In a reverse interview, you assume the role of the interviewer and ask questions about the company’s culture and expectations. Instead of the company asking the candidate questions, the candidate asks the company questions. There is always a difference between what candidates see based on a job description or hear in a traditional interview, and the true experience of the role and working at the company. Using reverse interviewing helps you bridge that gap between perception and reality.

A reverse interview helps you understand whether or not the company is a good fit for you and the next step in your career.

You want to ask questions in an organized, logical way so you can uncover deeper insights about the company and positively influence how the hiring team views you. To do this, we recommend you structure your reverse interviews in three steps.

First, set up context. Explain why you’re asking these questions now. Next, ask your questions. When you’re getting into this, it’s better to start specific and then zoom out, rather than the other way around. This ensures you’ll get in-depth, specific responses and not just high-level conversations. Lastly, synthesize what you hear. By sharing your understanding of what’s being discussed back to the person you’re talking to, you show that you’re engaged and listening. Doing this also reinforces alignment with you and the other person.

I think challenges, learning curves in coming up with these questions and who to ask them of is that it's hard to know how people will respond to some of these questions.

And again, when you're reverse interviewing, you're asking a lot of a company, oftentimes pretty tough questions. And so I think the learning curve is asking, seeing how it lands, iterating on that question, seeing if it gets you to the right set of answers that you're looking for. And so that's the big learning curve.

You can reverse interview at any time, but save the hardest-hitting, most uncomfortable questions for when the company knows they want you – not when you’re still trying to get the job.


These questions were a hundred percent shaped by my experience, mostly shaped by bad experiences that I wish I had asked about this when I was in the interview process. I probably would have done something differently. Most of my kind of what I would consider failed career moves have gone into these types of questions.

The other side of this in successful career moves, I learned more of what I sought in a company and what I liked in a company. I would ask questions to help me understand If those things were present there. The best thing to do is to get as close to the metal as possible. Don't necessarily talk to the hiring manager about some of these questions. Talk to the peers, the people you're going to work with, the people who are the day to day confidants that you'll have in the job.

There's always at least two more levels of depth that you can get out of a question. If I ask a question and somebody gives me a relatively general or generic answer, I will ask them how it might apply to a specific situation. Don't settle for the top line answer.

My advice for interviewees is be curious. Don't be afraid to ask follow up questions. Don't be afraid to say things like, "I don't quite understand that," or "Could you give me an example of that?"

Elena Verna

Adam Fishman

Used as part of an exercise in Reforge’s Growth Leadership program, this reverse interview template helps candidates organize and synthesize any questions they have to evaluate a company and opportunity while in the job market.

This worksheet accompanies Reforge's Growth Leadership Program. Use this worksheet to plan your reverse interview questions when evaluating a job opportunity.

Growth Leadership Reverse Interview Template from Adam Fishman and Elena Verna

Reverse Interview Template

Sign up to see more