The one question you should ask your interviewer

We all expect to answer questions at a job interview. The interviewer needs to ask a list of questions to assess your skills, experience and fit for the role they’re recruiting for.

However, in truth, the interviewer shouldn’t be the only one asking questions in your next job interview. You should have some smart, well-considered questions of your own to ask, which will help you to determine if this role is for you. 

By asking great questions, the interviewer will see you as a strong candidate. You’ll come across as someone who is genuinely interested in the job. Failing to ask even the most common interview questions gives the impression that you’re passive and uninterested. 

Useful questions to ask an interviewer 

We’ve written a lot in the past about the various questions that you could ask your interviewer or hiring manager. For instance, you could ask:

• What does a typical day in the job look like? 
• What is the interviewer’s background? 
• Do they enjoy working at the company? 
• How would they describe the team culture?
• What are the biggest challenges within the role? 

You could also ask if this is a new role? Or what kind of learning and development opportunities are available? 

Best question to ask in an interview, if you’re only going to ask one 

The suggestions above are all strong questions to ask. But there’s one specific question that will help you to especially stand out. One that will make it easier for the interviewer to visualise you in the role: 

The one question to ask during the interview process is: “What does success look like in this job?” 

This is more than just a good question to ask in an interview. This question demonstrates your interest in the role and your motivation to succeed. The question also shows your desire to make a positive contribution. 

If you don’t know what success looks like in any job that you take on, how can you be sure that you will be a success? 

• Are there tangible goals with key performance indicators (KPIs)?
• How will the organisation measure these KPIs? And how frequently?
• Are there certain things that this employer will expect you to achieve within the first three months? 

Asking this interview question paints a picture in the interviewer’s mind of you successfully adding value to their organisation, therefore making the interviewer feel more secure in their belief that you’re a good fit for the job. 

Why this is the best question to ask in an interview to decide if this is the right role for you 

A great reason to ask this question is that the interviewer’s response can help you determine if the job is right for you. Here are a few points to consider when interpreting your interviewer’s answer: 

Does the interviewer give a vague response? 

Does the interviewer talk in generalities instead of referring to measurable goals and benchmarks?

If so, this could suggest that the organisation hasn’t fully thought through the objectives of the role. And if they haven’t done that, how can they measure and reward success? This can be an especially common problem when the role is new. 

Could you adapt the job description to suit you? 

If the organisation seems unsure about what success looks like in this job, there may be scope to mould the role around yourself.

With no predecessor to live up to or pre-existing benchmarks to satisfy you can set your own benchmarks.  

Do you need clear expectations from your hiring manager? 

When you know exactly how to become an asset to the organisation, you will have clearer goals to aspire to. You can look to achieve future promotions and career progression.  

Where does the interviewer’s focus lie? 

If the interviewer says your success is crucial to a key business priority, they likely have a strategic mindset. This also shows your potential boss understands how the role relates to the bigger picture. 

The answer can be very motivating if you want to be a major influence in your employer’s success. 

Follow up questions to ask in an interview 

One of the other great things about asking this question is that it forces the interviewer to get specific. The interviewer will have to discuss things that they may not address elsewhere in the interview, such as:  

• How quickly they expect you to reach certain goals
• How they expect you to achieve those goals
• Who they expect you to be working closely with to achieve them 

The interviewer’s answer could therefore reveal a lot about such vital aspects of the job, including:  

• How employees are treated
• The working environment
• The company culture
• Work-life balance
• The organisation’s internal processes
• Future opportunities for promotion 

Ask further follow-up questions if there’s anything you want the interviewer to be more specific about. For example, “How often will I have a performance review?”  

You can learn so much more about your next boss and their management style in one question 

Be considerate of the questions you ask in an interview. You don’t want to ask too many questions to your interviewer. Above all: avoid asking about things that you should already know as a result of your pre-interview research. 

There are plenty of common interview questions to ask your interviewer. As far as such questions go, you can’t hope to do much better than “What does success look like in this job?” This short and unassuming question can help to reveal a lot about your new potential role.