Types of questions to ask at the end of the interview

Hi there,

First, remember that the interviewers mind has already been made up about 5 minutes into your interview. So, relax!

In terms of questions, ask anything about them, about the case, or about the company. Try to be “insightful” in the sense that you're not just asking the same generic questions anyone can pre-prepare, but actually asking something relevant to what you've done with them/discussed that day!

Hi there. You're not being assessed for this part of the interview but what you ask will bring positive or negative impact to your interviewer on an emotional level (and as humans we make a lot of decisions base on emotions!). So the key is to ask questions that bring positive vibe and get your interviewer excited :)

Q&A part of the interview usually has two purposes for a candidate. The first is it's an opportunity for you to get some first-hand insights regarding firm. The other one is a chance for you to build some personal connection with the interviewer.

Some good questions to ask are:
-  Questions related to common experience you have with the interviewer. For example, if you're both from a non-consulting related major, ask him/her about how the transition to consulting is.

- Questions that brings positive memories for the interviewer. For example, ask him/her what does he/she like the most about the job.

- Questions related to firm's practice. For this kind of questions you need to do some background work. If you find something interesting, from the press, about some latest work the firm has done, you can ask your interviewer about them. However, make sure it's relevant to your interviewer's background (which you'll be provided before the interview).

Questions you should avoid:

- First thing to avoid, don't ask them about how you did in the interview! If you did well this will only unnecessarily damage your chance and if you did badly, this won't help your case in any way.

- Don't ask your interviewer to talk about the negative part of the job, for example, how hard they work or how difficult it is to have a life.

- Don't ask questions that requires lots of thinking. Avoid complicated questions on economy, politics, etc. Pick something lighter and easier to answer.

- Don't ask questions on topics that you can find answers from their official website.  

Hey, 

I always advice candidates to not take this part lightly. These 5-10 mins can be very valuable to get a bit more insight. Think of the following questions:

• How has the company adapted in these times? What specifically has changed/improved?
• Which clients or type of work you will be staffed on should you join them?
• Expectations from new hires?
• Where is the focus & what clients are expecting as COVID situation gradually improves
• Ask for their tips on typical mistakes to avoid for new hires
• Mention key insights you have picked up from your research- talking to their employees, attending any webinars/open events, reading a publication etc. Ask for their view

Hey there,

Erica provided a good answer. I would add one point:

Ask about things you are genuinely interested in. Many people think of questions that make them sound good. This makes no sense for two reasons:
 

1. You are not evaluated based on the questions
2. You are trying to decide whether or not to work there. Use every opportunity to get some more information to make up your mind

Cheers,

Florian

Hello! I thought Erica had some great points on this. I would agree in that the questions you ask at the end of the interview are not really evaluative, but rather are an opportunity for you to build a positive rapport with the interviewer and get some further details about the firm. Here are some of my key dos and don'ts:

• Build a positive rapport with the interviewer by tapping further into the case and/or shared interests. Quite often the interviewers will pick cases that are close to the fields they work in, or ones that are based on an actual case that they did. This could be a good opportunity to ask them more about their line of work in said field, particularly if it is one you are interested in. Even if it isn't directly tied to the case, you could ask about some of their favorite projects, what types of clients in the space they do work with, some interesting new challenges in the space, and so on - anything that feels like a natural and interesting extension of the conversation.
• Ask about their personal experience to get a more detailed picture of life at the company. You are going to be interviewed by people who have done some pretty interesting work at the company for years, so it could be a good chance to get their perspective on a particular aspect of company life as well as some great insights. Closely read their resume beforehand to get a sense of what might be some interesting experiences you could ask about. Did they change offices, so that you can ask about the difference in office culture? Do they serve multiple different industries, or serve some specialized area of interest like digital or startups? 
• Avoid asking the following:
  • Generic questions. I would avoid anything that seems like a pre-prepared, cookie-cutter end of the interview question, such as “what does your typical work day consist of?”. There's nothing wrong with asking them per se, but they rarely lead to a deeper conversation or develop your rapport with the interviewer.
  • Questions that are more appropriate for HR. For instance, specifics of their staffing model or number of analysts per office are totally valid questions, but are more appropriate for HR than a consultant. Again, you definitely won't be penalized for asking something like that, but it won't get you much either.
  • Things that you could easily google. I would avoid asking anything that you can get the answer through a quick google search, because it can seem lazy. This is why I think asking about someone's personal experience can be quite powerful - there is nothing google-searchable about that.

Best of luck with your interview prep, and feel free to message me with any more questions!