Questions to ask at a second interview
Turn notes from your first interview into questions about the work, the manager and the team.
Ghosted editorialPublished 11 min read
On this page
- Four lines for each thing you still can’t picture
- One note, two people, two questions
- A second interview is about the work
- Circle the thing you still can’t picture
- Ask what goes wrong today, and what you’d own
- Match each question to the person
- Leave with an answer you can use
- Four things to settle first
- Questions that waste a second round
- A checklist before the second round
- Fill in the last line, then read what it tells you
- Questions people ask about second interviews
The sheet
Four lines for each thing you still can’t picture
Fill in one sheet for each note you circle. Two or three are plenty for one round. Write the first three lines the day before, keep the sheets beside you, and fill in the last line as soon as the call ends.
Filled in
- First-round note
- “New customers get stuck during setup.”
- Person to ask
- Sam, the support manager
- Question
- “Which part of setup would you want me to improve first?”
- Answer
- “The setup checklist, in my first month.”
Worked example
One note, two people, two questions
Alex’s first round for a Support Engineer role was a call with Jo, the recruiter. One line in Alex’s notes stood out, because Alex couldn’t picture what it meant day to day. The second round is with Sam, who would be Alex’s manager, and a future teammate.
- First round
- “New customers get stuck during setup.”
- Ask the manager
- “Which part of setup would you want me to improve first?”
- Ask a future teammate
- “What happened the last time someone got stuck?”
The manager decides what the new person works on, so Alex asks about priorities. The teammate deals with stuck customers now, so Alex asks for a story. Same note, two questions, and each one goes to the person best placed to answer it.
Neither question could have been asked in the first round. They only exist because Alex wrote down what Jo said. That’s the whole method: your notes from last time are the raw material for this time.
Start here
A second interview is about the work
A first interview is often a screening call: does your experience match, are the pay and dates in range, would you take the job. The second round usually brings in the people you’d work for and with. They’re less interested in whether you’ve read the website and more in whether you can picture the job.
Your questions show that you can. A question built on something they told you last time says you listened, you thought about it afterwards, and you’re already working out where you’d fit. It also gets you what you need to decide, if an offer comes.
The work
What goes wrong today, and what the person joining would own. “What does a hard week look like?” tells you more than any job description.
The manager
How they set priorities, how they give feedback, and what they’d want done in your first few months. You learn as much from how they answer as from the answer.
The team
Who does what, how work passes between people, and what happens when someone is away. These are the questions a future teammate can answer best.
25%
Of the 300 hiring managers in Robert Half’s Australian survey, 25% named not asking questions during the interview as one of the mistakes that most hurt an applicant’s chances.
Source: Robert Half, survey of 300 Australian hiring managers, 2022
Read your notes
Circle the thing you still can’t picture
Go through your notes from the first round, line by line. Most of it you’ll understand. Look for the lines that sound like a plan or a problem but don’t say what it means for the person in the job. Those are your starting points.
- They said: “We’re improving onboarding”
- What you can’t picture yet
- What’s broken now
- Ask
- “What goes wrong for a new customer today?”
- They said: “The team is growing fast”
- What you can’t picture yet
- Who does what once it’s bigger
- Ask
- “How will the work be split when the new people start?”
- They said: “You’d work closely with engineering”
- What you can’t picture yet
- How a case reaches them
- Ask
- “What does a good handover to engineering look like?”
- They said: “There’s some weekend coverage”
- What you can’t picture yet
- How often, and who decides
- Ask
- “How is the weekend rota set, and how often would I be on it?”
| They said | What you can’t picture yet | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| “We’re improving onboarding” | What’s broken now | “What goes wrong for a new customer today?” |
| “The team is growing fast” | Who does what once it’s bigger | “How will the work be split when the new people start?” |
| “You’d work closely with engineering” | How a case reaches them | “What does a good handover to engineering look like?” |
| “There’s some weekend coverage” | How often, and who decides | “How is the weekend rota set, and how often would I be on it?” |
Circle one or two per person you’re meeting. More than that and you’ll run out of time, or turn the interview into a questionnaire.
The questions
Ask what goes wrong today, and what you’d own
Two kinds of question do most of the work in a second round. The first gets them talking about the job as it really is. The second gets them picturing you in it.
What goes wrong today
- “What happened the last time a customer got stuck?”
- “Which part of the week takes longer than it should?”
- “What do people ask the team for that it can’t do yet?”
What you’d own
- “Which part of setup would you want me to improve first?”
- “What would you want done by the end of my third month?”
- “What would I be the person people come to for?”
Both kinds ask for something specific: a recent story, a first task, a deadline. That’s deliberate. Specific questions get specific answers, and specific answers are the ones you can use when you decide.
Ask for a story, not an opinion
“Is the team collaborative?” gets a yes. “Tell me about the last time two teams disagreed on a fix” gets a story, and the story is the answer.
Who you’ll meet
Match each question to the person
Second rounds often mean several people, one after another. The same note can become a different question for each. Ask each person what they’re best placed to answer, and you won’t repeat yourself across the day.
The hiring manager
Priorities and first months. “What would you want the person in this role to have done by the end of the third month?” and “How do you decide what the team works on first?”
