It's a good feeling if you’re being interviewed for a job and you feel like you’ve made a connection, and both parties are thinking that this could work out well.

Then comes the last question - “Do you have any last questions?” - and while it’s rarely unexpected, it is better if you have some thoughts ready.

The question itself is a good sign, according to career coach Bernd Slaghuis. It shows the interviewer is valuing the interviewee and giving them a chance to ask anything they haven’t had space for yet.

But on the other hand, he says, often, interviewees obediently learn to answer all the questions asked throughout the course of the interview and only show their own initiative by asking their own questions right at the end.

“They learn three questions by heart and ask one of them just for the sake of asking a question,” Slaghuis says. “Nonsense,” he adds. That doesn’t only prevent the candidate from standing out above all the other applicants, and being remembered, but also stands in the way of a positive exchange.

His tip is not to wait to be given the opportunity to ask your own questions, right at the end, but to use the entire interview to clarify everything that is important to them.

As in every part of life, you should ask questions if you don’t understand something, if you want to know more or if something seemed to be a bit vague.

Pamela Grueninger, another career coach, agrees. She has also worked in personnel development and recruiting, and advises applicants to head into an interview seeing themselves as an equal.

Essentially, both parties share the same interest, she says. “Work that is fulfilling, enjoyable and meaningful in the long term.”

But what questions really help applicants to discover something valuable about the job or their potential employer?

Grueninger has her answers ready. You can ask, “What does it take to be able to do the job really well?” Or “What are the biggest challenges?”

That should give you a decent idea of what to expect and what the requirements of the job are.

Grueninger also suggests applicants ask about a typical working day.

Specifically, applicants can find out what role the individual tasks actually play in everyday life, as often, looking at a job ad, it is not clear how exactly activities are distributed.

She also recommends having someone show you around the workplace and asking if you can talk to your potential colleagues as that can give you a feeling for whether you might feel comfortable in the workplace.

Slaghuis suggests preparing a list of 15 to 20 questions about tasks, team, managers, structure, interfaces and development opportunities, depending on what counts most when you decide whether to accept a position.

He reels off some examples: What exactly will my tasks be? How will you know in six months’ time whether I am doing a good job? Who would be my direct supervisor? What does the team look like: How old are the members, how long have they been with the company? How has this job come about, what is its history? Has it just been created or am I replacing someone?

Don’t just ask questions but explain why you are asking them, he says. Instead of simply asking “What is the induction like?” you can say, “It’s important to become quickly adjusted in my area of responsibility - will there be someone to train me and show me around in the first few weeks?”Honesty over strategy

Grueninger also suggests you share something about yourself. “You shouldn’t be too strategic when you go into an interview. It’s better to be honest.”

Of course, every question conveys a message and it makes a difference, whether someone asks about team events or about using a company car on holiday.

But, he says, honest and open cooperation is “a win-win for all parties”.

So once you get to the end of the interview, how do you answer that very last question, if everything is already clear?

Slaghuis says anyone who asks what exactly the job entails has either not been listening or something has gone very wrong in the conversation.

In a good interview, he says, both sides should have about the same amount to say.

If, by the end of the interview, everything has been clarified, then you can thank your interviewer for taking the time to meet and ask them how the application process is going.

You can also ask for initial feedback - “What is your impression after our interview?” And asking, “Are there any other applicants?” is not forbidden, he says.

Once everything has already been said, then communicate exactly that. “No, we’ve already talked about everything that’s important for me.”

 - dpa