The Questions You Should Ask in a Post-Pandemic Interview

The job market is hot, and candidates have the power. When you interview, feel free to be bold and ask the tough questions so that you gain an in-depth knowledge of the company, job, employer and expectations. By bravely sticking up for yourself and asking the right interview questions, you will ensure that the job is right for you.

Every job market is different. Sometimes, they’re hot and other times, like the early days of the virus outbreak, financial crisis, dot-com bubble burst and the aftermath of Sept. 11, were terrible. When it’s a slow and challenging job market, it’s understandable to play it safe, as there are not many roles available for you. You don’t want to talk yourself out of one of the few precious opportunities available.

In the current United States job market, characterized by a Great Resignation movement, along with months of 4 million people quitting their jobs and around 11 million positions available, now is the time to confidently assert yourself. The best way to ensure that you understand the job is to ask the tough questions.

Questions you should ask in this post-pandemic environment

Don’t see it as grilling the interviewer and making them feel uncomfortable. You want to understand what you’re getting yourself into. Since you may have several roles to look at, you have the freedom and luxury to be aggressive in asking tough, thoughtful questions to fully understand what is expected of you, the responsibility you will have, compensation range, growth potential and corporate culture.

What is the work style?

One of the biggest current workplace issues is how you will work. Inquire if the company offers remote, hybrid, fully in-office or flexible—choosing what’s right for you—options, like becoming a digital nomad or relocating to a new location but being paid the same salary as you earned in a high-cost city.

When you ask about the work models, drill down, so there is little to no uncertainty or ambiguity. For example, if the company offers a hybrid environment, what days would you be off? Will the appropriate personnel be in the office when you are there, or are you going in just because of an arbitrary day that was chosen by some executive and end up commuting for nothing, just to take Zoom calls and send out emails in-office—something you could have done from home?

If you’re offered a remote role, what technologies, software, apps and platforms would be used to ensure that you will be in close connection with your boss, co-workers and people reporting to you? There are concerns over becoming a second-class citizen if you are solely remote while others are in the office. It’s mission-critical to find out how you will be viewed and what plans they have in place so that by working remotely, you won’t be left out of the important conversations and decision-making.

What is your management style?

The pandemic has caused people to confront reality, as you saw, life could be lost in an instant. It made people cherish the time they have on earth. People have reevaluated the way they want to balance their lives and work. They also desire to be treated with respect, dignity and appreciation.

Find out how your prospective boss manages people and what is the corporate culture. Do they have an empathetic approach? Does the company offer psychological safety—if you make a mistake or do something wrong, will you get publicly chastised or lose your job?

Will there be mental health days offered if you feel burned out? What does their paid-time-off policy look like? Some companies have shut down for a week to allow everyone to decompress and not feel pressured to check out Slack, emails and text messages. There have been no-Zoom Fridays and other overtures to help with your mental health and emotional well-being.

Then, there are the perennial questions to ask as well. I often hear from job seekers, “When should I ask a question?” or “What questions could I ask?”. It’s been drummed into job seekers that they must ask questions or else the interviewer will feel they’re not interested in the role. This places a lot of stress on the interviewee. They’ll say they’re so consumed with thinking of a question to ask that they can’t be present in the moment and focus on the conversation.

Before you interview, you must conduct due diligence. This includes analyzing the job description, finding people you may know at the company and asking them about the culture and what it’s like to work there. Check out their website, scour the internet to learn about their business, reputation and any news that could be positive or negative. Look up the managers on LinkedIn to gain a sense of their backgrounds and see if you have anything in common with them, which could lead to breaking the ice early on in the interview. These actions should answer some of the questions you have about the role, the company and the interviewers.

Instead of waiting until the end of the interview, feel free to pose a question when it feels genuine, just like you would in a conversation with a friend.

To help you with some basic questions, here are some examples

• Why did you decide to choose me for an interview?
• I’ve read the job description, but could you please share how you view this role and what I would be doing on a regular daily basis?
• What is the reason for the job opening? Is it due to growth, or did someone quit? If they left, did they say why they left? Has there been a lot of turnover in this role?
• Could you please share the salary range, bonus potential and other remuneration so that we are on the same page?
• What is the corporate title, and how does it fit within the overall hierarchy?
• How do you envision the internal growth trajectory?
• If I exceed expectations, will I receive fast-track promotions and raises?
• Is there anything I didn’t ask but should know about?
• How long is the interview process, and the number of people I’ll meet with?

These are just a sampling of the questions. Rely upon your instincts. If the hiring manager says something you don’t understand or agree with, follow up with a question. Think of the experience as a mutually beneficial dialogue in which both parties are trying to learn about each other. The goal is to learn as much about the people you will report to, work with, corporate culture, job responsibilities, career path, compensation and how you’ll be treated.