This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dhritiparna Dhar, a human resources expert based in Bengaluru, India. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her employment history.
I’ve worked in talent acquisition for close to 19 years. More specifically, I specialize in tech recruiting and have worked for Yahoo, Google, Dell, and Zendrive before I started my own recruiting agency last year.
When it comes to interviews, there are a number of things I prefer candidates don’t ask until they are offered a role, like bringing up compensation and benefits or feedback about technical interviewing rounds. But there are things interviewers love to hear when we open up for questions.
Here are four questions I would ask at the end of my interviews.
1. “Can you tell me about my future team?”
One question that is really important to me is when a candidate inquires about their future colleagues. Right now, we are in an increasingly social world and all candidates have access to platforms that can help them do their homework on the company. It is always nice to hear people ask questions about which team they’ll join and how many peers they will have. If they are interviewing to be a manager, it is good practice to ask if they are the only manager, how many team members will fall under them, and what their career backgrounds are.
2. “Is the opportunity remote or hybrid?”
I always like hearing a candidate ask whether their role is in person, hybrid, or remote, followed by what culture looks like in each scenario. I love people who prioritize collaboration because it is very difficult to thrive in most companies only as a strong individual contributor.
In the last four years, I have found that companies are also more understanding toward working remotely, given that many people have relocated since the pandemic. Such questions are now welcome and it is good to be transparent, and there are ways of showing interest in collaboration regardless of the answer.
3. “What is the growth story of this particular role?”
Asking this question helps candidates come across as very aspirational because they are already looking into how and when they can grow in that particular role. It gives the interviewer a good perspective to understand the candidate’s mindset and what their goals are as an individual: are they looking to mentor a team, climb the career ladder, work on challenging projects? It also gives the hiring manager an opportunity to clearly explain how they nurture and grow talent.
4. “What are the biggest challenges the team, department, or company faces now?”
This is a good question because it shows the hiring manager that the candidate is curious and wants to know more about the organizational or departmental challenges they would be getting into. This information is rarely part of the job description or company website, and it is always fair to ask for more clarity. For startups, this could be funding-related challenges; for tech companies, it could be shifting to new software.
Are you a hiring manager with tips to share? Email this reporter: shubhangigoel@insider.com