A future teammate
The day to day. “What happened the last time someone got stuck?” and “What do you wish you’d known in your first month?”
Someone from another team
How work crosses over. “When support passes you a case, what makes it easy to pick up?” Their answer shows you the handover from the other side.
A senior leader
Where the team is going. “What would make this a good year for the support team?” Keep it to one question; their time is usually short.
The recruiter
The process, pay and dates. “What are the next steps after today, and when will I hear?” Save the practical questions for them.
What if I meet the same interviewer again?
Pick up a detail from the first conversation. “You mentioned weekend coverage last time. How does a typical handover work?” gives them a fresh question on familiar ground.
During the interview
Leave with an answer you can use
Write down the example they gave. “I’d own the setup checklist in my first month” tells you more about the job than “good conversation.” If answers differ, ask how the teams divide the work.
Some answers are vague the first time. That’s rarely evasion; most people haven’t been asked to put their job into words before. A short follow-up usually gets you to something concrete.
- If they say: “It varies”
Follow up with: “What happened last week?”
- If they say: “We’re still figuring that out”
Follow up with: “Who’s deciding, and by when?”
- If they say: “Lots of things”
Follow up with: “Which one would you want done first?”
- If they say: “Everyone pitches in”
Follow up with: “Who picked it up the last time?”
| If they say | Follow up with |
|---|---|
| “It varies” | “What happened last week?” |
| “We’re still figuring that out” | “Who’s deciding, and by when?” |
| “Lots of things” | “Which one would you want done first?” |
| “Everyone pitches in” | “Who picked it up the last time?” |
Don’t write while they talk if it means looking down the whole time. A word or two is enough, then fill in the line properly when the call ends.
When two people disagree
If the manager says you’d own setup and a teammate says setup belongs to onboarding, that’s worth knowing. Ask the next person plainly: “I’ve heard two answers about who owns setup. How do the teams divide it?”
Before the interview
Four things to settle first
Who you’re meeting
Names and roles decide which questions go where. If the invitation doesn’t say, ask the recruiter. The reply to an interview invitation has a line for it.
Which notes still matter
Only the lines you can’t picture yet. Anything they already explained clearly can stay in your notes; asking again wastes a question.
What you told them last time
The example you gave and anything you said about dates or pay. The second round may ask about it, and you want to tell it the same way. Your interview prep sheet from the first round has it.
What would make you say no
Weekend work, the commute, who you’d report to. If something could change your answer, make sure one of your questions tests it.
What goes wrong
Questions that waste a second round
Asking what you already heard
Asking “What’s the culture like?” again suggests you weren’t listening the first time. Build on what they said instead.
Questions the website answers
How many offices, what the product does, who founded it. Look it up before the call and spend the question on something only they know.
Ten questions for one person
You’ll get through three, and the best one may be number seven. Choose two or three per person and put the most important first.
Pay questions for the wrong person
Salary, benefits and start dates are fair questions. The recruiter can usually answer them; a future teammate usually can’t.
Yes-or-no questions
“Is there room to grow?” gets “Yes.” “What did the last person in this role move on to?” gets an answer you can weigh.
Not writing down the answer
By the evening you’ll remember that it went well and not much else. The Answer line is the one you’ll need when an offer comes.
Last look
A checklist before the second round
After the interview
Fill in the last line, then read what it tells you
Before you do anything else, fill in the Answer line on each sheet, in their words where you can. Then read the sheets together. Can you picture a week in the job now? Do you know what you’d work on first and who you’d go to when it went wrong?
If an answer worried you, write that down too. A worry noted now is a question you can ask the recruiter later, or at the offer stage, rather than a feeling you can’t place. And if you’re asked to choose by a date that feels too soon, here’s how to ask for more time on a job offer.
A short thank-you the same day is a good place to use one of those answers. Our follow-up email after an interview has one you can copy. If the silence goes on longer than they said it would, here’s what to do when there’s no response after an interview.
Questions
Questions people ask about second interviews
How many questions should I ask at a second interview?
Two or three per person you meet, with the most important one first. You’ll rarely get through more, and a few good questions land better than a long list.
What should I ask the hiring manager?
About priorities and your first months: what they’d want the new person to fix first, and what they’d want done by the end of the third month. They decide what you’d work on, so they can answer that best.
Can I ask the same questions as in the first interview?
Only if the first answer was unclear, and then say so: “Last time we touched on weekend coverage. How does it work in practice?” Otherwise build on what they told you rather than starting again.
What if I meet the same interviewer again?
Pick up a detail from the first conversation. “You mentioned weekend coverage last time. How does a typical handover work?” gives them a fresh question on familiar ground.
Is it OK to ask about salary at a second interview?
Yes, though the recruiter is usually the right person to ask. If the hiring manager brings it up, answer plainly. If nobody has mentioned pay by the end of the second round, ask the recruiter what the range is.
Should I bring my notes from the first interview?
Yes. Notes are normal, in person and on a call. Glance at them while they talk and look up when you answer.
What if I didn’t take notes in the first round?
Write down what you remember now: who you spoke to, what they said the team was working on, and anything that surprised you. Then start from the line you can least picture.
Keep every round’s notes with the job.
Keep who you met, what they told you and what happens next with each application.