Questions to Ask During an Internship Interview

Here is me! Dressed and ready to go kill it at an interview!

Last summer was a bit different for me.  Typically I am constantly lifeguarding like I have the past couple summers where I work three jobs non-stop every day.  For the first half of this summer I spent my time studying abroad in Italy.  I am also going into my junior year of college so I wanted to start getting experience in the field I would like to go into.  This being said at the end of the school year I had multiple different interviews for jobs and I luckily was accepted to a summer internship at the Great Miami Valley YMCA to work in their marketing department where I am currently collecting and creating content.  The second job I will work when I return to school.  It is for OU's Campus Recreation Marketing in which I am the new marketing lead for the OU Aquatic Center!  I am very excited to get experience and contribute my personal thoughts at both these places.  What helped me get this internship and part time job though was my interview.  Your resume can be very plump, full of experience but how you interview is crucial.  Asking questions back to the interviewer is a great way to show you have thought about this and are interested.  Here are some questions that are great to ask while at an interview!

What is the day-to-day work?  What am I to expect to do each day?

This is important to ask because you want to know what you are doing day-to-day.  Some job descriptions can be misleading so it is important in that case to have asked.  A friend of mine got a job that was said to be marketing and when she went into work it was all sales calls despite that not being in the description.

Being in the marketing/social media realm, for me asking "Do I come in or work from home some days?" is an important question.  Some places offer office space but other jobs let you write content at home.

What are the expectations from week to week or within a month?

This is also important just like day to day expectations because knowing the companies goals and plans that they already have can help you instantly generate ideas or let you emphasize on any experience you have already.

What are the most important qualities to have to excel in this role?

Although you are already interviewing for the job, this is great to know so you can highlight any qualities you have that they mentioned and work on ones to improve that you don't.  Whether you get that job or not, similar jobs are probably looking for similar things in prospects.  

How can I become a better candidate for this job?

If you are like me, I have all summer before I start my job back at school so I have time to learn and research things that may make me a better worker when I start my job.  This is great to know because I am not very qualified in making videos, I have only dabbled a little in that area so that is something I am trying to learn and work more on.

What is the structure of working here?

Is this a group effort where you bounce ideas off each other or work together?  Do you always work on your own?  Knowing how you will be working is important for yourself to know and shows the depth of your interest.

What do you like about working here?  Why did you choose this path/job/company?

Making the interview personal for the interviewer will make your interview stick in their mind.  Plus as a bonus you get to learn about what someone who already works there loves about the company.  When I asked this while interviewing for my marketing job at OU, the five people interviewing me loved that I asked and loved answering.

What are the next steps after this interview?

Before standing, shaking their hands, and leaving it is important to know what to expect afterwards.  Are you to expect a call?  Is there another interview with someone higher up?  What happens now?  Different places have different ways of narrowing down candidates.

These are just a few questions that help get you more information for what position you're interviewing for. When it comes to interviews, I've found asking questions isn't dumb but they love it. I am not a professional nor have I interviewed for a post graduation job but these are questions I have personally used for my marketing internship and marketing on-campus job!