Questions you should ask in an IT Graduate interview

It is important to remember that an interview is not just an opportunity for the company to find out about you and your skills and experience but also for you to find out about the role and the company too.

With this in mind it is likely that you will be given the opportunity to ask a few questions either throughout the interview, or more commonly, at the end of the interview. As a result it is important that you go prepared with a few questions to put to the employer as this shows you are taking an interest in the company and role. When preparing your questions try to stick to these points:

• Keep your questions brief – asking a few questions is a sign of interest, asking hundreds of questions is a sign of not having done enough research prior to the interview. Employers are also usually quite keen to run to time as other interviewees may be waiting.
• Keep your questions based on the IT Graduate job itself, the company or career development at this stage – it is not a good idea to ask about holidays, pay or other benefits until later on in the application process.

Bearing in mind the above points, we have put together a few example questions that you can use for inspiration, however, it is advisable that you tailor the questions to your own circumstance and the job you have applied for rather than using these generic ones. And remember – keep your questions brief – so we don’t recommend asking all of these!

• Are IT Graduates subject to a fixed period of training?
• Is there the possibility of transferring between job functions? Does this happen very often?
• Where would I be based? Is there travel involved?
• How often are performance reviews undertaken?
• What does the training programme include?
• Are there opportunities for me to use my xxxx skills?
• How would you describe the company/team atmosphere?

You don’t always have to wait until the end of the interview to ask your questions, if the opportunity comes up throughout the interview, be sure to take it. Most IT Graduate interviews are conversations, only with a defined purpose.

The time at the end of the interview given to questions can also be used as an opportunity to tell the interviewer any important information that you feel will help your application for the IT Graduate job that may not have come up earlier on.

If the interviewer has been very thorough and all your questions have been answered throughout the conversation then you can elude to the questions you were going to ask and thank the interviewer for covering everything.