Prep for Success: 7 Questions To Ask In An Internship Interview

Walking into a college internship interview, you’re ready to lay it all out on the table and land the job. You’ve looked up common internship interview questions and planned on how to navigate the conversation with the recruiter. On that part, you’re all set. But before your interviewer lets you go, they ask you, “Do you have any questions for me?” 

Don’t let that final question take you off your game. It might just be the most important one you have to answer. Bland questions won’t make you stand out among the other applicants. Having zero questions at all and wrapping it up quickly is worse. You have to show your recruiter you did your homework and are genuinely interested in knowing more about the internship and the company. 

In this internship interview guide, we’ll help you stand out with 7 of the best questions to ask at the end of an internship interview.

Note: Remember to give a short explanation that sets up the question before you ask it. This will make it sound natural and make your intentions with each question clear. Here's a comparison.

See the difference? Great! Now let's dive into it.

1. Can you give me an insight into the department’s culture?

A company’s culture determines employee satisfaction and job security. It only makes sense to throw a question about it. But this question is becoming more and more cliche. Your interviewer has most likely answered this a hundred times. Break the pattern and catch their attention by asking about the culture of the department you are applying for instead. 

Asking this question will give you a better understanding of how the department operates–its values, practices, and goals. This will help you in coming up with the right approach and attitude upon onboarding. 

Here are other culture-centric questions you can ask:

• I read that the company values the [Insert value you read] of its employees. What policies in place reflect that? 
• What are the company's guiding principles?

2. What day-to-day duties can I expect from the internship?

Two reasons why you should ask this question: it will help you gauge if you have the right skills for the position and set clear expectations of the role. That should give you an informed decision on whether this internship is really for you. 

Your interviewer will most likely give you a detailed overview of your daily responsibilities. Say you’re applying as a content writing intern, you’ll learn how many articles you are expected to hand in weekly. 

Other ways to phrase this question: 

• Can you paint me a picture of the daily responsibilities of the role?
• What does a typical workweek in this role look like?

3. How do you evaluate intern performance?

You can never go wrong by displaying your goal-oriented attitude. You want to convey your desire to grow professionally and your interest in focusing on the right set of performance criteria for the role. 

This will also give you insight into the company’s intern performance evaluation process and how they handle feedback.  

Similar questions you can consider asking: 

• How do you evaluate interns?
• What are the metrics used to measure performance in this role?

4. What resources or support do you provide your interns to succeed?

The goal is to get the most specific information to help you with your decision to take the role. You’d want to phrase your questions in a way that will give you details beyond what’s written on the posted job description. Asking this question will make the interviewer provide concrete examples of how interns are supported in their company. This should help you form an accurate expectation of how you can improve your skills during the internship.

Other ways to get such information:

• What training do you give interns? 
• What is the company’s approach to guiding and supporting interns? 

5. What are some of the challenges that come with the role?

Here’s what this question tells your interviewer: you want to get prepared, you don’t expect things to be easy, and you’re up for the challenge. The answer you’ll get should tell you if these challenges excite you or not. At the end of the day, you’ll want to go with an internship that’ll be fulfilling as much as educational. 

Shooting follow-up questions to get more useful intel is also a great idea:

• Do you have any advice on overcoming these challenges?
• Can you tell me about a previous intern who was incredible? 

6. What qualities should interns have to get hired full-time?

If you see yourself working for the company, it’s never a bad idea to ask about employment opportunities. Asking this question signals that you are thinking about doing a great job as an intern and getting hired full-time. 

Other ways to ask this question:

• Do you have full-time employment opportunities for interns?
• What are your guidelines for hiring interns full-time? 

7. What are the next steps after this interview?

If you find the post-interview waiting game anxiety-inducing, it’s okay to ask what to expect after the session and what the next steps will be. This should help you with your anxiety and show your interviewer how serious you are about landing the internship. 

You can also ask:

• How many rounds of interviews will there be?
• Will there be practical or written assessments in the application process? 

From your impressive resume, internship interview attire, and how you answer common interview questions, down to the quality of your questions, you can never be too prepared for an internship interview! The working world sure is full of surprises. This should be a great practice for you to anticipate different scenarios and nail everything that may come your way. Good luck and you got this.