COMPANY RESEARCH
Questions to ask about the company
“What is the culture like?” invites a slogan. The useful questions are the ones that make the interviewer give you a recent example, a trade-off or a name — because that is where the real company shows up.
Do the 20-minute research first
A question that could have been answered by the careers page wastes the interviewer’s time. Before the interview, read the job description, the company’s product page, the most recent news or annual report, and two or three employee reviews — but treat reviews as hypotheses, not facts. Write down one thing that surprised you and one thing that is still unclear. Those become your questions.
- The job description: what is listed as a responsibility but not as an outcome? Ask how success is measured.
- The product: who is the customer, and what has changed in the last year? Ask how the team’s work connects to that change.
- Recent news: funding, layoffs, a launch, a leadership change. Ask what it means for the team, not for the company’s press release.
- Employee reviews: repeated themes about management or workload are worth testing with a neutral question. Do not quote a review in the interview.
Ask about decisions, not adjectives
“Is the culture supportive?” and “Is work-life balance good?” produce socially desirable answers. A behavioural question about a real decision is harder to fake: “When the team had to choose between shipping on time and cutting scope, how was that decided the last time?” The answer tells you who has power, how conflict is handled and whether the process is consistent.
| Instead of | Ask | What to listen for |
|---|---|---|
| “What is the culture like?” | “What behaviour gets rewarded here that would not be rewarded elsewhere?” | Specific examples, or a list of values with no example |
| “Is the team supportive?” | “When someone is stuck, what usually happens first?” | A named ritual or person, or “everyone is really busy” |
| “How is the work-life balance?” | “What does a bad week look like in this role, and what causes it?” | Honesty about peaks, on-call or client deadlines |
| “Is the company stable?” | “What is the biggest constraint on the team this year?” | A concrete constraint, or a defensive non-answer |
| “Do you have growth opportunities?” | “Who has grown in this team in the last two years, and what changed for them?” | A real example with a path, not a promise |
30 questions by what they reveal
Business and strategy questions
| Question | What it reveals |
|---|---|
| What is the company’s most important bet this year? | Whether the team understands strategy or repeats the website |
| Which competitor or substitute worries you most? | Whether leadership is honest about the market |
| What assumption in the plan is most likely to be wrong? | Whether the interviewer can discuss uncertainty |
| How does this team’s work affect revenue, cost or mission? | Whether the role has a visible line to the business |
| What changed in the last six months that made this role necessary? | Whether the role is planned or reactive |
| If the budget were cut by 20%, what would you protect? | What the company actually values when resources are scarce |
| What is the biggest operational bottleneck right now? | Whether the team knows where the friction is |
| How do decisions get made when the founder or CEO disagrees? | How power actually works, especially in a startup |
Team and management
| Question | What it reveals |
|---|---|
| How does the team make decisions when no one is clearly responsible? | Whether there is a decision process or a vacuum |
| What is the manager’s feedback style, and how often does it happen? | Whether feedback is continuous or annual |
| Where does work get stuck most often? | The real constraint: prioritisation, review, dependencies or headcount |
| What happened to the last person in this role? | Turnover, promotion or a reorganisation |
| How does the team handle disagreement in a meeting? | Psychological safety and conflict norms |
| Which meeting would you protect if you had to cut one? | What the team believes coordination requires |
| How do you onboard someone without domain experience? | Whether onboarding is designed or improvised |
| What does a bad week look like for this team? | The actual peak load and its causes |
Culture and ways of working
| Question | What it reveals |
|---|---|
| What behaviour gets rewarded here that would not be rewarded elsewhere? | The gap between stated values and real incentives |
| What is a recent decision you are proud of, and who disagreed? | Whether dissent is tolerated |
| How does the team communicate when something goes wrong? | Blame versus learning |
| What is written down, and what lives only in people’s heads? | Operational maturity and bus factor |
| How do people signal that they are overloaded? | Whether workload is visible and adjustable |
| What is the office or remote rhythm, and what is mandatory? | The real flexibility, not the policy |
| How does the company handle a mistake that reaches a customer? | Accountability and customer orientation |
| What is one thing you would change about how the team works? | Self-awareness and whether the interviewer is candid |
Stability, growth and the future
| Question | What it reveals |
|---|---|
| What are the biggest risks to the plan for the next 12 months? | Whether leadership can name risks |
| How is the team funded, and what does the runway look like? | Stability, especially in a startup |
| What would cause the company to change strategy? | Whether there is a trigger or only a hope |
| Who has grown in this team in the last two years? | Whether growth is real and repeatable |
| What does the next role after this one look like? | Career path and succession |
| What is the company’s biggest weakness compared with its competitors? | Honesty and strategic awareness |
Questions for HR versus the hiring manager
Ask HR about process, policy and timeline: how performance is reviewed, how flexible work is administered, what the benefits actually cover, and when you should expect a decision. Ask the hiring manager about the work: outcomes, constraints, team dynamics and what success looks like. Asking HR about team strategy often produces a polite non-answer; asking the manager about benefits wastes the manager’s time.
