When you’re interviewing for a job, “asking great questions is such an underrated way to differentiate yourself from everyone else,” says Nolan Church, former Google recruiter and current CEO of salary data company FairComp. Good questions can help make the case for why you’re a rockstar at work.
But asking great questions can serve other purposes, too. Specifically, Church would recommend asking ones that do two things: help you suss out your level of interest in the role and set you up for success on day one if you get an offer and decide you do want the job.
Here are four questions Church recommends asking.
1) ‘What is the company’s north star for the next 12 months?’
A company’s north star sums up its goals and mission.
The question gives you a sense of whether or not the people interviewing you “actually have clarity on what matters,” he says. Do they know what they want or are they just aimlessly working toward some nebulous idea of success? The latter would make it tough to know what to prioritize yourself.
It also gives you a sense of how aligned the various people interviewing you are. “If everyone can’t tell me the same answer here,” he says, “red flag.” It means your priorities could differ depending on the stakeholder, and it will be very hard to satisfy people across the board.
If the company is clear on where it’s going and everyone agrees, the question helps you figure out if you’re “actually excited about solving the problems associated with that north star,” he says. If not, maybe the job isn’t for you.
3) ‘What’s the one thing you love most about the culture?’
Questions like, “what’s the company culture?” can be vague, says Church. These questions likely won’t give you a detailed sense of what the vibe is like on the inside.
But if you ask about the one thing people love most, “you will get a very specific answer,” he says. “And that specificity will lead to insights.” Most importantly, if you connect with what people say they love about the company, it could very well be a place you, too, would enjoy working.