35 questions you should ask while interviewing

Asking informed and thoughtful questions can help you stand out as a software engineer and help you learn so much about a company.

At the end of leading a software engineering technical interview I will usually ask: “Do you have any questions for us?”

Many engineers will respond with “No, not really...” Or a single offhand question like: “Do y’all do sprints?”

What a loss of a massive opportunity to learn more about a company, and to stand out by asking informed, thoughtful questions during an interview! 😅

You can learn so much by asking good questions. 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

Interviewing is a two way street. You need to figure out if you are a good fit for the company, just as much as they do.

They will help you learn the ins-and-outs of a company, their culture, what they value, and what their ideal hire looks like. 🤝

Here are some questions I like to ask 👇

Quick pro-tip : Don’t ask things you could easily find with a quick Google search.

Engineering focused questions

• What types of engineering problems are you facing these days?

• What is your team’s biggest current challenge?

• What do you see as the engineering team’s role in the company?

• What does a typical day in the life of an engineer look like?

• How does the handoff between frontend and backend engineers work?

Product-focused questions

• What is one of your favorite products or apps?

• How do product, design and engineering collaborate to take an project from idea to deployment?

• How much of a say do engineers have into the design/ux of products?

• Is this a product-focused company or a service-based business?

• How do you develop your product roadmap?

Performance focused questions