in this team recently that impressed you?
How does the team stay connected if some people work remotely?

Asking the interviewer what they enjoy is quietly powerful. It is human, it is hard to fake an answer to, and the energy of the reply tells you more than the words.

Questions about the company and its direction

These signal that you see beyond the immediate vacancy. Use them sparingly and only after you have done your research, because a lazy version of any of them can backfire.

Example questions about the company and direction

What is the biggest challenge facing the team or company right now?
Where do you see the company heading over the next couple of years?
How has the company changed since you joined?
How does this team contribute to the company's main goals?
What sets your best people apart from the rest?

The challenge question is a favourite of experienced interviewers because it invites honesty, and the answer often reveals what the job is really about behind the polished advert.

Questions about growth and development

Asked well, these show ambition. Asked badly, they sound like you want to leave the role before you have started it, so the framing matters. Anchor them to doing this job better, not to the next one.

Example questions about growth and development

How do people in this team typically develop their skills?
What learning or training does the company support?
Where have people who held this role gone on to next?
How do you help people stretch beyond their current responsibilities?
What does a strong first year look like in terms of growth?

Notice the framing: "where have people gone on to next" is about a path, while "how soon can I get promoted" is about impatience. Same topic, opposite impression.

Questions about next steps and the decision

Close on these. They are practical, they signal genuine interest, and they give you the information you need to follow up well.

Example questions about next steps

What are the next steps in the process from here?
When do you expect to make a decision?
Is there anything about my background you would like me to clarify?
Who else would I meet in a further round?

The clarification question is underused. It hands you a final chance to address any doubt before you leave, while it is still in the room to be fixed.

Which questions to avoid

A weak question undoes the impression a strong answer built. Most fall into four traps, and all four are easy to sidestep once you can name them.

First, anything you could have answered yourself. "What does your company do?" or "When was the company founded?" tells the interviewer you did not look. Two minutes on the website removes the whole category.

Second, leading with pay and perks at a first interview. "How many holidays do I get?" and "Can I work from home?" are fair questions, but as your opening they read as the wrong priority. Salary and benefits belong in the conversation once an offer is close or once the interviewer raises them first.

Third, anything that signals one foot out of the door. "How quickly can I be promoted?" or "How soon could I move to a different team?" suggests you are not interested in the job you applied for. Frame development around doing this role well instead.

Fourth, the empty "no questions" itself, which remains the costliest of all. If your prepared list really has been covered, do not go silent. Say so and add one fresh thought, as the reveal below shows.

What to say when your questions are all answered

"You have actually covered most of what I planned to ask, which was helpful. One thing I am still curious about: what does a strong first six months look like to you in this role?"

This works because it credits the interviewer for being thorough, then still ends on a forward-looking question. Keep one or two questions like this in reserve precisely for this moment, because it is the most common one to be caught out by.

How to ask them well on the day

Having good questions is half of it. Asking them so they land is the other half, and a few habits make the difference.

Listen during the interview and adapt. If the interviewer mentions a recent project, a question that builds on it ("you mentioned the migration earlier, how is the team finding it?") beats anything from a script, because it proves you were paying attention. Keep your prepared list as a safety net, not a checklist to read out.

Ask one question at a time, then actually listen to the answer rather than rehearsing the next one. A single, genuine follow-up on what they just said often impresses more than moving straight to question four. Two or three real questions, each followed up once, beats five fired off in a row.

The way to make all of this feel natural is to rehearse it out loud beforehand, alongside the answers to the questions you will be asked. This is where AI interview coaching helps: a mock interview built from the actual job description and your CV runs the full conversation, including the moment the questions turn to you, so the exchange feels familiar rather than improvised when it counts. You can practise a full mock interview as many times as you need, whenever the nerves hit. One honest limitation: interview practice currently runs in English, though the way you frame a question carries across languages.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best questions to ask during an interview?

Ask about the role, the team and the next steps. Three that work almost anywhere: what would success look like in the first six months, what is the biggest challenge facing the team right now, and what are the next steps in the process. Pick questions you genuinely want answered, because the genuine ones sound the best.

What are the top questions to ask an interviewer at the end?

Save your strongest two or three for the end, when the interviewer asks whether you have any questions. Good closing questions cover what success looks like in the role, what the interviewer enjoys about working there, and the timeline for a decision. Asking about next steps signals interest without sounding pushy.

How many questions should I ask in an interview?

Prepare five or six, then ask two or three. Some of your questions will be answered during the conversation, so a longer prepared list protects you from running dry. Quality matters more than quantity, and a single thoughtful follow-up on the interviewer's answer often lands better than a fourth scripted question.

What questions should you not ask in an interview?

Avoid anything you could have answered with two minutes on the company website, anything that is only about pay and perks at a first interview, and anything that signals you are already planning your exit. Salary and benefits are fair game once an offer is on the table or when the interviewer raises them, but leading with them at the first interview reads as the wrong priority.

Conclusion: turn the last five minutes into your strongest

The questions you ask are the last thing an interviewer hears, so prepare them with the same care as your answers. Choose a few themes that fit the role, keep one in reserve for when the rest get answered, and follow up on what you hear. For the answers waiting on the other side of "do you have any questions", go back to the full guide on interview questions and answers and rehearse both halves of the conversation together.