There’s probably more than one interview question that makes your palms start to sweat (like the infamous ‘What is your biggest fault?’), but I always dreaded, ‘Is there anything you’d like to ask us.’ Saying nothing always felt wrong, but most of time that was the genuine response… What to do?

If you’re facing an interview, take heed – here are 15 employers willing to share the best response they ever heard.

#15. Progression and opportunities.

“Normally ask who their longest serving employee is, gives you an indication on their turnover and if people enjoy staying with the company.

Also ask the interviewer what role they started off as in the company, it tells you if there is progression and opportunities.”

#14. A good match.

“I’m not an employer, but I strongly feel that this is the one question in an interview where you shouldn’t just try to tell the interviewer what you think they want to hear. You need to interview the company as much as they need to interview you to find out if it’s a good match. Good employers will be perfectly fine with this because they want happy and productive employees who WANT to work there. So if being forced to work lots of overtime is a complete non-starter for you, ask them about their work/life balance policies. If you’re going for a desk job and you hate working in a cubicle, ask what their work environment looks like.”

#13. Some insight.

“I like asking the interviewers why they like working at the company. Gives them a chance to talk about themselves and also gives me some insight into what it’s like to work at that company.”

#12. Full disclosure.

“I have my septum pierced and a full sleeve tattoo. Both are always flipped up/covered during interviews. I always make sure to tell them that I have both and ask what their policies are on it while making it clear both can be hidden no problem. I always get a thank you for disclosing the information before starting at the job so they aren’t surprised or caught off guard. They always seem to appreciate that I go out of my way to hide it for professional reasons but still share that information with them.”

#11. There were a couple.

“He asked “Were there any questions that I didn’t answer fully or you wanted me to elaborate upon further?”

As a matter of fact, there were a couple I wanted to revisit.”

#10. Completely different answers.

“Young grad straight out of uni, getting into her first “proper” job

“What do you like most about working here”

It was also cool how my colleague and I had completely different answers.

(We hired her)”

#9. Show genuine interest.

“Anything about the company or position. You need to show genuine interest and that you prepared for the interview. Writing down a few things you’re unsure they’ll go over ahead of time is always a good move.”

#8. An average work day.

“Could you describe an average work day for this position?”

I do lots of interviewing and I want people to ask us about what we do. It might not be what they expect and I want them to be as informed as possible.”

#7. Turnover.

“High turnover is rarely an employee problem, and almost always a management problem. I ask about turnover in every single interview. If that nixes me from the hiring process, I’m more than ok with that.”

#6. A long term deal.

“I said, I expect this to be a long term deal. How long have you all been here? And can I expect to move up within the company in a timely basis? There were about 4 people in the room and their mouths dropped. They’ve never had anyone ask questions like that before. I did get the job, and I’m still here.”

#5. Both times.

“What do you think it would take for a person to do really well at this job?”

​

Both times I’ve used this question, I’ve been hired.”

#4. May I ask…

“May i ask how this position became available?”

#3. References.

“As a carpenter, I ask what their status is with their suppliers and subcontractors. I’ve even go as far as asking them for references. The last time I changed jobs, I wanted it to be my last job and the economy was really strong in my area. So there were a lot of people looking for lead carpenters and supervisors. I had multiple offers and in order to decide, called their sub contractors (roofers, drywallers, painters) and asked how they liked working with them. I asked them and their material suppliers if they paid their bills on time and if they worked with them consistently.

I recommend anyone who is serious about a long term job to do the same. Especially if you aren’t desperate for any job and are interviewing with multiple companies. And sometimes you can turn it around and make them feel like they are hoping you’ll work for them instead of the other way around.”

#2. The benefits.

“After him reading my CV of a 14 years chef as a career and me answering all his questions, I then asked him what this business could do for me? He was taken back a little as no one had ever asked that. He then proceeded to tell me about all the benefits that come with the job, staff meals, Staff drinks, laundry washed etc. I got the job.”

#1. A good fit.

“I guess for this I expect something that demonstrates you’re actually engaged and that you couldn’t have found out in 5 minutes on the Internet before coming in.

My interviews tend to be very freeform. There are some stock questions I have to ask, but I dislike them as much as the interviewee dislikes answering them precisely because there’s an expectation, or an expectation of an expectation, that one or both parties are trying to outmaneuver the other.

I want to know if we’ll be a good fit for each other. If you can’t help us, or we can’t provide an environment that you’ll want to stick around in, I want to know that so we’re not wasting both of our time. So I really prefer to go off script, and I ask a lot of questions where there isn’t a correct answer.”