Questions to ask HR about the company
HR can answer questions about process, policy and the employee experience that a hiring manager may not know. Keep the questions specific and avoid anything already answered on the careers page.
| Question | What it reveals |
|---|---|
| How is performance reviewed in the first year? | Whether feedback is structured or ad hoc |
| What does onboarding look like for this team? | Whether new hires are set up to succeed or left to figure it out |
| How is flexible or hybrid work actually administered? | The gap between policy and practice |
| What benefits are available, and when do they start? | The real package, not the headline salary |
| How do internal transfers or promotions work? | Whether growth is realistic and transparent |
| What is the current turnover or retention picture for this team? | Stability and whether the employer will discuss it |
| How are concerns or grievances handled? | Whether there is a process and who owns it |
| What are the next steps and the decision timeline? | A clean close and a reason to follow up |
If HR cannot answer a question about the team, ask who can. “Who would be the right person to ask about the team’s priorities?” is better than guessing or dropping the question.
Startup, scale-up or large company
- Startup: ask about runway, the last pivot, who makes the final call and what happens when the founder disagrees with the team. Titles and processes are less reliable than the founder’s attention.
- Scale-up: ask what broke when the company grew, which processes are being rebuilt, and how the team avoids becoming a matrix. Growth creates different problems at each stage.
- Large company: ask how the team gets decisions through the organisation, who the executive sponsor is, and what a “no” from legal or finance usually looks like. The work may be more about navigation than craft.
Red flags and green flags
| Signal | Red flag | Green flag |
|---|---|---|
| Definition of success | “We need someone who can hit the ground running” with no outcome | A specific first-90-days outcome and a named owner |
| Turnover | The last person left and no one will say why | A clear promotion, reorganisation or mutual decision |
| Workload | “We work hard and play hard” without numbers | Honest peak periods and a named way to rebalance |
| Culture | Values are listed but no recent example | A recent decision that shows the value in practice |
| Feedback | “We are like a family” and no review process | A regular review rhythm and a named feedback channel |
| Strategy | Every priority is urgent | A ranked priority and a named trade-off |
How to ask without sounding like an auditor
Soften the frame, not the question. “I am trying to understand how the team works, so I have a question about a recent decision” is enough. Then ask one question and listen. If the answer is vague, ask for an example once, and let it go. You are gathering evidence for your decision, not cross-examining the interviewer.
“I have one last question. If I joined and the first six months went well, what would be different for the team? … That is helpful. Is there anything about my background you would like me to clarify before we finish?”
After the interview
Write down what you learned about the business, the team and the manager’s priorities. Compare it with what you need. If the answers were consistently vague, that is information, not a failure of your questioning. If you are excited, use one specific detail in your thank-you note to show you listened.
These guides are written and maintained by MockInterview as original practice material. They are not leaked employer questions, and no employer has reviewed or endorsed them. Sample answers are illustrative; use your own examples and verify role requirements, licensing and local policy with the employer. Last updated 2026-11-03.