Job interviews are supposed to be a two way street, not cop show style interrogations. So, during the last 10 minutes of your call or meeting, take the opportunity to ask a few questions and learn more about the company, the role, and the team.

But, be mindful of your audience. A recruiter probably can’t tell you much about the stack, but they can tell you about how the team is organized, benefits, next steps in the hiring process, and ballpark salary.

Once you get past HR and start speaking to hiring managers & potential colleagues, you can ask much more probing questions. Here are a few of my favorites:

• How do you measure success for this role?

☝️This speaks to how you’ll be evaluated, what the company values most, and what you need to focus on to get promoted.

• Tell me about a recent failure and how your team recovered.

☝️Flip the script and look at how the organization deals with failure & how open they are about it. If they dodge you, press them a little. Nobody is perfect, but we can all improve.

• Can you tell me about your revenue, profitability, and growth plans?

☝️Growth is everybody’s problem!