I have an interview for what is essentially a promotion soon.

Anonymous

August 3,2022 at 9:33PM UTC

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I have an interview for what is essentially a promotion soon. I consistently struggle with the end-of-interview question "do you have any questions for us?" This will be especially true for this interview because I've been with the company for over 8 years and already know the answers to most of the standartd end-of-interview questions. I was wondering if it was appropriate to "flip the tables" and ask the interviewer, who would be my direct boss, "where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

Part of the reason is that I see a lot of upward and lateral movement within the organization, and I'm interested to know if they plan to stick around or if they plan on moving up/on in the organization. Their future plans could potentially affect my opportunities in the organization as well.

I have a couple other questions ready just in case, but I would like to know if my proposed question is clever, or just inappropriate.

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Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistAugust 3,2022 at 11:18PM UTC
YOU SAID:
"I was wondering if it was appropriate to "flip the tables" and ask the interviewer, who would be my direct boss, "where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
I would sincerely discourage you from asking that question since it is the worst interview question in the history of ever.
You could ask for that information in a different way say "how do you see the organization growing/changing over the short and long term"
It is important to have questions even though you've worked there for 8 years.
Have you worked with this team before? For/with the person who would be your manager?
You can ask how they give feedback. How would your team describe your leadership style? How do you evaluate success in this role? What's one of the most interesting projects or opportunities that you've worked on?
What was a recent change made based on employee feedback? How did was the change received? What impact did it have?
If you want a really detailed question:
Tell me about the most recent challenge this team faced. Who was involved? What was at stake? How were decisions made/by whom? What were the results? How did the team feel about the situation and how it was handled? Hindsight being 20/20, what did you learn and what would you do differently?
Please let me know if you have any questions. GOOD LUCK!
AnonymousAugust 4,2022 at 2:39PM UTC
I wouldn't classify this question as inappropriate, however, I think you would get information that would better help you in the process with another proposed question.
Maybe consider: "How do you see the person assigned this role bettering the company?"
Yichen ZhangSeptember 1,2022 at 10:46PM UTC
There are great suggestions already! I like to end on a positive note, something like "How has someone else recognized your work achievements this week/month/recently?"
Everyone needs to feel appreciated, and whether someone feels valued at work can reflect whether they feel they can stick around.
Laura BrowneSeptember 2,2022 at 1:16AM UTC
I do think it's important to be ready with good questions, however, I don't think you're going to get any real indication if your boss is going to stay or go.
Here are some other questions I might ask:
What do you see as the company's biggest opportunities in the next few years?
Which of our products/services/clients do you think are the most important to focus on in the next year? Why?