Congratulations on getting past the many hurdles to get that in-person interview! The in-person interview is an opportunity for the hiring manager and team to learn more about your skills and experience while getting to know you to see if you'd be a good fit for the environment. You may meet with several levels of management or just the immediate team members. Either way you'll be asked all sorts of questions about your skills, experience, education and accomplishments.

After they've had a chance to ask you about your skills and background, many interviewers will then ask you "do you have any questions for me?" Sometimes you have too many questions and will need to sift through them to ask the most important ones. At other times, you may have met with several people already and have had your questions answered. You don't want to seem unprepared, so what do you say?

Here are some suggested questions which you could ask any of your interviewers and come across as engaged, interested and prepared.

What brought you to XYZ Company and what do you like about it?

What challenges do you think I would encounter in this position?

What are the first three goals I should achieve to be successful in the first six months?

What three words would you use to describe this organization? The manager? The role?

What advice would you like to give someone going into this role?

In what way would you and I work together?

What else do you think I should know to be successful?

Based on our conversation, would you recommend me for this position?

You should ask the last question to each interviewer to get immediate feedback. This is what we call "pre-closing". If the interviewer seems hesitant to answer it, then perhaps you haven't convinced them yet. Take the opportunity to summarize why you would be a good fit for the position.

You may say something like, "I don't mean to put you in an awkward place and maybe you are still deciding. But let me just tell you that I'm very interested in the position and I feel I would be a good fit. I especially think my experience with (fill in the blanks here) would contribute to your organization. And I would appreciate the opportunity to show you what I can do." Sell yourself without being too pushy and leave them with your words fresh in their minds.

It's ok to make notes throughout the interview, particularly those which resonate with you so that you can touch on them later, like in the thank you email or when you're "pre-closing". Don't spend your whole time writing notes, however, because you want your interviewer to feel like you're engaged in the conversation. Just jot down a word or two that you'd like to refer to later and don't take your eyes off the interviewer for more than five seconds at a time.

Also, don't get so hung up on asking all your questions that you cause the interview to fall behind. Be aware of the time and monitor the number of questions accordingly. Your goal is not to grill your interviewer, it's to get more information for the next steps in the process.

You should also have these "generic" questions in a folder to refer to when you are asked. They won't think you're cheating, they will simply think you are prepared and have taken good notes during the other interviewers.

Having good, thoughtful questions in your back pocket for your interviews will show your interviewer that you have been listening, that you're well prepared and that you are engaged in your conversation with them. So when you're not sure what to ask, refer to the above general questions for guidance and use them as you feel benefits your interview. Now, go ace that interview!