Interviewing with Confidence Asking Questions and Showing Interest

Questions to Ask Your Potential Peers and Teammates

To ace tough interviews, stop just answering questions. Start checking the job's real facts. Learn how to see past polite answers and find out how the job truly works.

Focus and Planning

What You Should Remember

  • 01
    Stop Being Overly Thankful Go into the interview ready to check out the company, not just hoping they pick you. This mental switch stops you from being too polite and forgetting to ask the important, tough questions.
  • 02
    Ask Real Questions, Not Vague Ones Don't just ask about "company culture." Ask specific questions about real problems and how things actually get done. This is the only way to see the "hidden culture" you will really work in.
  • 03
    Test the Real Work Situation Use smart, probing questions to peel back the corporate polish and see the actual day-to-day tasks. This helps you find the exact issues that will make or break your success in the role before you sign anything.
  • 04
    Focus on Real Facts Over Good Feelings It’s more important to find out the hidden operational truths than to keep the interview conversation friendly. Making sure your next job is based on solid facts, not just how nice everyone seemed, stops you from taking a role that looks good but fails in reality.

What is a Peer Interview?

A peer interview is an interview where you meet with potential teammates and coworkers (not just managers or HR) to assess if you'll work well together. It's the hiring team's way to evaluate culture fit and your way to test if the job is as good as it sounds.

Unlike manager interviews that focus on credentials and high-level goals, peer interviews dig into day-to-day realities. Your future coworkers assess whether you'll make their jobs easier or harder. They ask about teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. According to AIHR (2024), team members can spot culture or skill gaps, especially for hands-on roles where peers are "in the trenches" and can dive deeper into technical acumen.

Most candidates treat peer interviews as soft, casual chats. That's a mistake. This is your best chance to uncover the hidden problems, broken processes, and political dynamics you'll face if you take the job. If you're preparing for the broader interview process, check out our guide on questions you should always ask in an interview for a comprehensive question framework.

Your Blueprint for a Tactical Check-up

Many great job seekers get stuck in the "Gratitude Trap." They go into interviews feeling like they are being judged, instead of knowing they are also judging the company. Research on interview power dynamics shows that when participants perceive themselves as subordinates, they are less likely to fully reveal their thoughts (Nova Southeastern University, 2013). This feeling of being lower status makes them too polite to ask the hard questions, leaving them unaware of what the job is really like.

This leads to the "Vibe-Check Vacuum" where candidates ask meaningless questions about "company culture" and just get nice, rehearsed answers from HR. These chats are pleasant but teach you nothing about the real problems or the "shadow culture" you will face every day. (For context on what not to ask in a first interview, see our guide on avoiding common question mistakes.)

To stand out, you need to start Testing the Operational Reality. This means using specific, direct questions to cut through the fancy talk and uncover the real day-to-day difficulties. The guide below gives you the exact questions needed to take control and make sure your next career move is smart, not just comfortable.

What People on the Inside Think

Here is the real secret about interviews with your future coworkers: They aren't just checking if you're "a good fit." They are giving you a small, low-stakes stress test. According to research from Vervoe (2024), candidates who mesh well with their teams are 84% better at meeting performance goals and 81% less likely to leave. When I talk to a management team after they've met someone, I don't ask if they liked them. I ask if this person will make their jobs easier or become another headache they have to deal with on their own level.

Most candidates treat interviews with peers like a safe zone to ask about lunch or vacation days. That’s a mistake. In important jobs, your coworkers judge you the hardest because they are the ones who will have to fix your mistakes or fight you for resources. They are looking for maturity in how you handle politics and understanding of how things actually work.

To win the role, you have to ignore the usual interview chatter and give them the clear signs that show you are a top performer.

What Not To Do

What Average Candidates Ask

Average candidates ask questions to make themselves feel better. They ask about "the day-to-day," "the culture," and "what you enjoy most here."

  • What We See: We see this as you not being invested. It suggests you are just looking for what the company can give you, not what you can solve for them.
  • No Real Information: To a coworker, these questions are just small talk. They don't show if you can actually handle the job when things get tough.
The Winning Move

What Top Performers Ask

The best candidates treat a peer interview like a check-up call to find problems. They aren't looking for a "nice" answer; they are looking for where the issues are.

  • What They Focus On: They ask about roadblocks, fights between departments, and the difference between what leaders say and what the team actually does. (Example: "Where does the connection between our departments usually fail?"* or *"What's one thing leaders think is working that really isn't?")
  • The Result: The coworker reports back: "They already get the problems we have. They talk our language. Hire them before someone else does." This shows you are a high-level professional.

The "Threat Assessment"

When peers talk privately, they only have one question: "Will this person help us or create more work for us?"

  • If you ask about "work-life balance" when the team is in a high-growth "fight," you look like you are a drain.
  • If you ask "how soon can I get promoted," you look like a political threat.
  • The best candidates ask questions that show they are ready to share the load: "What can I take off your hands in the first 90 days to help this team move faster?"

That is the key sign. It proves you aren't just looking for a paycheck: you are ready to take charge.

