What kind of questions should you avoid asking at the end of an interview?
Avoid questions answered on the website, early questions about leave, holidays or work from home, salary questions in a technical round, and anything that sounds like you plan to leave soon or are just ticking a box.
Explain it simply
The questions you ask at the end can help you or hurt you. A bad question can undo a good interview in ten seconds.
The main ones to avoid: "What does your company do?" (shows no research); "How many leaves do I get?" or "Can I work from home?" in the first round (sounds like your main interest is time off); "How soon can I switch teams?" (sounds like you don't want this role); "Did I get selected?" (puts the interviewer on the spot). Salary and benefits are for the HR discussion or after an offer.
Example
Situation: Ritu asked "How many holidays do we get?" at the end of a technical round in her first placement interview and was not selected.
Task: Prepare better questions for the next one.
Action: She studied the next company's careers page and LinkedIn, and prepared two questions about the work: "What would a new graduate work on in the first three months?" and "How does the team review code?" She saved the leave question for the HR round after the offer.
Result: The technical interviewer spent five minutes explaining the team's review process, and the interview ended warmly.
What to say in the interview
"I'd avoid questions the website answers, early questions about leave or work from home, and anything that suggests I'd leave the role soon. I keep those for HR after an offer."
Common mistakes
- Asking about leave or perks in the first round.
- Asking something the interviewer just explained.
- Asking "Am I selected?"