After interviewing dozens of candidates over the years, there is one thing that still surprises me. It is the lack of thought put into the questions that candidates ask of interviewers. And those lacking preparation are not just at the entry level. Even executives treat this part of the interview with indifference. It's baffling that a candidate would respond to “what questions do you have for me” with “none” or “why did you join the company” (i.e., an obvious and somewhat pandering question).

The fact that candidates are unprepared sends an important signal about their potential. A core competency that marketers, in particular, should have is the ability to generate unique insight about the target that can be leveraged to enhance business results. As a result, the final stage of the interview (i.e., candidates generate the questions) is a type of technical question that enables candidates to demonstrate their ability to unearth useful insight that will help them make a more informed decision. How are the questions being asked useful to the candidate? What are they trying to learn? Are they smart, thoughtful, questions that will reveal helpful insight about the job, company, or culture?

And at the C-Level, it’s even more important to have intelligent questions..