Interview Questions: Going Deeper Than the Surface

The Common Wrong Question The Smart, Tactical Switch What This Really Shows
Asking About Culture Vaguely
Asking "What's the team culture like?" which just gets you canned, polite answers about "teamwork."
Ask About Project Failures
Ask for a step-by-step of the last project that was late and how the team told senior managers about the problem. 		Shows if people feel safe to speak up, how accountability works, and if what they say matches what they do when things go wrong.
Asking What They Like Best
Asking "What's your favorite thing about working here?" which only gets you personal opinions, not system facts.
Ask About Workflow Roadblocks
Ask about the specific, regular task or technical issue that stops the team from doing their best work 100% of the time. 		Reveals the "shadow culture," any hidden technical debt, and whether managers actually try to remove problems for the team.
Asking About Job Duties Only
Asking "How is success measured?" which usually just results in them reading you the job description.
Ask How They Say "No"
Ask for a real example of when the team had to refuse a big request from a key stakeholder to protect their current plan. 		Tests how much control the team actually has, how strong their planning process is, and if they can protect themselves from endless new demands.

Your Action Plan

Find Out Where the Real Problems Are

Coworkers are the best source for finding out where the processes are broken because they are the ones suffering from those broken processes. For more tactical questions to probe team challenges, read our guide on questions to ask about the team's biggest challenges.

"If you could instantly remove one regular time-wasting step or workflow problem that slows your team down, what would it be, and why hasn't it been fixed already?"

Tip: If they give a vague answer, push them: "Is that a problem because you lack people/money, or because the process itself is bad?" to force a real answer.

Check How They Handle Arguments

How a team deals with disagreements shows whether they have real trust and openness or if they just pretend everything is fine ("Artificial Harmony").

"Describe the last time the team strongly disagreed on a technical choice or a timeline. How did you finally decide on one path, and what happened to the other ideas?"

Tip: If they say, "We always agree," be careful. This often means decisions are made by one powerful person behind closed doors.

Find Out What Support They Lack

This checks for "Invisible Work" (tasks that are important but get ignored because the team doesn't have enough staff or the right tools).

"What is something important the team knows needs to be done, but it keeps getting pushed aside because you don't have the time or the tools for it?"

Tip: Listen for them mentioning "manual workarounds" or relying on Excel sheets; these are signs of old technical issues that you will likely have to deal with.

Discover the "Real" Success Rules

Official performance goals (KPIs) are often different from what actually gets you recognized and rewarded in the daily team politics.

"Aside from the formal yearly reviews, what unwritten things do people actually need to do to gain real respect or get the best projects on this team?"

Tip: If the answer is all about "being available" or "answering emails fast," be ready for a culture that values looking busy over doing deep, focused work.

Using How People Interact in Interviews

The "Ask for a Favor" Trick

The Method: Ask potential coworkers for honest advice or information about how the team actually runs. You are asking for a "cognitive favor."

The Danger: Asking simple, obvious questions that don't require them to think hard, so they don't feel like they invested anything in you.

Best Result: The person who spent time giving you honest advice starts seeing you as someone worth helping, subconsciously boosting your standing because they put mental effort into helping you.

Changing the Interview Vibe

The Method: Stop letting the interview be just you being judged. Make it a two-way discovery session by asking important, structured questions (like, "How does this team handle it when people disagree on technical direction?").

The Danger: Staying in the passive role where you just listen to the answers they think you want to hear.

Best Result: The person starts acting like a teacher or guide, getting personally invested in your success because they helped shape what you know about the job.

Building Team Support Through Investment

The Method: Use a planned approach to get people to invest time and thought into you.

The Danger: Not building any mental connection, which results in the team seeing you as just another outsider candidate.

Best Result: Because the team spent time helping you understand their problems, they are more likely to argue for hiring you because they already feel like they have invested in you.

Common Questions Answered (FAQ)

What is a peer interview?

A peer interview is when you meet with potential teammates and coworkers during the hiring process. They assess if you'll work well together, and you get to evaluate the real job conditions beyond what HR tells you.

What should I ask peers in an interview?

Ask about roadblocks, workflow problems, and team conflicts. Skip generic questions like "What's the culture like?" Instead, ask specific ones like "What workflow issue slows your team down the most?" or "How does the team handle disagreements on technical decisions?"

How do I ask about training without sounding unprepared?

Ask about the support system, not your lack of knowledge. Try: "What training or guidance helped you the most when you first started?" This reveals if they have a clear onboarding process or if you'll be left to figure things out alone.

How do I ask about work-life balance tactfully?

Don't ask directly about "social life" or "balance." Instead, ask: "How does the team balance meetings with time for focused work?" This tells you if the environment values constant interaction or respects deep concentration without sounding like you're avoiding work.

How do I ask about conflict without seeming negative?

Focus on process, not drama. Ask: "When the team disagrees on a technical choice or deadline, what's the process for deciding?" Their answer reveals if the culture avoids conflict, is run by one boss, or has healthy debate.

How many questions should I ask in a peer interview?

Aim for 3-5 questions, depending on the time available. Focus on quality over quantity. One tactical, probing question about team challenges is worth more than five generic questions about "company culture."

Choose to Test the Real Situation.

Shifting from being a passive attendee to an active investigator means accepting Operational Reality Testing. Stop letting the need to be thankful stop you from getting clear facts about your next job.

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Further Reading

Questions You Should Always Ask in an Interview
Asking Questions and Showing Interest

Questions You Should Always Ask in an Interview

What *Not* to Ask in a First Interview
Asking Questions and Showing Interest

What *Not* to Ask in a First Interview

Questions to Ask About the Team's Biggest Challenges
Asking Questions and Showing Interest

Questions to Ask About the Team's Biggest Challenges