The story of cover: Sydney Opera House (I am going to move to Sydney!)
Recently, I’ve had several interview opportunities. In the Australian job market, finding a mutual fit between candidate and employer is particularly important, and interviews are primarily used to evaluate qualifications from the employer’s perspective. Asking thoughtful questions to your interviewers not only helps you gather more information about the position and company but also demonstrates that you are an engaged thinker with genuine interest.
Here are the questions I like to ask during interviews, categorized by different stages.
Phone Call with HR
The main goal for interviewers in this round is to grab more background information about the candidate, such as the candidate’s work experience, location, expected salary and relevant skills. They don’t know both technical detail nor detail about the position.
- Introduce the main business of the company
- Introduce his/her working experience here (even you are not on the same position)
- His/Her expectation about this role (the answer will tend to cultural fitting)
- What is the next step of the interview? / When I might expect to hear back?
Technical Round
- What is your expectation on this role? (the answer will tend to ability aspect)
- Which part will I be responsible for? (To know the team to work with in advance)
- Technical stack change history (especially when the interviewer has worked for the company for many years)
- Technical stack / Libraries / Tools used in daily work
- How did you apply AI into the workflow as well as the policy of using AI in the work?
- How will individual performance be measured? (KPI)
- What is the next step of the interview? / When I might expect to hear back?
Final Round / System Design
- How is the process for progress update and task allocation? (knowing more about collaboration mode)
- Can you disclose more detail about the role responsibility (including product, report to whom)
- What’s your advice to get familiar with business fast?
- How would you give feedback to your co-workers as a team lead? time point & approaches
- What is the next step of the interview? / When I might expect to hear back?